The Gospels document interactions between Jesus and two tax collectors: Matthew and Zacchaeus. The system used to determine what taxes were owed, when they were owed, and how they were paid was extraordinarily corrupt. This was due in part to the fact that the system, like most ancient systems, was virtually impossible to monitor. But Jesus neither condemned the system, nor did he offer suggestions on how to improve it. Instead, he addressed two participants. He invited Matthew to follow him and invited himself to Zacchaeus’s house for lunch. While Jesus made no effort to change how taxes were
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