Death and Taxes ...

It is said there are only two certainties in our modern world, death and taxes.  While we draw breath, we have the “pleasure” of contributing to our societal improvement in the form of taxation.  But few of us perceive the “privilege” of our taxes as being something to look forward to; rather, something to avoid at all costs.  The rate at which we are taxed is always a sore spot.  Whether it is property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, social security taxes, Medicare taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes, or “sin” taxes, it seems “everything” can find a way to be taxed.  By definition, taxes are involuntary.  The cost of taxes are wherever possible, automatically taken from us without our ability to defer or avoid them.  Should we attempt at shorting our government in what they dictate is due, we are subject to criminal prosecution that is never too pleasant.  This condition is not new, but dates back well into the time of Christ.

Romans built a massive empire of roads … in order to carry the taxation from their occupied territories back to the capital city state.  In fact, conquering other lands had only one primary motivation, to “acquire” their wealth.  Once conquered, the people would become a persistent source of revenue in the form of taxes.  Should they resist, armies were dispatched to terminate rebellion … and carry the back payments back to Rome.  Without the benefit of electronic systems and controls, people had to be assigned for the physical collection of taxes to send to Rome.  Those tax collectors had all the authority of Rome, complete with military threat of far worse punishments, in order to do their job and get the money for their Roman masters.  In the process however, the Romans were not so concerned with corruption on the local level, as long as the taxation due continued to flow.  So enterprising tax collectors simply required a higher rate than Rome actually did, and pocketed the overage. 

If this practice had been done by foreigners, it “might” have been more palatable.  At least then, the plight of the Jewish people would have been fully caused by forces outside of their own.  But most tax collectors wound up being Jews themselves, forced into, or reasoned on their own, that steady employment beats starvation or crucifixion.  Thus anyone who took on this role became instantly hated by the public.  Being a tax collector for Rome was tantamount to being a traitor to Israel.  And this was only worsened because most tax collectors were all too happy to cheat, and collect overages from anyone.  Those who were cheated had no recourse.  If they murdered a tax collector they faced crucifixion for their entire families, not just themselves.  And inevitably another tax collector would be appointed to resume doing the work, and cheating of the last one, perhaps even more greedily.  Despite hating them for what they did, the people were at the complete mercy of the tax collector.  And the tax collector had no ability to lower taxes, only to raise them.

In this climate, Peter begins to recount perhaps the most surprising pick of Jesus Christ of His next disciple.  John Mark records in chapter two and verse 13 saying … “And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.”  The crowds that created a standing room only event at the home of Peter were no less interested in hearing Jesus Christ speak.  When Jesus left the house of Peter, and moved to the sea shore, they followed Him there.  If anything they grew along the way.  In this crowd were every kind of person, from the Religious elite, to the poor, to those who were publicly known for their sins.  And to this crowd of the mixed bag of humanity, Jesus taught them all.  Christ made no distinction in those who came to hear Him.  He did not segregate them by class, or honor them with access based on what they did for a living, or not.  In the eye of Christ, all were precious sheep to be saved by their Shepherd.  What would happen next, would not be done in private, but in the most public fashion possible, during the day, with a multitude in tow.

John Mark continues in verse 14 … “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”  Levi Matthew who would later write his own gospel account of the story of Jesus Christ, was by profession, a tax collector.  There was no doubt the greed of this position had infected his life.  There was no doubt Levi Matthew was going to be hated by this crowd, in fact likely hated by Peter and the other disciples.  This pick of Jesus Christ for another disciple was not for lack of other candidates.  An entire multitude was following Him already, he had more than enough “members” in His church to pick from to honor someone with being a disciple.  But the mission of Christ was not to find “enough” people to save, it was to find everyone.  This mission of Christ, was not just to reach out to the normal people, but even to those we hate, despise, and consider the “dregs” of society.

To consider the magnitude of what Christ had just done and put in modern terms, Jesus had just picked as His next honored disciple Osama Bin Laden.  What our nation considers a terrorist and enemy of the people, someone responsible for many deaths of our citizens.  In His day, if you failed to pay Roman taxes, or found yourself in the disfavor of the local tax collector, you might next find yourself up on a Roman cross.  Tax collectors, like Osama, are hated for a reason.  The loss of life that may come from tax collector was less direct, but it just as easily impacted the innocent.  Children were sold into slavery, or taken this way, to pay for back debts to Rome.  Wives were taken.  No one was safe, or immune from the payment of taxes.  And now despite having a multitude of “normal church going folk” with Him, Jesus picks Levi Matthew to follow Him.  This was the surprise draft pick of the century for Peter … and for Matthew.

But the transformation of our Lord was on display in this simple text, if we look close enough to see it.  The call of Jesus Christ, brought with it, the gift of liberation from your former desires, your former weaknesses, and slavery to sin.  That call freed Levi Matthew from his greed, and his immediate response was to get up and leave literally everything behind to follow Christ.  Remember that being a disciple of Christ still carried no reward, no home, no steady employment, and no guarantee of the next meal.  None of this deterred Levi Matthew.  He was fine with all of it in an instant.  Better to be destitute at the side of Jesus Christ, than rich in a comfortable home far from His side.  Levi Matthew arises to follow Christ DESPITE the real knowledge of what Peter is going to think about him, and how the other disciples probably despise him.  Peer pressure did not deter Matthew from moving immediately to the side of Christ.  He knew if there were a “clique” of the cool kids within the group of the disciples he was sure NOT to be in it.  He was going to be an outcast at best with his peers.  But follow he did.

John Mark continues in verse 15 … “And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.”  In what should have been a climate of massive negativity within the heart and mind of Levi Matthew, there was none.  Instead of becoming instantly withdrawn and defensive and guarded with the rest of the disciples, Levi does the strangest thing of all.  He opens his home and holds a feast.  Not just a feast for his own family, or those who could stand the association with him, but for literally every person in the multitude that was following Christ, regardless of who they were.  Levi is casting aside his wealth all too happily for the honor of following Christ.  And in his FIRST act as a disciple he offers food to everyone in attendance.  A man formerly bound to greed, is instantly charitable because of the change that has occurred within him as he responds to the freeing call of Christ.

Peter continues recalling the story to Mark in verse 16 … “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”  Now despite the offer, the Pharisees would not be caught dead in the home of a tax collector.  And even if he is going to reform, quit his job, and attempt at becoming an upright citizen of the nation, having all these “dregs” of society in your home to eat is hardly a good first step.  On the other hand, it was likely that the people who had been publicly humiliated in the common knowledge of their sins who were free to enjoy the charity of Matthew this day.  What difference to them; their reputations were already ruined in public knowledge.  Eating at a tax collectors home would hardly make others think less of the adulterers, thieves, prostitutes, and liars.  And as an added bonus, Jesus did not seem to mind their company at all.  In fact, He seemed pleased to have them with Him to eat lunch, like if He actually looked forward to it.  This upset every social norm there was.  And of course the first ones to decry this practice were the religious leaders of the day.

John Mark continues in verse 17 … “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  In this response, Jesus attempts to remind the religious leaders it has always been their job to bring those in need to the feet of God for the healing of their sins.  In addition Jesus makes it clear that many in this crowd do NOT BELIEVE they have a problem with sins.  This distinction is horrific and true to this day.  So many in our churches believe that mere attendance and adherence to tradition keep them immune from the problem of sin.  They freely point out sins in the lives of others … you know, the publicans of our day.  But they see no sin in themselves that warrants attention.  They are content to feel better about themselves by comparing their relatively little sins, with the great sins they see around them in the world.  But it is, and always has been, a false comparison.  There is no need to call the righteous, but in truth, there are no righteous but Christ.  The religious leaders miss both messages, because they will not hear.

The Pharisees have setup a religion of doom and gloom.  They have focused on our sins and not the cure for them.  They were the first pastors who have passed on to our modern pastors, the traditions of reverence and self-sacrifice to the point where nothing can be enjoyed, even the very personal presence of Jesus Christ.  John Mark illustrates this beginning in verse 18 … “And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? [verse 19] And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. [verse 20] But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”  Jesus did NOT have a problem with celebration, or joy, or feasts.  The religion of following Christ is NOT meant to be one of constant quiet without ever having a moment of fun.  You will note the fun derived in this picture came from the charity of Matthew being made free from his greed by the call of Christ.  He is giving away all his food and wealth to anyone in need.  And with this charity is born great joy.  So the “fun” they are having is not based in the pleasing of self, but in the joy of pleasing others.  Yet fun it is.

The Pharisees, having failed at appealing to this young Rabbi to guard His reputation, now attempt at curtailing His behavior by appealing to tradition.  Those who fast and deny themselves food and water are sure to be holier than those who party with Christ.  Sure it takes a degree of self-control to fast and pray, to deny one’s own hunger and thirst for the sake of God.  But it is not through self-control that sin will be mastered and eliminated, it is through the call of Christ, and the surrender to that call.  To fast and pray … in order to be noticed as fasting and praying … is not about God, it is about ego.  The Pharisees made spectacle out of fasting in order to insure they were “known” to be pious.  But those whose hearts are bent on the will of God, fast in secret, and pray silently, so that only God knows the desires of their hearts.  They do not seek the reputation and fame of their peers, they seek the will of God.  And from the perspective of Christ, it is not a time to be sullen and fast.  Separation from Him will be that time.  It is our separation from Christ that should drive us to fast, not when He is close.

Then Jesus continues His object lesson to the Pharisees as Peter recalls to John Mark in verse 21 saying … “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. [verse 22] And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.”  The object lesson here, is that we must be fully transformed, and fully made new.  Attempting to put a band-aide on our sins is nowhere near enough.  Attempting to partially be born again is nowhere near enough.  Christ is not looking for us to submit only a part of our desires to Him, He is looking for the whole of us.  We need to be completely made new, so that He can pour His spirit into us without bursting the bottles of our old lives.  He needs to completely cloth us in His righteousness because our tattered rags cannot be patched, they need to be burned.  We need the whole of what He longs to do for us, not just some limited representation because we believe we are already good enough people.

Jesus was willing to pick the Osama Bin Laden of His day to become an honored disciple.  He was willing to pick the most hated of us, to become an author of the Gospel of Christ to us.  The transformation of Levi Matthew was stunning, and it began in an instant.  Levi did what we need to do, that is to respond to the call of Christ.  His first act was one of charity.  He was willing to give up everything for Jesus Christ.  He instantly became homeless, poor, and joined a group that DID NOT WANT him there.  But Jesus wanted him and that was enough for Levi.  Over time the disciples would realize that Levi Matthew was no different than they were.  Their hate would turn to love, as the impact of Jesus Christ would see no other result in them.  If there were pity to be had on this day, it should have been from Matthew to the other disciples.  For Levi Matthew had been freed from his sins by the call of Christ, and was already living a liberated life with His Lord.  The others had yet to experience this kind of liberation to this extent.  But it was coming …