Meaning of PUBLICANS

In the Roman tax collection system, they were the subordinates who, under the direction of a Roman official, were in charge of collecting taxes and rights of passage for goods that were transported from one territory to another.

The Roman official had to pay himself, so they demanded from taxpayers sums greater than those that actually had to go to the public treasury.

The state authorized this practice, and no law protected taxpayers against exactions.

With the exception of a very few honest men, the publicans in turn collected abusive sums (cf. Luke 3:12, 13; 19:8).

In the provinces, all social classes detested them, with the possible exception of the Roman governors, who often colluded with them to extract money from the taxpayers.

The person in charge of a small territory was, sometimes, originally from that same territory.

The Jew Zacchaeus was the chief perceiver at Jericho (Luke 19:1, 2). Matthew (Levi), also a Jew, was undoubtedly the direct subordinate of the Roman official, appointed by him to collect taxes in Capernaum (Mt. 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).

The Jews could not allow one of their own to act as an agent of the Romans collecting taxes for a Gentile government.

They also condemned any Jew who became general collector on behalf of a particular city. The Jewish publican was excluded from the society of his compatriots; His friends suffered the same fate.

Jesus was accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners (Mt. 9:10-13; 11:19). The Lord did one of them the honor of calling him to the apostleship (Mt. 9:9; 10:3).

Jesus recognized, however, the publican's lack of moral worth as such (Mt. 5:46, 47; 18:17). However, he invited them to enter the Kingdom of God.

The goodness of the Lord touched many of them, and there were some who were baptized (Mt. 21:31, 32; Luke 3:12; 7:29; 15:1; 18:13, 14).

The parable of the Pharisee and the publican shows the repentance and salvation of the latter (Lk. 9:14).