Overcomer for the OUTCAST: Jesus came for the outcast

Matthew 9:9-13 | As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”  When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

• At the time of Jesus, how were the tax collectors and disreputable sinners (people whose sin was known to others) treated like outcasts? 

• Today, who are some people who are treated like outcasts? 

• How was Jesus’ treatment of the outcast different than everyone else’s? 

  • What did His actions communicate to the outcast? 

  • What did His actions communicate to the Pharisees (or “in crowd”)? 

• What can you learn from Jesus’ example?

  • Who are you or people around you treating like an outcast? 

  • How can you show God’s love to the outcasts in your life?