Leadership through Discipleship #12

Matthew, The Power of an Altered Occupation

“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples” (Matthew 9:9).

From the prominent office along the main thoroughfare Matthew conducted business in Capernaum. All merchants entering this town from the sea were required to pay a toll to transport their goods along the way. Matthew was about as popular in his city as the local IRS agent. Following the customs of the day, tax collectors contracted with the Roman government to be their agents collecting tribute. Any amount they could collect in excess of the required tax went into the deep pockets of the tax collector. It was a system rift with abuse and provoked the intense hatred of their fellow citizens.

When Jesus came by the tax office as He journeyed, He simply called Matthew to “follow me.” In the brief reference of Scripture it appears that Matthew immediately responded, leaving behind his secure position in the city to follow the bidding of this itinerant Rabbi. The radical change in Matthew’s life produced curious interest among his network of unscrupulous colleagues. When Matthew threw a party to announce his new direction in life the house filled. Jesus was there dining with an unlikely guest list. According to the Pharisees they were all “tax collectors and sinners.”

Jesus was not put off by the publicans. He welcomed them and spoke kindly to them in the face of criticism. This was the type of people He had come to affect. He explained to the Pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

The call changed Matthew (Levi) to become a disciple; the publican became a preacher. What an incredible impact the change in his life must have had to others of similar occupations. If Matthew could change, others could change. Perhaps this was the encouragement needed for Zacchaeus, another tax collector that became a believer, to make the pledge to restore all that he had wrongfully taken (Luke 19:8).

Matthew wasn’t the only one who changed occupations. Several of the disciples were fishermen; Jesus made them evangelists, fishers of men! Andrew was John the Baptist’s disciple when he converted to follow Jesus. John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the “Lamb of God” and immediately lost two disciples! Luke was a physician that became an itinerant evangelist, traveling journalist, and the first church historian. Paul was an activist opposing the spread of Christianity. God changed him into the biggest activist for Christ!

When Christ calls, change is on the way!