In the Eyes of Jesus

In Matthew 9:9, we read, "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."  It's written by Matthew, about Matthew, so it's a little autobiographical note.

Matthew was sitting at the tax office.  He was a tax collector, or as the King James Bible puts it, a "publican."  Publicans, or tax collectors, were especially despised in Israel.  You read frequent references to "publicans and sinners", as though they are a category of sinners all on their own.

The Israelites hated the Romans, who ruled over them and oppressed them.  Even more, they despised the tax collectors, who were Jews who sold out to squeeze taxes out of their own people, on behalf of the governing Romans.  Not only did they collect taxes, but they added surcharges at will and lined their own pockets at the expense of their own people.  They were a sort of government-sponsored Mafia.  They were rich, greedy, and merciless.

If a Pharisee ever accidentally touched a publican, he would go straight home to wash his clothes and have a bath.  To avoid any such contact, it was a common practice to cross the street  to walk on the other side, away from the despicable tax collector.

So the looks Matthew would get from his own people were full of condemnation, hatred, revulsion, disgust, rejection, and also fear.  

The look Matthew got from Jesus, however, was one of love.  The Greek word for "saw" in that verse 9 is "eidon", which, besides being translated as "see"  or "saw", is also translated as "to behold, consider, know, look or look on, or perceive."  Jesus did not just casually glance at Matthew; He actually looked at him, considered him, knew him, perceived what was inside him.  He actually saw him.  He saw the real Matthew.  He recognized the needs in the man's life, how he knew misery, guilt and shame when he was alone, his loneliness, and fears.  It may have been the first time Matthew ever saw someone look at him with love since he took the position at the tax office.

This look was so powerful that it was sufficient motivation to leave his position, his source of income to follow Jesus.

This happened also to another tax collector named Zacchaeus.  He heard Jesus was coming to town, and he wanted to see this famous person.  Being short, he decided to climb a sycamore tree to get a good view.  Probably the fact that he was short wasn't the only reason he wouldn't have been able to see.  The people would not have made room for such a despicable person to get to the front of the crowd.

The story is in Luke 19.  Verse 5 says, "And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him..."  It's the same Greek word.  Jesus saw him, and it was with eyes of love.  At Jesus' invitation, Zacchaeus scrambled down from the tree, welcomed Him into his home, and was a changed man.

Peter experienced that love after Jesus' resurrection, even though he had denied his Lord three times.  I'm reminded of those lines in the song "He's Alive" by Don Francisco, where Peter says:

Back inside the house again, the guilt and anguish came.

Everything I'd promised Him just added to my shame.

When at last it came to choices, I denied I knew His name.

Even if He was alive, it would never be the same.

But suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume.

Light that came from everywhere drove shadows from the room.

And Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide.

And I fell down on my knees, and I just clung to Him and cried.

Then He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes,

Love was shining out from Him like sunlight from the skies.

Guilt and my confusion disappeared in sweet release,

And every fear I’d ever had just melted into peace.

Let's take time to meditate on how Jesus looks at us.  There is no disgust, no disappointment, no frustration, no anger in His eyes as they rest on us.  Remember that He knew every sin, every failure, every mistake we would ever make, before He invited any of us into His family, but He invited us anyway.  So, leave all the distractions, worries, fears, guilt and self-condemnation behind, and spend time enjoying Him and letting Him enjoy you.  Let it be said of us that we responded to His invitation, "arose, and followed Him," like Matthew did.

Jehoshaphat

 My son and daughter-in-law are moving and brought me a few books that they're unloading.  One is a Joyce Meyer book from about 20 years ago called "The Battle Belongs to the Lord."  I've only read 2 chapters so far, but she has pulled me back to one of my favourite of all Old Testament stories.  In 2 Chronicles 20, we find the land of Judah, the Israelites who were God's chosen people, and their king Jeshoshaphat, who had initiated reforms designed to bring the people back to the worship of God.

The chapter starts with the information that 3 armies were marching on their land, described in verse 2 as "a great multitude".  They were the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Meunites.  In the book, Joyce Meyer has a list of "ites" that can come against us:  "fear-ites...disease-ites...poverty-ites...bad marriage-ites...stress-ites...grouchy neighbor-ites...insecurity-ites...rejection-ites...and on and on."

At the first report he received, King Jehoshaphat "feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."  He "set himself to seek the Lord" instead of turning himself inside out trying to find a human solution.  How often we try to work out our own answers and responses instead of stopping to seek the Lord!  The purpose of the fast was not to twist God's arm somehow, but to allow all the people to focus on seeking the Lord.

Then he began to pray, starting with a focus first on who God is ("O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might so that no one is able to withstand You?"), and then, secondly, what He had already done for His people ("Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham, Your friend, forever?")  What a fabulous example for all of us to follow when attacks come against us!

Then Jehoshaphat admitted that he didn't have the answers he needed, and even if he knew what to do about the enemies, he wouldn't have had the strength to carry out the plan.  His entire dependence was on his God.  "For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

When the people had their attention on seeking God, on remembering just who He was and what He had done for them in the past, the answer came.  It came to "Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly."  I have sometimes wondered why that whole list had to be there, describing who Jahaziel was exactly.  One thing that comes to me is that God is saying He knew the man perfectly, from far back in his history.  The same is true for us.  He knows us and chose us from before the foundations of the world (Psalm 139; Ephesians 1:4).

God's answer was the reassurance that they shouldn't "be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitdte, for the battle is not yours, but God's", followed by the instructions about what to do..."Tomorrow go down against them...Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." And then there's that favourite line, "Do not fear, or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."  I keep finding more and more of those "fear not, and don't be dismayed because the Lord is with you" references.

The people went out obediently early the next morning and made the quality decision to put the praisers out in front.  They sang, "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever" before they even saw His answer manifested.

If we need a formula in the face of our enemies and issues, there is a really great one here.  (1) Seek the Lord.  He has answers for you that you couldn't dream up in a thousand years.  (2) Focus on the greatness of God.   List the names and qualities of God that will remind us that He is our "More-than-enough" and remember all He has already done for us.   Review the times He has come through for us and provided a way where there was just no way, all before we rush into telling Him our problems.  (3) Share the problem/question with God, admitting that we have no answers and no strength of our own in the situation but that we know we can entirely depend on Him.  And leave the burden with Him instead of picking it back up and giving in to worry and stress.  (4) When you get His answer, go with it, knowing that He is with us and that is all we need.  (5) Start praising right away, before you see how God works it out.

We can face even lockdowns and epidemics this way!