Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. There is a wonderful painting by Caravaggio of this scene. A group dressed in lots of finery are sitting at a table. Jesus has come through the door. He has his hand outstretched pointing to one of the men, Matthew. Matthew has a “who me?” expression on his face with his hand gesturing to himself. Caravaggion seems to have deliberately copied the gesture of Jesus to mimic the hand of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the creation of Adam. The message in the painting: following Jesus is not about joining a club but becoming a new creation.
