S2 Ep.20-"Follow Me" Part I: Matthew

Two words can expose what we’ve been hiding behind for years. When Jesus looks at Matthew sitting at a tax booth and says, “Follow me,” he isn’t offering a lecture or a checklist, he’s offering himself. I walk through Matthew 9:9-13 and why this moment still speaks to anyone who feels disqualified by doubt, a complicated past, or the quiet fear that you’re not ready for God to call your name.

We talk about discipleship as relationship before transformation. Matthew doesn’t receive a five-year plan or a neat roadmap, he receives an invitation to take a first step. That’s where so many faith journeys actually begin: not with certainty, but with trust; not with full understanding, but with willingness. If you’ve been waiting to feel worthy, waiting to have fewer questions, or waiting to “clean up” before you draw near, this conversation names that mindset and gently challenges it.

Then we step into the scene at Matthew’s table, where outsiders become guests and religious performance gets replaced by compassion. Jesus’ words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” reveal the heartbeat of the gospel: longer tables, not taller fences. Along the way, we name the labels that stick to us like glue and the surprising freedom of being seen as beloved instead of defined by failure, anxiety, regret, or “not enough.”

If this encourages you, subscribe so you don’t miss the rest of the “Follow Me” series, share the episode with a friend who needs a fresh start, and leave a review telling me where you’re hearing the invitation to take your next step.

Let's Get Into It!!

Transcript

The Simple Call Follow Me

Speaker 0:08

Welcome back, friends, to Ancient Truth for the Modern Heart. I'm Steve Pozzato, and as always, I am grateful that you are here to spend this time with me. Well, in this month of June, we're beginning a new series called Follow Me, and we're starting with one of the simplest and most powerful invitations in all of Scripture. It's found in Matthew 9, verses 9-13, where Jesus encounters a man named Matthew sitting at a tax booth and says just two words. Follow me. That's it. Two words that change to life. As we begin, I want you to think about the invitations that have shaped your own life. Maybe it was someone asking you to join a team or take a job or go on a date, move to a new place, or become a part of a community. Sometimes the biggest changes in our lives begin with surprisingly simple invitations, and perhaps that's what makes this story so powerful. In this story, Matthew is sitting at his tax booth when Jesus walks by. To modern ears, that detail might not mean much, but in Matthew's world, tax collectors were not especially admired. They worked for the Roman Empire. Many people saw them as collaborators, and they often carried a reputation for dishonesty and greed. They were not the people most religious leaders would have chosen as disciples. But, as Jesus often does, he sees something we do not. Where others see a label, Jesus sees a person. Where others see a tax collector, a Roman collaborator, Jesus sees Matthew. And when Jesus looks at him, he doesn't begin with condemnation. He doesn't demand an explanation from Matthew, and he doesn't lecture him about all the ways that his life needs to change. He simply says to him, Follow me. And I have always found that fascinating. And if you have watched the show The Chosen, you know this scene is especially powerful. And Jesus doesn't start with information in any sense when he calls Matthew. He starts with relationship.

Relationship Before Transformation

Speaker 3:01

The invitation, like it does with us, comes before the transformation. Sometimes I think we imagine that God waits for us to get everything sorted out before extending an invitation. Maybe we think that we need to have stronger faith or fewer doubts, or maybe we think we ought to have better habits or cleaner lives or a clearer sense of purpose before we can really respond to God. I don't find that's true through my own doubt and my own journey toward ministry. There have been many moments where I had wished for stronger faith, and I still wish for stronger faith, for fewer doubts or better habits or cleaner living. But as I'm on this journey, I'm finding that those doubts and those wants are nothing compared to what I find each and every day to be true of God. That it isn't about those requirements, it is about relationship. And I resonate with this story because, if I'm honest, I was not the person brought up to be in ministry or to minister to others. I have had many jobs, many worldly jobs. I've spent much time away from the church, and I have not always led the cleanest life. And yet still there was a calling toward ministry. Still, Jesus said, Follow me. And so I resonate with Matthew and his doubts as he's a tax collector, and perhaps even the other disciples, as they doubt him. I can relate to Matthew that way, and I think many of us can as well. Matthew's story suggests something so much different than being righteous or being the one that we would expect him to call. Jesus doesn't call Matthew because Matthew has become someone else, that his faith has suddenly become stronger and is now worthy to follow Jesus, just like in my own life, and I'm sure in some places some of you feel the same. But Jesus calls Matthew just as he calls us where we are. He calls Matthew where he is, not where perhaps others think he ought to be or should be in order to follow the Christ. And that's important for us to hear because many of us spend our lives waiting until we are ready or even worthy. Maybe we wait until we feel ready to serve or ready to trust, ready to forgive, or to change, or to begin. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus seems remarkably willing to meet people exactly where they are and invites them into something brand new. Not just something that perhaps they don't feel or even know if they're worthy of, but that they didn't even know was possible. That's the beginning of this journey for myself, for many of you out there, I'm sure. The journey with God, the journey to follow Jesus Christ, sometimes isn't marked with road signs. But we respond. And in this case, Matthew responds immediately. The gospel tells us that he got up and followed him. And we don't know everything Matthew was thinking in that moment, just as others don't know what we're thinking when we follow Christ. And we don't know what questions he had or what fears he carried. We don't know how much he understood about where this journey would lead. And just like us in our own lives, I think there are relatable moments there, fears and doubts. And we don't know how much we understand about where this journey will go, but not only are we on it with him, we are on it together. You and I, and all those around us. Well, what we do know about Matthew is that he took a step. And that's often how discipleship begins, not with certainty and not with complete understanding, but with a single step. A willingness to trust, a willingness to move, a willingness to leave behind what is familiar

One Step Without A Roadmap

Speaker 8:30

and discover what God might be doing next. One of the things I find myself wondering about whenever I read this story is what Matthew left behind when he stood up from that tax booth. The text is remarkably brief. Matthew is just sitting there doing his job. Jesus says, Follow me, and Matthew gets up and follows him. But imagine that scene for just a moment, if you will. Imagine the sounds of the marketplace, the conversations, the movement of people going about their day, the coins crossing tables and booths into pockets, the routine that Matthew knew by heart. This was not just a place where he was working, it was a life that he understood. And even if that life wasn't perfect, it was familiar for him. And I think most of us know something about that. There are moments in life when God invites us towards something new, and often the hardest thing isn't figuring out where we're going. It's letting go of where we have been. Sometimes we hold on to old habits because they're familiar. Sometimes we hold on to old hurts because we have carried them for so long they almost feel like a part of us, as if it belongs with the rest of the pieces of who we are. And sometimes we hold on to old stories about ourselves because we don't know who we would be without them. Yet throughout Scripture, God's invitations almost always involve movement. For instance, Abraham hears go from your country, Moses hears, go back to Egypt. Ruth leaves her homeland. The disciples leave their nets. Matthew leaves his tax booth. Again and again, faith involves movement, and it's not always necessarily physical movement, but a movement of the heart. And that movement leads us toward trust and toward hope and toward love. And here's what strikes me Jesus does not hand Matthew a roadmap. He doesn't explain any details. He doesn't say, here's exactly what the next three years will look like. He simply says, follow me. Perhaps that's because discipleship is not primarily about information. Again, it is about relationship. And man, can't we relate to that? I don't think any of us who have ever chosen to follow Jesus in any way that we do were ever handed a roadmap. I don't know of any prayers from anyone that I have met that ended with, and then Jesus said, Here's exactly what following me will look like. He knows. I had no idea what to expect when I heed the call and said yes. But my heart was moved, just as yours was. And if you're still sitting with it wondering or feeling whether your heart will move, perhaps it already has, my friends. And think about that too, about having a plan. If Jesus had handed Matthew a five-year strategic plan, Matthew could have followed the plan without necessarily following Jesus. But by saying follow me, Jesus places the focus where it belongs, not on the destination, but on the relationship, on him, on the bond between you and the Christ. And that is so often where faith becomes challenging for us because most of us would prefer clarity over trust. We'd like to know exactly what comes next. We would like guarantees. We would like certainty. And maybe we'd even like God to provide a detailed map. But instead, more often than not, God provides enough light for the next step. We've spoken about that before. Even the flicker of that candle of love and hope defeats the darkness. But that doesn't mean that the entire room or the entire path or the entire journey is lit. Just the next step. And perhaps that is why the image of following is so important here. Following means paying attention, it means remaining open and trusting the one that is leading. Trusting that they know the way. And following means being present, which none of us are always good at. I think that's true not only in our faith, but in our everyday lives. Many of the most meaningful experiences we have begin without certainty. We don't know exactly what a friendship will become when it begins. We don't know exactly what parenthood will look like. We don't exactly know where a marriage will lead or what kind of impact a kind word or a generous act may have on another person's life. Sometimes we don't even know what we're there for when we walk into the kitchen. But we take this step anyway. And somewhere along the way we discover that growth often happens not through certainty, but through faithfulness. One step,

Letting Go Of Labels

Speaker 15:20

then another, and then another. And when I think about Matthew, I also find myself wondering how many people had already decided who he was. Tax collector, sinner, outsider, compromised by the Romans, the oppressors. But the world has always been good at assigning labels, no? Perhaps even today we do it more than we would like to admit. We make assumptions, we draw conclusions, we place people into categories. And a lot of times we even do it to ourselves. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become trapped by a story that you have been telling yourself? A story about not being good enough or about past mistakes, about failure or regret. Maybe a story about what someone else said about you years ago or yesterday. The remarkable thing about Jesus is that he rarely starts where people expect him to start. He does not begin with Matthew's reputation or with Matthew's potential in that role. He doesn't begin with condemnation, he begins with invitation. He doesn't begin by telling Matthew who he has been, he begins by inviting Matthew into what he can become. And that meets him right where he is, right where he meets us. And isn't that one of the beautiful truths of the gospel is that God sees more in us than we see in ourselves. Not because God ignores our shortcomings or our doubts or the things that we fear about ourselves, and not because God pretends that our mistakes don't matter, but because God's vision is always larger than our limitations. Where we see endings, God often sees beginnings. Where we see failure, God sees possibility.

Mercy Over Sacrifice At The Table

Speaker 17:45

Where we see brokenness, God sees belovedness. The story then continues with Jesus sharing a meal in Matthew's house. Tax collectors and other people considered sinners gather around the table. The religious leaders see what's happening and are scandalized. How could a teacher spend time with people like this? Why would someone claiming to represent God choose this company? But Jesus responds by saying, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. And then he adds, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. What a remarkable statement that is, because Jesus reminds them that God's heart has always been oriented toward people. Mercy over judgment, compassion over exclusion, relationship over religious performance. And that is not to say that faith doesn't matter or that holiness is not important, but rather Jesus is reminding everyone that the purpose of faith is not to build walls around God's love, but to help people encounter it. The table in Matthew's house becomes a picture of the kingdom of God, a place where people who thought they didn't belong discover that they are not only welcome, but they are celebrated. It's a place where grace arrives before anyone earns it. A place where love reaches people before they have all the answers. And isn't that still true today? I wonder how many of us carry labels that feel difficult to set down. Maybe not tax collector, but maybe something else. What are those words we use, folks? Failure, doubtful, divorced, anxious, not enough, too much, unworthy, broken. How often we become convinced that those labels define us? Yet Jesus has always been in the business of seeing beyond labels. He sees the beloved child of God beneath them. He sees possibilities where others see limitations, and he sees humanity where others see categories. And perhaps his invitation remains the same today as it did in Matthew's day. Follow me. Not because we figured everything out, not because we've reached perfection, not because we've become someone else, but because we are loved, and maybe that is where this first stop in our follow me journey brings us. Before discipleship becomes teaching, before it becomes service, before it becomes mission, it begins with invitation. Jesus sees Matthew. Jesus knows Matthew. Jesus calls Matthew. Jesus walks with Matthew. The same pattern appears throughout the gospel story, and I believe it continues today. Jesus sees us. Jesus knows us. Jesus calls us, and Jesus walks with us. And as we begin this series, I hope you'll spend some time reflecting on what it means to hear that invitation in our own lives. In fact, I would love for you to spend just a little bit of time today asking yourself where we see that invitation today.

Hearing The Invitation Today

Speaker 22:10

Where have we seen it before in our own lives? And for some of us, that might mean taking a step toward deeper faith. For others, it may mean extending forgiveness, and yet for others it may mean serving a neighbor, reaching out to a friend, or simply becoming more attentive to feel God's presence in everyday life. Where have we seen that invitation? Where do we still see that invitation? Following Jesus will look different for each one of us. So if you're looking for a road map, if you're looking for one of us out here in this world to say, here's what it'll look like to follow Jesus. My friends, we were not given such a map. None of us is. At its heart, though, following Jesus will always be the invitation into a life shaped by love. To take the next step with him and with one another. And that beautiful thing that is following Jesus is that he never calls people into this journey alone. He gathers disciples, he forms community, he creates tables where people can belong. And he continues doing that work every day. So wherever you find yourself as you listen to this episode, wherever your faith feels strong, wherever your faith feels fragile, and whether you are full of hope or carrying questions, in those places, maybe we find the invitation of Christ. And I invite you to listen for those ancient words spoken anew in your life. Follow me. Not as a demand, not as a burden, but as an invitation. An invitation into relationship, into grace, and into a life of love. Where do we hear Jesus say those two words to us? Follow me.

Prayer And Sending Forth

Speaker 24:48

Let us pray together, friends. Jesus, with only two words, you shape our lives and change us forever. You meet us where we are, and you tear down the taller fences, and you build the longer tables to make room for each of us in your heart. Strengthen our faith, strengthen our resolve that we may take the first step with you, moving forward into a new life. Remind us that even though you light the path before us, step by step is the way into relationship with you, because you will walk with us at our pace, and you will always love us. Remind us that no matter where we are out in this world, when we hear you say, follow me, it means that all the things we think we are and all the things we thought we were can change so quickly with you. And our hearts will be filled with your love. Amen. And now, my friends, wherever you are today, I hope that you have a wonderful day ahead and a wonderful week as well. As we head into summer, the air will become warmer, the skies will become a little bit bluer, and we may even hear the call of God and thunder. But wherever we go this summer, let us go carrying the light of love, because there will we go in peace. Farewell, my friends, and until we meet again, be well.