Knowing The Word in Matthew 9

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 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. [In Capernaum, Matthew probably was what we would call a customs official, as trade routes passed through there by land and water. Both his profession and that of the tax collectors were considered unclean and despised by the Jews. Jesus called an outcast to follow him, and he responded to this offer of acceptance and followed immediately. Luke and Mark call this man Levi. Compare with Simon and Peter, two names for one man.]

10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house [Luke clarifies this as Levi’s], behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. [To share a meal was a sign of intimacy and of Jesus’ willingness to identify himself with the undesirable, a prominent feature of this Gospel’s portrait of Jesus.] 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. [Hosea 6:6]’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” [The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees lies in their conception of priorities in the will of God. For the Pharisees the first priority is obedience to regulations, for Jesus a mission to people. A healer must get his hands dirty. This is the gospel.]