NOTES. Five-year Bible reading plan.

NOTES for Mat 9:9-13

When Jesus addressed Matthew, he left everything without hesitation and followed the Lord. Apparently, there was something so powerful in the Savior’s call that this tax collector did not even need to ask any questions; it was immediately clear to him what he had to do.

The Evangelist does not give us even a hint that Matthew could have doubted whether the Lord was calling him. For the Pharisees, sharing a meal with sinners was madness, just like inviting a tax collector to become a disciple. It was precisely this departure from the standard notion of right and wrong that aroused indignation in their souls. There are moments in our life when we truly understand what God is calling us to do, when we discern His voice addressed specifically to us. Yet we often begin to doubt, especially when He asks something of us that we ourselves did not expect.