The Booth Left Empty
Matthew 9:9
Matthew was at work when Jesus found him. Not praying in the temple, not searching for meaning; instead, he was collecting taxes, doing the job that made him a traitor in the eyes of his own people. Tax collectors were seen as thieves who worked for Rome, extorting their own neighbours for profit. If anyone had a resume disqualifying them from being a disciple, it was Matthew.
Jesus didn’t send someone ahead to vet him. He didn’t wait for Matthew to clean up his life first. He simply said, “Follow Me” — and Matthew got up and left the booth exactly as it was.
That’s something worth our consideration. The call came before the change. Matthew didn’t become a different man and then follow Jesus; he followed Jesus and became a different man. Grace runs in that order every time.
Many of us quietly believe we need to tidy up before we come to Christ — that faith is for people who have already sorted themselves out. But the gospel doesn’t work that way. Jesus specialises in unlikely people. He still walks past booths today, past desks and job sites and ordinary Tuesdays, and says the same two words: “Follow Me.”
The only real question Matthew’s story leaves us with is simple: is your booth still occupied?