The first batch of Jesus’ direct disciples were fishermen from Galilee: Peter (Simon), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, and John (James’ brother)(e.g. Matthew 4:18-22). By the time he sent his disciples on mission, giving his authority and instruction, the number of Jesus’ disciples grew up to 12 (Matthew 10:1-42). And Jesus needed at least as many disciples as the twelve because “harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”, responding to the increasing pastoral needs (Matthew 9:37-38).
As the canonical Scriptures describes nothing about
each of the twelve disciples’ background, except for the first four: Peter,
Andrew, James, and John, all of whom were fishermen, and Matthew, who was a tax
collector. Though we cannot pinpoint if Matthew was the twelfth disciples to be
recruited by Jesus, based on the Scripture, it is likely that he was brought
into the group of the disciples much later, compared to the other ones.
During the time of Jesus, as you can see in the
Gospel narratives, tax collectors were despised figures among the Jews. They
were also Jews. But, they collected taxes for the Roman Empire and often
collect more than they had to – to fatten their personal and family coffers.
Because of this, tax collectors were regarded as “traitors” and “unclean” among
the Jews during the time of Jesus. And nobody wanted to be friends with them. They
were not allowed to enter the Temple and synagogues to worship with other Jews.
Though they could have enjoyed steady income, guaranteed by the powerful Roman
government, and wealth built on cheating, tax collectors were ostracized,
marginalized, and rejected by fellow Jews.
And, Jesus reached out to a tax collector, named,
Matthew (Levi), and called him to follow him. And Matthew, without hesitation,
just followed Jesus on the spot, and hosted a dinner for him (e.g. Matthew
9:9-13). But, who else were at this dinner in Matthew’s house – besides Jesus
and possibly his disciples? Tax collectors and “sinners (Matthew 9:10). In
other words, those who were at dinner with Jesus in Matthew house were those
who were outcast, rejected, despised, and marginalized.
So there is a burning question: Why did Jesus bring
in a despised and “unclean” man, Matthew (Levi) the tax collector to his
“herd”?
A subsequent question can be: Didn’t Jesus worry
that bringing Matthew could disturb peace among his “heard”, as the rest of the
disciples sure hated tax collectors?
Sure, you can imagine how Peter and the rest of the
disciples, who had been with Jesus, reacted to Matthew being brought into the
community of the disciples. It was not easy and welcoming that they had to
accept Matthew, who had been a tax collector. Who knows, Matthew and his tax
collector colleague could have harassed some of the disciples in demanding more
tax payments than they needed to collect. If this were the case, they could
held grudge against Mathew and wanted to beat him.
Fortunately, the Gospel narratives have no remarks
on the disciples trying to bully Matthew or asking Jesus to remove him out of
the community of the disciples. Though it was not easy for them to have a
former tax collector joining on the “team”, it seemed that they were able to
accept Matthew as a “new comer” with a “unique background”.
Perhaps, what was more striking about bringing in a
person with a very “unique background” to the pack was Jesus in spirit calling
Paul (Saul) to join the already established apostolic team (Acts 9:1-30; cf. 1
Corinthians 15:8-11). And, at first, Ananias was called by Jesus in spirit to
take care of Paul (Acts 9:10-12), but he did not seem happy about his
assignment to care for Paul, as these words of Ananias indicate so:
Lord,
I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to
your holy one in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to
imprison all who call upon your name (Acts 9:13-14).
So, you can imagine, perhaps, one of the disciples
could have said to Jesus, as he called and brought Matthew in:
Lord, you know and we know enough about this man and
his colleagues, as well as, all evil things he has done on us for Caesar. He
was given authority by the Romans to make us miserable for taxes for Caesar.
Why are you letting him join us?
In response to Ananias’ concern about Paul, Jesus in
spirit answered in these words:
Go,
for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles,
kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my
name
(Acts 9:15-16).
So, Ananias did as Jesus in spirit commanded him to
do. So Paul was baptized by Ananias and began preaching on Jesus in Damascus,
where he was originally to “hunt” followers of Jesus’ way, and eventually came
to the apostolic community in Jerusalem (Acts 9:17-25).
So, was Paul welcomed as a new member to the apostolic community in Jerusalem?
No. As a matter of fact, the rest of the apostles
were afraid of Paul and did not believe him as an apostle, when he tried to
join them in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26). But, Barnabas advocated for Paul to the
apostolic community, explaining how he was converted on his way to Damascus and
how he changed and began preaching (Acts 9:27). But it is hard to say if the
apostolic community fully accepted Paul just because Barnabas assured that it was
Jesus the Lord himself to have called this former persecutor in. Nevertheless,
Paul, as an apostle, actively preached and even debated for Jesus the Christ in
Jerusalem, even risking his life (Acts 9:28-29). So, the apostolic community
sent him to Tarsus via Caesarea (Acts 9:30), perhaps for his safety, and later
Barnabas looked for him in Tarsus, Paul’s hometown (Acts 11:22-26).
The canonical Scriptures are silent about how
Matthew, who was hated and rejected by Jews, and likely so by the disciples,
who were Jew, was received, though the challenges in Paul’s acceptance to the
apostolic community in Jerusalem is written. Though Paul was feared by the
apostolic community for his past persecutory authority, Matthew was not feared
but rather despised for collecting taxes for Caesar.
So, an important question is – why Jesus brought a
despised man, Matthew, and a feared man, Paul, to his “heard”, to build his
Church?
In thinking and reflecting on this question, what
comes to my mind is God’s desire to extend and share His covenant even to those
who are outcast and despised for salvation (Isaiah 56:1-8). And God makes
something new, like making a stream in the desert (Isaiah 43:19). So, God can
choose some persons, who used to be hated, despised, and even considered as
evil, to advance in His mission, which was initiated by Jesus the Son. God sure
makes good out of evil for His mission. That is why conversion is essential.
Even though Matthew was seen as someone to be hated
for what he used to do, even though Paul was seen as evil for what he used to
do, by society, Jesus certainly saw these individuals worthy to follow and
serve him. He must have been confident about their conversions, too.
It was not that Jesus called Matthew by chance. He
know what was going through in depth of his heart, seeing the possibility of
his conversion to turn his heart from tax collection to serving him for his
Kingdom, as he knew Paul’s great zeal for God could be directed to the right
way to build up his Church.
And, the disciples came to understand this by not
complaining to Jesus about Matthew, and the apostles came to terms with this
for being able to work with Paul to build the Church.
So, why did Jesus called a man, who was hated and
rejected, Matthew the tax collector, and a man, who was feared, Paul the
persecutor?
Being God, Jesus wanted to make something new (Isaiah
43:19) out of these men through conversions by extending his covenant to those
who were rejected, making His house, the Church, a welcoming place, to those
who turn away from evil and ungodly way in order to be with God (Isaiah
56:1-8). And Jesus called Matthew and Paul in, so that we can better understand
the spirit of his teaching on extend our love beyond those whom we think “lovable”
to the “unlovable” (i.e. Matthew 5:43-48).
So, what about us? What about you?
Do you think that you are not worthy to be in the
Church because you feel you are rejected by others – even by some “faithful”
churchy people? Is it because of your sinfulness?
If this is the case with you, think of Matthew and Paul.
And remember that neither of these with respectively sinful backgrounds were
necessarily welcomed by the community, because of their past. But, they were
able to work together.
The bottom line, based on the cases of Matthew and
Paul, is that they were called by Jesus directly and personally.
If Jesus has called you to follow, who in the world
can reject you? If Jesus has welcomed
you already, then who can reject you (cf. Romans 15:7)?
And, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
At
all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has
been acceptable to him. He has, however, willed to make men holy and save them,
not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make
them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness. He
therefore chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a
covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people. . . . All these things,
however, happened as a preparation for and figure of that new and perfect
covenant which was to be ratified in Christ . . . the New Covenant in his
blood; he called together a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be
one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit
(781).
Nobody is unblemished. We all are imperfect with our
own unique struggles with sins. Jesus does not wait until we all become perfect
to call us in. He calls us as he wills on us, because he sees what is in us –
our hearts’ deep desire for him and the gifts endowed by God through the Holy Spirit,
therefore, our great potential, in the way that nobody else can recognize. And
Matthew and Paul are just two great examples that Jesus demonstrated his desire
to make holy unholy man.
Jesus continues to call people like Matthew and Paul
even today, as the harvest plentiful but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37).
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