5:27 After 1 this, Jesus 2 went out and saw a tax collector 3 named Levi 4 sitting at the tax booth. 5 “Follow me,” 6 he said to him.
9:23 Then 7 he said to them all, 8 “If anyone wants to become my follower, 9 he must deny 10 himself, take up his cross daily, 11 and follow me.
1 tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
4 sn It is possible that Levi is a second name for Matthew, because people often used alternative names in 1st century Jewish culture.
5 tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion; so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.
sn The tax booth was a booth located on the edge of a city or town to collect taxes for trade. There was a tax booth in Capernaum, which was on the trade route from Damascus to Galilee and the Mediterranean. The “taxes” were collected on produce and goods brought into the area for sale, and were a sort of “sales tax” paid by the seller but obviously passed on to the purchaser in the form of increased prices (L&N 57.183). It was here that Jesus met Levi (also named Matthew [see Matt 9:9]) who was ultimately employed by the Romans, though perhaps more directly responsible to Herod Antipas. It was his job to collect taxes for Rome and he was thus despised by Jews who undoubtedly regarded him as a traitor.
6 sn Follow me. For similar calls on the part of Jesus see Luke 5:10-11; 9:23, 59; 18:22.
7 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.
9 tn Grk “to come after me.”
10 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
11 sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.