In biblical times the tax collector was considered by the Jews to be a traitor and very probably a thief. Why? Because the land of Israel was occupied by Rome and the taxes collected went to Rome. There were several levels of authority but the customhouse officers, who were encouraged by their superior to charge compensatory taxes, did most of the real tax collection. These men often charged fraudulent taxes with remedy almost impossible. These tax collectors over charged (Luke 3:13) and brought false charges of smuggling in the hopes of extorting hush money. The tax collectors were called "publicans" and this word means that they were a collector of public revenue. In other words the tax collector worked for the government in charge and that government happened to be Rome. The publicans or tax collectors were considered traitors and apostates. Hmm sounds familiar.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:16:39 +0000
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