Are there people who you disapprove of and would never mix with? In every society and country there are people who are considered the lowest of the low. In Jesus's day it is near to the truth to say that no one was more looked down upon than tax collectors. There were two types of tax collectors, the Gabbai and the Mokhsa. The Gabbai collected the the regular one per-cent of income tax on grain and produce as well as a tax on each person. The Mokhsa were Jews who contracted with Rome to deal with other taxes. There was actually no limit to the type of things they could tax - boats used for fishing, the fish caught, the use of the harbour for unloading the boat and even the axles on wagons! The Mokhsa were free to add any amount of tax to what Rome required, so they had a legal ticket to rob people blind. And they were hated. When Jesus saw Matthew sitting in the tax collector's booth he said to him, 'Follow me!'. And Matthew got up and followed Him. For all his probable corruption, the tax collector followed and changed his life around. Jesus is so impressive. He sees beyond the corruption, the disgrace, the untouchableness of people to the heart of the person. Maybe that is why He said elsewhere that in God's Kingdom many that are first shall be last and many who are last shall be first. NBF meets Sundays from 6.30 - 7.40 pm in the chapel at Pant-y-Gorphwys farmhouse on the main A478 from Penblewin to Narberth. Visitors welcome for service and buffet afterwards.
