Matthew 9:9 As 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.

Just as with Luke’s change of pronouns in Acts 16:10, we know that it is from this point that the narrator is speaking from personal experience, rather than research. That’s not to say that the sections that were researched rather than experienced are inaccurate, but it does give a slightly different flavor to the narrative. It is also worth noting that modern linguistic analysis indicates that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Aramaic, rather than Greek. Aramaic was the daily language of the people of Judea, whereas Greek was what they used for commerce and to talk to the Roman occupiers and other foreigners. Hebrew, on the other hand, was reserved for reading Scripture and the like. That degree of polyglot culture is hard for Americans and Japanese to grasp, but it’s quite common in Europe, with so many languages in close proximity. All of that said, Aramaic was probably Matthew’s “heart language,” the one in which he could express himself most freely. Like the other Gospel writers, Matthew doesn’t put himself forward; it’s all about Jesus. Here, he simply states that from that point he followed Jesus. That actually was an earth-shaking, life-changing move for him, requiring him to resign his commission as an agent of the Roman government and probably changing every detail of his day-to-day life. It is worth noting that he accepts his position as one of the “sinners” at the dinner in his house. Probably the only people who would associate with him were the women he paid to do so and the men who were in similarly despised occupations as he was. The fact that Jesus would choose him as a follower, and indeed, later designate him as an apostle, was a miracle Matthew never got over. Thinking about it, Jesus was the ultimate expert at “diversity and inclusion,” calling people from across the social spectrum and treating them equally. I doubt that Matthew ever complained about Peter, James, and John being the “inner circle” of the disciples. He was too blown out of the water that he was included at all! We have much to learn from Matthew about understanding that Jesus accepts us where we are and as we are, but He doesn’t leave us there. It was the Pharisees, who thought they were “worthy” to be close to God, who had the most conflict with Jesus.

I think it’s fitting that in the Visual Bible presentation of Matthew, the key descriptive word would probably be Joy. I think Matthew had very little real joy before meeting Jesus, only occasional pleasure, and the joy of being accepted, by Jesus and His other disciples, never left him. I have been described as a joyful person, as someone who enjoys life, and I don’t think that’s wrong. I’ve certainly had my times of “not joy,” but the Lord has always carried me through them. I’ve never been in exactly Matthew’s position, but I have certainly experienced exclusion and rejection in various ways. My joy has to come from the knowledge that Jesus loves me so much that He died for me and He wants me to live as His representative. So long as I keep that in focus, I will walk in the joy that Matthew did.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the carpentry I’ve been doing since yesterday. At my age I’d frankly rather be doing other things, but it is satisfying to see physical progress. Help me walk in Your joy in the work to be done today, so that the results may bless everyone involved and give You glory. Thank You. Praise God!