See how the Bible offers many details about Matthew, as a gospel writer, tax collector, and disciple of Jesus Christ. Learn more facts about Matthew the apostle.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Matthew the Apostle | Story, Facts & Death
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Frequently Asked Questions
How did Matthew the Apostle meet Jesus?
In the story in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew was working as a tax collector at a tax booth when he met Jesus. The gospel explains that Jesus simply said, ''Follow me,'' and Matthew immediately decided to follow him and be a disciple.
Why is Matthew called Levi?
The names ''Matthew'' and ''Levi'' are never explicitly connected. However, the story of Matthew's calling in the Gospel of Matthew (being a tax collector, working at a tax booth, and being called by Jesus) is nearly identical to the story of Levi's calling in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke. Because of this and because other disciples had two different names, many people believe that the names Matthew and Levi refer to the same person.
What did Matthew do wrong in the Bible?
Matthew was a tax collector, or publican, which meant that he was an agent of the Roman Empire and collected taxes to return to the government. Matthew's job as a tax collector before he followed Jesus made many other Jews and Christians distrust him because of the persecution the Roman Empire had inflicted on the religious groups.
Why is Matthew important in the Bible?
Christian tradition teaches that Matthew is the author of the Gospel of Matthew, which is why the figure is considered so important, though he was also one of Jesus' twelve disciples. However, modern scholars note that the name "Matthew" is never included in the original text and that the title of the book was added about 100 or 200 years later.
What happened to Matthew the Apostle?
The New Testament stories teach that Matthew was a tax collector who, upon meeting Jesus, decided to follow Jesus and continue his ministry. With the other disciples, Matthew spread Jesus' message throughout the Middle East. Some extra-biblical traditions teach that Matthew extended his ministry to Ethiopia, where he was eventually martyred.
What did Matthew do after Jesus died?
After Jesus' crucifixion, Matthew and the other remaining disciples witnessed Jesus' ascension to heaven. The Acts of the Apostles explain that these disciples continued Jesus' ministry and spread his message throughout the Middle East.
Table of Contents
ShowThe name "Matthew" is popular in the Bible and Christian traditions as it is the name of one of Jesus' disciples as well as the title of one of the four New Testament gospels. Matthew was one of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus, the founder of Christianity, in the 1st century BCE. Matthew was not only a follower of Jesus but also an apostle, a "messenger" who spread Jesus' teachings around the area. In Christian religious thought, Matthew is generally considered the author of the Gospel of Matthew, one of the four gospels in the New Testament that tells about the life and teachings of Jesus. Matthew is an influential figure in the Christian tradition and is considered a saint in the Catholic Church.
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Matthew first appears in chapter nine of the Gospel of Matthew, where he is sitting at a tax booth. Jesus simply says, "follow me" and Matthew decides to follow, becoming one of Jesus' disciples. Many of Jesus' disciples, including Matthew, were unpopular choices because of their careers or social standing in the Jewish culture. When Jesus called Matthew to follow him, Matthew was a tax collector. This was a frowned upon profession by most Jews at the time, not because of the idea of taxes but because tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire, which had put extensive pressure on the Jewish people. After Matthew joined Jesus, his ministry was spent spreading Jesus' teachings throughout the Middle East, even as far into Africa as Ethiopia.
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What Did Matthew Do in the Bible?
Some translations of the Bible, most notably the King James Version, refer to Matthew as a publican. This antiquated term is Latin for someone who served the government, the "public." Matthew's public service was serving as a tax collector. His profession made him an untrustworthy figure among his fellow Jews at the time because he was an agent of the Roman Empire, collecting taxes for the Romans who did not provide fair treatment or provisions for the Jews.
Nothing else about Matthew's life before joining Jesus is mentioned in the New Testament. As Matthew is working and Jesus called him to follow, Matthew presumably leaves behind his career as a tax collector to join Jesus. This change from an untrustworthy or unsavory person to one of Jesus' closest companions is a common theme throughout the New Testament, as many of Jesus' early followers came from a variety of unpopular backgrounds.
Matthew the Apostle Facts
With a figure as popular in the Christian tradition as Matthew, there are several key facts that are important to remember about him. All four New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) list Matthew as one of the twelve disciples. The story of Matthew's calling is found in the Gospel of Matthew; however, the Gospel of Mark and Gospel of Luke have a nearly identical calling narrative about a tax collector named Levi. Although there is no explicit connection between the name "Matthew" and "Levi," many scholars and laypeople believe that the names refer to the same person. It was common for Jesus' disciples to have or take two names: one that was a Hebrew name they were born with and another that was a Greek or Roman name (that they may or may not have also been given at birth) for ministering to non-Jews.
Matthew was living in the area of Capernaum, a city on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus called him. If Matthew was, in fact, the same person who was called Levi, then his father was named Alphaeus, according to Mark 2. He also might have had a brother named James, who was listed in Mark 3 as a son of Alphaeus. Matthew would have been fairly well-educated and literate because of his role in Roman society. He would have been educated in reading and writing Greek for his work, which was the common language used in many of the previously Greek cities throughout the Roman Empire.
Matthew's Ministry
The New Testament does not record a significant amount about Matthew's life and ministry. As one of the remaining eleven disciples after Judas' betrayal of Jesus, Matthew would have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and later ascension into heaven. The disciples in the Acts of the Apostles continue Jesus' ministry and teachings by going on their own journeys to spread this message. Matthew's ministry, according to some traditions, was throughout Syria and the Middle East, and some stories place him as far south as Ethiopia.
Matthew is perhaps most famous for writing the Gospel of Matthew, the first of the four New Testament gospels. While this traditionally-held view has been popular for two millennia, scholars in the last century have questioned this notion and presented evidence against Matthew being the author of the gospel. The Gospel of Matthew never actually claims who wrote it, and the title of the book was put onto the text later by early Christian thinkers in the 3rd century CE. The Gospel of Matthew was probably written originally in Greek towards the end of the 1st century CE, which would probably be after Matthew's death. Despite these historical claims, Matthew is often called "Matthew the Evangelist" or "Matthew, the gospel writer" because of this tradition. Artwork even depicts him as influenced by an angel when penning the gospel.
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How Did Matthew the Apostle Die?
Since the New Testament does not tell Matthew's story beyond some of his ministry in Acts, there is nothing known about his later life or death. However, some apocryphal, or extra-biblical traditions, claim that Matthew died in Ethiopia. These narratives do not provide specifics but claim that Matthew died as a martyr, sacrificing his life for his faith and ministry. It is impossible to determine if this is historically accurate or not, as most of the disciples' stories supposedly end in martyrdom. It is possible that Matthew and the other disciples did die as martyrs since the Romans attempted to persecute the Christians because of their anti-imperial sentiments, though it is also possible that the martyrdom tales simply add an extra element to highlight how dedicated the disciples were to their faith.
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Matthew was one of Jesus' followers in the New Testament, an apostle or "messenger" who helped spread Jesus' message throughout the Middle East and beyond. The story of Matthew in the Gospel of Matthew explains that he was a publican, or tax collector, before following Jesus. Although he was Jewish, being a tax collector meant he was an agent of the Roman Empire, so he was unpopular and distrusted by most of his fellow Jews. Because the story of Matthew's calling and background is nearly identical to the story of Levi in the Gospel of Mark and Gospel of Luke, many people believe that Levi was another of Matthew's names.
Although the Bible explains that Matthew was a tax collector in Capernaum, a city on the north coast of the Sea of Galilee, he also was later a disciple of Jesus. Traditionally, in religious circles, the Gospel of Matthew is attributed to Matthew, calling him a "gospel writer" of one of the four New Testament gospels, though scholars claim the historical facts do not support this. After Jesus' crucifixion and ascension, Matthew and the other disciples continued Jesus' ministry. Some extra-biblical traditions teach that Matthew traveled throughout Syrian and Ethiopia before eventually being martyred in Ethiopia.
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Video Transcript
Matthew
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. Those four books are called the Gospels. Of the four Gospels, two were written by members of Christ's original twelve disciples. One of these is the Book of Matthew.
The Book of Matthew is generally believed to have been authored by, yes, Matthew, a disciple, apostle and evangelist of the early Christian Church. Today, he is recognized as one of the premier saints of Catholicism as well. Matthew was a founder of the largest religion in the world today, so let's get to know this ancient figure a little better.
Life of Matthew
We don't know anything about Matthew's life before he became a disciple (student) of Jesus Christ, except that his father's name was Alphaeus and that his original name was possibly Levi. From the Gospels, it seems that a few of the original disciples underwent a name change after joining Jesus (remember that Simon becomes Peter). In the same way, Levi becomes Matthew, derived from the Hebrew for ''Gift of Yahweh''.
Matthew is an interesting figure to theologians and historians because he was not a beloved person. In fact, he was likely hated…passionately. You see, Matthew was a publican. At the surface, this translates to tax collector (which alone may give people enough reason to hate him), but don't forget who the Hebrew people were paying taxes to. The Hebrews lived under the control of the Roman Empire. So, Matthew wasn't just a tax collector, he was a Jewish agent of the Romans.
Hebrews of the time deeply distrusted any of their own who worked to maintain the Roman Empire, and most were seen as greedy, selfish, and traitorous. In fact, there are accounts that Hebrews did not allow Jewish publicans to marry Jewish women or even worship in the synagogue.
Matthew's Ministry
For Matthew, this changed when Jesus crossed his path and said ''Follow me''. That's it. According to his gospel, Matthew heard these words and dropped everything. He paid back all those he had cheated, renounced his worldly possessions and committed himself to following his new teacher. This did cause many of the Jewish leaders to raise their eyebrows. They were already suspicious of Jesus, but now he was consorting with the lowest of Hebrew society.
After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Matthew was amongst those chosen to go out and spread the word of Christ (called apostles). He spent his time mostly in Palestine, where he helped plant new congregations and spread Christ's teachings. It was here that he is said to have written his account of Jesus' life in the Book of Matthew, sometime between 41 and 50 CE. Scholars disagree as to whether the text was originally written in his native Aramaic (in order to encourage people of the region to accept it) or in Greek (the language of scholars, intellectuals and the literate in general).
After writing his Gospel, Matthew set out to continue spreading the message. He is believed to have traveled to Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia and even Ethiopia. Many Christian churches in Ethiopia claim Matthew as the ultimate founder of their congregations. In the end, we don't actually know what happened to Matthew. He managed to get off of the Roman's radar, which may have been a conscious action considering the increased persecution of the times. Some claim that he died a martyr in Ethiopia, but these accounts are accepted as apocryphal. We may never know exactly how or where Matthew died. What we do know is that he ended up being one of the most published authors in all of history.
Lesson Summary
The Gospel of Matthew is one of the most widely read of the Christian Bible. It is believed to have been written by Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ. Before being called to follow Christ, Matthew was a publican, a tax collector for the Roman Empire. Thus, he was greatly distrusted by his fellow Hebrews. Christ calling him was seen as a sign of the ultimate redemptive power of grace and God's forgiveness.
After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Matthew wrote his gospel sometime between 40-51 CE and traveled across the eastern Mediterranean. Some sources claim that he died a martyr in Ethiopia, but this is not agreed on by the entire Christian Church. Regardless of where he died, Matthew's writings would spread across the world, becoming one of the most influential books in human history.
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Matthew the Apostle | Story, Facts & Death
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