【读圣经学英语】税吏

【读圣经学英语】税吏

马太福音-Matthew 9章9~10节

9:9 耶稣从那里往前走,看见一个人名叫马太,坐在税关上,就对他说,跟从我。他就起来,跟从了耶稣。
  And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man sitting at the tax office, called Matthew, and He said to him, Follow Me. And he rose and followed Him.
9:10 耶稣在屋里坐席,看哪,有好些税吏和罪人来,与耶稣和祂的门徒一同坐席。
  And as He was reclining at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and reclined together with Jesus and His disciples.

Enlightenment:

A tax collector was a despised person. Nearly all tax collectors abused their office by demanding more than they should by false accusation (Luke 3:12-13; 19:2, 8). To pay taxes to the Romans was very bitter to the Jews. Those engaged in collecting them were despised by the people and counted unworthy of any respect (Luke 18:9-10). Hence, they were classed with sinners (Matt. 9:10-11). How we must worship the Lord that even a person of such a low rank as Matthew, under God’s mercy and by His grace, could become an apostle! After being saved, Matthew was so grateful to the Lord that he opened his house and prepared a feast for Him and His disciples. 

亮光

税吏是受藐视的人。几乎所有的税吏都滥用职权,假借名义,讹诈勒索。(路三12~13,十九2,8。)纳税给罗马政府,令犹大人非常痛苦。百姓藐视那些从事收税的人,认为他们丝毫不值得尊重,(路十八9~10,)因此将他们与罪人同列。(太九10~11。)我们真需要敬拜主,在神的怜悯之下,并藉着祂的恩典,甚至像马太这样一个低阶层的人,也能成为使徒!马太得救之后,极其感谢主,因此把家打开,为主和碰的门徒豫备了筵席。