And Matthew, whom Jesus called to be an apostle, was one who did the actual work of collecting taxes. Matthew, also known as Levi, apparently had his tax office in or near Capernaum.​—Matt. 10:3; Mark 2:1, 14.

Of course, Jesus Christ did not condone the corruption prevalent among tax collectors. But he was ever willing to help them spiritually. For this reason his enemies labeled him “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”​—Matt. 11:19.

Nevertheless, no tax collector became a real “friend” of Jesus until such time as the man changed his course of life. Thus, in one of his illustrations, Jesus showed that the tax collector who humbly recognized himself as a sinner and repented was more righteous than the Pharisee who proudly viewed himself as righteous. (Luke 18:9-14) Among such repentant tax collectors were Matthew and Zacchaeus, both of whom came in line for membership in the kingdom of the heavens.​—Compare Matthew 21:31, 32.