The Online Program of KPPI (Praise and Divine Healing Service) was held on Thursday, March 25, 2021. It was a live-streaming program that could be watched through Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. The Word of God was delivered by Rev. Jacob B Sumbayak, taken from Matthew 9:9-13 about Matthew the tax collector following Jesus.

Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The Tax Collector Was Saved and Called to Be the Disciple of Jesus

Matthew was a tax collector. He was rich, but he was disliked because he liked to extort people. Some of the taxes collected from the people went into their own pockets, not paid into the state treasury. They were considered corruptors, sinners, and the right hand of the Roman colonizers. They were expelled from the Jewish community because they were also considered disloyal to the Jewish nation. The tax collectors were considered to be on the same level as the harlot to the Israelites, that is, a group of sinners.

However, one day, when Jesus saw Matthew or Levi, He said, “Follow Me.” so Matthew stood up and followed Him. It seems simple, but surely Matthew had many questions in his heart struggling with his life beforehand. Surely he had also heard about Jesus so that when Jesus approached him, he knew it was Jesus and wanted to follow Him.

Matthew literally went after Jesus, leaving behind his work and sins. When Jesus came and touched her heart, he felt this was a great gift. The Lord Jesus came, delivered him from evil and brought him to salvation.

If we read Matthew 10: 3, we will know that when Jesus called the twelve apostles, he was one of them. His name was Matthew the Tax Collector. It was because of God’s touch, his life was changed and he was called by Jesus to be the main disciple or apostle.

In the Bible, there was another tax collector who repented, a chief tax collector, his name was Zacchaeus. When God called him, Zacchaeus also immediately followed Jesus. He was touched, Jesus knew his name, Jesus loved and cared for him very much. So from the tree, he came down and invited Jesus to eat at his house.

When Zacchaeus’s heart was touched by God, he repented and said: “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” (Luke 19: 8).
Encountering a sweet and touching heart with Jesus will always satisfy the thirst of the heart, release the bondage of sin, making people feel at peace, feel forgiven, and joyfully follow God.

Jesus Came for the Sinners to Be Saved

Seeing Jesus eating with the tax collectors, the Pharisees who had a lot of Bible knowledge and considered themselves holy, questioned why Jesus ate with sinners.

Jesus heard about it and said, “Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten [minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.” (verses 12-13).

Jesus calls the sinners to repentance. He came to offer forgiveness, salvation, and new life. Jesus came to forgive us. Who among us has not sinned? Jesus came to forgive us. That is the purpose of Jesus coming to earth, looking for us sinners to be atone for our sins and be saved.

Matthew 21: 31b, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

We may feel that we have a lot of sins. We may wonder whether we will be forgiven by God. “Does God still remember my name? Does God want to help me?” Our God is very personal, He knows our names and He even knew before we were born. If you really ask for your sins to be forgiven, come earnestly to Him, then He will come to you. As long as you believe in Jesus, your sins will be forgiven.

God will also say to you, “Follow Me.” Will you believe and follow Jesus? What had happened to Matthew and Zacchaeus will also happen to you. Jesus said that even prostitutes enter the kingdom of heaven, as long as they believe in Jesus. It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. And what God desires is mercy, not sacrifice

It’s not that we can give to God, not by paying for sins through our good deeds and charity. But what God wants is a heart that is broken and feels that he is sinful and unworthy. Then Jesus will say,”Follow Me”.

Will we believe in Jesus? If we believe in Him, we will feel that we are valuable, and we will feel peace. Like Matthew, because his heart was touched by God, he repented and his life became so meaningful. So that we will stop searching for identity, stop searching for who can forgive and save us.

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

For those of you who believe, then we already have a good Father who loves and knows our names.

By His Stripes We Are Healed

Isaiah 53: 5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was ]bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

Jesus has become the sacrifice of sins. He experienced great suffering and humiliation so that we are released from punishment. And He suffered so much before being crucified, He was scourged, but by His stripes we are healed.

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, now, and forever (Hebrews 13: 8). If in the past He healed all diseases and even raised Lazarus who had been dead for four days, to this day, He continues to work miracles because He is alive. As long as you have faith in Jesus, healing will happen to you. [yf/hn/em]