Matthew 9:9

This incident probably took place in or near Capernaum. The tax office (NASB) or the tax collector’s booth (NIV) would have been a room close to the border between the territories of Philip and Herod Antipas. There Matthew sat to collect customs and excise taxes. Capernaum stood on the caravan route between Egypt and the East. Matthew thus occupied a lucrative post. As mentioned before, the Jews despised tax collectors because they were notoriously corrupt, and they worked for the occupying Romans extracting money from their own countrymen (cf. Matthew 5:46). [Note: W. H. Griffith Thomas, Outline Studies of the Gospel of Matthew, p. 129.]

Jesus proceeded to do the unthinkable. He called a social pariah to become one of His disciples. Matthew was a sinner and an associate of sinners in the eyes of the Jews.

"The pericope on the call of Matthew (Matthew 9:9) illustrates yet another aspect of discipleship, to wit: the broad spectrum of those whom Jesus summons to follow him. . . . Matthew . . . is a toll-collector. As such, he is looked upon by the Jewish society of Matthew’s story as no better than a robber and one whose testimony would not be honored in a Jewish court of law. . . . Not only the upright are called by Jesus, but also the despised." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 135.]

"Since Jesus’ mission is predicated upon mercy and not merit, no one is despicable enough by the standards of society to be outside his concern and invitation." [Note: Hagner, p. 240.]

Jews frequently had two names, and Matthew’s other name was Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). "Matthew" may derive from Mattaniah (1 Chronicles 9:15) meaning "gift of God," or it may come from the Hebrew emet meaning "faithful." Perhaps because of its meaning Matthew preferred to use "Matthew" in his Gospel rather than "Levi." Matthew’s response to Jesus’ call to follow Him was immediate.