GOSPEL 5:1-17
Befriending Sinners and Tax Collectors
BEFRIENDING SINNERS AND TAX COLLECTORS
5 1Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left his house and went off to a solitary place, where he meditated. 2Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” 3Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhere else—to the nearby villages. That way I can teach there also. For that’s why I’ve come.”
4And as Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collection booth. 5Matthew got up and welcomed Jesus gladly, saying, “A great prophet has come to us!” When Jesus reached the spot, he laughed and said to him, “Matthew! I must stay at your house today.” 6But the Pharisees and the clergymen muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and tax collectors!”
7Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Listen:
Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 8The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, liars, adulterers—or even like this tax collector over there.9I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of all I get. They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. 10They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. For everyone will have to give account for every empty word they have spoken on the Day of Judgment.’
11But the tax collector stood at a distance, saying, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever! 12Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it! 13Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy! 14For the Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all of his works.”
15I tell you, it was this man, rather than the other, who went home right with God that day. 16For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
17Follow me,” he said. And, leaving everything, Matthew got up and followed him.
BEFRIENDING SINNERS AND TAX COLLECTORS
5 1Καὶ πρωῒ ἔννυχα λίαν ἀναστὰς ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς ἔρημον τόπον κἀκεῖ ἐθεώρ-ησεν. 2καὶ κατεδίωξεν αὐτὸν Σίμων καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὗρον αὐτὸν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ ὅτι πάντες ζητοῦσίν σε. 3καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἄγωμεν ἀλλαχοῦ εἰς τὰς ἐχομένας κωμοπόλεις, ἵνα καὶ ἐκεῖ κηρύξω· εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἐξῆλθον.
4καὶ παράγων ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄνθρωπον καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, Μαθθαῖον λεγόμενον. 5καὶ σπεύσας ἀνέβη καὶ ὑπεδέξατο αὐτὸν χαίρων. καὶ εἶπεν· Προφήτης μέγας ἠγέρθη ἐν ἡμῖν. καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐξεγέλασεν καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Μαθθαῖε, σπεύσας κατάβηθι, σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι. 6καὶ διεγόγγυζον οἵ τε Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες ὅτι οὗτος ἁμαρτωλοὺς προσδέχεται καὶ τοὺς τελώνᾱς.
7Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν· Ἰδοὺ·ἄνθρωποι δύο ἀνέβησαν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσεύξασθαι, ὁ εἷς Φαρισαῖος καὶ ὁ ἕτερος τελώνης. 8ὁ Φαρισαῖος σταθεὶς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ταῦτα προσηύχετο· Ὁ θεός, εὐχαριστῶ σοι ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ ὥσπερ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἅρπαγες, ἄδικοι, μοιχοί, ἢ καὶ ὡς οὗτος ὁ τελώνης· 9νηστεύω δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου, ἀποδεκατῶ πάντα ὅσα κτῶμαι. ἀπελεύσονται οὗτοι εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον, οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. 10οἵτινες δίκην τίσουσιν ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ. πᾶνγὰρῥῆμαἀργὸνὃ λαλήσουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀποδώσουσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως.
11Ὁ δὲ τελώνης μακρόθεν ἑστὼς λέγων· Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ κυρίῳ, ὅτι ἀγαθός, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. 12εὐφραινέσθωσαν οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ ἀγαλλιάσθω ἡ γῆ, σαλευθήτω ἡ θάλασσα καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς· 13χαρήσεται τὰ πεδία καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς, τότε ἀγαλλιάσονται πάντα τὰ ξύλα τοῦ δρυμοῦ. 14χρηστὸς γὰρ κύριος τοῖς πᾶσιν, καὶ οἱ οἰκτιρμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.
15Λέγω ὑμῖν, κατέβη οὗτος δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ παρ’ ἐκεῖνον· 16ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται. 17ἀκολούθει μοι, εἶπεν. καὶ καταλιπὼν πάντα Μαθθαῖος ἀναστὰς ἠκολ-ούθει αὐτῷ.