Consider this passage from Mark Ch 2, beginning in vs 15:
13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:13-17 (ESV) [highlights mine]
Some Essential Background
As throughout this site our purpose is to focus on KAI Study tools, approaches, and methods rather than studying in depth any of our exemplary passages. However, here as elsewhere, we need to settle common ground on certain contextual essentials to proceed on our main purpose.
In this early chapter in Mark’s gospel narrative we see Jesus assembling His most inner circles of those we know as ‘capital A’ Apostles, the Twelve. These men became His disciples, which means primarily students, learners. They were “followers” as well, but that was because Jesus was a teacher who moved about, journeyed, a form of teaching known as peripatetic instruction (“Peripatetic” comes from the ancient Greek word that became widespread in use by Aristotle and the teachers who derived from that form; our closest example would be a team of students who would follow a senior scholar on an archeological dig or a field biology study).
Galileans
As a teacher is known in part by His students, the people Jesus chose for this special relationship would be closely scrutinized. The Pharisees and their religious systems of that day (TRI) would have scorned the lot of them because they were Galileans–except for Judas the betrayer who was a Judean, the home territory of TRI. (Galileans were broadly considered as inferior in sophistication and intellect, perhaps similar how the Ivy League college communities view the rural southern states, or actually anybody but themselves). The Roman TPI who scorned all Jews, and the TRI of the Jews, would have especially seen the Galileans as backward; TRI centered in Judea had the magnificent Temple and Temple Mount, and the Governor Herod, later Pilate, maintained a palace there.
Tax Collectors
All the territory and people of Israel were in essential matters a slave state of Rome. The Jewish people were taxed heavily with much of such revenues used by the Roman Empire to support the expenses of its magnificent capital city of Rome, and the armies and governors who maintained the Empire.
Beyond the dislike of paying such taxes there was the means of by which collections were made. The Romans created tax collection offices and appointed positions from which an established quota of payments would be required. The individuals so appointed were Jews themselves, but who had, in the view of the people, sold themselves (‘whored’ themselves) to serve Rome by taking monies from their kinsman. Further such individuals had certain power over the people which they used to over collect what Rome required gaining economic benefit beyond what was just.
So, the Romans tolerated the tax collectors, and no doubt suspicious of them as to whether they were ‘holding back’ what would otherwise be due the Empire, and the Jews absolutely hated the tax collectors who were seen quislings (traitors) to their own people and the worst kind of opportunists. Likely TRI viewed lepers more favorably: though they were seen as judged by God because of their affection in disease they were not turncoats against the Jewish people of the Temple, living as they did in isolation in recognition of their condemnation.
Some translations use the term “publican” for “tax collector” as in the ESV. They mean the same thing. Additional information on the Koine terms are given at the end of this post.
Jesus Chooses a Tax Collector Named Levi
In our above passage from Mark 2 we see Jesus choosing as his disciple / Apostle a particular tax collector by name of Levi.
This would have been a dramatic, and deeply distressing, selection. A tax collector! Even worse, the man’s name was “Levi,” a very significant name of Jewish heritage, as one of the 12 Tribes descending from Patriarch Jacob, the grandson of Abraham himself, and then set apart by Yahweh-God during the period of Moses to be dedicated tribe for all the religious activities including the family line of the priests and the High Priest.
As a final note we observe here that the joining of Levi was not by Levi’s choice, or by some ‘conversion’ / repentance recorded for us. Rather, Jesus by the power of presence, chose Levi and further demanded of Levi a major forsaking of his special powers and income as a tax collector.
Reclined at Table
We see the brief but important phrases “reclined at table” and “reclining with Jesus” in Mark 2:15 above. Further it appears that the venue was Levi’s own home, that which was supported by those tax revenues and collection process hated by the Jewish people, especially TRI of the Pharisees. This would have struck many as Jesus dining with the Devil’s people. (Later they will conclude that He was either the Devil personified or the Devils Vicar / Prophet sent to deceive the people).
The references to “reclining” and “table” are to an important cultural event of an evening’s intimate dining. It would have been something akin to a special “dinner party” as someone might arrange today by planning, special invitation and by preparation. In certain of such events, especially in the house of wealthy people with large dining spaces there would be areas surrounding the central dining place where visitors could gather to observe the interactions and hear the discussion. This seems awkward to our Western construct. But in the context of that time it would be very approximately like what occurs in formal invitational public meeting where on the stage there is a dais for the important guests and who will then speak so that the audience can hear.
So the setting is much more dramatic than just Jesus connecting in some general way with Levi the Tax Collector: Levi is chosen to be one of 12, they will have a dinner conveying a special relationship, and in the very house paid for (in some way) by the hated tax collections.
And it gets worse: Levi apparently and understandably invited a certain number of his fellow tax collectors, perhaps all of them from that region. Tax Collectors no doubt banded together for comfort and support as they were hated outcasts by everyone around them. So after Levi’s encounter with Jesus, some time later Levi hosted this dinner ‘party’ and included these guests, notorious in the eyes of the people, and Jesus fellowshipped with them all.
It’s challenging for us to feel fully how repellant this would have been at the time and place.
“Tax Collectors and Sinners”
Three times in these brief five verses, Mark 2:13-17 we have the phrase “tax collectors and sinners.” Now we are ready to deep dive on our word “kai” which is here translated in the ESV by the simple default word “and.” Here, “and” does not convey the power of this text or passage.
Mark’s narration and capture of the words of the Pharisees using “kai” to connect “tax collectors” to “sinners” is something much more notable than “and” in the sense of “plus,” as discussed elsewhere on this site. When we say “cream and sugar,” “peanut butter and jelly,” “ham and eggs” we are only doing addition: we want both ‘sides’ of the word “and.”
In our Mark 2 passage, such an understanding of “kai” / “and” misses the entire point.
What the text is communicating, if we will pause to listen for it, is that “tax collectors” are in their most basic identity of being “sinners!” Yes they have positions in the economic system of life, and titles that go with it, but that’s not reality of who they are. They are from bottom to top, inside to outside, in part and whole, fully, completely, stained permanently as “sinners.” They are not “repentant” (although that would never move them in the eyes of TRI, or the people, into any positive category of being).
How, Then, to Translate “kai” Instead of by “And?”
In my perfect world, the translators would have best served us readers by leaving “kai” where and as it is in the mss, so we can see it for ourselves, and go through the progression of possible import of the word in the context. Translators already do exactly that with the Koine word “baptize” in all of its forms. Why do they leave “baptize” untranslated? Fear? Impossibility of finding any reasonable English word or word combination?
The power of “kai” here is to drive our eyes and thinking to subsequent word “sinners” as to emphasize the fundamental reality of who these men really were. So one possible translation would be “even;” but that still does not ‘get it.’ A more expansive translation, interpretation really, would be “thoroughly / completely” sinners.
And, So…?
The context of this entire site is how can non-Seminarians, non-Ecclesiaticals, get closer to the mss as written by reasonable accessible means. It doesn’t get easier than “kai” as discussed elsewhere. The word occurs some 9,000 times in the NT alone, always uninflected, always unaccented, always spelled by three Greek letters each which looks almost like our Latinized alphabet counterpart, and pronounced (if that matters) exactly as it looks in a single syllable.
Knowing where “kai” occurs gives all of us a very simple opportunity and impulse to ask what God’s Holy Spirit intends us to grasp in any given text. Here in Mark 2 we see even more clearly, emphatically, that Jesus came, as He says in vs 17 (Mark 2:17)–He came to save “sinners”–and demonstrates it by choosing Levi and dining with other tax collectors as well all who were not “the righteous” Pharisees and their followers (who were of course not truly “righteous” but perceived themselves as such, and hence not in need of any moral / spiritual Teacher or Savior).
And, so it is today.
End Notes
Strong’s G5057. τελώνης telṓnēs; gen. telṓnou, masc. noun from télos (5056), tax, and ōnéomai (5608), to buy. A reaper of the taxes or customs, tax–collector, one who pays to the government a certain sum for the privilege of collecting the taxes and customs of a district.
The public revenues of the Greeks and Romans were usually farmed out. Among the latter, the purchasers were chiefly of the equestrian order and were distinguished as being of a higher class because they rode horses, or they were at least persons of wealth and rank like Zacchaeus who is called the chief tax collector (architelṓnēs [754] in Luke 19:2). These farmers also had subcontractors or employed agents who collected the taxes and customs at the gates of cities, in seaports, on public ways and bridges. These, too, were called telṓnai (pl.), publicans, or eklégontes (n.f.), (from ek [1537], out of, and légō [3004], in its original sense meaning to collect), those who collected out of the people. Such publicans in countries subject to the Roman Empire were the objects of hatred and detestation so that none but persons of worthless character were likely to be found in this employment. They were called hárpages (n.f.), extortioners, from harpagḗ (724), extortion. Chrysostom calls them kapḗlous (n.f.), hucksters, from kapēleúō (2585), to retail, adulterate, take advantage of, corrupt, and pornoboskoús (n.f.), shepherds of fornication. They were also called kólakes (n.f.), flatterers, from kolakeía (2850), flattery.
In the NT, they were toll–gatherers, collectors of customs or public dues and were the objects of bitter hatred and scorn by the Jews. They often associated with the most depraved classes of society (Matt. 5:46, 47; 9:9–11; 10:3, Mathew being a publican; Luke 3:12; 5:27, 29; 7:29; 18:10, 11, 13) such as publicans and sinners (Matt. 9:10, 11; 11:19; Mark 2:15, 16; Luke 5:30; 7:34; 15:1), Gentile and publican (Matt. 18:17), publicans and harlots (Matt. 21:31, 32).
Deriv.: architelṓnēs (754), a principal tax–collector; telṓnion (5058), a custom house, collector’s office.
Strong’s G5058. τελώνιον telṓnion; gen. telōníou, neut. noun from telṓnēs (5057), a tax–collector. A toll–house, custom house, collector’s office (Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), a place where the publican sat. In the Class. Gr. used in the pl., tá telṓnia, indicating the places where the publicans sat.
Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). AMG Publishers.