The Tax Collector

Matthew 9:9"As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he rose and followed him."We learn later that this tax collector, was none other than the great disciple, Matthew, who wrote that book of the Bible. But the first thing we need to know as we seek a lesson in today's scripture is how unloved, maybe even hated the tax collectors were in the times when Jesus walked the earth as a man, a teacher, a Jewish rabbi.Tax collectors worked for the occupying Roman Empire and were mistrusted and even hated by the Israelites. Many, if not most, tax collectors, were dishonest to boot – collecting far more than was required. Their greed often lined not only the coffers of the State, but the pockets of the tax collector. Yet, here was Jesus, walking by, calling one of them to follow him!Matthew tells us in verses 10-12 that this Tax Collector, Matthew did follow Jesus and took him to dinner with a bunch of other hated Tax Collectors at Matt's house. Some Pharisees who were the keepers of the Jewish laws, saw Jesus eating there and asked His disciples why Jesus was eating and associating with Tax Collectors and sinners! In verse 12, Jesus himself explained that "It's not the healthy, the holy, who need a doctor, but the sick." He told the Pharisees in verse 13 to "go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."Now let's consider what lesson Jesus means for us in this story…All around us are opportunities to "eat with", talk to and to help out, the despised, mistrusted, and otherwise rejected people around us. We must invite and welcome all the despised, lowly outcasts, to meet Jesus, through us! We are his hands and feet today, his smile, his tears, his forgiving words. We are his representatives!We must invite and welcome the stranger, forgive the ones we despise, love our enemies! Jesus died loving and forgiving. Perhaps we won't need to go that far…but, we can go a long way in his footsteps by loving our enemy, just as he commanded.Welcome Pharisee, outsider, despised one. We LOVE Jesus here and we LOVE you too – in Jesus name!PrayerDear God, please help us to live in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, loving all our enemies as Jesus did. Show us how to forgive those who despise and reject us, those who lie to us, those who take actions we know are bad for the world. Show us how to be your hands and feet and to spread your LOVE, not more hate and ill feelings. Keep us under the shadow of your wings and warm our hearts with your LOVE for all mankind. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.