tax collector, tax collectors

Definition:

A "tax collector" was a government worker whose job was to receive money that people were required to pay the government in taxes.

In the time of Jesus and and the apostles, the Roman government required taxes from everyone living in the Roman empire, including the Jews.
The people who collected taxes for the Roman government would often demand more money from the people than the government required. The tax collectors would keep the extra amount for themselves.
Because tax collectors cheated people in this way, the Jews considered them to be among the worst of sinners.
The Jews also considered Jewish tax collectors to be traitors to their own people because they worked for the Roman government which was oppressing the Jewish people.
The phrase, "tax collectors and sinners" was a common expression in the New Testament, showing how much the Jews despised tax collectors.

(See also: Jew, Rome, sin, tax)

34:06 He said, "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One of them was a tax collector, and the other was a religious leader."
34:07 "The religious leader prayed like this, 'Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like other men—such as robbers, unjust men, adulterers, or even like that tax collector.'"
34:09 "But the tax collector stood far away from the religious ruler, did not even look up to heaven. Instead, he pounded on his chest and prayed, 'God, please be merciful to me because I am a sinner.'"
34:10 Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, God heard the tax collector's prayer and declared him to be righteous."
35:01 One day, Jesus was teaching many tax collectors and other sinners who had gathered to hear him.