Verse 9

Verse 9: “A man named Matthew sitting at customs post” 

Customs post: A place where taxes were collected for kings. That which is collected from other kings who were defeated in war was ransom (1 Chronicles 17:11). What is collected from traders was called tax. 

Romans collected different types of taxes such as: 1) Ransom 2) land tax 3) head tax and 4) custom tax at the beginning of the year. Land tax was 10% of the yield, while men between ages of 14 to 65 and woman between ages of 12 to 65 had to give head tax. Apart from this, there was toll levied for pathways and bridges too. The customs tax was levied from traders. There was also a manner in which the whole tax-collection for a year was contracted out to a local too for an amount. The tax collectors exhorted money by way of fear and exploitation. The tax collector Zacchaeus agrees to it (Luke 19:2).

Tax collectors were hated men and notorious sinners; they were also properly regarded as collaborators with the Romans against their fellow Jews. Tax collectors were extremely hated men.

1. Tax collectors who collaborated with the hated Romans who occupied the sacred land and oppressed the Jews.
2. Romans were the oppressors, the takers, the enforcers.
3. It was a sin to give tax to anyone except God. So they were sinners. Because of this, tax collectors were excommunicated from a synagogue. They were not considered as judges or as witness in court like thieves and killers.

Verse 9: “And He said to him, ‘Follow Me’”

Lord calling such a hated tax collector. He is not looking at who you were, but who you could be. Look at the example of Saul.
What is the significant of this call? Matthew was a tax-collector for the highway region between Damascus to Egypt. He was hated by all and regarded among sinners, who lived in Capernaum, a city ruled by Herod Antipas. Lord called him. He left his job and left everything he earned and followed our Lord immediately. At that point he lost everything he earned till date, but gained eternal graciousness. Even thought he disposed everything, he did not dispose his pen. The same pen that he used for all his deceit he used later to author the first gospel about our Lord.