#225 - Matthew: The Outcast

For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (Matt 18:11)

My name is Levi; well known as Matthew and I lived in the region of Galilee which was predominantly rural, consisting of small towns and villages. Galileans are not an elite class of people; they were common folks mostly farmers and fishermen. Unfortunately, I held one of the most despised positions in all of Israel, I was a tax collector also called a Publican. Tax collectors were hated by all Jewish society and were even more despised than the Roman Soldiers who occupied Israel at the time. Tax collectors were disdained by the Jews, and considered traitors because they worked for the despised Roman Rulers, they were despised social outcasts. In fact, a certain Jewish Talmud taught that it was righteous to lie and deceive a tax collector because that was what a professional extortioner deserved. Publicans were men who bought tax franchises from the Roman Emperor and then extorted money from the people of Israel, this money was added to the Roman Treasury and padded the pockets of the tax collector. Tax Collectors had no moral integrity and would not hesitate to use force to get their pay. They were despicable lowlife of society and were treated as such. For a Jewish man like me to be a tax collector was even worse. My occupation made me a traitor to the nation, a complete social outcast, I was a religious outcast, forbidden to enter any synagogue and forbidden to sacrifice and worship in the temple. In essence, I was worse off religiously than a Gentile.

Yet what a wonderful thing happened to this sinner. I was sitting in the tax office in Capernaum, and I was having a conversation with one of the Roman Soldiers and he said to me "mother of a son with talents like you should be proud". I mean I was making a lot of money, right? I was successful in the material world, so he concluded my mother was proud but on the contrary, she was ashamed of me, in her words, "you're using the talent that God gave you against God". I was a Jew by birth, and I was working for the Roman Empire who were oppressing the Jews, I was an eyesore to them. Suddenly this stranger comes passing by. He had quite a few persons following him and then he stopped, as though he knew there was someone who needed his help. He turned and looked at me, and then he called me "Matthew". He knew my name, but how? I'd never met this man before but he knew my name, the way this man gazed into my eyes before calling my name, it was as though he could see who I really was from the outside, he could see how hopeless, helpless and unhappy I really was, I had not found the essence of my being and without question, I immediately followed him when he said: "Follow me" (Matt 9:9), I followed him leaving all the power and wealth I had acquired, I only relate tax Collectors, people who were like me, and to have someone else have interest in me, who didn't treat me like a robber made me feel for the first time that I was loved. I did not mind what the Roman Soldier was saying to stop me, I've had the money for a long time, and it did not bring me joy. As I walked closer to meet this stranger, I heard one of his followers say to him "What are you doing? Do you have any idea what this guy has done? Do you even know him?”  And immediately Jesus said "Yes" and that was all I needed to hear, he wanted me and that was all that mattered to me.

There was someone who did not care about all the things I had done and just wanted me, I was overjoyed and happy in my heart that all I could think of was the fact that this deserved to be celebrated.  What happened that day is what I will describe as the irresistible grace of God. First, I came from a godly background and had heard of Jesus' miracles and teachings. But wasn't moved at all either by my mother or by what I had heard. But on this day, I had direct contact with Jesus, even without speaking with Jesus the Holy Spirit had already ministered to him that was why I guess he had to pause, he had contact with the grace, (John 6:44, No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him). Jesus knew God had picked this one, and through the help of the Holy Spirit knew I had to follow Jesus and the guard there playing the role of the devil knew something was wrong and wanted to stop it from happening. But at this point the saving power of grace had already stolen my heart, his spirit and that of Christ was already one that's why when Jesus told me to follow him, I couldn't resist, I didn't ask why, or ask the destination I just followed because I was chosen. And I learnt here how you know you have been chosen is when you have no atom of doubt in you, you don't care what might go wrong or what you might lose if he who called you is there you are okay. Unlike other disciples, they were either John's disciples or good church members, but I was a certified sinner who didn't need a preacher or see some signs to change but needed God himself to come minister to his spirit, that was why I could let go of all the riches and protection I had to follow Christ.

I thought that this had to be celebrated and because of that I had a feast and I invited Jesus over, I threw an enormous banquet I was so excited but it didn't last for long because regardless of the fact that Jesus wanted me it caused a stir among the Pharisees, you know those men who were members of a Jewish group that carefully observed the written law but also accepted the oral, or traditional, law, advocated the democratization of religious practices, etc. They were so good at pointing out people who had faults but themselves, they were self-righteous individuals and they started criticizing Jesus for sitting out with me but Jesus immediately shut them up because he was here for people like me who needed him but didn't even realize how much we did... Matt 9:10, Like 5:29-32 I had invited friends to that feast and of course, they were all tax Collectors like I was before I met Jesus, so Jesus was at the table with tax collectors and sinners, they were the only friends I had and I needed them to experience Jesus like I did. Jesus cared for me there was no way he would discard my friends, right there at the table I could feel the joy emanating from them, they hadn't met someone who treated them like they mattered too, and they didn't want to leave my house after the party was over. They wanted to have Jesus in their homes, in their lives, in their family, they realized that they were the "gift of God”, and they were honoured that the Lord considered them such a gift, and because Jesus can be in so many places at once he let them have him, they had never experienced such love before.

We were called leeches, and robbers, we were considered the spiritual lepers of the society, impure and unclean, without hope of recovery, ignored and treated as outcasts like lepers, no one cared about us, we were rich at the expense of others but also lonely. I had a chance to find the real meaning in life and I wasn't going to let it pass. Christ was asserting that there is forgiveness for even the worst sinner who will repent, it's not your place to decide who is worthy of that repentance or not, everyone before repentance was also in captivity. Christ's acceptance of repentant tax collectors is shown not only in his treatment of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) who was a chief tax collector and later became one of his followers but also in the fact that He choose me. The very nature of God is love, and if we must aspire to be like God, we must have His nature of Love because He loved us first (John 3:16).  Love does not keep a record of sin; Jesus came to destroy the way society works. He showed that tax collectors, prostitutes and zealots need salvation, in fact, that is the very essence of salvation. So, they should not be shunned but embraced to repentance and new life.

Why am I narrating my story? Well, you all are familiar with my gospel account; Yes, the gospel of a former tax collector. This only shows the extent of the transformation that Jesus can bring to a life. When next you read my gospel, read it with the lens of a radically changed man telling the story of Jesus.

Let me share a few ways my background shaped the design of my gospel:

1. I found no other way to begin my account than to introduce Jesus as the Messiah (and within the pages of my script I go a long way to drive that claim home with several proofs and allusions to sacred prophecies about the Messiah). As a Jew, I and my ancestors have been waiting for the seed of the woman. For me, I had given up on this wait – hence my liaising with the Romans against my kindred. I believe the Messiah came for people like me and I wrote to share that truth with the world.
2. When I wrote the Genealogy of Jesus, I was not obligated to, but I had to include some “outcasts”. No Jewish genealogy ever includes women, and I was not just including random women, but whom I call special because I see their stories in my life. It did not just begin with me; in time, God all along, in preserving the godly seed of Seth, through divine providence included many outcasts: Tamar, the harlot daughter-in-law of Judah; Ruth, the Moabite; Bathsheba, the wife of a Hittite who committed adultery with David, and Mary, a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock. Even today, God is moving in this generation recruiting outcasts and establishing them as kingdom giants.
3. I included my conversion story in my gospel. The man you see today was an outcast. I am not proud of my past, but I do not blur it either. The contrast between my past and present is the miracle of the gospel.

Indeed, I am a testament to what I wrote in my gospel – that the Son of man came to save that which was lost [of whom I am chief]. Jesus invites all who are weary and heavy-laden to His arm, and He will give them rest. He will give hope and life and purpose to every outcast just as He did for me.

Shalom.

Written by Faithful Ogbeche

Today's script and contents were inspired by the tv series - The Chosen. The Chosen is a multi-season show about the life of Jesus; the first of its kind. His story is told and His life is portrayed through the eyes of those who met Him. It is a binge-worthy tv series that I highly recommend.