06/08/2026
SUMMER DEVOTION
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MATTHEW 9:9-13, 18-26
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection stations, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread through all of that district.
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DEVOTION by PASTOR ERIC
Imagine a big summer neighborhood barbecue. The grill is smoking, the lawn chairs are out, and the guest list is completely unpredictable. Neighbors bring extra friends, kids playing tag and running around, and the quiet neighborhood you’re used to quickly turns into loud, chaotic fun.
That is exactly the kind of neighborhood vibe of disciples Jesus sets up in Matthew 9.
When Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, he isn't inviting the "who’s who" of upright religious society. He walks right up to a booth built on greed and says, "Follow me." Before you know it, Jesus is hanging out at a neighborhood barbecue with tax collectors and sinners. When the religious elite complain about “those people,” Jesus reorients discipleship in this way: I desire mercy and welcome. It is not the healthy who need more community, but the sick.
Discipleship isn't a VIP pass for being perfect; it’s a crowded emergency room or a neighborhood barbecue where Jesus meets us at our most vulnerable. Later, Jesus is interrupted by a grieving father and a woman who suffered for twelve long years. He doesn't tell them to schedule an appointment. He opens his heart in love and welcomes them to the neighborhood barbecue of God’s Kingdom.
Following Jesus means showing up at a neighborhood barbecue where everyone is welcome, especially those who feel worn out, left out, or broken down. True discipleship is joining Jesus in welcoming everyone into the chaotic joy of grace and belonging.
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PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
stretch our hearts today
to welcome the hard-living,
the hurting, and the broken
into our lives just as you have welcomed us.
Send us out from our comfortable spaces
to pull up extra chairs and share your healing love
with a world that sorely needs it.
Amen.
