The Disciples - Part 2

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13 ESV). The next disciple in our series is Matthew. He is also called Levi by Mark and Luke. He was a tax collector. There was not a more unloved position in all the land. Tax collectors made a good living. They were generally despised by their fellow Jews and merely tolerated by their Roman employers. Tax collectors were creative in finding ways to tax the people. To have this position meant that he had sold out to the Roman officials and was willing to squeeze money from his own people. Being allowed to keep all extra money he collected, it was an opportunity to get rich at the expense of others. Matthew may have been from the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Judah largely absorbed the tribe of Levi after the kingdom of Judah had been exiled and returned from Babylon several centuries prior. Matthew was probably fluent in Greek and Aramaic. Greek was the official language while Aramaic was the local dialect. Matthew was literate and an educated writer and scribe. It is also believed that he knew a form of shorthand called tachygraphy. This may be the reason why he was able to write the detailed accounts of Christ’s spoken sermons including the long Sermon on the Mount. In contrast to Matthew, there is another story of another wealthy young man (cf.: Matthew 19). Matthew willingly chose to follow Christ. The young man placed material wealth over spiritual wealth. This is so common in the present. There is almost a quest for the dollar above all other considerations. But at what price? Is the dollar worth more than a child’s first step? Is the dollar more important than self worth? What price are you willing to pay? Do you want the rewards of this Earth or do you want the rewards in heaven? Matthew was posed these same questions. He had worldly possessions and wealth. He quickly gave up wealth for a devotion to Christ! He actually could have been a problem for Jesus. By accepting Matthew, Jesus put His reputation on the line. The fact that Jesus accepted such "scum", as the world would call Matthew, meant that anyone could come to Christ! This was not a popular position to take in such a legalistic religion. Matthew was ready to believe and Christ was ready to accept him. It was a perfect match. After all, Jesus had come to save sinners. Aren't you glad Jesus accepted Matthew? Aren't you glad that even Matthew was not too far for the grace of God to reach? Are you, like Matthew, ready to drop and give up everything for the sake of His call?