Matthew

Identity

Matthew — also called Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) — was a tax-collector at his booth in Capernaum when Christ said to him: 'Follow me.' He rose, left the tax-booth, and made a great feast for Christ in his own house. He is one of the Twelve and, by ancient tradition unbroken since Papias (c. 130), the author of the first Gospel.

Name and titles

'Matthew' — Matthaios — probably a shortened form of Hebrew Mattityahu, 'gift of the LORD.' Also called 'Levi the son of Alphaeus' (Mark 2:14). Scripture calls him 'Matthew the publican' (Matt 10:3) — a title he applies to himself in his own Gospel, where the parallel accounts of the other evangelists simply call him 'Matthew.'

Historical period

• c. AD 28 — Called from the tax-booth by Christ (Matt 9:9).
• c. AD 28 — Hosts the great feast for Christ, where 'many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him' (Matt 9:10).
• c. AD 28-30 — Among the Twelve throughout Christ's Galilean and Judean ministry.
• Pentecost — Present with the apostles in the upper room (Acts 1:13).
• c. AD 60-70 (est.) — Writes the first Gospel (traditional dating; some scholars later).
• Tradition — Later apostolic mission to Ethiopia, Parthia, or Persia (traditions vary). Martyred, per various traditions.

Scripture appearances

• Matthew 9:9 (KJV) 'And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.'
• Matthew 9:10-13 (KJV) The feast with publicans and sinners; 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.'
• Mark 2:13-17 (KJV) The same account, calling him Levi.
• Luke 5:27-32 (KJV) The same account, calling him Levi.
• Matthew 10:3 (KJV) Named in the list of the Twelve as 'Matthew the publican.'
• Acts 1:13 (KJV) With the eleven in the upper room after the Ascension.

Connected Places

• Capernaum — his tax-booth.
• Sea of Galilee — his home region.
• Jerusalem — Pentecost and after.

Connected People

• Christ Jesus — his caller and Lord.
• Peter — his fellow apostle.
• Paul — whose companion Mark wrote a Gospel drawing on similar material.

Salvation history role

• The apostle who left more than any other for Christ — his livelihood, his booth, his familiar record of names and numbers.
• The Gospel-writer whose careful structure (five great teaching discourses of Christ) presents Christ as the new Moses.
• The proof that Christ calls disciples from every occupation — even a hated one.

Christian tradition

• Feast: 21 September (Western); 16 November (Byzantine).
• Iconographic emblem: the man (with wings), one of the four living creatures (Ezekiel 1, Rev 4).
• Patron of tax officers, accountants, and bankers.
• The Church has read Matthew's Gospel first in the New Testament canon since the earliest ordered lists.

Household reflection

Matthew teaches the household that Christ calls people from every profession. There is no work so tainted that Christ cannot lift a person out of it into apostleship.

Teach the little ones the shortest apostolic story in Scripture: 'Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.' Ten words. A whole life.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read the Gospel of Matthew straight through in the four weeks after Christmas.
• Pray (Chapel) — On his feast (21 September), pray for all who work in money and accounting.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — Host a household feast for someone others have written off — the Matthew 9:10 model.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Jesus, I Have Promised' (John Ernest Bode, 1866).
• Learn (Workshop) — Study the five great teaching discourses of Matthew (chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 24-25).

Further reading

The Gospel of Matthew in the KJV.

Papias (via Eusebius, Church History III.39) on Matthew's authorship.

Eusebius, Church History III.24.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Christ Jesus
• Capernaum
• Matthew 5
• Matthew 6
• Peter
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.