Matthew 9:1-13

Let us notice our Lord's knowledge of men's thoughts.
Let us notice the wonderful call of the apostle Matthew to be Christ's disciple.
Let us observe Matthew's decision.
Let us notice our Lord's precious declaration about His own mission.

"Surely we ought to be very humble when we consider these things. We ought to thank God daily that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all sin."

"Let us never despair of any one's salvation. Let us pray on, and speak on, and work on to do good to souls, even to the souls of the worst."

"The first thing needful, in order to have an interest in Christ, is to feel deeply our own corruption, and to be willing to come to Him for deliverance. We are not to keep away from Christ, as many ignorantly do, because we feel bad, and wicked, and unworthy. We are to remember that sinners are those He came into the world to save, and that if we feel ourselves such, it is well. Happy is he who really comprehends that one principal qualification for coming to Christ is a deep sense of sin!"

Questions:

We see that Jesus had the ability to read minds, which among other things, is evidence of His being God. Ryle would have us consider, though, that the same Jesus that could read the Pharisees hearts, knows us the same. He asks, "What do we think of, in private, when no man sees us? What do we think of, in church, when we seem so grave and serious? What are we thinking of at this moment, while these words pass under our eyes?" (or in this case, while you hear these words). What does it do to our hearts that no thought of ours is hidden from God's sight? Does it produce humility like Ryle suggests?
We see Matthew, a hated tax collector, turn to Christ upon being called to follow Him. Ryle encourages us that there is no heart so hard that cannot be turned and that we should not give up praying for those we feel are impossible to be saved. Is there anyone like that in your life? Take some time to pray for them now.
We see that the entire reason Jesus came was to save sinners by calling them to repent. We see that the qualification for coming to Christ is to see our need for Christ. This is completely the opposite of what many think, namely that I can only come to Christ if I get my life together or something like that. So, this is good news! The truth is that we will never get our lives together to God's standard, and so what is needful is to feel our corruption - our sin and unworthiness - and come to Jesus for deliverance. Have you been deceived in thinking that you just need to get your life together? Have you felt your need for Christ and come to Him in faith, trusting His promise for cleansing? If not, would you ask, as Psalm 51:3 says, that you would know that your transgressions and sin is ever before you? I would encourage you to read Psalm 51 and make it your prayer.