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Matthew the Apostle

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Saint Matthew the Apostle
Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Ecclesial status Saint
Titles Apostle; Evangelist; Martyr according to tradition
Occupation Tax collector before his call
Associated Gospel Gospel according to Matthew
Commemoration Feast, 21 September
Symbol Winged man or angel

Matthew the Apostle was a tax collector called directly by Jesus Christ, one of the Twelve, and the evangelist traditionally associated with the first canonical Gospel. His conversion displays the authority of mercy and the apostolic mission to teach all nations.[1]

Devotional status: Approved devotion

Overview

Matthew the Apostle[2] was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to many Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.

The New Testament records that as an Apostle, he followed Jesus. Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, relate that Matthew preached the gospel in Judea before going to other countries.

Call from the tax office

Matthew's Gospel recounts that Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post and said, Follow me. Matthew rose and followed him. Tax collectors served the fiscal system associated with Roman rule and were commonly suspected of extortion and ritual compromise. Christ's choice therefore overturns social expectation without pretending that injustice is harmless. The call creates a new life: Matthew leaves an occupation ordered to revenue and enters the apostolic company ordered to the Kingdom.

A meal follows in the house, with many tax collectors and sinners at table with Jesus and his disciples. When Pharisees object, Christ answers that the healthy do not need a physician but the sick and commands them to learn the meaning of mercy rather than sacrifice. He has come to call sinners. The episode does not bless sin or abolish conversion. The divine Physician draws near precisely to heal, and Matthew's rising from the customs post shows the concrete response mercy requires.[3]

Matthew and Levi

Mark and Luke call the tax collector Levi, while Matthew's account uses Matthew. Christian tradition ordinarily identifies them as the same disciple, possibly known by two names, because the call narratives occupy the same place and share distinctive details. Scripture does not explain the variation. The identification is reasonable and received, but elaborate attempts to reconstruct a name change should not be stated as revealed fact. The central truth remains Christ's sovereign call of a public sinner into apostolic service.

One of the Twelve

Matthew appears in all four New Testament lists of the Twelve. His own Gospel's list uniquely calls him the tax collector, preserving the memory of the condition from which grace called him. The title is not self-contempt; it magnifies mercy and prevents apostolic office from being mistaken for a reward earned by an immaculate past. Like the others, Matthew receives authority to preach, heal, cast out demons, and represent the renewed Israel gathered by the Messiah.

The Twelve are formed by hearing Jesus, witnessing his works, misunderstanding, receiving correction, abandoning him during the Passion, and encountering him risen. Their authority is Christ's gift before it is personal achievement. At the end of Matthew's Gospel, the risen Lord sends them to make disciples of all nations, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach obedience to everything he commanded, with his abiding presence until the end of the age.[4][5]

Apostolic mission

Later traditions send Matthew to Judea and then to regions variously identified as Ethiopia, Persia, Parthia, or lands near the Caspian Sea. Accounts of his death also differ, although Western tradition commonly venerates him as a martyr. These traditions preserve the Church's memory of apostolic mission beyond the New Testament record but do not support a single certain itinerary. His liturgical title Apostle and Evangelist rests securely on received ecclesial tradition and the canonical Gospel.[6]

The Gospel according to Matthew

The Church receives Matthew as a canonical Gospel of apostolic origin and traditionally associates it with the Apostle. Early testimony, especially Papias as preserved by Eusebius, connects Matthew with a collection of the Lord's sayings in a Hebrew manner of speech. The canonical work is Greek and shows literary relationships that Catholic scholars may investigate. Such study concerns the human composition and transmission of an inspired book; it does not negate its apostolic foundation, truth, or ecclesial authorship.[7]

Matthew presents Jesus as Messiah, Son of David, new Moses, authoritative teacher, Emmanuel, and Son of the living God. Five large discourses organize much of the Gospel: the Sermon on the Mount, missionary discourse, parables of the Kingdom, teaching on ecclesial life, and eschatological discourse. Fulfillment formulas join Christ to Israel's Scriptures, while the visit of the Magi and final commission reveal the universal scope of salvation.

Church, sacraments, and moral life

Matthew alone among the evangelists uses the word Church explicitly. Christ builds his Church on Peter, gives the keys of the Kingdom, and teaches fraternal correction and binding and loosing within the community. The Gospel joins high Christology to demanding moral conversion: reconciliation, chastity of heart, truthfulness, love of enemies, prayer, almsgiving, forgiveness, care for the little ones, and judgment according to works of mercy. Catholic reading refuses to separate doctrine, sacrament, ecclesial authority, and lived obedience.[8]

Cult, symbol, and feast

Relics honored as Matthew's have been venerated at Salerno since the medieval period, and the cathedral there is dedicated to him. His customary symbol is the winged man or angel from the four living creatures, because his Gospel opens with Christ's human genealogy. Art also depicts the call at the customs table, an angel assisting the evangelist, a book, money, or an instrument of martyrdom. The symbols serve his Gospel identity and should not replace the scriptural portrait.

The Roman Rite celebrates Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, on 21 September as a Feast with red vestments in honor of his traditional martyrdom. He is named in the Roman Canon and commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. The Church venerates him as a saint in heaven and patron of accountants, customs officers, and others who handle money, asking especially for integrity, detachment, and readiness to leave a sinful way of life at Christ's word.

Mercy and mission

Matthew's enduring witness is not a sentimental contrast between a harsh religion and an indulgent Jesus. The Lord who eats with sinners also commands repentance, righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees, the narrow way, and obedience to all he has taught. Mercy restores the sinner for holiness and mission. The former tax collector becomes a herald of the Kingdom because Christ's call is powerful enough to forgive, detach, form, and send.

In the New Testament

Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9[9] and Matthew 10:3[10] as a tax collector (in the New International Version and other translations of the Bible) who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus.[11] He is also listed among the Twelve Disciples, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13.[12] In passages parallel to Matthew 9:9, both Mark 2:14[13] and Luke 5:27[14] describe Jesus's calling of the tax collector Levi, the son of Alphaeus. They do not associate it with the name Matthew, but all three passages are remarkably similar.

Since the father of both Matthew (known as Levi) and James, son of Alphaeus is named Alphaeus, according to the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the two apostles were brothers.[15][16]

Ministry

The New Testament records that as a disciple, Matthew followed Jesus. After Jesus' ascension, the disciples withdrew to an upper room (Acts 1:10–14)[17] (traditionally the Cenacle) in Jerusalem.[18] The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

In the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a), "Mattai" is one of five disciples of "Jeshu".[19]

Early Church Fathers such as Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.1.1) and Clement of Alexandria say that Matthew preached the gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, before going to other countries. Ancient writers are not in agreement as to which other countries these are, but almost all sources mention Ethiopia.[18] This Ethiopia is more likely to be the region south of the Caspian Sea now known as ancient Persia than the modern nation of Ethiopia in Africa.[18] (See also Aethiopian Sea.)

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr, and the Babylonian Talmud appears to report his execution in Sanhedrin 43a.[20][21]

According to some traditions, while preaching in Ethiopia, Matthew converted, and then consecrated to God, Ephigenia of Ethiopia, the virgin daughter of King Egippus.[22] When King Hirtacus succeeded Egippus, he asked the apostle if he could persuade Ephigenia to marry him. Matthew invited King Hirtacus to liturgy the following Sunday, where he rebuked the king for lusting after the girl, as she was a nun and therefore was the bride of Christ. The enraged King thus ordered his bodyguard to kill Matthew who stood at the altar, making him a martyr.[23]

The Gospel of Matthew

Early Church tradition holds that the Gospel of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew. This tradition is first attested, among the extant writings of the first and second centuries, with the early Christian bishop Papias of Hierapolis (c. AD 60–163),[24] who is cited by the Church historian Eusebius (AD 260–340), as follows: "Matthew collected the oracles [in Greek, logia: sayings of or about Jesus] in the Hebrew language [Hebraïdi dialektōi], and each one interpreted [hērmēneusen – perhaps 'translated'] them as best he could."[25] Likewise, early Christian theologian Origen (c. 184–c. 253) indicates that the first gospel was written by Matthew,[26][27] and that his gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea. Sometime in the late fourth or early fifth century the Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome,[28] which he used in his work.[29] This Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews[30] or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles[31][32] and it was once believed that it was the original to the 'Greek Matthew' found in the Bible.[33] However, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman and James R. Edwards.[34]

Most scholars hold that the Gospel of Matthew was written anonymously,[35] though the traditional authorship "still has its defenders”;[36] Papias had met the Elder and the daughters of Philip the Evangelist.[37] It is possible the gospel incorporates a source by the disciple.[38][39] The author is not named within the text, and the superscription "according to Matthew" was added sometime in the second century.[40][41]

Non-canonical or apocryphal gospels

In the 3rd century, Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these gospels survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius and others. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes (36 fragments), Gospel of the Ebionites (7 fragments), and Gospel of the Hebrews (7 fragments) found in Schneemelcher's New Testament Apocrypha. Critical commentators generally regard these texts as having been composed in Greek and related to Greek Matthew.[42] Allison notes differences between Ebionites’ and Corinthian usage of Matthew 10:35 compared to the author’s intent.[43] A minority of commentators consider them to be fragments of a lost Aramaic- or Hebrew-language original.

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew is a 7th-century compilation of three other texts: the Gospel of James, the Flight into Egypt, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

Jerome relates that Matthew was supposed by the Nazarenes to have composed their Gospel of the Hebrews,[29] though Irenaeus and Epiphanius of Salamis consider this simply a revised version of the canonical Gospel. This Gospel has been partially preserved in the writings of the Church Fathers, said to have been written by Matthew.[44] Epiphanius does not make his own the claim about a Gospel of the Hebrews written by Matthew, a claim that he attributes to the Ebionites.[45]

Veneration

Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran[46] and Anglican churches (see St. Matthew's Church). His tomb is located in the crypt of Salerno Cathedral in southern Italy.

Roman Catholicism

The Catholic Church celebrates Matthew with a feast on September 21.[47]

Lutheranism

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America remembers Matthew with a feast on September 21.[48] The Lutheran Church ─ Missouri Synod also remembers Matthew with a feast on September 21.[49]

Anglicanism

The Anglican communion commemorates Matthew with a festival on September 21.[50]

Eastern Orthodoxy

Matthew is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church with the following feast days.

  • June 30 (July 13): Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles.[51]
  • November 16 (November 29): Feast Day.[52]

In Christian art

Like the other evangelists, Matthew is often depicted in Christian art with one of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:7.[53] The one that accompanies him is in the form of a winged man. The three paintings of Matthew by Caravaggio in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, where he is depicted as called by Christ from his profession as a tax gatherer, are among the landmarks of Western art.

In Islam

The Quran speaks of Jesus' disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as "helpers to the work of Allah".[54] Muslim exegesis and Quran commentary, however, name them and include Matthew amongst the disciples.[55] Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew ("Mattā") and Andrew ("Andirāwas") were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia to preach the message of God.

In the Druze faith

Druze tradition honors several "mentors" and "prophets", and Matthew the Apostle is honored as a prophet.[56] In the Druze tradition and doctrine, Matthew the Apostle is respected for his contributions to spiritual knowledge and guidance.[56] Druze doctrine teaches that Christianity is to be "esteemed and praised", as the Gospel writers are regarded as "carriers of wisdom".[57]

The number 5 contains an unstated significance within the Druze faith; it is believed in this area that great prophets come in groups of five. In the time of the ancient Greeks, these five were represented by Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Parmenides, and Empedocles. In the first century, the five were represented by Jesus Christ,[58][59] John the Baptist,[60] Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke.[56] In the time of the faith's foundation, the five were Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, Muḥammad ibn Wahb al-Qurashī, Abū'l-Khayr Salama ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Samurri, Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad at-Tamīmī, and Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin.

In architecture

The Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth houses a capital that depicts Matthew the Apostle and his story regarding King Eglypus of Aethiopia and his sons. It shows how Matthew is leading them away from the demon in the far corner of the capital. The biblical story tells of Matthew converting the king and his sons to Christianity. Not only does this capital depict an act carried out by Matthew in the Bible, it foreshadows Matthew being a martyr. When Matthew the Apostle was murdered, he then became a martyr for the Christian religion as being killed for his faith and teachings given the demon in the corner of the capitol. The iconography of this capital helps understand the religion of the time period since it was just coming into Christendom. This shows the cross between Ethiopia and Nazareth as these are where the capitals are today.[61]

In fiction

See also

References

  1. Back to citation Benedict XVI on Matthew the Apostle — General audience on Matthew the tax collector, the identity with Levi, conversion, humility, discipleship, apostolic vocation, and the Gospel traditionally bearing his name.
  2. Back to citation Biblical Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ, romanized: Mattityahu, shortened to מַתִּי, Matti (whence Arabic: مَتَّى, romanized: Mattā), meaning 'Gift of YHWH'; Imperial Aramaic: ܡܰܬ݁ܰܝ‎, romanized: Mattai; Koine Greek: Μαθθαῖος, romanized: Maththaîos, or Ματθαῖος, Matthaîos; Coptic: ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, romanized: Mattheos; Latin: Matthaeus
  3. Back to citation Matthew 9 — Matthew's call from the customs post, his immediate following of Jesus, the meal with tax collectors and sinners, and Christ's teaching on mercy and the divine Physician.
  4. Back to citation Matthew 10 — Matthew named among the Twelve and the apostolic authority and missionary instructions Christ gives them for proclamation, healing, witness, endurance, and confession.
  5. Back to citation Matthew 28 — The bodily Resurrection, appearance of Christ, universal mission to make disciples, Trinitarian baptism, comprehensive teaching, and the Lord's enduring presence.
  6. Back to citation Mysterii Paschalis and the General Roman Calendar — Saint Paul VI's promulgation of the revised Roman liturgical year and universal calendar, governing the rank and date of the celebrations described in these biographies.
  7. Back to citation Dei Verbum, 18–19 — Vatican II on the preeminence, apostolic origin, inspired formation, truth, and historical character of the four canonical Gospels.
  8. Back to citation Matthew 16 and 18 — Matthew's distinctive teaching on Christ building his Church, Peter and the keys, binding and loosing, discipleship under the cross, and ecclesial correction.
  9. Back to citation Matthew 9:9
  10. Back to citation Matthew 10:3
  11. Back to citation Matthew 9:9,Mark 2:15–17, Luke 5:29
  12. Back to citation Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13.
  13. Back to citation Mark 2:14
  14. Back to citation Luke 5:27
  15. Back to citation "Nikolaj Velimirović Prologue of Ohrid". Archived from the original on 2 May 2017.
  16. Back to citation "Shams ibn Kabar The Lamp that Lights the Darkness in Clarifying the Service" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. Back to citation Freedman 2001, p. 130–133, 201.
  18. Back to citation occurrence 18.0 Back to citation occurrence 18.1 Back to citation occurrence 18.2 Jacquier 1911.
  19. Back to citation Schneemelcher 2003, p. 17.
  20. Back to citation Lardner 1838, p. 299.
  21. Back to citation Bock 2002, p. 164.
  22. Back to citation The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, translated and adapted by Ryan, Granger and Helmut Ripperger. (Arno Press: Longmans, Green & Co) 1941. pp. 561–566.
  23. Back to citation The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas (ROCOR). St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004. St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p. 70.
  24. Back to citation Martin 2012.
  25. Back to citation Turner 2008, p. 15–16; Eusebius, "History of the Church" 3.39.14–17, c. 325 CE, Greek text 16: "ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἱστόρηται τῷ Παπίᾳ περὶ τοῦ Μάρκου· περὶ δὲ τοῦ Ματθαῖου ταῦτ' εἴρηται· Ματθαῖος μὲν οὖν Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ τὰ λόγια συνετάξατο, ἡρμήνευσεν δ' αὐτὰ ὡς ἧν δυνατὸς ἕκαστος. Various English translations published, standard reference translation by Philip Schaff at CCEL: "[C]oncerning Matthew he [Papias] writes as follows: 'So then(963) Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.'(964)" Online version includes footnotes 963 and 964 by Schaff.
    Irenaeus of Lyons (died c. 202 CE) makes a similar comment, possibly also drawing on Papias, in his Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 1, "Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect"; Bingham 1998, p. 64.
  26. Back to citation Edwards 2009, p. 18.
  27. Back to citation Repschinski 2000, p. 14.
  28. Back to citation Nicholson 1879, p. 82.
  29. Back to citation occurrence 29.0 Back to citation occurrence 29.1 Saint Jerome 2000, p. 10.
  30. Back to citation Hultgren & Haggmark 1996, p. 122.
  31. Back to citation Nicholson 1879, p. 26.
  32. Back to citation Dods 1858, p. iv.
  33. Back to citation Harrison 1964, p. 152.
  34. Back to citation Edwards 2009, p. 245; Ehrman 1999, p. 43; See also the two-source hypothesis; Mills & Wilson 2003, p. 942; Epiphanius of Salamis 1987, p. 129.
  35. Back to citation Muddiman & Barton 2010, p. 27. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFMuddimanBarton2010 (help)
  36. Back to citation Muddiman, John; Barton, John (2010). The Gospels. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-958025-5.
  37. Back to citation Matthews, Christopher (2002). Philip: Apostle and Evangelist: Configurations of a Tradition. Brill. pp. 22–23, 31. ISBN 978-9004120549.
  38. Back to citation Theissen, Gerd; Maloney, Linda M. (2011). The New Testament: A Literary History. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Fortress Press. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-0-8006-9785-3.
  39. Back to citation Allison 2010, p. 27.
  40. Back to citation Harrington 1991, p. 8.
  41. Back to citation Nolland 2005, p. 16.
  42. Back to citation Vielhauer & Strecker 2003, p. 542.
  43. Back to citation Allison, Dale (2005). Matthew: A Shorter Commentary. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. p. 160. ISBN 9780567082497.
  44. Back to citation Mills & Wilson 2003, p. 942.
  45. Back to citation Epiphanius of Salamis 1987, p. 129.
  46. Back to citation ELCA 2006, p. 57.
  47. Back to citation "Saint Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist". Universalis. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  48. Back to citation Philip H. Pfatteicher (1980). Festivals and Commemorations: Handbook to the Calendar in Lutheran Book of Worship. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0806617572.
  49. Back to citation "Feasts and Festivals". LCMS. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  50. Back to citation "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  51. Back to citation "Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles". OCA. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  52. Back to citation "Apostle and Evangelist Matthew". OCA. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  53. Back to citation Revelation 4:7
  54. Back to citation Quran 3:49-53
  55. Back to citation Noegel & Wheeler 2003, p. 86.
  56. Back to citation occurrence 56.0 Back to citation occurrence 56.1 Back to citation occurrence 56.2 S. Swayd, Samy (2009). The A to Z of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-81086836-6.
  57. Back to citation "On the Horizon: The Strange World of the Druzes". Commentary Magazine. 20 January 1956. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  58. Back to citation Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 9781465546623.
  59. Back to citation Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 9781903900369.
  60. Back to citation Swayd, Samy (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77. ISBN 978-1442246171.
  61. Back to citation "Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington, D.C." Stmatthewscathedral.org. 21 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2014; "Saint Matthew". franciscanmedia.org. Franciscan Media. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020; "The Calendar". The Church of England. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021; Nees, Lawrence; Boehm, Barbara Drake; Holcolmb, Melanie (2018). "Pleasurable Perplexity: Reflecting the Holy City". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 108 (4): 551–561. ISSN 0021-6682. JSTOR 90025854; Jasmine A. L. Kilburn. 2003. "The Contrasted `Other' in the Old English Apocryphal Acts of Matthew, Simon and Jude." Neophilologus 87 (1) (01): 137–151; Naomi, Simhony. 2020. "The Central Synagogue of Nazareth Illit and its Architectural Dialogue with Nazareth's Basilica of the Annunciation." Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 7 (1) (12).

Bibliography

Sources

Further reading

Commentaries

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