The tax collectors in Jesus’ day worked for the Roman Empire to collect taxes from the Jewish, which brought benefits to the Romans not for the Jewish, and maintained the Romans’ control over the Jewish territory to oppress them more and more. This duty was often done in unethical ways, like harassing people, taxing over and over by different tax collectors and with inflated analysis over people’s properties and income so they could get higher taxes. When people couldn’t pay the taxes, the tax collectors gave loans and charged them high interests as private debts. There’s nothing the Jewish could do, such as asking for a law enforcement, as the judges also were paid from the taxes. Many times the tax collectors were accompanied by the Roman soldiers representing the authority of the Roman Empire. No wonder they were seen as wicked people, excluded by other Jewish, excommunicated by the rabbis in the synagogues and utter disgraces to their own families. (Source: https://www.evidenceunseen.com/theology/historical-theology/tax-collectors/ )
Can you imagine Lord Jesus
develops friendship and close contact with the tax collectors even chooses one
of them as part of his twelve companions on Earth (Matthew ‐ the Apostle)? Yes.
That's why the Pharisees were shocked, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and
sinners?” (v.1). While many of us might maintain our so‐called ‘purity’ like
the Pharisees did by avoiding some people and surrounding ourselves with ‘good
people’ only, Jesus approaches these people and shows them the grace of
God.
All were sitting and eating together: Jesus, His disciples, the tax collectors and sinners. Let’s see them in another way: Jesus Christ and (merely) human beings. Because Apostle Paul in Romans 3:23 said,”… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” However, until we realize that we are sinners, that we are sick, we will not come to Him. We are either too proud to consider ourselves as sinners or losing our sensitivity on sinful things. On the other hand, we also could be overwhelmed with our sins that we choose to stay away from Him. We are desperate, unable to save ourselves but have nowhere to go.
Jesus Christ understands our nature as sinners. He knows that we need Him, as He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” People who were perceived as ‘sinners’ came and ate together with him at the house of Levi, the tax collector (v.15). The sinners saw there was hope for them as well, when the tax collectors were welcomed to sit and eat with the Lord. The same hope is still open for us all who are tired with the old sinful habits. Let’s come to the Great Physician, who is constantly calling us, to be healed and have a new life in Him.
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