Matthew 9:9-13

The Call of Matthew. Jesus Eats with Tax-collectors (Mark 2:13 *, Luke 5:27). We need not doubt the identification of Matthew (= gift of Yahweh) and Levi; Peter had a double Jewish name, Simon and Kephas. Lk. notes how this disciple forsook all; he could not return to his old calling, as a fisherman could. The meal was apparently in Jesus-' house (cf. Matthew 9:13, It is not my mission to invite the righteous); Capernaum was now his own city (Matthew 9:1). As a Physician, the Lord was bound to come into close contact with those who were sick, regardless of the contagious pollution which the Pharisees shunned. Matthew 9:13 a (Hosea 6:6) is quoted again in Matthew 12:7; it hardly seems in place here (though sacrifice stands for ritual correctness generally), for Jesus had based His action on the ground of simple duty rather than mercy. The righteous and the sinners correspond to the whole and the sick. Lk.'s addition, to repentance, is an attempt to explain why the righteous were not called.