NOTES for Mar 2:14

It appears that there is nothing strange in this verse; this is exactly how everything should have happened. Jesus says "go," Matthew gets up and goes. The only strange thing is that a man leaves a profitable, though not very respected, job as a tax collector, asks no questions, rises, and follows the first person he meets. Only an abstract and superficial look at the Gospel narrative can paint pious rosy pictures here. It is enough to think carefully about what is happening to understand how strongly the presence of Jesus affected everyone who encountered Him. All of us who do not see Him as they saw Him should thank God for mercy, because the most responsible spiritual choice does not stand before us: to acknowledge that this Man of flesh and blood is God. To acknowledge that He is not equal to everyone else. To realize this impossible and incredible fact is a serious problem for a person, especially a person of our time, accustomed to postulating the relativity of everything, even good and evil. But the necessity of deciding how you personally relate to this fact does not disappear. For Jesus is the rejection of relativity, because He is the Truth. That is exactly why His presence will always cause so many problems and seem inconvenient and untimely. Because it forces us to decide whether we are following Him or not.