Matthew 9:9-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 As Jesus passed on from there,(A) he saw a man named Matthew[a] sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10 While he was at table in his house,[b] many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.(B) 11 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher[c] eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.[d] 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words,(C) ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[e] I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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- 9:9 A man named Matthew: Mark names this tax collector Levi (Mk 2:14). No such name appears in the four lists of the twelve who were the closest companions of Jesus (Mt 10:2–4; Mk 3:16–19; Lk 6:14–16; Acts 1:13 [eleven, because of the defection of Judas Iscariot]), whereas all four list a Matthew, designated in Mt 10:3 as “the tax collector.” The evangelist may have changed the “Levi” of his source to Matthew so that this man, whose call is given special notice, like that of the first four disciples (Mt 4:18–22), might be included among the twelve. Another reason for the change may be that the disciple Matthew was the source of traditions peculiar to the church for which the evangelist was writing.
- 9:10 His house: it is not clear whether his refers to Jesus or Matthew. Tax collectors: see note on Mt 5:46. Table association with such persons would cause ritual impurity.
- 9:11 Teacher: see note on Mt 8:19.
- 9:12 See note on Mk 2:17.
- 9:13 Go and learn…not sacrifice: Matthew adds the prophetic statement of Hos 6:6 to the Marcan account (see also Mt 12:7). If mercy is superior to the temple sacrifices, how much more to the laws of ritual impurity.
Mark 2:13-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Call of Levi. 13 [a](A)Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. 14 (B)As he passed by,[b] he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 15 While he was at table in his house,[c] many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 [d]Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 Jesus heard this and said to them [that], “Those who are well do not need a physician,[e] but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
The Question About Fasting.[f]
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- 2:13 He taught them: see note on Mk 1:21–45.
- 2:14 As he passed by: see note on Mk 1:16–20. Levi, son of Alphaeus: see note on Mt 9:9. Customs post: such tax collectors paid a fixed sum for the right to collect customs duties within their districts. Since whatever they could collect above this amount constituted their profit, the abuse of extortion was widespread among them. Hence, Jewish customs officials were regarded as sinners (Mk 2:16), outcasts of society, and disgraced along with their families. He got up and followed him: i.e., became a disciple of Jesus.
- 2:15 In his house: cf. Mk 2:1; Mt 9:10. Lk 5:29 clearly calls it Levi’s house.
- 2:16–17 This and the following conflict stories reflect a similar pattern: a statement of fact, a question of protest, and a reply by Jesus.
- 2:17 Do not need a physician: this maxim of Jesus with its implied irony was uttered to silence his adversaries who objected that he ate with tax collectors and sinners (Mk 2:16). Because the scribes and Pharisees were self-righteous, they were not capable of responding to Jesus’ call to repentance and faith in the gospel.
- 2:18–22 This conflict over the question of fasting has the same pattern as Mk 2:16–17; see notes on Mt 9:15; 9:16–17.
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