The life of Matthew

Matthew who was also named Levi was a tax collector. It is uncertain if Jesus gave him the name Matthew or if he changed it himself. His name Mathew is the shortened version of Mattathias meaning, “the gift of God”. He was a 1st-century Galilean. He supposed to be born in Galilee, which was not part of Judea or the Roman Judaea province. He was the son of Alpheus. His occupation before encountering a life changing moment with the Lord was being a tax collector. He collected the taxes of the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. His tax office was located in Capernaum. As a tax collector it is assumed that Matthew was literate in Aramaic and Greek language.

Tax collectors were highly disliked by society because they were greedy and dishonest with their people. According to the Roman Empire’s system of collecting taxes, Matthew would have already paid all the taxes ahead of time and then collect them from travelers and citizens to compensate himself.

Tax collectors such as Matthew were unscrupulous. To guarantee their personal profit and wellbeing they exhorted far above what was really owed by the citizens and travelers. The tax collectors decisions were backed by the enforcement of the Roman soldiers so no one opposed them. Matthew is first mentioned in Matthew 9:9. He was on the main highway in his tax booth in Capernaum and he was collecting tax on foreign goods that were purchased by caravans, merchants, and farmers. It says in Matthew 9:9 that Jesus passed by the tax office and saw Matthew, He then told Matthew to follow Him and he arose and followed Him. Luke 5:29 speaks of the great banquet that he had for Jesus at his house. It stated that large crowds of tax collectors and other people who were all...

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...e Persians, Parthians and Medes. There is a legend that he died a martyr in Ethiopia. All in all we can all agree that Matthew was a missionary and died while serving the Lord. Matthew along with all the other apostles are perfect examples of what God is looking for in his children. He is not looking for those who have portrayed themselves to be holy but are filthy on the inside such as the Pharisees and Sadducees and all the others. He wants us to come as we are, follow Him, and turn our lives around through Jesus Christ.

Works Cited

MacArthur, John. "Chapter 9." In Matthew , Verse 10. Chicago: Moody Press, 1987.

MacArthur, John. "Chapter 9." In Matthew, Verse 9. Chicago: Moody Press, 1987.

Zavada, Jack . "Matthew - Tax Collector and Apostle." About.com Christianity. http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentpeople/a/JZ-Matthew.htm (accessed April 7, 2014).