Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

The day after John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, John is standing with two of his disciples and as Jesus walks up, John says, "'Behold, the Lamb of God!' And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, 'What do you seek?' And they said to Him, "Rabbi, (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour." (John 1:36-39). One of those disciples was named Andrew, brother of Simon, who found him and said, "We have found the Messiah" (which tanslated means Christ). (John 1:41). Then the next day Jesus finds Philip and tells him, "Follow Me." (John 1:43), and Philip finds Nathanael and tells him, "'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of Him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.' Nathanael said to Him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.' And He said to him, 'Truly truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'" (John 1:45-51).

That brings us to our question, "Which disciple was a tax collector?". As it is today, mention the word "taxes" and many will cringe, so as it was in the day of Jesus in Israel, as the Romans imposed a tax burden upon them and they paid it with great reluctance, Even those who took this hated employment collected it no matter the circumstance to the letter and were themselves often of questionable character as even Jesus, speaking to the multitudes, compares them to the world, "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same?" (Matthew 5:46). As odious as they may be, taxes are due and payable, and even Jesus, by example and not to offend, pays the temple tax, though He was exempt, "And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter, and said, 'Does your teacher not pay the tow-drachma tax?' He said 'Yes.' And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?' And upon his saying, 'From strangers,' Jesus said to him, 'Consequently the sons are exempt. But lest we give them offense, go to the sea, and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it for you and Me.'" (Matthew 17:24-27).

And again when the Pharisees try and trap Jesus, "And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for you are not partial to any. Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?' But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, 'Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll tax.' And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' They said to Him, 'Caesar's.' Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.' And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away."
(Matthew 22:16-22).

The opening comments, though probably believed, were not honestly held as Jesus was straightforward with each and every group, no favorites, and especially to the Jewish leaders such as the Pharisees, and so, if Jesus said that the poll tax should not be paid, the Herodians were probably there to condemn Him as an enemy of Caesar, while if He said it should be paid, the Pharisees could charge that to the multitudes, which was not a very popular stance. They though they had Him cold handed so they went away marveling at His answer! They charge that Jesus is a friend of the tax gathers and sinners (Matthew 11:16-19), and Jesus tells them, "Truly I say to you that tax gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you." (Matthew 21:31).

 So then, for the answer to our question we turn and read, "And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, 'Follow Me!' And he rose, and followed Him. And as it happened that He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many were tax gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, 'Why is your Teacher eating with the tax gatherers and sinners? But when He heard this, He said, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.' (Matthew 9:9-13). So there we have the answer to our question, as it is Matthew that is the disciple who is a tax gatherer!

 May we be zealous, not only in the obedience to the works that Jeus has asked us to do, but also to have a heart of mercy and compassion towards those who are in need of spiritual as well as physical help along this pathway of life so that we may all share in the after awhile!