A Traitor Turns to Christ (Matthew)

I remember reading a notice in a local newspaper announcing the opening of a new evangelical church in our community. It gave the date and time of the first services, then added, "our special guest star will be . . ." and named a popular Christian celebrity. In its attempt to appeal to unbelievers or simply draw a large crowd, the church today commonly uses that kind of approach.

Jesus, however, used a different approach. None of His disciples were famous at all. In fact, rather than drawing a favorable crowd, some of them might have repelled or even incited anger and hatred among His Jewish audience. Matthew was such a man because he was a despised tax-gatherer—one of many Jewish men employed by Rome to collect taxes from his own people. As such he was regarded as a traitor by his own countrymen.

The Roman tax system allowed tax collectors to keep anything they collected in excess of what was owed to Rome. That encouraged bribes, extortion, and other abuses.

To compound the issue, Matthew was among those who had the prerogative of taxing almost anything they wanted to tax—roads, bridges, harbors, axles, donkeys, packages, letters, imports, exports, merchandise, and so on. Such men could accumulate enormous wealth for themselves. You might remember another tax-gatherer named Zaccheus, who is described in Luke 19:2 as a wealthy man. His salvation was evidenced by his offer to repay fourfold to those he had defrauded (v. 8).

Some people think God can't use them because they're not famous or because of their past sins. But God has used Matthew, Zaccheus, and millions of others like them. Concentrate on your present purity and let God bless your ministry as He sees fit.

Thank God that he has made you a new person in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Minister in light of that reality!

Where was Zaccheus when Jesus first spoke to him? What was the reaction of the crowd when Jesus went to Zaccheus's house? What prompted Jesus to say that salvation had come to Zaccheus?

To compound the issue, Matthew was among those who had the prerogative of taxing almost anything they wanted to tax—roads, bridges, harbors, axles, donkeys, packages, letters, imports, exports, merchandise, and so on. Such men could accumulate enormous wealth for themselves. You might remember another tax-gatherer named Zaccheus, who is described in Luke 19:2 as a wealthy man. His salvation was evidenced by his offer to repay fourfold to those he had defrauded (v. 8).

Then again...

Luke 19
1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

The same thing happened to David:

Psalms 69
1 <To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.> Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

Zacchaeus gave half of his goods to the poor, restored fourfold that which he was falsely accused of stealing, and yet he was one of those rich tax collectors, so he surely must have been a sinner.

There's nothing new under the sun.

Zaccheus was a little man, but he had big hands (he was generous). That just might explain why he was rich:

A cortical homunculus is a distorted representation of the human body, based on a neurological "map" of the areas and proportions of the human brain dedicated to processing motor functions, or sensory functions, for different parts of the body. The word homunculus is Latin for "little man", and was a term used in alchemy and folklore long before scientific literature began using it. A cortical homunculus, or "cortex man", illustrates the concept of heuristically representing the body lying within the brain. Nerve fibres from the spinal cord terminate in various areas of the parietal lobe in the cerebral cortex, which forms a representational map of the body.

>>>

The amount of cortex devoted to any given body region is not proportional to that body region's surface area or volume, but rather to how richly innervated that region is. Areas of the body with more complex and/or more numerous sensory or motor connections are represented as larger in the homunculus, while those with less complex and/or less numerous connections are represented as smaller. The resulting image is that of a distorted human body, with disproportionately huge hands, lips, and face.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_homunculus

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Like Zacchaeus' tattered reputation, plus all the restitution he paid for stuff that he didn't steal in the first place. Perhaps people were fake-nice and kind and 'generous' to him, assuming wrongly that he would then play favorites in his tax assessments, only to accuse him of bribery and extortion when the bill was too high (meaning it was fair).

The Gospel accounts are filled with examples of stereotyping, false assumptions interpretations and accusations, and people getting wrong ideas and then spreading them around like gossip. Jesus’ corrections fell on deaf ears and here we are. The religious establishments have their settled teachings and no one dare question.

A rich tax collector ‘surely’ must have gotten that way by helping himself at the expense of others. It’s one thing to have initial suspicions based on general knowledge and experience, but another to actually decide an individual’s character and thus shun and crucify him based on innuendo and popular opinion instead of the facts.

It’s instructive especially in today’s world as the Establishments are collapsing of their own dead weight of lies. Plenty of despicable swamp creatures or we wouldn’t be in this mess, but each man should be sized up for the man - not the swamp. Joseph was governor over all of Egypt but he was wasn’t Egyptian. Who knows where God’s people are placed. In the most unexpected places. This is especially true of a redeemer, yet the Biblical blueprint points directly to the house of bondage (Moses, Joseph).

Jesus looked right past what “everybody knows”. It’s why he associated with the outcasts, and why he had to go..

Jesus was eager to stay at Zaccheaus’ house, and the man couldn’t wait to host him. Perhaps it was even the first time somebody wanted to enjoy his companionship for real, Jesus not ever feigning interest or friendship for personal advantage.

Some times it takes a while to work past what we think we know, but the reward for diligently seeking the truth is beyond measure.

A few moments after I posted my reply to you, I came upon this page:

http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com/2018/05/entering-kings-palace.html

Now somebody here might read that and think, "Everybody knows" (meaning Christians) that works don't save!, but take a little time and notice,

Left with little choice, Reuven approached Yehudah, whom he hardly knew.

Surprisingly, it was Yehudah who agreed to join Reuven on his visit to the King. He agreed to enter the palace and intercede on Reuven's behalf.
>>>
"Only the mitzvos and good deeds that he performed during his life - the things he appreciated least - will be the ones to accompany him all the way to the Throne of Glory. Only they will plead on his behalf!"

What's the mentality behind those deeds? To punch a ticket in order to gain personal advantage, or to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do (e.g. President Trump acknowledging Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - it was obvious reality, truth... "the right thing to do.")

Compare:

Matthew 7

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 25

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

You have to figure that those on the left didn't see any advantage in helping out all those "no names." The first group was motivated to do the right thing, no matter who it was... people they hardly knew if at all.

Meanwhile the devil's helpers slither around proclaiming proudly, "Works don't save!", the fatal premise and operating principle being that works are work. Well it's not any work at all, if it is love. That's why Jesus never worked a day in his life, so how could he have ever violated the Sabbath?

The Kingdom is the place where nobody does any work at all. It doesn't even cross people's minds. More gets accomplished there than anywhere else.

Thanks for reading.

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