📖 Biblical Definition
A publican was a Jewish tax collector employed by or contracted under the Roman system of tax farming. They were despised by their countrymen as traitors who enriched themselves by extortion while serving the occupying power. "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" (Matthew 9:11). Yet Jesus specifically sought out publicans: Matthew (Levi) was called directly from his tax booth (Matthew 9:9), and Zacchaeus received Christ joyfully (Luke 19:2-6). Jesus used the publican as a model of genuine repentance: "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). The Son of Man came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A collector of toll or tribute; among the Romans, a farmer of the public revenues.
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PUB'LICAN, n. [L. publicanus.] 1. A collector of toll or tribute. Among the Romans, a farmer of the public revenues. The publicans of the Romans were men of the equestrian order, who farmed the public revenues at a certain price. Webster captured the essential economic role of the publican as a Roman tax contractor.
📖 Key Scripture
• Matthew 9:9-13 — "As Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom."
• Luke 18:13 — "The publican, standing afar off... smote upon His breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."
• Luke 19:2-10 — "And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans."
• Matthew 21:31 — "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The publican's story is sentimentalized while ignoring the gravity of repentance.
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Modern preaching often uses the publican as a feel-good story of inclusion, emphasizing that Jesus ate with sinners while neglecting the radical repentance that followed. Zacchaeus did not merely accept Jesus socially -- he restored fourfold to those he had defrauded. Matthew left his tax booth entirely. The publican in the parable beat his breast in genuine contrition. Jesus' association with publicans was not social acceptance of sin but a physician going to the sick. The modern error of "radical inclusion" uses the publican narratives to justify welcoming sin without repentance -- the exact opposite of what the text teaches.
Usage
• "The publican's prayer -- 'God be merciful to me a sinner' -- went home justified, while the Pharisee's self-congratulation was an abomination to God."
• "Jesus did not eat with publicans to affirm their lifestyle but to call them to repentance -- and they responded with radical restitution."