Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 9:9-13

"And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners? But when he heard it, he said, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what [this] meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." — Matthew 9:9-13 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: After performing this miracle, Christ would not remain in the same place, so that he would not arouse the envy of the Jews. Let us also do this, not obstinately opposing those who lie in wait for us. "And as Jesus departed thence," (that is, from the place where he had performed this miracle) "he saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom, Matthew by name." ¹

St. Jerome: Out of respect for Matthew, the other Evangelists have not called him by his common name, but say "Levi" here, for he had both names. Matthew himself, in keeping with what Solomon says, The righteous man is the first to accuse himself (Proverbs 18:17), calls himself both Matthew and "publican" to show readers that no one who turns to better things needs to despair of salvation, seeing that he went from being a publican to an Apostle.

Glossa Ordinaria: He says, "sitting at the receipt of custom," that is, in the place where the tolls were collected. He was called a telonarius, from a Greek word meaning "taxes." ²

St. John Chrysostom: In this, he shows the excellent power of the one who called him. While Matthew was engaged in this dangerous office, Christ rescued him from the midst of evil, just as he rescued Paul while he was still raging against the Church. He says to him, Follow me. As you have seen the power of the one who calls, so learn the obedience of the one who is called; he neither refuses nor asks to go home and inform his friends.

Remigius of Auxerre: He thought little of the human dangers that might come to him from his masters for leaving his accounts in disorder. Instead, he arose, and followed him. And because he gave up earthly gain, he was rightly made the dispenser of the Lord's talents.

St. Jerome: Porphyry and the Emperor Julian argue from this account that either the historian must be charged with falsehood, or those who so readily followed the Savior did so with rashness and recklessness, as if he called anyone without reason.

They also forget the signs and wonders that had preceded, which the Apostles had undoubtedly seen before they believed. Indeed, the radiant brightness of the hidden divinity that shone from his human face might have attracted them at first sight. For if a magnet, as it is said, can attract iron, how much more can the Lord of all creation draw to himself whomever he wills!

St. John Chrysostom: But why did he not call him at the same time as Peter, John, and the others? Because Matthew was then still in a hardened state. But after many miracles and after Christ's fame had spread, the one who knows the inmost secrets of the heart perceived that he was more disposed to obedience, and then he called him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, perhaps it is more probable that Matthew here goes back to relate something he had omitted. We may suppose Matthew to have been called before the Sermon on the Mount, for on the mountain, as Luke relates, the twelve, whom he also named Apostles, were chosen. ³

Glossa Ordinaria: Matthew places his calling among the miracles, for it was a great miracle: a publican becoming an Apostle. ⁴

St. John Chrysostom: Why then is nothing said about how or when the rest of the Apostles were called, but only about Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew? Because these men were in the most humble and lowly positions, for nothing can be more disreputable than the office of a publican, and nothing more common than that of a fisherman.

Glossa Ordinaria: As a fitting return for this heavenly mercy, Matthew prepared a great feast for Christ in his house, giving his temporal goods to the one from whom he expected to receive eternal goods. ⁵

It follows, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Matthew does not say in whose house Jesus was eating on this occasion. From this, we might suppose that the event is not told in its proper order, but that something that took place at another time is inserted here as it came to his mind. However, Mark and Luke, who relate the same event, show that it was in Levi's house—that is, in Matthew's. ⁶

St. John Chrysostom: Matthew, being honored by Jesus's entrance into his house, called together all who were in the same profession as himself: Behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus, and with his disciples.

Glossa Ordinaria: The publicans were those who were engaged in public business, which can seldom, if ever, be carried on without sin. It is a beautiful sign of the future that he who was to be an Apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, at his first conversion, draws a great multitude of sinners to salvation with him—already performing by his example what he would shortly perform by his word. ⁷

Tertullian says that these must have been Gentiles, because Scripture says, There shall be no payer of tribute in Israel, as if Matthew were not a Jew. But the Lord did not eat with Gentiles, being especially careful not to break the Law, just as he also gave the commandment to his disciples below, Go not into the way of the Gentiles. ⁸

St. Jerome: But they had seen the publican turning from his sins to better things and finding an opportunity for repentance, and for this reason they did not despair of salvation.

St. John Chrysostom: In this way, they came near to our Redeemer, not only to converse with him but to eat with him. For not only by debating, healing, or convincing his enemies, but also by eating with them, he often healed those who were poorly disposed. By this, he teaches us that all times and all actions can be used for our benefit.

When the Pharisees saw this, they were indignant. "And the Pharisees, seeing it, said to his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" It should be observed that when the disciples seemed to be doing what was sinful, these same people addressed Christ, saying, Behold, thy disciples are doing what it is not allowed to do on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2). Here, they speak against Christ to his disciples—both actions being characteristic of malicious people, seeking to separate the hearts of the disciples from their Master.

Rabanus Maurus: They are in a twofold error here. First, they considered themselves righteous, though in their pride they had departed far from righteousness. Second, they accused of unrighteousness those who, by recovering from sin, were drawing near to righteousness.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Luke seems to have related this a little differently. According to him, the Pharisees say to the disciples, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? (Luke 5:30), not being unwilling for their Master to be understood as included in the same charge, thus insinuating it against both him and his disciples.

Therefore, Matthew and Mark have related it as being said to the disciples, because it was just as much an objection against their Master, whom they followed and imitated. The meaning, therefore, is the same in all three, and it is conveyed all the better, as the words are changed while the substance remains the same.

St. Jerome: For they do not come to Jesus while they remain in their original condition of sin, as the Pharisees and Scribes complain, but in penitence, as what follows proves. When Jesus heard that, he said, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

Rabanus Maurus: He calls himself a physician because, by a wonderful kind of medicine, he was wounded for our iniquities so that he might heal the wound of our sin. By "the whole," he means those who, seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God (Romans 10:3). By "the sick," he means those who, bound by the awareness of their frailty and seeing that they are not justified by the Law, submit themselves in penitence to the grace of God.

St. John Chrysostom: Having first spoken in accordance with common opinion, he now addresses them from Scripture, saying, Go ye, and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.

St. Jerome (on Hosea 6:6): This text from Hosea is directed against the Scribes and Pharisees, who, considering themselves righteous, refused to keep company with publicans and sinners.

It is as much as to say, "How can you accuse me for reforming sinners? In this, therefore, you accuse God the Father also. For as he wills the amendment of sinners, so also do I." And he shows that what they blamed was not only not forbidden but was even set by the Law above sacrifice. For he did not say, "I will have mercy as well as sacrifice," but chose the one and rejected the other.

Glossa Ordinaria: Yet God does not condemn sacrifice, but rather sacrifice without mercy. The Pharisees often offered sacrifices in the temple so that they might appear righteous to men, but they did not practice the deeds of mercy by which true righteousness is proven. ⁹

Rabanus Maurus: He therefore warns them that by deeds of mercy they should seek for themselves the rewards of the mercy that is from above, and not, by overlooking the necessities of the poor, trust to please God merely by offering sacrifice. Therefore, he says, "Go"—that is, go from the rashness of foolish fault-finding to a more careful meditation on Holy Scripture, which highly commends mercy. He proposes to them his own example of mercy as a guide, saying, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Luke adds the words to repentance, which explains the meaning, so that no one should suppose that sinners are loved by Christ because they are sinners. This comparison to the sick shows what God means by calling sinners: just as a physician calls the sick to be saved from their iniquity as from a sickness, which is done by repentance.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Christ came for all, so how is it that he says he did not come for the righteous? Were there those for whom he did not need to come? But no man is righteous by the Law. He shows how empty their boast of justification is, for since sacrifices were inadequate for salvation, mercy was necessary for all who were placed under the Law.

St. John Chrysostom: From this we may suppose that he is speaking ironically, as when it is said, Behold now Adam is become as one of us (Genesis 3:22). For Paul shows that there is no one righteous on earth: All have sinned, and need glory of God (Romans 3:23). By this saying he also consoled those who were called, as though he had said, "So far am I from abhorring sinners, that for their sakes alone I came."

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, those who were righteous, such as Nathanael and John the Baptist, were not to be invited to repentance. Or, when he says, I came not to call the righteous, he means the falsely righteous—those who boasted of their righteousness like the Pharisees—but rather those who acknowledged themselves as sinners. ¹⁰

Rabanus Maurus: The call of Matthew and the publicans prefigures the faith of the Gentiles, who first eagerly pursued worldly gain and are now spiritually refreshed by the Lord. The pride of the Pharisees prefigures the jealousy of the Jews at the salvation of the Gentiles.

Or, Matthew signifies the man intent on temporal gain; Jesus sees him when he looks on him with the eyes of mercy. For "Matthew" is interpreted as "given," and "Levi" as "taken"; the penitent is taken out of the mass of the perishing and, by God's grace, given to the Church. And Jesus says to him, Follow me, either by preaching, by the admonition of Scripture, or by internal illumination.

1. Hom., xxx
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3. De Cons. Evan., ii, 26
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6. De Cons. Evan., ii, 27
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