Luke, also, describes his calling: After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. See W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew, AB (Doubleday: New York, 1971), CLXXVIII. The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio | Caravaggio Paintings Jesus does not say "On you I will build my church" but "on this rock ." "This rock" is distinct from Peter, although connected to him. [43] Daniel A. Bertrand, Lvangile des Ebionites: une harmonie vangelique antrieur au Diatessaron NTS 26 (1980): 54863; Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 16671; Klijn, Gospel Tradition, 28-30; Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 5154; Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 3738; 83, 25152; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebioniterevangeliums, 60722; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 43; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 10, 171261. Thom. ; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 56869. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. "Follow me," he said to him. Watchthe video below. 2:1-10; Acts 8:9-24). Additionally, specialists on the Synoptic Problem generally hold that Matthews Gospel reproduced over 90 percent of Marks content, improved Marks grammar and style, and edited out Marks transliterated Aramaic terms. 3.2-3), but failed to place them in a rhetorically effective arrangement (taxis), whereas Matthew arranged (sunetaxato) the oracles (logia) in a Hebrew style.[21] That is, they surmise that Matthew applied Jewish exegetical techniques and forms of argumentation to the material at his disposal to shape it into a cogent presentation about how Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures. [9] Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. David: So, Matthew was one of Christ's disciples. Teilband 1, ed. However, Didymus the Blind spotted a similar story in certain Gospels in his Commentary on Ecclesiastes (223.613) and one of those Gospels could have been the Gospel according to the Hebrews that he cited elsewhere in his Commentary on the Psalms (184.910). This is not a solitary occurrence within Matthews Gospel: the evangelist inserted the mother of the sons of Zebedee into one pericope (Matt 20:20; cf. How come only five disciples of Jesus Christ wrote books in the New Testament? The Apostles: Impetuous Peter overcame mistakes to become leader Excessive. The story of Matthew's calling shows us the amazing power of God's grace and how it transforms people and become extraordinary servants of our Creator. The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. [13] Moreover, Matthew hardly features more as a character in the narrative than in the other two Synoptic Gospels to be the key source of the Matthean traditions. [20] Matthew Black, The Use of Rhetorical Terminology in Papias on Matthew and Mark JSNT 37 (1989): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 222. I. There must have been at least 15-20 people eating in Levis spacious home. 16.13). It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. 5.10.3; Clement, in h.e. 3.39.16). [19] Yet our access to Papias is mediated through Eusebius, so it is uncertain whether Eusebius interrupted an interconnected statement about both evangelists or juxtaposed two separate excerpts from Papias together. He was thirty-one years old and married and had four children. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; 30.13.2; 30.14.3) and Jerome (Epist. Jesus did not call us because of our righteousness or gifting. Why does St. Matthew have two names in the Bible? - Aleteia The Gracious Calling of Matthew by Richard Phillips - Ligonier Ministries In both instances, certain copyists of Marks Gospel were unaware of the conflation of Levi with Matthew in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, yet still turned the character in Mark 2:14 into an apostle. One theory is that Matthew went by the name Levi, or was simply of the tribe of Levi, and was re-named by Jesus as Matthew upon his call. 3.39.17). Ps. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 166; Hagner, Matthew 113, 238; Carson, Matthew, 224; Ben Witherington III, Matthew (Macon: Smyth & Helywys, 2006), 197; Osbourne, Matthew, 334; Powers, Progressive Publication, 2829. Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). 6:25 (300s AD). Because of that, Levi later threw a party at his house and invited his sinner friends to meet Jesus. [45] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 100101; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 41; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 47, 47n.28. The Patristic Traditions about the Evangelist Matthew Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 15465; Klijn. [33] Some scholars equate Matthews oracles with the hypothetical sources Q or M supposedly underlying the double tradition shared by Matthew and Luke and the singly attested traditions in Matthews Gospel respectively. Epiphanius added to the confusion when he imagined that the Gospel that he managed to get a hold of, which skips over the virgin birth and commences at Jesuss baptism (Pan. DepartmentBldg Tucson, AZ 85721 TEL 520-621-6897 FAX 520-626-9014. December 29, 2020 7:00 AM EST. 1) The name of the collector whom Jesus summons is not "Levi, son of Alphaeus", but "Matthew" (9,9). The Patristic Traditions about the Evangelist Matthew. ; ; ; ; () Brezhoneg; Catal; etina; Dansk; Deutsch; Eesti The double tradition is mostly comprised of sayings, but there are a couple of narratives (e.g., Matt 4:111/Luke 4:113; Matt 8:513/Luke 7:110). Jesus was very popular in the Capernaum area where He and Levi lived and it is sure Levi had seen and heard the Nazarene. However, most scholars think that the tax collector Levi (not Zacchaeus) and Matthew were the same person based on these three verses: - Matthew 9:9 - "And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He *said to . Brian McNeil (London: T&T Clark, 2003), 40; Jennifer Wright Knust, Early Christian Re-writing and the History of the Pericope Adulterae, JECS 14 (2006): 495n34; Norelli, Papia, 33132, 335; MacDonald, Two Shipwrecked Gospels, 14, 1922, 24653; Jrg Frey, Die Fragmente des Hebrerevangeliums, in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. Matthias was the only one who was not chosen by Jesus . 135). There were only 8 people in Noahs Ark. [33] For lexical discussion and debate about the term logion in Papiass vocabulary (cf. Why 'Matthew' in Matt 9,9-13? - JSTOR [29] Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 262. in Mt. The Identification of the Toll Collector as Matthew. Per tradition, Matthew was killed by by a soldier on the order of the king of Ethiopia. A beam of light illuminates the faces of the men at the table who are looking at Jesus Christ. Saint Matthew's decision lives on into eternity and benefited not millions . Tax collectors were hated by the Jews. 3.2) that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was associated with Matthew. (1) Repetition of names in the list after David, some of which appear to be anachronisms, possibly suggesting that this list had its own history. I. The Calling of St. Matthew, by Vittore Carpaccio, 1502. [17] Additionally, specialists on the Synoptic Problem generally hold that Matthews Gospel reproduced over 90 percent of Marks content, improved Marks grammar and style, and edited out Marks transliterated Aramaic terms. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. Frey, Die Fragmente des Nazorerevangeliums, 626; Gregory, Media, Video and Lectures From The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies of the University of Arizona, Teaching the Bible in Public Schools and Higher Ed, Scholars, Frauds, the Media and the Public, Essays on Minimalism from Bible and Interpretation, Final Reports on the Yehoash Inscription and James Ossuary from the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Essays on the James Ossuary and the Temple Tablet from Bible and Interpretation, University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies, Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville. Why Do Jesus' Middle Eastern Apostles Have Common English Names? At best, they were learned and prudent. Matthew (Levi) who wrote the first of the Gospels did write it in the Hebrew tongue which at that time was Aramaic. Christ's Call To Matthew - Follow Me - Discover the Book Ministries The Testimonium Flavianum Question (My Two Cents), The Bible is Accurate Manuscript Evidence, Sayings From the Bible in the 21st Century, Colors & Dyes For Clothing in Ancient Rome, Thanksgiving: First Foods, First Friends1620, Ancient Ossuaries Uncover Biblical Truths. [8] Alternatively, the textual variant that has James instead of Levi as the son of Alphaeus in Mark 2:14 in a handful of manuscripts was plausibly motivated by a desire for uniformity by having a single son of Alphaeus (cf. summer | 4.2K views, 92 likes, 102 loves, 53 comments, 67 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Ramp: His presence is here, worship with us at Summer. Matthew had a lucrative, though dishonest, tax collecting business for the occupying Roman government. Perhaps they did so because Levis call narrative closely resembled the summons of the first four apostles to discipleship in Mark 1:1620 and Alpheus was already remembered as the father of one of the apostles in Mark 3:18. Based on Papiass title Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord and his summary of Marks account of the oracles of the Lord, Papiass usage of the term logion encompassed both teachings and short narrative episodes (cf. Jesus Christ and Saint Peter have entered the room, and Jesus is pointing at Matthew. 58 Matthew seems to have written his Gospel primarily to the: Jews Levi was happy to accept! ed. praef. Among these repetitions are: variations of Mattathias (five times), Jesus (twice), Joseph (three times), Simeon (Semein), Levi (twice), and Melchi (twice). Because Matthews original purpose was to prove to his Jewish brethren that Jesus is their Mashiach/Messiah, he included in his Gospel nine proof texts from the Old Testament which Jesus fulfilledMatthew 1:22,23; 2:15; 2:17,18; 2:23; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 27:9,10. [44] Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn, Gospel Tradition, 67-68; Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 51; Jrg Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebioniterevangeliums, 612; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 39; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 183, 222. [47] Whatever the case, Jerome slowly distanced himself from his earlier confident declarations that the Nazarenes had the original Matthean Gospel in their possession (cf. For a recent effort to argue that plural Aramaic and Greek sources underlie the double tradition, see Maurice Casey, An Aramaic Approach to Q: Sources for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). After Jesus grants Peter the keys to the kingdom (see below), Jesus explains . Why did Jesus change the disciples names? - YourQuickInfo Wilhelm Schneemelcher, trans. Levi's work was to take the money. Whatever the case, Jerome slowly distanced himself from his earlier confident declarations that the Nazarenes had the original Matthean Gospel in their possession (cf. [16] This English translation of the Greek text is taken from Michael W. Holmes, editor, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (rev. On the other hand, after scrutinizing the onomastic data compiled by Tal Ilan. Some have also argued that he's the Apostle Matthew 's brother. Why is Matthew also called Levi? - Quora The account of the sinful woman at the well in John 4 is a good example as is the woman caught in adultery in John 8 or even Jesus calling Levi (Matthew) to join His entourage and dining with sinners and tax collectors in Matthew 9. Jesus calls his disciples (Matthew 4: 18-22, 9: 9-13) Mark 3:18). According to Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14, Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum (near modern Almagor, Israel, on the Sea of Galilee) when Jesus called him into his company. Many think that just as Simon was named Peter (the rock) by the Lord, Levi was likewise renamed Matthew (the gift of God) by Jesus. 3.1.1; Pantaenus, in Eusebius, h.e. 5.12), and the verb hermeneuein; Papias could have chosen different terminology to highlight Matthews rhetorical style. These Jewish tax collectors were disdained by the Jews. Levi the Tax Collector Became Saint Matthew - A Catholic Moment Matthew is spoken of five times in the New Testament; first in Matt., ix, 9, when called by Jesus to follow Him, and then four times in the list of the Apostles, where he is mentioned in the seventh (Luke, vi, 15, and Mark, iii, 18), and again in the eighth place (Matt., x, 3, and Acts, i, 13). Matthew 9:9-13 begins with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him as His disciple. When Jesus called Levi, Jesus never told him, "Repent, and follow Me." Jesus only said, "Follow Me." Jesus sought out someone like Levi, who was in need of God's mercy and helped him to make a decision to follow Jesus; that is to turn to God. [36] Ultimately, the identification of Matthews oracles with Q or M may depend on a given scholars acceptance or not of the Four Source theory as classically formulated. [27] The most natural reading is that a language was meant by the combination of the noun dialektos, especially when modified with the name of an ethnic group (cf. [31] Warren Carter, Matthew: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004), 17. News and Interpretations on the Bible and Ancient Near East History. Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. Indeed, Papias commented on a story about the Lords encounter with a condemned woman that Eusebius located in this Gospel (cf. Jesus' interaction with Matthew, Zacchaeus and other tax collectors [6] Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE 200 CE, TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). [2] For some examples, see Robert Gundry, The Use of the Old Testament in St. Matthews Gospel: With Special Reference to the Messianic Hope(Leiden: Brill, 1975), 183; David Hill, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 1; R. T. France, Matthew: Evangelist and Teacher (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 6768; Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 14; Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 113 (Dallas: Word, 1993), lxxvi; D. A. Carson, Matthew: Chapters 1 through 12 (EBC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 1819; Grant R. Osbourne, Matthew, ECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 34; B. Q. [3] Powers, Progressive Publication, 29 (emphasis original). Contrary to Epiphaniuss assertions, he may have not had access to the Gospel according to the Hebrews at all, and scholars generally label his source, which frequently harmonizes passages in the Synoptic Gospels, as the Gospel according to the Ebionites to distinguish it from the former text. Matthew (also known as Levi) doubtless was one of the tax collectors who responded to John the Baptist's call to repentance. How do we know that Matthew changed after Jesus called him? Hence Levi was the original name of the man who was subsequently called Matthew; the Maththaios legomenos of Matthew 9:9, would indicate this. Tax collectors were not very respected people in Jesus' time because many of them stole from the people. Verse 15. Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 26364. Saint Matthew | History, Facts, Feast Day, & Death | Britannica h.e. UBF Resources : Jesus Calls Levi 184.9-10) and Eusebius regarded the text as disputed but not unorthodox (h.e. Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn. Ancient and modern scholars have been perplexed by the fact that the name of the toll collector in Matthew 9:9 differs from its synoptic counterparts. [4] See Manlio Simonetti, Matthew 113, ACCS New Testament 1a (Downers Grove: IVP, 2001), 177; Ulrich Luz, Matthew 820, trans. As Brent Cunningham expressed it the changing of the names represented Jesus' ownership of them. [39] Edwards (Hebrew Gospel, 210) identifies Matthews oracles in h.e. T/F, 3. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [32] The diversity of text-forms evident in Matthews biblical citations and allusions, however, disproves the notion that the evangelist was reliant on one testimonium source. Epiphanius and Jerome later confused the traditional account of the authorship of Matthews Gospel with the origins of the Gospel according to the Hebrews. [26] Gundry, Matthew, 619; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 67. [23] Krzinger, Papias, 24, 3342; cf. Jesus came with some of His disciples. Some Patristic interpreters guessed that the evangelists Mark and Luke called Matthew by his less popular name Levi out of deference for his apostolic status, while Matthew himself had the humility to confess that he was once employed in a disreputable profession under his better-known name (e.g., John Chrysostom, hom. And many followed him ( Mark 2:15 ). What does Matthew 9:9 mean? | BibleRef.com 5. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 1089; cf. Matthew or Levi? Which was the name of the taxman | carm.org Jesus casually says to Levi the tax collector,follow me and Levi got up and followed him. Just like that. Mark 3:18). Saint Matthew - Facts, Life & Bible - Biography 12.13; Is. [22] Krzinger, Papias, 22; Gundry, Matthew, 619; Pre-Papian Tradition, xxi, 68; cf. VesuviusAugust 24, 79 AD. Jesus Calls Levi | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org When Jesus said He would be there, Levi was so excited he invited lots of his friends. [37], The final option is that a non-extant Jewish Gospel stands behind Papiass reference to Matthews oracles or, at least, the New Testament Gospel that bears the name Matthew was mixed up with a Jewish Gospel circulating in Papiass milieu. CLICK HEREfor Taxes in the Ancient Roman World article. The fishermen who followed Jesus, and some became His Apostles, had to pay taxes on fishing licenses and perhaps on their daily catch. Matthew did follow Jesus for the rest of his life. Legend differs as to the scene of his missions and as to whether he died a natural death or a martyrs. Tax collectors were rich people. News of his preaching and healing ministry was spreading far and wide. [13] The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick, The Origins of the Gospel according to St. Matthew (Oxford: Clarendon, 1946), 13839. Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. Hist. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. H. Gundry, 291. See Krtner, Papias, 2045; Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus and the Adulteress NTS 34 (1988): 2444, 29; Philipp Vielhauer and Georg Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, in New Testament Apocrypha I: Gospels and Related Writings, ed. 7.2627; 14.5960). This makes it doubtful that Matthew 9:9 was intended as either the evangelists self-reference or as a pseudonymous literary device supplementing the ascription of this Gospel to Matthew. ill. 3; Tract. In the Christian Bible, he was cited as one of the Jesus' apostles. For an alternative approach, W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann speculate that an Aramaic source identified the toll collector as a Levite and that this was mistranslated as the personal name Levi in the Greek texts of Mark and Luke. Why did Luke trace Jesus' genealogy through David's son - Vridar CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Constant Crowds article. Following Jesus Meant Matthew Lost His Lucrative Tax Collector Career. Pet. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew is the ONLY one of the Gospel writers who uses his changed name from Levi to Matthew. [14] Nevertheless, it is conceivable that the two verses in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 were the basis for why this Gospel was later ascribed to Matthew. Thus, some scholars who otherwise defend the traditional authorship of Matthews Gospel admit that Papias erred in his belief about the original language in which it was written. Matthias was chosen to be one of the Apostles after Judas of Iscariot had betrayed Jesus and died ( Acts 1:26 NIV). Zavada, Jack. F. C. Burkitt, Levi Son of Alphaeus JTS 28 (1927): 27374; Metzger, Textual Commentary, 78; Brent Nongbri, Matthew and Levi. Benjamin Bacon (Studies in Matthew [New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1930], 3940) conjectures that the textual variant in Mark 2:14 predated the composition of Matthews Gospel, leading a pre-Matthean scribe who was transmitting a list of the Twelve that was originally independent of Mark 3:1619 to preface the name James the son of Alphaeus with the title the toll collector. The author of Matthews Gospel, however, copied this list in Matthew 10:24 and wrongly took this scribal insertion in reference to Matthew since James was immediately preceded by Matthew in the list of names. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. Matthew was obviously a small mokhes because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. 6.14.2; Epiphanius, Pan. How Did Jesus Spend the Last Week of His Life? Vir. For three main reasons, almost all scholars believe the Gospel of Luke was written by the same person who wrote Acts: Luke and Acts were written in the same style and express the same theology. Jennie Ebeling --Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville, Copyright 2000-2023 The Bible and Interpretation| All Rights Reserved |The University of Arizona | Developed bySBS Tech 135; Matt. People had to pay taxes to the *Romans. The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners., CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Pharisees article. He is mentioned in Matthew 9:9. Gundry, Matthew, xxii. After his conversion, Matthew ardently preached Jesus as Messiah to his Jewish community. He was included as one of the Evangelists according to the Christian tradition. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. It is the contracted name of Mattathias. [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. Volume I: Introduction and Commentary on Matthew IVII, ICC [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988], 1.12) acknowledge the difficulties in determining whether a text was a translation in the ancient world and the Patristic tradition about Matthew even persuaded an accomplished textual critic like Origen. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; Jerome, Vir. He was one of the earlier followers of Jesus Christ. Or Levi was having a lot of friends over for dinner that night and asked Jesus if He would come, too. Jefferson himself believed that a person's religion was between them and their god. They contend that the conjunction oun (therefore) in Papiass statement about Matthew (3.39.16) was connected to his prior statement about Mark (3.39.15), entailing that Matthew published his narrative of Jesuss life in response to the perceived shortcomings of Marks account. Curiously, Origen answered the philosopher Celsuss criticism that Jesus assembled a motley crew of toll collectors and sailors by stressing that Matthew was the sole toll collector within the apostolic circle and that Levi was not numbered among the twelve apostles except for in select manuscripts of Marks Gospel (Cels. , TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 62354. [45] The majority position among the experts is that the fragments Jerome inherited from the Nazarenes do not derive from the Gospel according to the Hebrews but from a distinct work that scholars have designated as the Gospel according to the Nazarenes. St. Matthew, also called St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Matthew the Apostle, or Levi, (flourished 1st century ce, Palestine; Western feast day September 21, Eastern feast day November 16), one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and the traditional author of the first Synoptic Gospel (the Gospel According to Matthew). Vir. For the range of theories accounting for the redactional changes in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, see the helpful summaries compiled by Joachim Gnilka, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE 200 CE.