Bible Reference / Bible Facts / People in the Bible / Tax Collectors in the Bible
Quick Summary
Tax collectors in the Bible were local Jewish men who collected taxes and tolls for the ruling powers, Rome and its client kings like Herod Antipas. They worked under a system that let them keep whatever they collected beyond the official amount, so many grew rich by overcharging their neighbors. As a result, they were despised as collaborators, cheats, and sinners.
Two tax collectors are named in the Bible: Matthew, also called Levi, whom Jesus called to be one of the twelve apostles (Luke 5:27-32), and Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in Jericho who climbed a tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Tax collectors appear about twenty times in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, often paired with "sinners." Jesus was mocked as "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34), and he welcomed them, ate with them, and called them to repentance.
What Was a Tax Collector in the Bible?
The Greek word for tax collector is telōnēs. Older English translations like the King James Version call them "publicans," from the Latin publicani, the wealthy contractors who bought the right to collect Roman taxes. Zacchaeus is called an architelōnēs, a "chief tax collector," meaning he oversaw other collectors in his district.
Most tax collectors in the Gospels were local Jews, rather than Roman officials, hired to collect tolls and taxes from their own people. That is a big part of why they were resented. They were insiders working for outsiders.
How Did Taxes Work in Jesus' Day?
People in first-century Judea and Galilee paid several kinds of taxes:
Tribute to Rome. This included a land tax on crops and a head tax on individuals. The census in Luke 2:1-5, when Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, was connected to Roman taxation (Luke 2:1-7). Paying this tribute was the issue behind the question Jesus was asked about paying taxes to Caesar.
Tolls and customs. Goods moving along roads, across borders, and through ports were taxed. Most tax collectors in the Gospels worked at toll booths like the one where Jesus found Levi.
The Temple tax. Every Jewish man paid a half-shekel a year to support the Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 17:24-27). This was collected by Temple officials, not by the despised telōnai. Read more about what a shekel was in the Bible.
The arrangement depended on where you lived. After AD 6, Judea was ruled directly by a Roman governor like Pontius Pilate. Galilee, where Jesus did most of his ministry, was ruled by Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, who collected taxes in his own territory and answered to Rome. Read more about the Herods of the New Testament.
Tax Farming and How Tax Collectors Got Rich
Many taxes and tolls were collected through a system called tax farming. The right to collect taxes in a region was auctioned to the highest bidder, who paid the government in advance and then hired local collectors. Collectors made their money by charging more than the official rate and keeping the difference.
There was no fixed salary and little oversight, so the system practically invited abuse. A collector could overvalue goods, invent fees, or simply demand more. When tax collectors came to John the Baptist to be baptized and asked what they should do, his answer said it all: "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you" (Luke 3:12-13). Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho, was "rich" (Luke 19:2), and he admitted he had defrauded people.
Why Were Tax Collectors Hated in the Bible?
Tax collectors were among the most despised people in first-century Jewish society, for several overlapping reasons.
They collaborated with foreign rulers. Tax collectors served Rome and its client kings, the powers that occupied God's land and burdened God's people. Many saw them as traitors.
They cheated their neighbors. Because they profited from overcharging, tax collectors were assumed to be dishonest, and many were.
They were considered ritually unclean. Their work brought constant contact with Gentiles, Gentile money, and goods of uncertain purity. Observant Jews avoided close contact with them.
They were grouped with notorious sinners. The Gospels regularly pair "tax collectors and sinners" (Mark 2:15-16). Jesus himself mentions "tax collectors and prostitutes" together (Matthew 21:31-32), and when he describes someone who refuses correction from the church, he says, "let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Even Jesus' teaching assumes his listeners looked down on them: "Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" (Matthew 5:46). Later rabbinic writings list tax collectors among those whose testimony could not be trusted in court.
Why were tax collectors considered sinners? In this setting, "sinners" did not mean everyone who had ever sinned. It referred to people whose way of life openly disregarded God's law. A tax collector's daily work involved extortion and cooperation with Gentile rulers, so religious leaders put them in that category automatically.
Who Was the Tax Collector in the Bible?
When people ask about "the tax collector in the Bible," they usually mean one of these:
Matthew (Levi), the Tax Collector Who Became an Apostle
Jesus saw a tax collector "sitting at the tax booth" and said, "Follow me." He "got up, left everything, and followed him" (Luke 5:27-28). Mark and Luke call him Levi; Matthew's Gospel calls him Matthew (Matthew 9:9) and lists him among the Twelve as "Matthew the tax collector" (Matthew 10:3). He then threw a banquet for Jesus with many tax collectors, which led the Pharisees to complain that Jesus ate with sinners.
So yes, Matthew was a tax collector, and he is the disciple most often identified as one. Early Christian tradition connects him with the Gospel of Matthew. Read the full commentary on the call of Levi (Luke 5:27-32), and see who wrote Matthew and Caravaggio's The Calling of Saint Matthew.
Zacchaeus, the Short Chief Tax Collector
Zacchaeus was "a chief tax collector and was rich" in Jericho (Luke 19:2). Because he "was short in stature," he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus pass by. Jesus stopped, looked up, and invited himself to Zacchaeus' house, while the crowd grumbled that he had gone to be the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus responded by giving half his possessions to the poor and repaying anyone he had cheated four times over, far beyond what the law required (Leviticus 6:5). Jesus declared, "Today salvation has come to this house" and "the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost" (19:9-10). Read the full commentary on Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
The Tax Collector in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
In one of Jesus' best-known parables, a Pharisee and a tax collector go up to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee thanks God he is not like other people, "or even like this tax collector." The tax collector stands far off, will not look up, beats his breast, and prays, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" Jesus says the tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified (Luke 18:9-14). Read the full commentary on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Other Tax Collectors in the Gospels
Tax collectors baptized by John. Tax collectors came to John the Baptist and asked how to repent (Luke 3:12-13), and later "acknowledged the justice of God" because they had been baptized by him (Luke 7:29). Read more about John the Baptist.
Tax collectors who came to hear Jesus. "All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him" (Luke 15:1), which prompted the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin and the prodigal son.
Was Luke a Tax Collector? Was Nicodemus?
No to both. Luke, the traditional author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts, was a physician; Paul calls him "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Read more about who wrote Luke. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, the opposite end of the social ladder from a tax collector.
Every Tax Collector Passage in the New Testament
The Greek word for tax collector appears about twenty times in the New Testament, all in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John's Gospel never mentions tax collectors. The table below gathers every passage.
| Passage | What It Says |
|---|---|
| Luke 3:12-13 | Tax collectors come to John the Baptist for baptism. He tells them to collect no more than the amount prescribed. |
| Matthew 5:46 | In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says loving only those who love you is no better than what tax collectors do. |
| Luke 5:27-32 Also Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17 |
Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) from his tax booth and eats at his banquet with tax collectors and sinners. |
| Matthew 10:3 | The list of the twelve apostles includes "Matthew the tax collector." |
| Luke 7:29-34 Also Matthew 11:19 |
Tax collectors acknowledge God's justice; critics call Jesus "a friend of tax collectors and sinners." |
| Matthew 17:24-27 | Collectors of the Temple tax ask Peter whether Jesus pays it. Jesus provides the coin from a fish's mouth. |
| Matthew 18:17 | A member who refuses correction is to be treated "as a Gentile and a tax collector." |
| Luke 15:1-2 | Tax collectors and sinners come to listen to Jesus; the Pharisees grumble that he welcomes and eats with them. |
| Luke 18:9-14 | In Jesus' parable, a humble tax collector prays for mercy and goes home justified instead of the proud Pharisee. |
| Luke 19:1-10 | Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, welcomes Jesus, gives half his goods to the poor, and repays fourfold anyone he cheated. |
| Matthew 21:31-32 | Jesus tells the religious leaders that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God's kingdom ahead of them. |
| Romans 13:6-7 | Paul tells believers to pay taxes and give revenue to whom it is due. |
Quotations from the NRSV.
What Did Jesus Say About Tax Collectors?
Jesus' attitude toward tax collectors shocked his contemporaries. He did not excuse their dishonesty, but he refused to treat them as beyond God's reach.
He called one to follow him. Matthew left his tax booth to become one of the Twelve.
He ate with them. When critics objected, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32).
He accepted the label "friend of tax collectors." His critics meant it as an insult (Luke 7:34). It turned out to be an accurate description of his mission.
He said they were entering the kingdom first. To the religious leaders in Jerusalem, he said, "the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you," because they believed John the Baptist's message (Matthew 21:31-32).
He made one the hero of a parable. The humble tax collector who prayed for mercy went home justified (Luke 18:14).
He called them to change. Jesus' welcome always included a call to repentance. Zacchaeus showed what that looks like: generosity and restitution.
Tax Collectors and Repentance
The tax collector stories in the Gospels share a pattern. Each one meets God's grace before he has cleaned up his life, and each one responds with real change.
John the Baptist told tax collectors to stop overcharging. Levi left his booth behind. Zacchaeus gave away half his wealth and repaid fourfold, matching the steep penalty the law set for stealing livestock (Exodus 22:1). The tax collector in the parable did nothing but ask for mercy, and Jesus said that was enough to send him home justified.
The message is consistent: no one is too far gone for God's grace, and grace changes the people who receive it. Read more about what repentance means and Bible verses about repentance.
What Does the Bible Say About Paying Taxes?
The Bible's criticism of tax collectors targets extortion and injustice. Taxes themselves are treated as legitimate. When asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus answered, "give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" (Luke 20:25). Jesus also paid the Temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27). Paul told the church in Rome to pay taxes and give "revenue to whom revenue is due" (Romans 13:6-7). Read more about who wrote Romans.
Tax Collectors in the Bible: Meaning for Today
Tax collectors were the people everyone knew they could look down on. Respectable people kept their distance, and religious people kept their purity by avoiding them. Jesus went straight to them.
That challenges every reader. Who are the people we assume are beyond God's reach? Whom do we avoid sharing a table with? Jesus' friendship with tax collectors shows that God's grace goes first to those who know they need it, and that the people we write off may be the first to enter the kingdom.
It is also good news. If Jesus could call Matthew from his tax booth and Zacchaeus down from his tree, he can call anyone. For more, see Bible verses about judging others and Bible verses about greed.
FAQ: Tax Collectors in the Bible
Who was the tax collector in the Bible? The two named tax collectors in the Bible are Matthew, also called Levi, whom Jesus called to be an apostle (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27-32), and Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in Jericho (Luke 19:1-10). Jesus also told a famous parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
What was a tax collector in the Bible? A tax collector (Greek telōnēs, called a "publican" in the KJV) was usually a local Jewish man who collected tolls and taxes for Rome or its client rulers, like Herod Antipas. Collectors kept whatever they charged beyond the official rate.
Why were tax collectors hated in the Bible? Tax collectors were hated because they worked for foreign and oppressive rulers, overcharged their own neighbors to enrich themselves, and had frequent contact with Gentiles that made them ritually unclean. They were commonly grouped with "sinners" and prostitutes.
Which disciple was a tax collector? Matthew, also called Levi, was the tax collector among the twelve apostles. Matthew 10:3 lists him as "Matthew the tax collector."
Were tax collectors Jewish? Yes, most tax collectors in the Gospels were Jewish. That made them even more resented, because they were seen as betraying their own people to serve Rome and its rulers.
How much did tax collectors make in the Bible? Tax collectors did not earn a set salary. They profited by collecting more than the required amount and keeping the difference, which could make them wealthy. Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, was described as rich.
How many tax collectors are mentioned in the Bible? Two tax collectors are named: Matthew (Levi) and Zacchaeus. The word "tax collector" appears about twenty times in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, including groups of tax collectors and the unnamed tax collector in Jesus' parable.
Why did Jesus eat with tax collectors? Jesus ate with tax collectors to welcome them into God's kingdom and call them to repentance. He explained that the sick are the ones who need a physician, and that he came to call sinners.
Who was the short tax collector in the Bible? Zacchaeus was the short tax collector. Luke 19:3 says he was "short in stature," so he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Works Consulted
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Darrell L. Bock, Luke (NIV Application Commentary)
John R. Donahue, "Tax Collector," Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary
Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
