Between the second and third sets of miracles in chapters 8–9, Matthew again focuses on discipleship in light of the kingdom’s arrival. The call of Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple of Jesus (9:9; cf. 4:18–22) is tied to Jesus’s practice of eating with “sinners” (9:10–13). Tax collectors were those who had aligned their interests with the Roman occupation and would have been despised by their Jewish compatriots. “Sinners” is a broad category that would include tax collectors and any Jews judged as unfaithful to Israel’s covenant with Yahweh. Faithful Jews would …