WATCHMAN33
Christian History/Profile 08
Apostle

Matthew the Apostle

A tax collector called by Jesus into the Twelve, whose transformed vocation and association with the first Gospel became enduring parts of Christian memory.

first century; death date unknownCapernaum · Galilee · JerusalemCalled from tax collection · One of the Twelve · Ancient Gospel tradition
WHY THIS PERSON MATTERS

A witness in the historical record

Matthew’s calling vividly displays grace: a man from a despised occupation immediately follows Jesus and hosts a meal where Jesus explains His mission to sinners. Papias, preserved by Eusebius, connects Matthew with a collection of the Lord’s sayings in a Hebrew or Aramaic manner, but the precise relationship of that notice to the canonical Greek Gospel remains debated.

LIFE & SETTING

Biography

Matthew’s Gospel describes Jesus calling “Matthew” from the receipt of custom; Mark and Luke call the tax collector Levi. Christian tradition commonly identifies them, though the texts do not explicitly explain the two names. Matthew is then named among the Twelve and specifically called “the publican.”

The meal following the call provoked criticism because Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. Jesus answered that the sick need a physician and that He came to call sinners to repentance, making Matthew’s own calling part of the message.

Papias, writing in the early second century and quoted by Eusebius, said Matthew arranged the logia in the Hebrew dialect and each interpreted them as able. This is important early reception evidence but does not by itself settle the authorship, language, or compositional history of the canonical Greek Gospel. Later mission and martyrdom traditions disagree widely.

THE HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION

What the evidence preserves

Each conclusion is tied to the kind of evidence that supports it.

01Documented

Grace calls a publican

Jesus called Matthew directly from tax collection into discipleship and apostolic service.

The Synoptic tradition directly records the call and meal.
02Early witness

Early association with Gospel tradition

Papias associated Matthew with an ordered collection of sayings in the Hebrew dialect.

The report is early and important, but its “logia” and language do not map simply onto the surviving Greek Gospel.
SURVIVING VOICES

Writings and works

first century · Attribution disputed

Gospel according to Matthew

Canonical Gospel traditionally associated with Matthew; the exact relationship to Papias’s notice remains debated.

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HISTORICAL CAUTIONS

Questions that materially affect the record

These notes correct overstatement while preserving what the sources establish.

Materially disputed

Matthew and Levi are not explicitly equated

The parallel call narratives strongly encouraged identification, but the canonical texts use different names without an explicit statement of identity.

Use “commonly identified” rather than stating the equation as independently documented.
Later tradition

No secure death account survives

Later sources place Matthew’s mission and death in different regions and describe incompatible ends.

The place, date, and manner of death should remain unknown.
CHECK THE RECORD

Sources and further reading

Primary texts are listed alongside critical editions and responsible historical reference works.

  1. primary
    New Testament witness to Matthew

    Holy Scripture · Watchman 33 / King James Bible · Matthew 9:9–13; 10:3; Mark 2:14–17; Luke 5:27–32; Acts 1:13

    Primary evidence for the tax collector’s call and Matthew among the Twelve.
  2. primary
    Church History 3.39

    Eusebius, preserving Papias · New Advent / NPNF · Book 3, chapter 39, section 16

    Early testimony concerning Matthew and the logia in the Hebrew dialect.
  3. primary
    On the Twelve Apostles

    Pseudo-Hippolytus · Wikisource / Ante-Nicene Fathers · Matthew entry

    One later death tradition, included chiefly to show its evidentiary level.