Matthew
sitting in the tax office
To Jews of his day, that single phrase established Matthew as the most despised, vile, and corrupt man in Capernaum.
Matthew was a publicani (publican), a man who served occupying Rome against his own people as a collector of taxes. By the nature of his position, his first loyalty had to be to Rome. Nationals of a province occupied by Rome could buy franchises that entitled them to levy certain taxes on the populace and on travelers. A franchise required collecting a specified amount of taxes for Rome and allowed anything collected beyond that figure to be kept as personal profit. Because his power of taxation was virtually unlimited and was enforced by the Roman military, the owner of a tax franchise in effect had a license for extortion. For those reasons the publicani were understandably considered traitors by their own people and were usually even more despised than Roman officials or soldiers.
Many tax collectors would accept bribes from the wealthy to reduce and falsify their taxes and would then exact proportionately more from the middle and lower classes, making themselves hated still more. They amassed great fortunes under the authority of the oppressor and at the expense of their own countrymen.
Most Jews believed that the only proper government over them was a theocracy-the rule of God through His appointed leaders such as they experienced under Moses, the judges, and the Jewish monarchy. Because they considered any foreign rule over them to be illicit, they considered taxation by any such government as both unjust and unholy. Taxation by Rome was therefore not only extortive but also made them compromise both their patriotism and their religion. It was those convictions that prompted the Pharisees to ask Jesus if it was proper to pay taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:17). For Jesus to have answered yes would in their minds have marked Him both as a traitor and a reprobate.
It was to Matthew, a small mokhe, the most despised of the despicable, to whom Jesus said, Follow Me! It was clear to early readers of Matthew’s gospel, as it was clear to those who witnessed this amazing encounter, that Jesus extended His forgiveness even to the outcasts of society.
Because of Jesus’ considerable teaching and miracle working in the region around Capernaum. Matthew would have been well acquainted with His ministry, whether or not he had personally listened to Jesus preach or seen Him perform a miracle. And although he did not seek Jesus out as did the centurion (Matt. 8:5) and the paralytic (9:2), Matthew seems to have been yearning for the forgiveness that the perverted system of Judaism told him he could never have. Therefore, when the Lord called him, he immediately rose, and followed Him.
Because of his modesty, Matthew does not mention the fact, but Luke tells us that the moment Jesus called him, Matthew “left everything behind, and rose and began to follow Him” (Luke 5:28). That simple call by Jesus was more than enough reason for Matthew to turn his back on everything he was and possessed. Because of his position as an agent of Rome, he knew that once he forsook his post he would never be able to return to it. He knew the cost and willingly paid it. Of all the disciples, Matthew doubtlessly made the greatest sacrifice of material possessions; yet he himself makes no mention of it. He felt with Paul that “whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).
When a person is truly converted, he cannot leave his old life fast enough. His old habits, standards, and practices no longer appeal to him and he gladly longs to leave them behind. Far from being depressed about what he left behind, his heart overflowed with joy. He lost a career but gained a ministry, lost his material possessions but gained a spiritual fortune, lost his temporal security but gained eternal life.
Like many new converts, Matthew’s first thought was to tell his friends about the Savior. He was so overwhelmed that he threw a banquet to present Jesus to his friends-all of whom, as tax-gatherers and sinners, were social and religious outcasts. We learn from Mark (2:15) and Luke (5:29) that the banquet was in Matthew’s own house, another fact that he modestly omits in his own account.
The tax-gatherers no doubt included the local gabbai of Capernaum and perhaps even some fellow mokhes from neighboring communities. The sinners doubtlessly included robbers, murderers, drunkards, prostitutes, and other irreligious and ungodly people. They were the riffraff of the area and must have been intrigued and touched by the prospect of dining with Jesus, whom they knew to be a teacher of righteousness, and His disciples.
The Jews of Jesus’ day used the term harnartōloi (sinners) almost as a technical term for people who had no concern or respect either for the Mosaic law or rabbinic traditions. They were looked on as the vilest and most wretched and worthless of all people. Yet it was some of these that Jesus and His disciples joined at the banquet in Matthew’s house.[1]
[1] MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (Mt 9:9). Chicago: Moody Press.