Hated as a collaborator with the Romans by his countrymen, despised as the worst of sinners by the religious leaders, hounded by his conscience, Matthew sat at his booth to collect his taxes. Then this teacher, this Jesus, came and said, “Follow me!” For a man despised and rejected by so many, it was an amazing moment: chosen by Jesus to be a follower, a friend, a confidant. Jesus walked to his booth and chose him by grace.

Read matthew 9:9-13

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
¹⁰While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Digging into the verses