Jesus Calls Matthew

Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus lived in Capernaum, a fishing town by a lake called the Sea of Galilee.

A man named Matthew lived near Capernaum. Matthew was a tax collector. His job was to collect money from the people to give to the king. Matthew had a booth where people came to pay their taxes, or money for the king. It was a law, so they had to give their money to Matthew. Sometimes Matthew collected more money than the king asked for. Matthew kept the extra money for himself so he could get rich. That was stealing. Some of Matthew’s tax collector friends stole money too. People called Matthew and his friends “sinners" because they stole money.

One day, Jesus was walking down the road where Matthew’s booth was. Jesus saw Matthew in his booth. He walked over to Matthew. He loved Matthew and wanted Matthew to learn to love Him. Jesus wanted Matthew to stop stealing. He wanted Matthew to be one of His special helpers. So Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow Me.”

Matthew knew Jesus was special. Right away, Matthew got up and followed Jesus. Later, Jesus and His friends had dinner at Matthew’s house. Many of Matthew’ s friends, who were tax collectors and “sinners,” came to eat, too. Matthew wanted them to meet Jesus.

Some people were not happy to see Jesus eating with Matthew and his friends. They didn't think Jesus should be friendly to people who had done bad things. They said, “Why is Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus wasn’t worried about what those people said. He was glad to eat with Matthew and the other people because He loved them.

Jesus said, “I came so that everyone would follow Me, even sinners. I came to teach everyone about God.” Jesus was glad Matthew followed Him and became one of His helpers. Jesus wants us to follow Him, too.

Bible Paraphrase: He cares for you. (Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

Text Truth: Jesus wants us to follow Him.

Activities You Can Do at Home

Important People and Things

• Name things that are important to you. 
• Help your child name people who are important to him, such as a teacher or grandparent. 
• Talk about how everyone is important to Jesus. 
• Encourage your child to say with you the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Follow the Leader

• Play the game “Follow The Leader” with your child.
• Have your child pretend to be Matthew collecting money. 
• Come up to your child and say, “Follow me.” 
• Lead your child through the house walking, crawling, tiptoeing, etc. 
• When you find someone else in the house, tell them, “Follow me.” 
• Remind your child that Jesus wants us to follow Him.

Edible Money Bag 

You’ll Need: slices of cheese, circle cookie cutters, pita pockets 

• Remind your child that before Matthew followed Jesus, he was a tax collector. 
• Make coins using slices of cheese and various circle cookie cutters. 
• Let your child count the coins as she places them in a pita pocket money bag before enjoying a tasty snack. 
• Encourage your child to say with you the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Money Bag / Story Bag

You’ll Need: Bible, paper, crayons or washable markers, tape, scissors, round container lids, grocery bag or tote bag

• Pre-cut the sheets of paper to the size and shape of the container lids.
• With your child, make simple drawings of several events in the story (Matthew collecting money, Jesus talking with Matthew, Matthew following Jesus, Jesus eating at Matthew’s house).
• Tape the drawings onto the lids and place in the bag.
• Open the Bible to Matthew 9.
• Have your child take the “money” (lids) out of the money bag and place them in order while retelling the story. 
• Encourage your child to say with you the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 

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