Just a point of clarification about the hatred of tax collectors in the Bible from my understanding. One of the reasons that tax collectors were used as an example of the worst people was because Jesus was speaking to the people around Judea and tax collectors were something that they all had to deal with and all hated. The biggest reason that they were hated wasn't because they were all Jews and hated parting with their money. It was because they lived under occupation of the Romans, a foreign invader. Tax collectors were seen as betrayers who were siphoning the wealth and resources of the Jewish people, giving it to invaders, and profiting themselves from it. It wasn't like today where the IRS is a faceless monster that you, in most cases, barely notice as your money is taken automatically out of your check and you mail them a check once or a few times a year. These people knocked on your door to do a face to face government shake down and if you didn't make them happy now you have to worry about the Legionaries coming to kick down your door. It's kinda amazing how ubiquitous things are almost 2000 years apart. Making the worst things a person could be be a child molester would not have worked because that's something that I'm sure people may have had some knowledge of or at least could imagine how horrible it would be. Making it a tax collector made it personal and real to the people he was ministering too.
On an interesting and related note, the children of Israel were never supposed to be in the mess they were in in the first place. They were never supposed to be conquered by Rome and have Herod as their king. They were never supposed to have kings in the first place. They were supposed to be ruled over by God anointed Judges. The Judges of the Old Testament were, for an extreme want of a better word, the hand picked, guided by God, Overman of the 12 tribes. Samson was a Judge. However, human nature is the same now as it was thousands of years ago and the Israelites turned away from what God wanted and demanded that they be ruled over by a king like the rest of the nations of the known world. So the prophet Samuel spoke to the people with this from 1 Samuel 8:10-18 NKJV
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest [a]young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
God warned them that this king, this worldly ruler, would take their sons as soldiers, use those sons to kill their other sons, take their daughters, take everything good from them and give them to their favored servants, and when they would come to their senses and realize the horror they've unleashed upon themselves that their cries would fall on deaf ears for this was the future they chose. Samuel would then go to anoint Saul as the first King of Israel who, despite having a direct line to God Himself, who 100 years prior led them out of Egypt and 50 years after that delivered to them Canaan which is the land of milk and honey you probably heard referenced, became an idol worshiper.
The God of the Bible says taxation is theft and His Son says to stay strapped. Luke 22:36 NKJV.
36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
Based and scripture pilled.
