WEATHER ALERT:

Due to weather conditions, all in-person daytime and evening programs have been canceled across the church’s locations for Wednesday, except for the Recovery programs and Food Pantry at Overland Park. Decisions for Thursday daytime programs will correspond with local school district decisions and will be posted on the church’s website.

IMPORTANT:

Scheduled programming has resumed for Thursday, February 13 at all Resurrection locations.

Jesus Saw a Disciple Where Others Saw Traitor

February 3, 2025
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Daily Scripture

Matthew 9:9, Luke 5:27

Matthew 9
9 As Jesus continued on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. He said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.

Luke 5
27 Afterward, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

Daily Reflection & Prayer

In the Roman Empire (which ruled Judea), there were no published tax rates and tax tables. Tax collectors operated more like extortionists, collecting all they could from helpless tradesmen and farmers. Much of the money they collected went to Israel’s Roman occupiers; the rest went into their pockets. No wonder people hated them. Yet Jesus approached Matthew’s tax booth and simply said, “Follow me.” This showed Jesus’ heart for reaching across social barriers to love even those society rejected.

  • Matthew sat in his tax booth, cut off from his community by his choice to collaborate with Rome. Yet Jesus approached him with an invitation, not condemnation. Unlike the religious leaders who shunned tax collectors, Jesus offered Matthew a new purpose and identity. When you meet people that others avoid or reject, how do you respond? Do you see them through society’s eyes or through Jesus’ eyes of love and possibility?
  • Notice that Jesus’ call to Matthew was direct and immediate: “Follow me.” He didn’t require Matthew to first clean up his life or prove himself worthy. Matthew responded by leaving his lucrative position to follow Jesus right away. What might be holding you back from fully following Jesus today? What “tax booth” of comfort or security might Jesus be asking you to leave behind?
Prayer

Lord Jesus, your invitation echoes through the centuries to my heart: “Follow me.” The response you sought from Matthew you seek from me: “Yes, I will follow.” Today I again offer you my “yes.” Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Katy Nall

Katy Nall

Katy Nall serves as the Program Director of Missions for Resurrection West. She is a mom of two and loves to be outside in the sunshine, especially if it involves mountains or ocean. She loves hiking, reading, learning, and connecting.

In The Chosen, Matthew actively avoids the faces of those who despise him. He turns from their suffering, their anger, to focus on his work. He wasn’t hurting anyone, not really—just doing his job, minding his own business. People suffered under the weight of Rome’s taxes, yes, but what did that have to do with him? He didn’t make the rules. He just lived in the world as it was. As he says in the show, “They are going to collect taxes anyway, and I am skilled with numbers.” It was all logical to him.

Then, Jesus passed by. Not just passed by—saw him. Called him. It wasn’t a vague invitation to be a better person or to think nicer thoughts. It was a demand to move, to leave behind the comfortable detachment of his position and step into something costly. The life Matthew knew—the one where he let things happen around him without getting involved—was over. He had to choose: keep his seat or follow.

It’s easy to sit at the booth, to let the world move around us while we stay uninvolved, focusing on our own families, our day to day lives, our own hopes and dreams. But following Jesus has never been about keeping a safe distance. It means seeing people we’d rather not see, loving people we’d rather not love. It means stepping into the mess, even when it costs us. Here’s the beautiful thing, though: when Matthew stood up, he didn’t step into loss. He stepped into belonging, into purpose, into a life bigger than himself. And so do we, when we pray the beautiful prayer, “I will follow you.” How will you respond to Jesus’ call today?

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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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