September 15, 2013
The Worst of them All
There was a man who computed his taxes for the year and found he owed $3407. He packaged up his payment and included this letter:
Dear IRS: Enclosed is my Tax Return and payment. Please take note of the attached article from the USA Today newspaper. In the article you will see that the Pentagon is paying $171.50 for hammers and NASA has paid $600 for a toilet seat. Please find enclosed four toilet seats (value $2400) and six hammers (value $1029). This brings my total payment to $3429. Please note the overpayment of $22, and apply it to the Presidential Election Fund as noted on my return. Might I suggest you send the above mentioned to fund a 1.5-inch screw. See the attached article where HUD paid $22.00 for a 1.5-inch Phillips-Head Screw. It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.
We are again in Luke, this time it’s the first part of the 15th chapter that involves the Master, tax collectors, scribes and Pharisees plus an undisclosed number of sinners. Just as Jesus was invited to a banquet, as we described two lessons back, He was again being watched by Pharisees who just couldn’t come to grips with the fact that Messiah was among them, and they were trying to catch Him in an activity to prove He wasn’t who He said He was.
In this scene disclosed in verses one through 10 we read, “tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear what He had to say. The Scribes and Pharisees who were also there, murmured saying, He receives even the sinners and eats with them.” At this stage of the mission to Jerusalem, the Master and disciples were stopping along the way, and the crowds coming out to hear this teaching were growing. Word obviously spread ahead of their stops, and the same word reached scribes and Pharisees. As rumor goes, there’s no telling what had been said, yet these Temple leaders got wind that these road-side lectures had something to do with God, and that meant somebody was stepping into their territory.
When the public came together for these impromptu lessons, nearly every segment of society was represented. To the followers of the Law, the crowd was a mixture of the clean and unclean, and that wasn’t at all good in their opinion.
Christian teaching often mentions people listed in this story, yet we tend to lump them together, as did the Pharisees, as “bad people” without understanding these, as are all people, loved by God. Among the group were the hated tax collectors. Since these “scum” as we would call them today, were mixed with the sinners, the whole thing must be horrible, as the Pharisee would see it. Without question, their tax-collecting role in society was a very bad deal, yet we rarely examine the particulars of this profession.
The first of the “bad” in the list of Luke 15 is tax collectors. The two most notorious people in this profession who became famous from biblical renown were Matthew, yes, the disciple who held that position in Capernaum, where he was recruited by Yeshua to be a disciple. The other is Chief Tax Collector, Zacchaeus, whose story appears in Luke 19. It is interesting that the Hebrew for Zaccheaus means “pure and righteous one.” We don’t think of this tree-climbing person as a nice guy, but Jesus stopped and called him out of his perch to go eat with him. That was another incident that raised the ire of the Pharisees.
The most fascinating fact about Matthew being a tax collector is that he held that position in Capernaum, the City where Jesus lived, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. If you did not read or hear my presentation about this City, look up “Oh Little Town of…” on sermoncentral.com and read the history of this remarkable place, where the Roman Centurion was so impressed with the community that he personally paid for a new synagogue for the townspeople. The same Centurion is the one who asked the Master to heal his servant who was ill, saying that he knew Messiah could do this even from a distance. So if the occupying military force loved the community like he did, a tax collector would also have experienced the remarkable attitude of the community. And, had Matthew lived up to the reputation of tax collectors of the time, he would have been at odds with citizens of Capernaum and not likely selected to be a disciple. The fact that Messiah chose Matthew who was a career tax collector, says a lot about Matthew as a person, Capernaum as a City and Jesus as Messiah.
Tax collectors of the time were known to do something called “tax farming” a system quite profitable for a publican. The roman tax-collection system was based on bidding. A person would tell the Romans what he believed he could collect from a city or region, and if the bid was accepted that number is what the collector would give to the Romans, particularly the military, that year. If the collector could get more than the bid, the difference was his to keep.
To further set the scene, remember that at the time Yeshua’s home base was in Capernaum, the City with a most unusual attitude of love and community. The Roman economy was in danger of collapse without heavily taxing territories and nations they had conquered, including Capernaum and Jerusalem. The Romans were not loved by the people who were forced to pay taxes to support them, yet the Centurion fell in love with Capernaum, so they must have loved him first in spite of the conflict and tension. Taxation of the sort practiced by Matthew was plunder at its best. Regardless of this rip-off activity that caused teeth-gritting responses from everybody from the beggars to the Pharisees, Jesus was going to eat with them. No wonder the Pharisees were saying among themselves while observing Jesus, “are you kidding me?” In today’s world, we might wonder how a pastor could purposefully have dinner with an IRS collection agent who had been rude to a church member. Just the thought that one might do something nice for a person, who was an obvious enemy of the Nation and Temple, simply rubbed Jews and everybody else outside Rome, the wrong way.
Can you now understand what the big deal was in the minds of the Pharisees?
The other reality was that amid the teachings of Messiah and the reputation he was building, tax collectors were coming to realize that what they did for a living was not just nor fair. Forcing financial compliance to support the Romans, the occupying force, caused hate to well up in the most religious heart. Again, in today’s world, consider our response to the likes of Billy Graham having dinner with the Boston bomber or his friends. Would you change your attitude toward Billy Graham?
So here we are in Luke 15, a place that relates the story of tax collectors and other “sinners” approaching the Teacher to hear what he had to say. Neither scripture nor history tells us where this event took place or what was being taught prior to the written account, yet most likely, Jerusalem was the backdrop, since the Pharisees were not likely to travel very far to hear Messiah. The scribes and Pharisees were standing back watching this crowd gather around the Master, and noticing that Jesus did not run them off. These holy-acting men began whispering among themselves with words like, “See, he receives even the sinners and eats with them! How terrible!”
Without question, these sinners who stepped up to hear the message of the Christ were enemies in the eyes of the Pharisees since they were people who did not follow the law. The tax collectors were not just disobeying the law; they were piranha on the Jewish society, ripping their financial flesh from them. Every coin collected in taxes for the Roman military was a coin that would not be coming to the Temple.
By this point in Messiah’s life, the twelve disciples had been selected, including Matthew. Could it be that Matthew was somehow much different than other tax collectors, or is there the possibility that Matthew was selected to be a testimony that someone so hated could be not only witness, but be an example of how to live after his life and priorities had changed? In other words; Matthew met the Master. This tax collector was one of the few witnesses to the Resurrection and Ascension.
However, to the rest of the Jewish world, Matthew was still a tax collector, and people of his class had nothing to do with the religious world, much less the Temple or synagogue.
We know nothing of the group of “sinners” who were gathering around the teacher to hear Him. If the Pharisee judged a part of the crowd as “unclean” then he would deem them sinners. If the Pharisees were making the identification, they very well could have been calling those who listened to the words of Christ, sinners. Besides, the scribes and Pharisees were more than happy to complicate any issue, particularly where Messiah was concerned and be very critical of His followers.
But, as we might suspect, the Master took the chance to center on an issue with pin-point accuracy. This issue is one we continue to face today within the Christian community. He relayed a story using sheep and coins, two things that meant value and prosperity in society of the time. Sheep were used in sacrificial ceremonies in the Temple, and that’s something Pharisees could relate to.
Verse four begins the story. “What man among you has a hundred sheep, and if one of them should get lost, would he not leave the ninety and nine in the open, and go in search of the one which is lost, until he finds it? And, when he finds it he rejoices and takes it on his shoulders, and he comes to his house, and invites his friends and neighbors and says to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
Then verse seven reads, “I say to you that such will be the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety and nine righteous who need no repentance.”
How does the story relate to the modern Christian community? If it is true that every human is loved by God, and God wants every one of us in His flock to follow Him, then what happens when the comfortable faithful ignore the one that has strayed and is in the world of wolves without protection? From attitudes so frequently seen, there is little concern, only criticism. Am I wrong in observing a “that’s too bad” or “it’s not my concern” or “better him than me” response? Isn’t it easier to let the ones who are prone to wonder just go their own way? Such response is more in line with the Pharisees attitudes, is it not? Do you think we have enough want-a-be Pharisees in organized religion? Jesus certainly dealt with arrogance and piety, such as seen in the Pharisee watching this event in Luke 15. Have we not learned how to deal with such people by the example of the Anointed One?
If bringing a stray sheep back to the fold was not enough, the Master turned to something even more personal, money. The second story in parallel with the first is about a rather poor woman who has ten coins, but she lost one. She lit her lamps and swept the house thoroughly, and found it! She too was so happy she was rejoicing that she had recovered ten-percent of her holdings. Then the stories were summed up this way. “I say to you that such will be the joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repented.
Imagine the angels rejoicing over a person who had gone astray and returned, only to realize the flock of Christians they came from don’t seem to care or say, “he really wasn’t saved anyway.”
The bottom line is; every person who comes to the kingdom of God is very important, regardless of what they have done. Those hated tax collectors, sinners or members of a rival denomination are still important to God, even if there is someone in town that rumors about them; even if they have been in jail, even if your friend doesn’t like them.
The example here is that in Jesus’ time, the most hated of society were tax collectors, yet one was selected as a disciple, whose words you read in the front of your New Testament. Should you hate him now because a Pharisee or all the Tribes of Israel despised his profession? Christ showed compassion for the clean and unclean, the worst-of-the worst, the Samaritans and all races, the demon possessed, the sick. John 3:17 explains it, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world should be saved by him.” If our Savior’s purpose was NOT to condemn yet we practice condemnation of another by any means, are we declaring ourselves better than He who did not?
It’s true, the Pharisee stood back and judged the crowd, looking at each one and placing his perception on each, and he judged Messiah by the needy that came to hear the message. How is it that the redeemed ones bask in the Grace of God and fail to pass the same grace to another? Since the Law condemns, Jesus saves us from that condemnation. Romans 8:1 relays, “There is therefore no condemnation to them who walk in the flesh after the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” If this passage is true and correct, then the words “condemnation” and “Christian” cannot be used to describe a person; they are either one or the other.
Is a person who condemns another in their heart, or publically, of God? Romans 4:8 reads, “Blessed is the man whose sins God will not hold against him.” The Pharisee watching the crowd that came to hear the Teacher was condemning the entire crowd, including Jesus, and holding perceived sins against them, but what gain could possibly come from such judgment? Was this big-shot stepping on others to lift his reputation or stature in his profession? The answer is yes, and to do so is so human and not of God.
Do you recognize the theme developing in Luke? This is where we find a code that relays how we are to think of ourselves and others, and how we can find guaranteed success with God and others who are honestly following Yeshua. There are no politics, self promotion, horn-tooting or leadership training involved in Luke, but methods of humility and positive relationships, where we recognize the talent, gifts and efforts of fellow Christians.
The Pharisee in this lesson from Luke was faithful to his perception, although his actions motivated by his view were tragically wrong. You know if challenged, he would fight for his belief and position, quoting the Law and explaining how procedure was ignored and how things were not done right. It’s true; the Pharisee was another right fighter instead of servant. He wanted to be the greatest of all, but not through servant-hood. He had his credentials, political position and authority over others, just as the rich young ruler had power through his money.
Judging others, even the worst of the worst, and power may appear to win with humanity, but not with God. Luke 6:42 puts it this way, “How can you say to your brother, my brother, let me take out the splinter from your eye, when behold you do not see the beam in your own eye?”
The focus scripture of Luke 15, verses one through 10 is more than a little story. These words are about relationships, judging others, focusing on what is truly important and how we view ourselves in comparison with others. It’s about the position and power we think we have, and what we really have.
Now, what happens when we stand before God without our power and possessions? What authority do we command then? Perhaps being right with God and each other is most important after all.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
©2013, J. Tilton
