Be Still And Know

Luke 5:29-30 Levi the tax collector is better known to us as Matthew. There were many kinds of tax at the time. There was a poll tax, which men aged 14 to 65 and women aged twelve to 65 had to pay. There was also a ground tax: one-tenth of all that was grown, and one-fifth of wine and oil, to be paid in kind or in money. And then there was income tax of one percent. However, that was only the start of the taxes and duties that had to be paid. There was a tax payable for the use of roads, harbours and markets, and people using a cart had to pay for each wheel and each animal that pulled it. In short, tax was a complicated and extensive part of life, and tax collectors could become very rich. Nobody takes great pleasure in paying tax but, at the time, tax collectors were particularly disliked. They worked closely with the hated Roman administration. Consequently, they were barred from attending synagogue and were viewed as the dregs of society, classed together with murderers and robbers. The Pharisees and