Matthew (Tax Collector)

Matthew 9:9-12

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus. That means Jesus was his teacher. And the word gospel means “good news!”

We begin with a man named Matthew. People didn’t like Matthew because he had made some bad choices that made them very mad! And nobody really wanted to be his friend.


One day, Jesus came to town. Jesus is God’s Son. He is SUPER special and amazing. He could have talked to anyone in town, but can you guess who He talked to? 


Jesus talked to Matthew! Jesus walked right up to Matthew and said, “Follow me!” Jesus loved Matthew, no matter what, and wanted to be his friend.


Later, Jesus went to have dinner at Matthew’s house. Guess who else wanted to have dinner with Jesus? Everyone! Everyone is a LOT of people. 


Some people were confused when they saw Jesus eating with these people. They asked, “Why would Jesu want to be friends with someone who makes bad choices?” I’ll tell you why! Because Jesus wants to be friends with EVERYONE! He wants to be friends with me and you! Everyone can be friends with Jesus.






Bible Paraphrase: “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. —Matthew 4:19, NIrV

Text Truth: Everyone can be friends with Jesus, even if they did something wrong.



Family Devotional

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

Our Bible story was about a man named Matthew. Did Jesus want to be Matthew’s friend? Yes, He sure did! Did Matthew follow Jesus when Jesus told him to? Matthew got right up and followed Jesus. Why were people surprised that Jesus was Matthew’s friend? Matthew had done something wrong, but Jesus still loved him and wanted to be his friend because everyone can be friends with Jesus!

“‘Come and follow me,’ Jesus said.” —Matthew 4:19, NIrV

Everyone can be friends with Jesus. So, with your family, make a list of people you know. It can be anyone because everyone can be friends with Jesus!

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, Thank You for sending Jesus to be our friend forever. Thank You that (read the names your family wrote) and (name each family member) can all be friends with Jesus. Thank You that everyone can be friends with Jesus! We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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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 license.
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