Smoodock's Blog

Perhaps, IRS agents get a bad rap today. After all, who loves to pay taxes? When you go shopping you come home with a product you can see, hear, feel, taste or smell, vis-à-vis you get something tangible for your money. What do you get, when you pay taxes? You get politicians you don’t trust and many of them you voted against. To be sure you also get someone like a fireman, but who expects to have a fire in one’s home? You often get the sense that you’re paying these folks to serve someone else in the community, and you don’t ever benefit from what you’re paying for.[1] Nevertheless, this is the trade Matthew was known to be a part of, and probably his chosen field for employment. Did he enjoy what he did for a living, or did he regret his choice of employment?

If we can agree that Jesus began his public ministry during the harvest season (cp. Matthew 12:1), during the fall of a certain year, we can conclude that Matthew’s call to discipleship came during the height of the taxing season. After leaving what we assume was his house in Capernaum (Matthew 9:1, cp. Mark 2:1), Jesus came to the place where Matthew was sitting in his booth, collecting taxes (Matthew 9:9), and Jesus said to him “Follow me!”. Unless we wish to admit Jesus had a secret or mysterious power over people, we must assume Matthew and Jesus knew one another. Whether they knew one another prior to Jesus’ public ministry is a matter of conjecture. However, if we wish to be reasonable, the logical conclusion is that they did know one another prior to Jesus’ calling Matthew to become his disciple. Both Mark and Luke agree that Matthew immediately arose and followed Jesus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), and Luke adds that he left everything (Luke 5:28).

It seems to me that Matthew’s immediate response suggests that he longed for acceptance in Jewish society. He was a Jew, in the land of the Jews, but as a publican, he would have been ostracized by his own people, and they classified him with harlots and sinners (Matthew 21:31-32). Thus, it appears, at least to me, that Matthew probably regretted his choice of vocation, and did not hesitate at the opportunity to change his course in life (Matthew 9:9).

Apparently and almost immediately afterward, Matthew threw a feast in his own home in honor of Jesus (Matthew 9:10; Luke 5:29). When we consider who the other guests were, we can conclude that Matthew had no friends in normal Jewish society. Everyone at the feast were either other publicans or those, whom the text labels sinners (Matthew 9:10), which may be called harlots elsewhere (cp. Matthew 21:31-32).

Religious folks, like the Pharisees, were shocked! Why would another religious man, a rabbi in fact, wish to eat with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:11)? Therefore, perhaps thinking they had found the matter, concerning which they might accuse him and destroy his ministry (cp. Matthew 12:10), the Pharisees approached some of Jesus’ disciples to ask why Jesus ate with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:11). In other words, intimacy and familiarity is assumed, when one eats and drinks with folks (cp. Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34).

However, when Jesus heard how the Pharisees questioned his disciples, he turned their question around and showed their thinking was illogical. He used the analogy of a physician and a patient. Obviously, one does not assume the doctor is sick, if he is with a patient. Yet, his presence is needed, if the patient wishes to get well (Matthew 9:12). Therefore, he challenged them to consider what the text means to desire mercy rather than sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Hosea has the Lord sending the people prophets to change their ways, saying he slayed them with his word and his judgment to give them light. Thus, God would rather have a changed heart than the sacrifice of a sinner in formal worship (Hosea 6:5-6). Why would God or Jesus, his Servant wish to call the righteous to change his ways? Such a thing simply isn’t logical. It is the sinner who needs to repent, and it is the sick who need a physician (Matthew 9:13).

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[1] Of course, there are positive reasons for taxes, but I’m pointing out the negative prospects, because many people don’t really like tax collectors.