Story of Matthew
Matthew 9:9-13
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. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 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.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
“Akoloutheo” is a combination of two Greek words in which “Akouo” means to hear and listen and “Keleuthos” means road. In this chapter, Jesus asked Matthew to follow him, and Matthew understood that Jesus had asked him to walk on the same path and be his disciple or follower. It may seem that Matthew made this decision so easily, but what made him do so? How was Matthew able to rise and follow Jesus when we ourselves may have a lot of hesitancies?
In order to understand this passage, we should understand its context and Matthew’s background. Matthew had two names with two different meanings. Matthew means “a gift of God” while “Levi” means priesthood. Matthew’s parents may have wished that he would become a priest eventually, and some of the requirements of being a priest were attending the school of law, being familiar with the Bible, having the ability to read and write, and knowing multiple languages. We could assume that Matthew may have been Jesus’ smartest/most educated disciple.
But Matthew ended up as a tax collector- much different than a priest. Tax collectors were hated by the Jews because at that time, Romans had occupied their homeland and becoming a tax collector was a political decision and an act of betrayal. Tax collectors were also seen as morally corrupt. While the Jews may have had to give a 2% tax to the Romans, the tax collectors had demanded 12% and pocketed the other 10%. Being a tax collector carried a heavy meaning because it brought shame and dishonor to their families. They couldn’t participate in temple rituals, offer sacrifices, or attend Jewish service. The Jews didn’t want to have anything to do with them, but in return, they could make a lot of money. They also had the power to make another person’s life difficult or easy and were constantly protected by the Roman soldiers.
Before this encounter, Matthew had probably heard about Jesus. While he never met him personally, Matthew had likely heard about his baptism and his miracles of healing and casting out demons. Rather than going and following Jesus because he had received a lot of love from him, Matthew probably decided to follow Jesus because even though he had money and security, he struggled with the shame and the pain in his heart from being unloved.
In our spiritual journeys, it may be the difficulties, doubts, and issues in our lives that are the turning points that bring us closer to him more than the amount of knowledge we have of Jesus or how much love we have for him. We all struggle because we are all sinners, but Jesus sees our issues and tells us to follow him. No matter where we have been or what we are going through, the more we walk on the same path as Jesus and have fellowship with him, the more we will know him intimately and find our belonging in him.
Reflection Questions:
What is an area of your life where instead of continuing on your own path, Jesus may be asking you to follow him?
Is there anything making you hesitant to do so?
