He acknowledges those who acknowledge themselves
Jesus has His preferences. At the table and on the road, while eating and drinking, when walking and crossing cities and villages, He prefers the company of those whom the religious system considers sinners and the legal system criminals. Jesus has an indisputable preference for those people. Why? Because they acknowledge themselves, the others do not. The man who acknowledges his errors and acknowledges that he can commit errors is a man who is acknowledged by Jesus and immediately has His preference. The man who does not acknowledge his errors and conceals them so that he can blame them on others, is not acknowledged by Jesus and does not have His preference. Jesus knows perfectly well that all men commit errors and sins, inflict and receive wounds; He knows perfectly well that we face infinite temptations and that we are very vulnerable, sinners, i.e. that we do not have good aim with respect to the evangelical procedures and God's straight road. The Greek term amartìa, "sin" literally means "wrong aim, error in aiming". Jesus knows that errors are part of our journey and of our progression towards God and love. Any step, even if a wrong one, is a step towards a higher truth and longing for goodness and beauty. That day, along the seaside, where others had been called, Matthew too is summoned, not because he was the best but because he was ready to acknowledge himself and to be acknowledged. He was ready to acknowledge that he was in error without hiding himself and without fear, without judgement, and guilty feelings; he was ready to humiliate his ego and his reputation to enlighten his life with a new light. Matthew was ready to change, to progress, to grow and thus be acknowledged by the Master to be summoned to follow the Master. Jesus cannot be physician for those who do not acknowledge themselves as ill, he cannot be a remedy for those who do not acknowledge that they are weak and wounded. Jesus cannot be liberation and life for those who do not acknowledge that they are slaves and dying, Jesus cannot be knowledge and restoration to wholeness for those who do not acknowledge that they are ignorant and out of balance with regard to the axis of divine life. Jesus acknowledges those who acknowledge themselves by how they acknowledge themselves.