An Unexpected Invitation – June 12, 2026

About this episode

This episode discusses Jesus' unexpected invitation to Matthew, a tax collector, highlighting themes of acceptance and love.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260612dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9 An Unexpected Invitation People often draw conclusions about others based on the people they associate with. And so, there may be people you don’t want to be seen with, so people don’t think less of you. Are you ever the one someone stays away from? That can really hurt, especially if the person avoiding you is someone people look up to, or someone from whom you crave acceptance and love. Jesus approached a man named Matthew one day. He was someone people usually avoided. Not just because he was a tax collector, and people didn’t want to pay taxes. But because tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire, which oppressed Israel. And tax collectors could demand more taxes than were required and keep the difference for themselves. Jesus approached Matthew that day. “Follow me,” he said. Jesus wasn’t showing him how to get to a location across town. Jesus was calling him to be his…

People in this episode

Host: What About Jesus

Topics covered

• invitation
• discipleship
• acceptance
• love
• reputation

Keywords

• Jesus
• Matthew
• tax collector
• discipleship
• invitation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Roman Empire

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