What is a publican in the Bible?

Answer

The term “publican” is an English rendition of the Greek word “telónés,” which translates to “tax-farmer.” Publicans were responsible for tax collection. In the Roman era, publicans imposed extra charges to boost their already generous incomes. In biblical context, publicans were Jewish individuals who collaborated with the detested Roman administration to gather taxes from fellow Jewish inhabitants.

Tax collectors or publicans were universally scorned. Occupants of a conquered territory were recruited by the occupying regime to carry out its unethical tasks. To incentivize betrayal of their own people, officials offered substantial rewards to publicans and permitted them to extort as much money from the populace as possible. Due to the inherent corruption in the system and their collaboration with the enemy, publicans were viewed as traitors to their homeland. They could only socialize with other publicans or individuals from the criminal underworld, so being associated with a publican automatically raised suspicions about one’s character.

Jesus’ interactions with publicans contributed to why the Jewish community found Him so scandalous. One of the initial individuals He called to be a disciple was Levi (Matthew), a publican “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”, (Matthew 9:9). Shortly after, Matthew hosted a banquet for Jesus and many of his fellow publicans (verse 10). This action shocked and angered the religious authorities. Jesus, a respected rabbi within religious circles, was expected to avoid any association with such individuals. They questioned Him, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” “But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”.

ners? », (Luke 5:30). Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (verses 31–32).

Jesus’ calling of Matthew (who later penned the gospel by that name) demonstrates that the Son of God had come for all sinners. No one was too far gone that God’s grace could not reach him. Publicans were considered the worst of the worst, but Jesus singled out a tax collector and added him to His circle of friends. Tax collectors were assumed to be beyond hope and therefore not worthy of forgiveness. But Jesus spent three years shattering those rigid religious opinions.

As Jesus traveled through Jericho, He caused another stir by seeking out a publican named Zacchaeus. Again, the people muttered that Jesus was breaking protocol by entering a publican’s house «And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. », (Luke 19:7). But the result was a changed life: “Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham’” (verses 8–9). To everyone’s surprise (except God’s), Zacchaeus the publican was redeemed, and his faith in Christ resulted in a changed life. Jesus used the occasion to remind everyone of why He had come to earth: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (verse 10).

Jesus made a point of finding society’s worst and elevating them to a status equal to the rest of us. He demonstrated that every human being is worthy of the opportunity to know Him. So He went for the outcasts: He forgave an adulteress (John 8:11).(John 8:3-11), healed lepers (Luke 17:11-19), spoke with Samaritans (John 4:7-30), and described the Father as eagerly awaiting the return of His prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). He made a life-changing visit to one publican and called another one to His inner circle. Choosing Matthew and saving Zacchaeus, both publicans, forever squelched elitism within God’s kingdom «There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. », (Galatians 3:28). If Jesus can use publicans in mighty ways for His glory, He can use anyone.