MATTHEW, THE TAX COLLECTOR
INTRODUCTION
A. (Lu.6:12-16) In Luke’s catalogue of apostles, we discover the 7th apostle is “Matthew.”
a. contraction of Mattahias
b. name means “gift of Jehovah”
B. (Mr.2:14) From this passage we learn that Matthew’s father named was Alphaeus. Another apostle (James) is identified as “the son of Alphaeus.” Even though both Matthew & James had a father named Alphaues, they were not likely one & the same. If Matthew & James were brothers, likely it would have been mentioned as in the case of Peter & Andrew, as well as James & John.
C. From the biblical records of his calling, we learn that Matthew’s home was in Capernaum. Capernaum was a seacoast town located on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee.
A. (Mr.2:13,14) In 1st century Galilee, there was a large population surrounding the Sea of Galilee. This sea provided a source of employment for many local residences – commercial fishing, food for the local merchants to sell, boats, nets, & other fishing paraphernalia. It also provided another business opportunity – tax collecting.
B. Stationed near the sea, the Romans set up a tax office for the purpose of extracting toll or transport taxes from fishermen, local merchants, farmers carrying their goods to market, & from passing caravans.
C. The Roman senate had found it convenient to farm out the job of tax collecting to the people they called the publican. They granted contracts to the equites, the richest class of Romans, who then formed stock companies. Each company would appoint a managing director who would then appoint submanagers in the provinces. Under the submanagers were the publicans, who were in daily contact with the various classes of the population.
a. encouraged by their superiors to tax the people fraudulently (Matthew was likely a rich man)
b. regarded as gougers, traitors, & apostates (defiled by their association with the Romans & occupation
c. worked their shrewd minds overtime trying to come up with new ways to tax the people – levying taxes on “on axles, wheels, pack animals, pedestrians, roads, highways; admission to markets; bridges, ships, crossing rivers
d. if they saw a person with a lot of supplies they could set up booths anywhere they please & stopped travelers & make them unload their pack animals & then go & rummage through their belongings, private letters, & other personal things & then leave the mess for the upset traveler to re-pack & reload
e. Roman law demanded you pay whatever the tax collector required
D. It is no surprise to learn that tax collectors were much hated by their fellow Jews.
a. William Barclay - “there was no class of men in the ancient world more hated than tax gatherers”
b. ancient records of both pagan and Jewish sources reveal that tax collectors were looked down upon and regarded to be on the same level as harlots, thieves, and other reprobates
c. their only friends were people like them, people who were regarded as moral and social outcasts. When Matthew wanted to honor Jesus with a feast, his guest list were “…many tax collectors and sinners…” (Mr.2:15,16)
d. so despised were tax collectors by their fellow Jews that they were deemed incapable of bearing testimony in a Jewish court
A. (Lu.6:12-16) In spite of Matthew’s former occupation & the hatred many Jews felt toward him, Jesus called him to be a disciple and also an apostle.
a. like Simon called the Zealot, Matthew’s call rejects the wisdom of the world that wouldn’t have him
b. his call tells us that the most despised of men God can save & use (1Tim.1:14-16)
c. it tells us that God looks at a person for what they can become & not what they are
B. There are some other valuable lessons we can deride from Matthew the Apostle.
a. his decision to exchange a wealthy profession for riches unseen tell us he was looking ahead
a. unlike the rich young ruler (Mt.19:16-23)
b. like Moses (Heb.11:24-26)
c. illustration of Jim Waldron’s son & family
b. as a former tax collector Matthew knew the value of goods, such as: wool, flax, linen, pottery, brass, silver, gold, barley, wheat, olives, figs, wheat, etc. But he also knows the value of a soul (Mt.16:26)
c. whereas in the past Matthew had used his skill of record keeping to enrich himself, not he uses his skill of writing to pen the gospel of Jesus Christ
d. in the past he was interested in building his own interest, now he uses his skills for Christ’s interest (Mt.6:33)
C.
Tradition says Matthew preached in Judea some 15 years & then went
to foreign nations – Ethiopia, Macedonia, Syria, Persia, etc. Legend says he
was killed in Ethiopia. All we know from the biblical record is that after he
is mentioned in the list of the 12 apostles in
(Mt.9:9) Matthew the tax collector hear the call of Jesus & left behind his material
security for something of much greater value – entrance into the kingdom of God
(Mt.21:31).
Will you do the same?