שלמים

Jewish agents who collected taxes for the Roman Empire, despised by their countrymen as collaborators and often guilty of extortion. Jesus scandalized religious leaders by eating with tax collectors (Matthew 9:10-13) and calling one — Matthew (Levi) — as his disciple (Matthew 9:9). Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, experienced radical transformation after meeting Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Jesus used the tax collector's prayer — 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13) — as a model of genuine humility before God. These encounters demonstrate that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace.