Tax Collector and Friends
Matthew was a tax collector.
So he was a traitor, a cheater and a thief to most people.
Why?
The land of Israel, where Matthew lived, had been conquered by the Romans. They left their soldiers there and collected money from the Jews. Those who came to the town had to pay. Those who wanted to sell or buy something had to pay. For this purpose, tax collectors were hired by the Romans. Tax collectors, like Matthew, would sit in the gate and collect money from the people. They gave the money to the Romans. That is why Matthew was considered a traitor by most people. He helped their enemies.
Tax collectors made a living by collecting more than they were supposed to. They kept all the extra money for themselves and became very rich.
That is why people hated tax collectors. And they despised Matthew as well. He made friends with people like him and started to see other tax collectors. Other people who did bad things joined them. They are called sinners in the Bible. And Matthew was friends with them. They organised feasts where they badmouthed other people. They bragged about who they had cheated, ridiculed or hurt. They retaliated against others because they did not like them.
What people are you friends with?
Everybody wants to have people he or she can be friends with. But sometimes it is hard to find good friends, for example, when others don’t want to accept you. It may be for different reasons. Maybe you are different from them. Or you learnt to behave in a way they don’t like. Or somebody has been gossiping about you. But there might be a completely different reason. Choose a group and write why you’ve joined them:
I have friends who like me and I like them. We have a lot of fun together
I have friends with whom I do various forbidden things with
I don’t have friends
Another group