"Please! Stop!" Matthew begged, trying not to struggle against the ropes that the soldiers were wrapping around his wrists behind his back while watching his wife, Sarah, being tied as well. "I promise you! We will pay our tax to Caesar as soon as we earn the money; we simply have nothing left."
"We cannot defy Caesar." Julian, one of the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek-speaking soldiers, responded. "However, I will try to help you find a way to be released. I know that you are a good man, Matthew. Continue to pray to your God, that He might provide a way for you to be released." With that, the soldiers lead their prisoners towards the debtor's prison.
It had been several days since Matthew and his wife had been thrown into the debtor's prison. Unknown to Matthew or his wife, Julian had negotiated with the jailor to treat them better than usual prisoners. Although the guards had been considerate enough to allow them to be locked in the same chamber, each prisoner was still provided very little food to eat. Matthew knew that God was looking down upon them, for most prisoners were fettered to the walls, yet they were not. When Julian was able to make his way into the debtor's prison two weeks after their imprisonment, Matthew and his wife were hungry and willing to cooperate.
"Matthew, the ruler of Palestine is looking for new tax collectors in order to appease the financial needs of the Roman Court and Caesar. Because you are able to speak the Hebrew language and owe a debt to Caesar, King Herod II is willing to grant you a temporary pardon to your debt so that you may attempt to repay it. All of your excess earnings will be used to relinquish your debt before you are able to collect for your own personal gain, which you can then use to repay the debts of your wife. Would you be interested in becoming a tax collector for the Roman government?"
"Yes; I will do it. I will work in Nazareth as a tax collector." Matthew replied, rising from his place on the cement floor before looking back to his wife, saying "I will be back for you, my love. I will not rest until you are finally free from your fetters." With that, the two men left the prison to prepare Matthew for his new life as a tax collector. Matthew decided to settle in the city of Nazareth to start his new business.
Two years had passed since Julian had offered Matthew the opportunity of becoming a tax collector, and Sarah had just been released yesterday. Due to his experience as a financial advisor for several of the booths of consumable products down at the marketplace, Matthew was not naïve to the workings of the consumer's mind. Therefore, he had started his business with an incredibly low rate: three denarii to process the Roman taxes of an entire household, which was a huge success; half of his own debt was accounted for by the end of the first harvesting season. However, the glares that Matthew received for his profession as a tax collector, despite being a Jew, no longer visibly affected him. It did not matter to him anymore if his people were in captivity under the Roman Empire, regardless of the popular opinion; none of those people knew of the tragic place that the Romans had delivered himself and his wife from.
After Sarah's release, Matthew was not as sympathetic towards his clients. He had raised his personal wage up from three denarii per household to seven denarii per individual; although it was better than the twenty denarii per individual that other tax collectors asked for, the price was still much higher than the families wanted to pay. Wealth began to accumulate from Matthew's increased wages, and the decorations in their home reflected the change in his business policy. No longer was Matthew working to repay a debt, but his sights were set monetary gain.
Two more years had passed since Sarah's release from debtor's prison, and Matthew was growing tired of the constant glares because of his collecting taxes. Even though he had tried to convince Julian to allow his booth to be closed, Julian had said that the only way to be removed from the system was to defy Caesar's tax. The results would include his accumulated wealth being stripped from his possession, and both himself and his wife being sent to prison to await trial, which would have been worse than their brief stay within the debtor's prison. Not having any desire for that fate to come upon himself or his wife, Matthew befriended several of the other tax collectors to the extent that they were regularly coming over to one another's homes for supper. Recently, rumors have been going around about a man from the city of Nazareth doing miracles throughout the countryside. Perhaps, someday, they might be able to meet this man who supposedly calmed a giant storm that was raging across the lake last week.
One day, tired at his booth after another long day of collecting taxes from families that could barely afford to relinquish their tax money, Matthew sighed. He was unsure how much longer he could withhold his frustration from the glares that the people gave him. Matthew knew that it was wrong, but the next person to do it was certain to be a victim at his hands. Then, a man came walking down the road, and paused at his table.
"Follow me." The man said, looking into Matthew's eyes before continuing on his way. Matthew didn't know what caused this feeling, but he felt that something was different about this man. Therefore, he wasted no time leaving his table, which was covered in money, to follow the man.