Matthew the Tax Collector Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free Jesus Calls Matthew Sunday school lesson teaches kids that Jesus calls everyone. Jesus saw Matthew the publican, a tax collector, "sitting at the receipt of custom" and said, "Follow me. And he arose, and followed him" (Matthew 9:9). Then Jesus ate with publicans and sinners and said, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (9:13). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Pick the one that fits your class. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, a follow-me game where you call every child by name, three simple questions, the memory verse with a "Jesus calls me!" motion, and a drawing activity.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Follow the Cards verse game with five cards, and a Follow Me Chain game.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (Matthew, also called Levi; he left all; the great feast; the physician; mercy and not sacrifice), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Matthew 9:9–13 and Luke 5:27–32 out loud themselves, then discuss what following Jesus costs, the people others write off, and mercy instead of rule-keeping. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Matthew 9:13 and Luke 5:28).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Matthew 9:9–13 (with Mark 2:13–17 and Luke 5:27–32)
• Main point: Jesus calls everyone to follow Him and to turn from sin.
• Memory verse: Matthew 9:13 (KJV), with Luke 5:28 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short follow-me game, a who-needs-a-doctor game, or a talk about who gets picked.
2. Bible story: Jesus sees Matthew at the receipt of custom and says "Follow me," Matthew arises and follows Him, publicans and sinners sit down to eat with Jesus, the Pharisees complain, and Jesus answers that the sick need a physician and He came to call sinners to repentance. Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Matthew 9:13.
5. What this means for us: Jesus calls us too, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the Jesus Calls Matthew word search, a follow-me chain, a drawing, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching Jesus Calls Matthew

• The King James Bible calls Matthew a "publican" (Matthew 10:3) and says he sat "at the receipt of custom" (9:9). Explain both plainly: he collected taxes.
• The Bible doesn't say what Matthew did wrong. Don't add a story about cheating; teach what the text says: Jesus called him, and he followed.
• Matthew 9 doesn't mention coins or money bags at the receipt of custom. Keep to what the passage tells.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.