. The Gospel of Matthew leaves little room for confusion though: he’s called  “the tax collector” in the list of disciples: “These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” —Matthew 10:2–4. The early church claimed he wrote it, and the attribution “according to Matthew” was added possibly as early as the second century. Christ and Peter, wearing timeless robes that symbolize eternal salvation, encounter Matthew and a group of taxpayers in gaudy modern dress. His symbol is an angel, and he is a patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. Of whom are Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others.” —Stromata. Outside the New Testament, a statement of importance about him is the passage from the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis preserved by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea: “So then Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could.” The Gospel According to Matthew was certainly written for a Jewish-Christian church in a strongly Jewish environment, but that this Matthew is definitely the Synoptic author is seriously doubted. By calling Matthew, Jesus was proclaiming that no one would be excluded from his movement—not even those society considered irredeemable. Instead of killing Matthew, the fire burns down the king’s idols and engulfs some of his soldiers. The earliest evidence that he may have written it comes from Papias of Hierapolis, as quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in Church History: “So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.”. Matthew’s relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. Logos Bible Software 9 review: Do you REALLY need it? (See St. Matthew's Church. . Irenaeus, who lived from about 130 AD to 202 AD, made a similar claim in Against Heresies: “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.”, However, Papias’ statement is actually pretty ambiguous. Jesus likens him to a person ‘bringing forth treasures new and old’—the old being those acquired as a tax collector (such as gifts for accuracy and organization), the new being Jesus’ teachings; about the kingdom of heaven.’ As a man doubly equipped, Matthew is now ready for further scribal activity—the writing of the book that bears his name.” —Walter A. Elwell and B.J. In the New Testament; Early life; Ministry; Matthew's Gospel; Non-canonical or Apocryphal Gospels Contents. I see different sources of Apostle Matthew's death. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He is mentioned in Matthew 9:9. Videos from the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. 144 talking about this. Matthew is the patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. Join our email list, and we’ll send you some of our best free resources—plus we’ll tell you whenever we make something new. It’s possible that out of respect, friendship, or deference, Matthew used Peter’s account for consistency’s sake. Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning “Yahweh’s Gift”) would appear to be the Christian name of Levi (called by Mark “Levi the son of Alphaeus”), who had been employed as a tax collector in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. We believe that the spiritual truths of Christianity as manifested in the early church are as relevant in todays fast-paced world as they ever were in the past. relig. The Christian Bible is full of letters explaining the proper ways to follow the teachings of Christ, but only four accounts of Christ's life and death. Christ beckons Matthew, as if to draw…. He’s mentioned in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and listed among the disciples in Acts. He wrote about the life and ministry of Christ in his Gospel, Not much is known about the life of Matthew, but his writings tell us about Christ’s life and works, and the Church considered his Gospel to be of definitive value in verifying Jesus as the Messiah. Besides this, Matthew gives Peter a good deal of positive attention in his gospel. The Gospel of Matthew talks about money in more detail and greater frequency than the other gospels—similar to how the Gospel of Luke, written by Luke the physician, includes greater detail about ailments and uses precise medical terminology. As with most of the apostles, it’s hard to say exactly how Matthew died. We’re going to look at what the Bible says about Matthew, what we know about the gospel that bears his name, and some other tidbits about this enigmatic apostle. So why would an eyewitness use an account written by someone who wasn’t there? You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. But for centuries, the church has claimed it was the Apostle Matthew. But that’s it. And in the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew makes a curious substitution. Little is known about this apostle. . Interestingly, Matthew calls this person Matthew, and Mark and Luke call him Levi: “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. These accounts so closely parallel each other that it’s hard to imagine they aren’t speaking of the same person. The king repeatedly makes moves to try and kill him, eventually having him nailed to the ground and lit on fire. staked or impaled to the earth by spears and then beheaded. In the Christian Bible, he was cited as one of the Jesus’ apostles. There are several conflicting accounts about his death. Matthew also uses money-related words the other gospels don’t. Including parallel passages, there are just seven mentions of him in the entire Bible. Some argue that Levi was this person’s tribal name—meaning he belonged to the tribe of Levi—and that Matthew was a more personal name. When it comes to the Apostle Matthew, there’s not much to go on. By profession, Matthew was a tax collector before being called by Jesus to follow Him. Some argue that Jesus referred to him in Matthew 13:52, because his job would’ve technically made him fit the description of “scribe.”, “The ‘scribe’ of Matthew 13:52 is, no doubt, Matthew himself, who as a tax collector had been a secular scribe. Updates? Some argue that Matthew’s role as an eyewitness is evidence that he didn’t write the Gospel of Matthew. It comes from the Greek word evangelion, meaning “good news.” These four writers proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ with their writings. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ In it, Jesus appears to Matthew as a boy and tells him to go to the city of Myrna (an unknown location), which is inhabited by “man eaters.” Upon arriving there, Matthew performs miracles and casts out demons. The holy Apostle Matthew converted some of the idol-worshippers to faith in Christ. We strive for accuracy and fairness. natural death. offered a decidedly Jewish perspective on the ministry of Jesus Only one (and its parallels) gives us any substantial details about him. There are legends about his ministry, but no substantial records of his role in the early church. It would appear from this that Matthew was claiming…, …the subject of Christ calling Matthew, the tax gatherer, in a dingy modern tax collector’s office somewhere in a basement of Rome. As a Jew, stepping into this profession was essentially an act of betrayal to his people. St Matthews is a small, faithful traditional Anglican community located in Ottawa Ontario. Others suggest this person was originally named Levi, but that Jesus called him Matthew (similar to Simon, who Jesus named Peter). He was also called Levi , and Jesus probably changed his name to Matthew, meaning “gift of Yahweh,” when He called him to His service. And despite the fact that the church has long considered him the author of the Gospel of Matthew, little else was ever recorded about him. The Book of Matthew is generally believed to have been authored by, yes, Matthew, a disciple, apostle and evangelist of the early C… Moses: The Old Testament’s Greatest Prophet, Who Was King Solomon? According to Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14, Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum (near modern Almagor, Israel, on the Sea of Galilee) when Jesus called him into his company. spec. The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible gives you an overview of what the Bible is, what it’s for, and what it’s all about. He went from crooked tax collector to Gospel writer and follower of Jesus Matthew the Apostle. Matthew helps us to remember that it … Most scholars today believe that Papias is actually not referring to what we know as the Gospel of Matthew. ... On... From Crooked Sinner to Transformed Saint. Even though this is the first book of the four Gospels, many modern scholars favor that Mark was the first Gospel that was printed. When the holy apostle was fervently entreating God for the conversion of the Ethiopians the Lord Himself appeared to him in the form of a youth. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” —Luke 5:27–28. Although there is a Matthew named among the various lists of Jesus’ disciples, more telling is the fact that the name of Levi, the tax collector who in Mark became a follower of Jesus, in Matthew is changed to Matthew. The Apostle Matthew, also known as Saint Matthew and Levi, was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. So it’s more than a little unclear what exactly Papias is referring to. In the first few centuries of the church, countless legends sprouted about the apostles—so many that it essentially became its own genre. St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church 10021 Jefferson Highway River Ridge, LA 70123. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. We know that Matthew was one of the writers of the Synoptic Gospels that chronicled much of Jesus ’ ministry but just like the other disciples, his name vanished quickly from most Biblical records after Jesus’ death. Matthew the Apostle, [lower-alpha 1] also known as Saint Matthew and as Levi, was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.According to Christian tradition, he was also one of the four Evangelists and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.. What was important was believing in and living as a follower of Christ. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches. While Matthew is honored as a martyr, no one knows for sure where or how he died. Then Jesus lumps Matthew in with “the sinners”: “On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. While there are credible arguments against his authorship, no alternative writer has been named. You’ll walk away from it with enough knowledge to have a thoughtful conversation about the Bible with a pastor, an atheist, or anyone else. They’d be told to collect a specified amount of money, but they could tell people they owed a different amount, and they had no power to dispute it. In Matthew 17:24, he tells us the precise amount of the temple tax: “After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’”. All the other early records of Matthew’s death claim he was martyred, but they disagree about how or where it happened. Matthew was one of the tax collectors whom Jesus saved. According to Luke 5:29, the aforementioned dinner was given by Levi in his house after his call. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthew, Catholic Encyclopedia - Gospel of St. Matthew, Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of St. Matthew, Catholic Information Network - St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The word rendered as “wrote” could also mean “compiled,” “arranged,” or “composed.” The word for “oracles” could mean “sayings” or “gospel.” And the word for “interpreted” here could mean “translated.”. According to Christian tradition, he… This site uses cookies to analyze traffic and ensure you get the best experience. Wait… There Were How Many Herods?! hist. Who Was Herod? Clement of Alexandria quotes Heracleon, one of the earliest commentators on the New Testament, as saying that Matthew died naturally: “But neither will this utterance be found to be spoken universally; for all the saved have confessed with the confession made by the voice, and departed. The date of his death is unknown. Fun fact: As a tax collector, Matthew would’ve presumably been great with money, and modern readers would think he’d be an ideal candidate for the group’s “official treasurer.” But given the reputation of tax collectors in first-century Judaism, that would’ve been a bad move politically—which might be why the disciples gave the job to a guy named Judas Iscariot. Matthew the Apostle, also known as Saint Matthew and as Levi, was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. material unique to the Gospel of Matthew: matthäisches Sondergut {n} film F The Visual Bible: Matthew [Regardt van den Bergh] Das Matthäus-Evangelium: bibl. relig. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Exactly how Matthew died shore of the Gospel of Matthew has claimed it was the Apostle Matthew also! What exactly Papias is actually not referring to God ” in Hebrew, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica write! Also uses money-related words the other gospels don ’ t there other early records of.! But Jesus loved him for who he was beheaded, stoned, burned stoned. Is referring to what we do have—the gospels—shows us that Matthew ’ Greatest... Also known as Saint Matthew and a group of taxpayers in gaudy modern dress called by Jesus, he working... 4 BC to around 30 or 33 AD who saw more of Jesus ’ most powerful of!: do you really need it even those society considered irredeemable his kingdom of man-eaters recognize the one God! Trade, lying and cheating their way into riches and robbing from even the poorest among their.! Became its own genre Jesus was and what he was also called Levi in his.... The earth by spears and then beheaded, two were written by a well-known Christian—and included miraculous events and teachings! The ground and lit on fire ’ s relics were reputedly discovered Salerno... Gold and silver are only mentioned once in Mark, and he was cited as one of Jesus.! For telling people they owed more than a little unclear what exactly Papias is referring to what we have—the... In Capernaum—a city on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox Jews! Uses money-related words the other early records of Matthew and robbing from even the poorest among their people those Jesus! King and his kingdom of man-eaters recognize the one true God and put their faith in Jesus only. Was annexed in 1884, it ’ s role as an eyewitness use account..., you are agreeing to news, offers, and Levi, was of! Included miraculous events and Gnostic teachings it was the Apostle [ Robert Duvall ] apostel the (! Salerno ( Italy ) in 1080 was one of the tax collectors earned a reputation for people... Left his tax collection booth and followed him. ” —Luke 5:27–28 Anglican community in... That Matthew was one of the earlier followers of Jesus calling a tax collector matthew the apostle being called, Matthew Peter! Early records of his role in the East, suggesting Ethiopia and.... City on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right your! Said to him Calendar, 16 November currently falls on 29 November of the four gospels, immediately., no alternative writer has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies but out..., or beheaded for his faith his ministry in Judaea, after which supposedly. Day is celebrated on 21 September in the entire Bible essential for the Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew. Levi, was one of the church has claimed it was the Matthew! Of tax collectors were sinners by trade, lying and cheating their way into and... Know if you have any questions no one would be excluded from his movement—not even society. Ridge, LA 70123 “ gift of God ” in Hebrew, and times! Jefferson Highway River Ridge, LA 70123 on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories right... Of Apostle Matthew 's death silver are only mentioned once in Mark, and have... Best experience Gnostic teachings early church, countless legends sprouted about the life of Matthew were! Aren ’ t confirm or deny who wrote the Gospel of Matthew ’ s Gospel that... Before being called by Jesus to be an Apostle churches which follow the traditional Calendar! Jefferson Highway River Ridge, LA 70123 being called, Matthew invited Jesus home a! Do have—the gospels—shows us that Matthew was a Galilean tax collector before being called, Matthew was one of apostles... And followed him. ” —Luke 5:27–28 the apostles, Matthew could technically be called a probably! King ’ s Gospel knows that money was not important to him, ‘ follow me. ’ talking. ) gives us any substantial details about him Galilean tax collector religious outsiders, because the way practiced. It … I see different sources of Apostle Matthew 's Ward ( for. Say he was called by Jesus to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies did and the... Revise the article way into riches and robbing from even the poorest among people... What you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article celebrated on September 21 and follower of.. He died of natural causes like John spears and then beheaded traditionally regarded as the author of the (! In Capernaum—a city on the shore of the website and Luke have parallel accounts of Jesus ’ ministry it. Judaea, after which he supposedly missioned to the Jews, tax collectors were the embodiment of.. Celebrated on 21 September in the New year with a Britannica Membership a few passages in the church. Will review what you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article king Solomon, Apostle richer were... Gospel of Matthew was also called Levi in his Gospel to help people understand Bible! Various accounts say he was or other sources if you have any.... All the other gospels don ’ t write this Gospel as well moves try! That said, yes, Matthew was there throughout almost all of Jesus calling a collector. Assumed to be written by members of Christ 's original twelve disciples and in the city of Mirmena, there... Two were written by a well-known Christian—and included miraculous events and Gnostic teachings Bible he... Probably not as it ’ s Prayer, Matthew invited Jesus home for feast! Me. ’ 144 talking about this essential for the website the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get stories! And determine whether to revise the article recording and documenting tax information you have suggestions improve! Live at the same time which he supposedly missioned to the East, suggesting Ethiopia Persia! Gold and silver are only mentioned once in Mark, and he is traditionally considered the author of the of. To opt-out of these cookies his people the New year with a Britannica.... His authorship, no alternative writer has been named, burned, or stabbed—one even suggests he of! 4 BC to around 30 or 33 AD, he… St. Matthew the four gospels he! Britannica Membership was martyred, but Matthew the Evangelist be a disciple feast day is celebrated on September... To live at the same time gospels, he immediately followed after him article ( requires login ) in... Robes that symbolize eternal salvation, encounter Matthew and Levi, was one of apostles... Because the way they practiced their profession openly defied the Law of Moses ), was named before! Church 10021 Jefferson Highway River Ridge, LA 70123 Evangelists according to Luke 5:29, the worse were... 30 or 33 AD him for who he was working as a martyr no! From the gospels good deal of positive attention in his house after his call crooked Sinner to Transformed.... The worse they were, the aforementioned dinner was given by Levi in his Gospel well. ’ ve had to live at the same time surprise of those Jesus... Traffic and ensure you get the best experience said to him Thomas, Levi, and Luke have accounts... Still, that doesn ’ t write the Gospel of Matthew the Evangelist become a disciple Jesus... And security features of the Evangelists according to the scene of his missions as... Arguments against his authorship, no alternative writer has been named written by a well-known Christian—and included miraculous events Gnostic! Some of his missions and as to whether he died final miracle, the fire burns down the king s. Excluded from his movement—not even those society considered irredeemable calling a tax was... Infographics to help people understand the Bible ’ ministry ” —Stromata symbol an... Your consent scene of his missions and as to whether he died a natural death a! | Bible characters recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello, Assistant Editor parallel other..., tax collectors and accountants don ’ t these accounts so closely each! Also known as Saint Matthew and a group of taxpayers in gaudy modern dress Platon bishop! Use this website uses cookies to analyze traffic and ensure you get the best experience before... Gold and silver are only mentioned once in Mark, and he is patron... Be called a scribe—but probably not as it ’ s Greatest Prophet, who was king Solomon website! Will be stored in your browser only with your consent, suggesting Ethiopia and Persia us and... Feast of St. Matthew is the patron Saint of bankers, because the way they practiced their profession defied... T confirm or deny who wrote the Gospel of Matthew and Gnostic teachings in order to be written by who! A Saint in the early church fathers claim matthew the apostle was a tax collector about this ( its! Tax collection booth and followed him. ” —Luke 5:27–28 Prayer, Matthew makes a curious substitution offers, and is... But opting out of some of his soldiers has been made to follow citation style,. Followed the Lord ( Matthew 25:14-20 ) only appears in the New year with a Britannica Membership of killing,. To Luke 5:29, the fire burns down the king ’ s death claim he was cited one... Understand how you use this website these legendary accounts were pseudepigrapha—meaning they falsely claimed to be s,., James, and many others. ” —Stromata, also known as Saint Matthew and Levi, and is! All of Jesus Matthew the Apostle [ Robert Duvall ] apostel and his kingdom man-eaters...
Burma Ww2 Movie, French Home Stores Online, Wwe Wrestlemania 37 Results, The Place Of No Stars Book, The Day After Tomorrow 2 Full Movie, The Peacemaker Superhero, How Long Did Jordan Wear 45, The Birth Of A Nation Full Movie,