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Bible story · Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32
Follow Me
Read it yourself in the King James Bible: Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32 ↗
“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Matthew 9:13 (KJV)The Story
Matthew was a tax collector in Capernaum. He worked for the Roman authorities, sitting at a booth and collecting taxes from his own people. Tax collectors often charged extra and kept the difference. Everyone despised them as traitors and cheats.
One day Jesus walked past his booth. He looked at Matthew and said two words: “Follow me.”
“And he arose, and followed him.”
Matthew didn’t finish counting the money. He got up and left the whole business behind.
That night Matthew threw a big dinner party at his house for Jesus. And he invited all his friends, other tax collectors and people with bad reputations. They all sat down to eat with Jesus and His disciples.
The Pharisees were scandalized. They asked the disciples, “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?”
Jesus heard them. “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Go and learn what God meant when He said, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Reflection
In a single moment, Matthew’s whole life changed. He walked away from his booth and into a new life. Years later, he wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament.
More Bible stories from Matthew. More about: Second Chances
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Day 20 of Book 8
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