Matthew the Apostle and Tax Collector

Matthew was one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus. He was also known by the name Levi. What made him unique from the other Apostles was his economic status and his career as a tax collector for the Romans. As a tax collector he was very unlikely to get any attention from a Jewish Rabbi. Tax collectors were thought of as traitors in the first century due to their practice of skimming off the top to provide wealth for themselves. The fact that the rabbi called on Matthew to follow him as a disciple was unexpected by the culture. Pharisees viewed tax collectors as "sinners" as we can see in Mark 2:14-17. Apparently Jesus saw in Matthew the potential to be a great man of faith and one of the leaders of the movement of Jesus that contemporaries called "The Way."

Matthews Life Cycle

Family Life

Mathew was born of a man named Alpheus. It is possible that he was the brother of another Apostle of Jesus named James. James is also mentioned as the son of Alpheus. However, scripture never mentions that the two are brothers, so we can't be sure. The New Testament did often mention other Apostles as brothers, so the likelihood is that there were two Alpheus', one fathering Matthew and the other fathering James, the Lesser.

Not much is known about the life of Matthew (Levi) prior to being called to meet Jesus. It is likely that he was from the town of Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee neighboring Bethsaida. That is derived from the fact that when Jesus called Him as a follower, he found him "at the receipt of custom" in the town of Capernaum. (see Matthew 9:9)

Life Prior to Meeting Jesus

We can only speculate what Matthew's life was like prior to meeting Jesus, but it is safe to say that Matthew (then known as Levi) was not a popular person in the city of Capernaum. As a tax collector by trade, it is almost certain that he was an outcast in his city. His only friends would have most likely been other tax collectors who gathered together to keep each other company. It is obvious that he did have a number of friends. The first thing he did after his calling is invite his oikos to a party to meet Jesus. Upon meeting with the friends of Matthew, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a friend of the "tax collectors and sinners." (see Luke 5:29-32) Jesus response to those Pharisees that accused him of hanging out with sinner was that He didn't come for the well, but for those who are "sick." This reference by Jesus indicated that Jesus himself thought of the tax collectors as broken people. Matthew's status as a Jewish traitor must have made him more ecstatic to be invited into Jesus' circle of disciples.

Transformation Upon Meeting Jesus

Although it is not recorded in scripture, most likely Jesus changed Levi's name to Matthew to indicate his change of identity soon after He asked Matthew to follow Him. The name Matthew in Hebrew translates "gift of Yahweh." It is likely that this was a term of endearment that Jesus assigned to Matthew. In order for Jesus to call Matthew as one of the 12 leaders of the future Church, He must have seen something VERY special in Matthew. Maybe that is why He called Levi a "gift of Yahweh."

It is apparent that Matthew had a major transformation following this new identity as a disciple of the Christ. We know for certain that the abandoned his comfortable life of wealth and status with the Roman government for a life of following the Messiah who scripture says did not even have a place to lay his head (Luke 9:58.) It is assumed that Matthew also put himself in a position that he'd be persecuted by the Roman government for his dramatic transformation.

The Death of Matthew

It is believed that after Jesus' ascension, Matthew preached in Jerusalem for about 15 years. The only mention of Matthew in the Book of Acts is in a list of the 12 Disciples in Acts 1:13. Although we are not certain how Matthew died, it is generally assumed by tradition and noted in the Fox's Book of Martyrs that he was slain by a Halbred (combined spear and battleaxe) in Ethiopia. Tradition says that the King of Ethiopia lusted after his own niece and had been rebuked by Matthew because she was a nun. The king got so angry at Matthew that he killed him on the altar during a worship service. However, there is no way to be certain that that story is accurate.