Corrupt Tax Collectors!

For Saturday, February 28, 2026:

Luke 3:12-13 NLT: “Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ John the Baptist replied, ‘Collect no more taxes than the government requires.’”

A lone Roman didn’t feel safe amongst the Jewish population. The Jews were angry, having been mistreated, persecuted and over-taxed. So Rome lined up others to do their dirty work. They arranged for Jews to do the tax collecting from other Jews. This meant that the tax collector would have to have abandon his fellows, his family and probably his religion. Consequently, he had no friends and was known as a scoundrel, a traitor. But he got paid well for his misery.

Our scripture today calls them “corrupt tax collectors.” That’s almost a redundancy! Tax collectors were known for assessing a little extra to put in their own pockets, so most tax collectors were wealthy. Now, they may have put religion on the back burner, but it never entirely left them. So here we find them listening intently to John the Baptist. He stops their sinful, corrupt nature in its tracks. “Collect no more taxes than the government requires!”

A few listened to John, many vowed to change their life and stop the skimming. This is an example of the radical transformation we talk about as people come to know the Messiah. Each of us has habits in our lives that we’ve put off changing. It’s never too soon to change direction, to leave the sin behind and follow the right path. Don’t put it off! Cause God to smile down on you! Do the right thing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Temptation!

 Daily message of hope...
August 4, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 17:1 NLT: “One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!’”

In this dissertation, Jesus identifies two types of sinners. The first is like most of us, average, everyday people who easily fall into sin. We’re not careful enough. We’re not constantly guarding against sin. Therefore, sin easily falls into our lives. We need to repent and return to the Lord, and realize that Jesus helped us by dealing with our sin problem. We can and will be forgiven.

The other type evilly leads others into sin. It’s not just their sin that’s wrong. It’s doubly wrong to encourage others to sin. It’s as if they set up sin traps, attempting to ensnare as many as possible. This is far worse than just falling away from the Lord. This is treason, switching sides, going to work for the bad guys. God will deal with these turncoats. Jesus says it would be better for them if they tied a millstone to their neck and dived into the deepest sea. Redeemable? Probably not.

Jesus goes on to explain that if another believer sins, we should call them on it. Don’t give it time to fester into something bigger than it is. And if they repent, we are obligated to forgive. If they sin seven times and repent seven times, we are to forgive them seven times.

We should always guard against the ever-present sin. The ever-present sin should highly regard the loving forgiveness offered through Jesus. Repentant sinners should be met with our forgiveness. If we forgive others, we’re following in Jesus’ footsteps!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship

Traitor!

For Thursday, February 29, 2024:

Mark 14:11b NLT: “Judas Iscariot began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.”

Apparently Judas’ mind was already made up. He went to the leading priests seeking their permission to betray Jesus. They had been hoping to kill Jesus anyway, and this could expedite the event.

The priests offered Judas money in exchange for his help with this. How much is the Son of Man’s life worth, this miracle worker, this great healer? Turns out thirty pieces of silver was the price.

In the dark night, it was difficult to see, difficult to positively identify people. So Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek and called him Master, clearly pointing him out to the Sanhedrin. This betrayal happened after the Thursday night dinner where Jesus gave us Holy Communion, and before the next day, what we call Good Friday, which is to say it all went south rather quickly.

Having second thoughts, Judas tried to return the money, but the deed was already done. Eventually he hung himself, and the priests used the money to buy a field in which to bury strangers.

Our take-away from this incident is to closely examine those teaching religion, especially those who might be false prophets. That one of the twelve would betray the master is beyond belief. After living and traveling with Jesus for three years and witnessing all the miracles, you’d expect loyalty from Judas. And the priests and teachers of religion should have been supporting God’s Son, not plotting against him. And yet they’re masquerading as priests! Hypocrites!

Compare everything you’re taught with what your Bible says. The Bible is always right!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Follow Jesus!

 May 22, 2023 Monday Message:

Mark 2:14 NLT: “As Jesus walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me and be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.”

Tax collectors were the most despised people in Israel. They were considered a step worse than other sinners. Tax collectors were traitors, having taken jobs with the Roman bad guys occupying the land God had given the Israelites. Tax collectors were thieves, taxing more than was required and skimming the excess for themselves. No tax collector lived in poverty, and they had the power of the Roman army to enforce their edicts. Jesus choosing Levi, known to us as Matthew, is a huge statement about redemption and God’s love for ALL his created people.

Listen to this: No matter who you are, no matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, you are still loved by God. If you confess your sin, stand up and follow Jesus, you can and will be forgiven. In fact Jesus has already paid the price to redeem your soul. He will prepare a place for you in the hereafter, and your life-after-this-life will be in the presence of the Lord! Eternity is a very long time, and we would all do well to prepare for it!

Following Jesus is a decision with eternal ramifications, good ones!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship