Jesus loved the repentant sinners who longed for the truth rather than the professors of religion who fancied their empty self-righteousness and did not recognize that they were unsuccessful before the Holy God. Every true believer is aware of the condition of his unclean heart, for the Spirit of God clarifies to us our corruption and our inability to reform ourselves by ourselves.
Dear brother, before God you are guilty, and evil from your mother’s womb, and from your youth. Come to Jesus the embodied love that is filled with purity and truth. In the light of his high face, you recognize the darkness of your heart, and before his mercy, your selfishness appears.
Jesus loved the repentant, no matter how their sins were accumulated, or to which class they belonged. He did not send them out. As such, he will not send you out, but he will receive you as the father embraced his lost son when he came back home.
Tax collectors, at that time, were hated by their fellow citizens because of their service for a foreign overlord and their fraudulent practices. They became rich because of the corruptions in the execution of their office, oppressing, exacting, taking bribes or fees to extortion, and accusing falsely. This is why they were hated and despised by all the people more than any other class.
Yet, even the thief has a moral sense of right and wrong. The embezzler’s heart is not empty from longing to God. Jesus read the thoughts in the heart of Levi who was standing near the tax office, and gave him the chance of his life, calling him with one word: “Follow me.” The Son of God does not care about taxes and treasures. He hit the despised tax collector in his inmost feelings, and moved him with one word from the realm of matter into the realm of the Spirit, love, and truth.
Levi did not dare to follow Jesus spontaneously for he was rejected by everyone. But as a tax collector, he knew people, and found in the Nazarene a person who excelled all the persons he had ever met. He longed for his fellowship, but was ashamed because of his fraudulent practices. Yet, the Lord who passed by him read his thoughts, and faced him with the word: “Follow me.” This word signified a chance of justification to the tax collector. So he immediately held fast to the Lord’s word, left his treasures, rights, and office, and dared to follow the Lord of the worlds. He knew from his experience in tax collection that Jesus had no money or insurance, but love and heavenly power.
In his excessive joy, he dared to invite Jesus and his disciples to his house. Among the guests, there were rich men, artists, and adulterers. This was the chief thing Matthew aimed at in this treat, that he might give his old associates an opportunity to repent and be saved.
Jesus’ confrontation with the thief, and his sitting with people of the lower class, gave the lawyers and the Pharisees in Capernaum an opportunity to tattle and chatter behind his back, for Jesus’ behavior was not in conformity with their holiness mould and lifestyle. They condemned Jesus in their hearts and warned his disciples, as if Jesus were unaware of the castaways who sat with him.
But Jesus, who knows the heart, abased the pride of the professors, and showed them that all men are sick in themselves. However, some know this truth, whereas others consider themselves as right, good, and righteous. But those righteous ones are not, before God, better than the castaways, for whoever allows himself in the breach of one commandment is guilty of breaking the whole law. There is no difference “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
What do you think of yourself? Are you good or evil? Do you consider yourself better than the worst man of your town? Did you know that in you would have dwelt the potential of all sins if the grace of the Lord had not kept you from falling? If you considered yourself as righteous and acceptable, Jesus would not help you. His promises are only entitled to those who are repentant, brokenhearted, small, and poor in spirit. They will be the elect if they repent and become conscious in his presence.
Thereafter Levi’s name was changed into Matthew. All the apostles, after Christ’s death and resurrection, authorized him to gather and write the Lord’s words, for as a former tax collector, he was skilful in writing different languages. He collected no more money or profits, but the word of God, and he enriched us with the riches of his Lord who calls you too, saying: “Follow Me.”