9:9 As Jesus leaves Capernaum (cf. Mark 2:1), he sees a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth alongside the road. In Jesus’ day heavy taxes were levied upon the people for all sorts of things. In addition to the three main taxes (ground tax, income tax, and poll tax), duty was imposed upon all imported goods. Every caravan that used the main roads and the ships that came into harbor were taxed. Matthew was one of a widely despised group who collected taxes from the Jewish people and turned them over to Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. His booth was probably along the great highway that led from Damascus to the sea. Some writers, perhaps because of Mark 2:13–14, put his place of business near the sea, in which case he would collect duty on goods shipped in from…