Matthew (Levi)

Life and work

Matthew worked as a tax collector — a 'toll collector' stationed at a booth in or near Capernaum, likely collecting duties on goods moving through Galilee under Herod Antipas. Tax collectors were widely despised in Jewish society, seen as collaborators with Rome and often assumed to be dishonest, since the system let them profit by overcharging. The Gospels group 'tax collectors' with 'sinners' as a matter of course (Matthew 9:10-11).

Jesus called him while he was sitting at his tax booth, saying simply, 'Follow me' — and Matthew got up and followed him, leaving his post behind (Matthew 9:9). Mark and Luke tell the same calling story but name him Levi, son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27), which is why most scholars think Levi and Matthew are the same man, possibly with two names as was common at the time.

After his call, Matthew hosted a large dinner at his house for Jesus, attended by many other tax collectors and 'sinners,' which drew criticism from the Pharisees — Jesus responded that he came to call sinners, not the righteous (Matthew 9:10-13). He appears afterward only in the list of the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13); Scripture gives no further narrative about him.

Church tradition from the 2nd century onward credits Matthew with writing the Gospel that bears his name, but this is genuinely disputed among modern scholars — a real and long-running controversy worth noting on its own.

Dating

The tax collector called from his booth (Matthew 9:9), also called Levi, and traditionally the author of the first Gospel. Later tradition sends him to Ethiopia, Persia, or Parthia depending on the source — the variation itself suggests these later missionary and martyrdom details rest on thin historical footing, even though his apostleship and Gospel authorship are on solid ground.

Questions and debates

Authorship of the Gospel of Matthew is disputed among biblical scholars. Church tradition (from Papias and Irenaeus in the 2nd century onward) attributes it to the apostle Matthew, but many modern scholars argue the Gospel's heavy reliance on Mark as a source, its polished Greek, and internal evidence point to an anonymous later author drawing on Matthew's testimony rather than Matthew himself writing it firsthand. The Gospel itself never names its author.

Extra-biblical evidence

No contemporary Roman or Jewish source mentions Matthew by name; everything beyond the Gospels comes from later church tradition about the authorship of the Gospel bearing his name, which is noted above as a controversy rather than a reliable historical record.

Scripture references

• Matthew 9:9 — Jesus calls him from his tax booth
• Mark 2:14 — Same calling story, names him Levi
• Matthew 9:10-13 — Hosts a dinner for tax collectors and sinners
• Matthew 10:3 — Listed among the twelve apostles

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Saint Matthew the Apostle

Reflect

Matthew's first move after following Jesus was hosting a dinner for his old friends — how could your table become a meeting place?