Matthew is named among the Twelve Apostles in the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew also presents a man named Matthew being called by Jesus while sitting at a tax office and later identifies “Matthew the tax collector” in its list of the Twelve. Christian tradition therefore remembers Matthew as an apostle and former tax collector.
Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 identify a tax collector named Matthew; Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 tell a corresponding calling story using the name Levi.
Matthew in the New Testament
Matthew 9 describes Jesus calling Matthew from a customs post. Mark and Luke tell a similar call story but name the tax collector Levi. The New Testament does not explain the difference, and scholars discuss whether the traditions originally referred to the same person.
Matthew appears in the apostolic lists, but the New Testament gives few additional biographical details about him. Claims about extensive missionary travel and the manner of his death come mainly from later Christian traditions rather than contemporary records.
Did Matthew write the Gospel of Matthew?
Ancient Christian tradition associated the first Gospel with the apostle Matthew. Modern scholarship is more cautious. The Gospel itself does not name its author, and many scholars date it after the Gospel of Mark and conclude that its author used Mark and other traditions. Churches may continue to call it the Gospel “according to Matthew” while recognizing that the historical question of authorship is debated.
Matthew in Christian tradition
Matthew is honored as an apostle and evangelist in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and other Christian traditions. In art he is often shown with a book or writing materials because of the Gospel traditionally linked to his name.
For readers of the New Testament, Matthew’s importance rests first on his place among the Twelve and the call narrative. Later traditions about his preaching and martyrdom belong to the history of Christian memory and should be distinguished from what the biblical texts state directly.
