Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew the Tax Collector
“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Market day was always a busy day for Matthew. As a collector of Roman taxes, it was Matthew’s job to ensure that everyone coming to market paid their fair share plus whatever he decided to add on top. Matthew was really lenient; he only charged 5% above the government tax as personal revenue. Other tax collectors might charge 10% or even 20%.
The market was crowded and Matthew could hear the din of traders crying out their wares for people to buy, buyers haggling with sellers, donkeys braying, cocks crowing, and sheep and goats baaing. Matthew was busy recording his receipts when a shadow fell on his small table. Looking up, Matthew saw that carpenter from Nazareth that everybody had been talking about. Generally, people would cringe in dread when they saw Matthew, wondering how much he would demand from them. But this Jesus was looking at Matthew with eyes of love. Matthew couldn’t remember the last time anyone had looked at him like that. Jesus lifted his eyebrows as his gaze pierced Matthew’s heart and said, “Matthew, follow me.”
Suddenly, following Jesus was the most natural thing for Matthew to do. Rolling up the recording scrolls, Matthew placed his table and chair back in the corner and followed Jesus out of the marketplace. Matthew handed in his records to his supervisor and said, “Zakaria, give these to the next man to take my place. I quit.” Zakaria, Matthew’s supervisor, was shocked. Matthew was the most productive of all the tax collectors. What could possibly be happening? Matthew stopped, turned, and said, “If you want to know why I’ve taken this decision, come to lunch at my house today and you’ll understand.”
Lunch that day was a revelation. All Matthew’s friends showed up, along with a number of others who were frankly curious. When Jesus and his disciples came in, the buzz of conversation stopped. There was an air about Jesus, an air of sanctity and an air of peace. But what those at the table felt the most was love, unconditional love.
There was nothing pretentious about Jesus; he joked and laughed and teased those around him as if they had been good friends for years. But as those at table listened, they realized their hard hearts were becoming softer. Here was a man who knew exactly what they had been doing but who loved them anyway. Here was a man who believed that there was still hope for them and that God was calling them to Himself.
Meanwhile, just outside Matthew’s door, the town’s religious leaders were fuming. Why were all these undesirables invited to eat with Jesus? Actually, the religious leaders had also been invited; however, they refused to enter for fear of making themselves unclean. Who did these people think they were anyway? The head religious leader called Peter out and queried him. “
“Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Just as Peter is scrambling for an answer, Jesus comes to the door. Smiling, Jesus addresses the head of the group. “Rev Shmuel, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus is doing four things here: he is calling Matthew to be a disciple, he is calling Matthew’s friends and associates to repent and come to God, he is demonstrating God’s love to his disciples, and he is also reaching out to the local religious leaders.
For centuries, the all-absorbing question for religious leaders has been “What must we do to to please God?” In the process, religious leaders have developed a system with so many minutiae that observing all these rules has become a full-time job, something completely beyond the reach of normal people. But in the process of observing the rules, people have lost sight of God and His mercy. Now Jesus enters the scene and explodes all the taboos, leaving religious leaders who don’t love God reeling.
As far as the disciples are concerned, Matthew the tax collector doesn’t look like promising disciple material. This guy has been in bed with the Roman government, not to mention associating with some of the most unsavory characters in town. But Jesus knows Matthew’s heart and today is the day for Matthew to repent, to come to God, and to begin a long and fruitful career as a disciple. It’s interesting to note that despite the fact that Matthew is the one writing this account, he writes as a disinterested observer, not in the first person.
What must the disciples be thinking as they realize that Matthew has just joined them as the newest disciple? The good thing is that many of these men are pragmatic fishermen, more interested in what works than in preconceived notions, and they also have complete faith in Jesus and his judgment. “Let’s wait and see how this works,” is probably the general sentiment.
We are quite prone to judge by appearances while God knows our hearts. As the Son of God, Jesus knows the end from the beginning and he knows those who will follow to the end. While we can’t imagine some people making good disciples, Jesus already knows that some of the best disciples are those who have led the roughest lives and who have previously suffered, for they won’t quit when things get tough. Today, Jesus is offering us the same opportunity he offered Matthew: follow Jesus. Come be a disciple. Will things be easy? No. Will things be difficult? Most likely. But it’s far better to follow the One who loves you completely than to try to elicit love from those who cannot give it.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help each of us to realize that You are calling us to be disciples, here and now, just as we are. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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