Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 3:12

"And there came also publicans to be baptized, and they said unto him, Teacher, what must we do?" — Luke 3:12 (ASV)

The “tax collectors” (v.12) were part of a despised system (cf. 5:27; 15:1). Of the three groups mentioned, they would have been considered most in need of repentance. The chief tax collectors, such as Zacchaeus (19:2), bid money for their position. Their profit came from collecting more than they paid the Romans. They then hired other tax collectors to work for them. Because their work and associations rendered them ritually unclean and because they regularly extorted money, they were alienated from Jewish society and linked with “sinners” (cf. Mark 2:15–16). While John shows social concern, he does not advocate overthrowing the system but rather reforming the abuses.