Religion and Those People

Matthew (AKA Levi) was a guy who was a total outcast in his world. Now, to be honest, it was his fault. He was a tax collector, which sounds bad enough. But a Jewish tax collector had sold out his people to the evil empire of the Roman Government and used their position to shake down the people to get rich. They were worse than “sinners”, and any religious teacher knew to avoid these people because to associate with a tax collector would be scandalous. Any teacher, that is, except Jesus. Jesus interaction with Matthew teaches us a lot about Jesus very mission, and his love for all people, even the despised. It also shows us a lot about the call God places on those whom Jesus has changed. His mission is our mission!