What to do with Publicans?

Publicans in the New Testament were Jews empowered by the Roman government to collect taxes on behalf of the Roman Government. They were not very popular among the Jews generally and among the Pharisees specifically. Even today Tax collectors are not very popular.

First of all the Jews couldn’t have been happy about paying taxes in addition to paying their 10% tithing. And the fact that the Roman Caesar claimed to be a God had to be bothersome. The general opinion among Pharisees was that Publicans were sinners and spiritually filthy.

Lukes Gospel contains five references to Publicans:

Luke 3:12… at the preaching of John the Baptist the Publicans asked “What should we do” whereupon John says “Extort no more than that which is appointed you”.

Luke 5:27… Jesus told Levi the Publican… “follow me” (to become ultimately an Apostle)

Luke 7:29… “all the people (and the Publicans) when they heard, justified God, being baptized” but “the Pharisees and Lawyers rejected the counsel of God”

Luke 18:11-14… contrasts the self righteous prayer of the Pharisee with the humble prayer of the Publican.

Luke 19:1-10… the story of the rich, Chief Publican Zaccheus (presumably rich due to extortion). Jesus goes to eat supper with Zaccheus and the people murmur… Jesus is eating with a sinner! Whereupon Zaccheus stands up and defends himself… “Lord I give half of my goods to the poor and if I have wrongly exacted anything of any man I will repay four times the amount”

Keep in mind that Jesus used the dregs of jewish society to attack the self righteousness of the Pharisees.

The Pharisees hated Samaritans so Jesus elevated Samaritans, they hated unclean women so Jesus elevated them, they hated Publicans so Jesus chose one to become his Disciple, he baptized Publicans when the Pharisees refused to be baptized, he commended the prayer of a Publican over the prayer of a Pharisee and he found a righteous chief publican (who was rich) and went into his home and ate with him.

If there is any lesson in this at all its that we shouldn’t be so spiritually arrogant that we despise those who have been marked up by Satan and the world and choose to have nothing to do with them.

I wonder who would fall in those categories today? Racists? Those we differ with politically? Sexual misorietation? Muslims? Atheists?