Doctrines of Grace Series
“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.”
— Matthew 9:9 (ESV)
THE MORNING TEXT OPENED
Matthew had every chance to believe — and never did. His tax booth sat in Capernaum, the very town where Jesus preached and healed. He must have heard the reports; perhaps he had watched the crowds. Yet there he sat, day after day, collecting his money, unmoved. Nothing in Matthew explains what happened next.
Jesus walked up and spoke two words: “Follow me.” And the man rose, left everything, and followed. What happened? The same voice that said, “Let there be light,” and “Lazarus, come out,” spoke into a dead heart and made it live. This is what we mean by irresistible grace — not that God drags the unwilling, but that His Spirit makes the unwilling willing. He removes the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26), so that the sinner comes freely — and comes indeed.
The gospel call goes out generally to all: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28). But no dead heart answers on its own. When anyone believes, it is because the Spirit has carried that call inward with power. “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (John 6:37). Your own faith, if you believe this morning, is the fingerprint of God on your soul.
FOR THE DAY AHEAD
Is there someone you have almost given up praying for — someone as unmoved as Matthew at his booth? Irresistible grace forbids despair. The hardest heart in your family is not beyond the voice that raised the dead. So keep witnessing, and keep praying, not because your words are strong, but because God’s call is. And do not forget yourself: the same Spirit who converted you continues His work in you, and He will not stop halfway.
A PRAYER OF SUPPLICATION
Sovereign Spirit of God, I ask You for what only You can give. Call to those I love who still sit at the tax booth — unmoved, uninterested, far from Christ — and make them rise and follow Him. Speak with the voice that wakes the dead. And work in me still: soften what remains hard in my heart, incline my will to Your Word today, and draw me nearer to Jesus than I was yesterday. I ask it in His name. Amen.