More Than Private Spiritual Salvation

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This is Part 1 of the series A Tax Collector, A Marginalized Woman, and A Sleeping Girl

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew:

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”. . .

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district. (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26)

Our reading this week includes three stories. First, is the calling of Matthew, the tax collector. Matthew’s calling is more than a story of personal conversion. It is a radical social and political moment that reveals the justice-centered character of Jesus’ ministry. In the Roman world, tax collectors were widely despised because they worked within an exploitative imperial system that extracted wealth from ordinary people. They were often viewed as collaborators with oppression, who benefitted from economic injustice while their neighbors suffered. Matthew’s tax booth therefore symbolizes a social order built on exclusion, hierarchy, and economic exploitation.

When Jesus sees Matthew and says, “Follow me,” he does not offer mere private spiritual salvation. Jesus interrupts the social boundaries that defined who was worthy of dignity and belonging. In calling Matthew, Jesus demonstrates that transformation is possible even for those entangled in unjust systems. Yet the story is not about excusing exploitation. Instead, it reveals that the work of justice includes restoration, reconciliation, and the creation of new community beyond the divisions imposed by empire. Jesus called Matthew away from his tax booth to follow the path of the kingdom.

The meal that follows is equally important. We’ll pick up with this, in Part 2.

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.