Matthew
Of all the Roman officials in Palestine, none were more hated than the publicans. The fact that the taxes were imposed by a foreign power was a continual irritation to the Jews, being a reminder that their independence had departed. At the time Christ was born, Israel had been under Roman domination for some sixty years (Matthew). Tax collectors were not merely the instruments of Roman oppression; they were extortioners on their own account, enriching themselves at the expense of the people. A Jew who accepted this office at the hands of the Romans was looked upon as betraying the honor of his nation (Matthew). He was despised as an apostate, and was classed with the vilest of society. He was ranked with murders and robbers, lumped together with harlots, Gentiles, and most often, sinners (Robertson). To all this belonged Matthew Levi.Sitting at his tollbooth one day, the publican saw Jesus approaching. Great was his astonishment to hear the words addressed to him, "Follow Me". Matthew "left all, rose up, and followed Him" (Holy Bible). There was no hesitation, no questioning, no thought of the lucrative business to be exchanged for poverty and hardship. It was enough for him that he was to be with Jesus, that he migh
In presenting Jesus as the diving Son of God, John gives no human genealogy or birth and childhood narratives. Just as virtually every paragraph of the gospel of John points to something of Christ's deity, so virtually every paragraph of Matthew points to something of His kingship. We have little idea as to what sort of person Matthew was before Jesus called him. Only a Gentile centurion speaks a favorable word about the crucified One: "Truly this was the Son of God!" (27:54) (Holy Bible). All over earth one day "will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and glory" (24:30) (Holy Bible), His coming will be "at an hour when you do not think He will" (V. The order of the two is not certain, nor is it of great importance. It was no doubt partly for that reason that Matthew so quickly responded to Jesus' invitation and that so many other tax collectors were attracted to him. The message of the book of Matthew centers on the theme of Jesus' kingship. The shadow of rejection in never lifted from Matthew's story. Matthew was a tax collector when Jesus called him to be one of the twelve disciples. While facing the cross He predicts His future reign, and He claims domination over the angel in heaven. Soon after He was born, Herod threatened His life, and His parents had to flee with Him to Egypt. The lessons on discipleship are life changing for the committed reader, as they were for the eleven whom were Jesus' first followers. Mark's Gospel was probably written as early as AD 50.
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Acceptance Essays
