A Tax Collector Summoned
When Jesus pronounced the paralytic’s sins “forgiven,” he offended the sensibilities of the scribes and Pharisees, the allies if not representatives of the Temple authorities in Jerusalem. Then he alienated them further by reaching out to “sinners” that were considered especially unclean by the more scrupulously religious men and leaders of Israel. The Nazarene summoned ordinary men to follow him, including fishermen and tax collectors. Observing him eating with the latter, his opponents insinuated he must be a notorious sinner.
Tax collectors were despised in first-century
Jewish society. Their occupation required them to handle a variety of
currencies from both pagan and Jewish sources, and they interacted with men
from all walks of life.
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| [Photo by Davide Cantelli on Unsplash] |
Physical contact with pagan symbols and Gentiles meant that tax collectors were often in a state of ritual impurity. And many patriotic Jews considered them collaborators with the hated Roman overlords.
- (Mark 2:13-17) - “And he went forth again by the sea, and all the multitude was coming to him, and he began teaching them. And passing by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting over the tax-office, and he says to him: Follow me! And arising, he followed him. And it came to pass that he was reclining in his house, and many tax-collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they began following him. And the Scribes and Pharisees seeing that he was eating with the sinners and the tax-collectors began saying to his disciples: He is eating with the tax-collectors and sinners! And hearing it, Jesus said to them: No need have the strong of a physician, but they who are sick, I came not to call the righteous but sinners” – (Parallel passages: Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32).
Most likely, this man called ‘Levi’ is
identical to the 'Matthew' named in Matthew 9:9. It was common for a Jewish man
to have two or more names. As a publican, he was in the service
of Herod Antipas.
The Romans collected poll and land taxes
directly. Taxes on transported goods were farmed out to local tax collectors
who bid on contracts with the Roman authorities to gather preset amounts of tax
revenues. Whatever sums they collected over the contracted amount became their profit.
Observant Jews avoided this kind of
employment since it required them to engage in transactions with Gentiles, putting
their ritual purity at risk. Here, the actions of Jesus were viewed as
especially scandalous. He was associating with politically objectionable and
ceremonially unclean men, and he compounded his offense by eating with tax
collectors and “sinners.”
Table fellowship was of great importance to observant Jews, especially the Pharisees, and eating with less observant Jews put their own ritual purity at risk. The category of “sinners” might include immoral individuals, but in this case, the term includes individuals considered ritually impure regardless of any greater moral failures.
The sect of the Pharisees adhered
strictly to the Mosaic Law and the developing body of oral traditions that interpreted
the regulations of the Torah, the so-called “tradition of the elders.”
Many of those traditions were concerned with matters of ritual purity (e.g.,
dietary restrictions, Sabbath regulations). So much so, that their traditions often
went beyond what the Mosaic Law required.
The priests that officiated in the Temple
lived under stricter purity requirements than the rest of Israel. The Pharisees
desired to implement that same level of ritual purity in the daily lives of all
Jews.
The concluding statement by Jesus
emphasizes that his messianic mission was about redemption. He came to
redeem that which was lost. The version found in the Gospel of Matthew
adds the words - “Go and learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
