The Tax Collector

Mark 2:14-17
14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

What is a tax collector?

• The lowest of the low – the scum of the earth. They were hated so much because they turned their backs on their own people and sided with the enemy – Rome.
• They were dishonest men, taking money that did not belong to them

Matthew was a great Jew – he knew his scriptures

• why was Matthew a Tax collector? Was he fed up with the religion of the day? Was he tired of the religious leaders saying all these things that didn’t match up with the scriptures?

Matthew followed immediately.

• That said, it doesn’t mean that Matthew never saw Jesus before. It is quite likely that he did. He probably wanted Jesus to call him, but never thought that he would. He probably thought he was too great a sinner for Jesus to love.
• God can forgive ANY sin
• We need to be ready to do like Matthew and immediately follow the call of Jesus.

Matthew doesn’t know enough to tell people about Jesus so he does something even better – he brings someone who can. Jesus himself!

• we can also set up situations where we bring together non-believers with believers who can help us speak to them about Jesus

We must spread the news to the ungodly, but we must not become like them!

• There is a danger that when we live in the world, we stay or become like the world
• We must always remember to live in the world, but not to be as a part of the world

Jesus saw it no great deal to speak with the hated tax collectors.

• The Pharisees thought it in poor taste
• Are we more like Jesus or the Pharisees?

Notice the Pharisees speak to the disciples and not to Jesus himself.

• you will find many times that those who want to bring division within our ranks, will speak to the members and not to the leaders. We should beware these people because their goals are never to bring a solution but to drive a wedge.
• Proverbs tells us about these people and says that God hates them (Prov 6:16-19)

Even though the Pharisees wanted Jesus to leave the sinners, Jesus would not do this.

• Are we ready to go against what the world would have us do to spread the gospel message?
• Or are we going to listen to what the religious folk would have us believe?

Jesus came to heal the sick, not the righteous

• we are all sinners, none are righteous.
• But some of us think we are righteous
• Jesus can do nothing for those people
• A doctor can only bring healing to a patient that know they are sick and calls on the doctor for healing
• If a patient never calls on the doctor, they will die of their illness without ever having the doctor see them.
• Jesus will bring healing and salvation to those who know they need him, but to those who think they do not, he will not be their
• He stands at the door and knocks (Rev 3)
• Bless are the poor in spirit, they will inherit the earth (Matt 5)

We should recognize what the story of Levi is telling us. We are waiting for an answer to our spiritual problem. Jesus is here. He is not the religion that we see today, he is a real person who loves and cares about everyone. We need to be poor enough in spirit and honest enough to recognize that we are sick, that we need help. And He will help us regardless of what we’ve done in our past. He has already died for that.

We must see that not only ourselves, but our loved ones need Jesus’ love and care. That without Jesus, they are dying in their illness. We need to show them Jesus. If we can’t answer their questions, we need to bring them together with someone who can. We need to do whatever we can to show them the God that loves them before it is too late.

Send mail to david@TheArkNY.org with questions about the church or comments about this site.
Last modified: Nov 26, 2006