ill. 16; Is. Neither Matthew 9:9 nor 10:3 advances an explicit authorial claim. [10] For the debate over whether Mark 2:14 and 3:18 refer to the same individual or to two different individuals named Alphaeus, see Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 87n.17. However, Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah. This is a depiction of a moment of spiritual awakening and conversion, which was something many Baroque artists were interested in painting, especially Caravaggio. The Patristic Traditions about the Evangelist Matthew. 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. Magi, or "wise men," were royal counselors. 3.25.5; cf. Teilband 1, ed. Vose Seminary There must have been at least 15-20 people eating in Levis spacious home. Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning Yahwehs Gift) would appear to be the Christian name of Levi (called by Mark Levi the son of Alphaeus), who had been employed as a tax collector in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. [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. Matthias was the only one who was not chosen by Jesus . 12.13; Is. Jesus sees value in all people. Acts 7:38; Rom 3:2; Heb 5:12; 1 Pet 4:11;1 Clem. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collectors booth. He being a Hebrew wrote in Hebrew, that is, his own tongue and most fluently; while things which were eloquently written in Hebrew were more eloquently turned into Greek. Jerome, 382 AD On Illustrious Men, Book V. This writer will go with the early church writers who were within a few hundred years from Matthew and the other people who knew Jesus rather than with unproven theories several thousands of years away from sources. Because Levi's occupation was one that earned distrust and contempt everywhere, the scribes of the Pharisees criticized Jesus on seeing him eat with tax collectors and sinners, whereupon Jesus answered, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:15-17). Matthew had a lucrative, though dishonest, tax collecting business for the occupying Roman government. [42], It was not until Epiphanius (Pan. Hence, Eusebius corrected Irenaeus by substituting the Gospel according to the Hebrews as the Ebionitess preferred Gospel (h.e. Was the Gospel of Matthew written by Levi aka Matthew in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek? Matthew or Levi? Which was the name of the taxman | carm.org [14] For the theory that Matthew was either the founder of a putative Matthean community or the source of their traditions, see Pesch, Levi-Matthus, 56; Gundry, Old Testament, 184; Hill, Matthew, 5354, 173; Gnilka, Matthusevangelium, 1.331; Davies and Allison, Matthew VIIIXVIII, 2.99; Hagner, Matthew 113, xlvi; John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 3-4; Witherington III, Matthew, 5, 29; Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 40; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 111. This is very possible, as scholars point to Simon (Peter) and Saul. 3.2) that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was associated with Matthew. [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. Early Christian CommunionWine or Mingled Wine? - And it came to pass - seems the best reading - as he was sitting at meat in his house.This was the house of Matthew. Levi the Tax Collector Became Saint Matthew - A Catholic Moment 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. Levi had to keep very accurate records. Matthews relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. "Follow me," he said to him. Jesus casually says to Levi the tax collector,follow me and Levi got up and followed him. Just like that. In Matthew 4:18-21, he tells them he will make them "fishers of men.". 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. There were 12 men chosen to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Matthew belonged to a family of tax gatherers, or publicans, but was himself a customs collector in Capernaum, where he lived. T/F, 2. What Language Did Jesus Speak? - Gateway Center for Israel Or Levi was having a lot of friends over for dinner that night and asked Jesus if He would come, too. Supported by: He was a man of moderate wealth, the only one of any means belonging to the apostolic corps. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Matthew - New Advent 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. It is the contracted name of Mattathias. Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 62354. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. March 2020. How do we know that Matthew changed after Jesus called him? [18] B. C. Butler, The Originality of St Matthew: A Critique of the Two-Document Hypothesis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), 16566; Albright and Mann, Matthew, XXXVIXLVIII; Powers, Progressive Publication, 4749. Jefferson himself believed that a person's religion was between them and their god. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. Answer (1 of 3): In Mark, the first New Testament gospel written, Matthew and Levi are very definitely two different people. See John P. Meier, The Vision of Matthew: Christ, Church, and Morality in the First Gospel(New York: Paulist, 1978), 2425. All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. It's unclear why Matthew/Levi was called by both names. 1.62), though these Slaves Were Lifeless Tools in the Ancient World, Meaning of Names, Places & Things in the Bible, Gardens and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, The Roman Phalanx & Hannibals Pincer Movement. [15], The Original Language of Matthews Gospel, Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. [29] Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 262. I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this volume in the Syrian city of Beroea to copy it. Jerome: De viris inlustribus (On Illustrious Men), chapter III. There are sayings (Matt 13:3643) and stories. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. The Identification of the Toll Collector as Matthew. Krzinger and Gundry insist that dialektos would be preceded by an article if a language was intended (cf. There is no indication that Matthew wrote anything (contra John 21:24; Gos. [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. The best way to think about the Greek language during the time of Jesus is to think about modern-day English. Likewise, Jerome prematurely announced that he had finished his translations of the Old and New Testaments when he just started the task (Vir. He was a tax collector who was sitting at his booth. The Romans were their enemies. Say, Jesus saw Levi and knew that Levi and the other tax collectors needed to know the good news. Why Thomas Jefferson Rewrote the Bible Without Jesus - HISTORY For the debate over whether Mark 2:14 and 3:18 refer to the same individual or to two different individuals named Alphaeus, see Bauckham. 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. 3.39.17. Matthew (also known as Levi) doubtless was one of the tax collectors who responded to John the Baptist's call to repentance. Pelag. Warren Carter underscores how Papiass erroneous supposition served to underline the antiquity of this gospel and link it to the apostles.. nor any utilization of the first-person voice to present Matthews perspective on the unfolding events (contra Acts 16:1017; 20:515; 21:118; 27:137; 28:116; Gos. From the place where he collected taxes near the Sea of Galilee (probably on the outskirts of Capernaum), Matthew may often have heard Jesus speak and must have known about his many miracles. There were only 8 people in Noahs Ark. Gospel Parallels: Calling of Levi/Matthew - READ-SCRIPTURE.COM Numerous textual indications point to an author who was a Jewish Christian writing for Christians of similar background. 5.12), and the verb hermeneuein; Papias could have chosen different terminology to highlight Matthews rhetorical style. haer. Jesus Christ and Saint Peter have entered the room, and Jesus is pointing at Matthew. However, Bacons hypothesis depends on his suppositions that the source of Matthew 10:24 was not simply Mark 3:1619 and that the author of Matthews Gospel did not just alter Marks order by moving Thomas before Matthew. [4] See Manlio Simonetti, Matthew 113, ACCS New Testament 1a (Downers Grove: IVP, 2001), 177; Ulrich Luz, Matthew 820, trans. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. Wilson (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1991), 138; A. F. J. Klijn, Jewish-Christian Gospel Tradition (Leiden: Brill, 1992), 11, 119, 138; Hans Josef Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction, trans. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:13-17. [34] 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). (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 1089; cf. The Ipuwer PapyrusWere The 10 Biblical Plagues Real? Matthew, Apostle, Saint | Catholic Answers When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?, On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Biblical literature - The Gospel According to Matthew Saint Matthew's decision lives on into eternity and benefited not millions . 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. Calling of St. Matthew by Alexandre Bida, 1875. Indeed, Papias commented on a story about the Lords encounter with a condemned woman that Eusebius located in this Gospel (cf. All of the harsh and disapproving things He could have or should have said to Matthew would have been justified as far as the culture around them was concerned. In the late '60s, he runs a musty SoCal church turned upside-down by an unexpected deluge of flower children seeking peace and love of the Christly variety. 2. 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. How can Jesus Christ be a priest if He is of the non-priestly tribe of Maybe Jesus had seen Levi often as he sat in his chair with his table, papyrus, quill and ink made from carbon (soot or lampblack), water and gum arabic, a natural gum from the acacia tree used to control the inks viscosity when applied to the papyrus. This is a quite different case from that of an individual having both a Semitic and a Greek or Latin name, as well as from that of an individual having a Semitic name and also a nickname or family name."[7]. [41] Contra Edwards, Hebrew Gospel, 8 and Petri Luomanen, Recovering Jewish-Christian Sects and Gospels (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 12326. T/F, 3. Follow me, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Outside the New Testament, a statement of importance about him is the passage from the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis preserved by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea: So then Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could. The Gospel According to Matthew was certainly written for a Jewish-Christian church in a strongly Jewish environment, but that this Matthew is definitely the Synoptic author is seriously doubted. But let's hear Matthew's own account of his calling: had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simons name to Peter.(Matt. Jesus came with some of His disciples. 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. On the other hand, the oldest quotations from the Gospel according to the Hebrews were not attributed to a named author (e.g., Clement, str. Pet. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. Matthew was saying, Jesus IS the fulfillment of Old Testament predictions of our coming Messiah, Anontied One. He is called the Son of David nine times in the Gospel of Matthew. h.e. [40] Conversely, Papias may not have known the Gospel according to the Hebrews at all, instead learning about the woman who was accused of many sins before the Lord from his oral informants in Asia Minor, and Eusebius may have been the one who discovered that this tale was included in the version of the Gospel according to the Hebrews that circulated in his own day. Matthew, of course. The Calling of Saint Matthew depicts the moment from Matthew 9:9 when Jesus passes by Matthew, a tax collector, and says 'Follow me.' Matthew (also called Levi) did so and became one of Jesus . Jesus' interaction with Matthew, Zacchaeus and other tax collectors He was honored that His Lord considered him such a gift, But as Levi he had immediately joined his life to Jesus and His Mission. I. "Meet Nathanael in the Bible, the 'True Israelite'." Learn Religions, Dec. 6, 2021, learnreligions.com/nathanael-the-true-israelite-701068. 30.1; Jerome, Matt. This leads Dennis MacDonald to maintain that Papiass supposition about the multiple translations of Matthews oracles was an explanation for the dissimilar Greek texts of Q and Matthew. 2.9.45.5; Origen, Jo. [6] Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE 200 CE, TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). After his conversion, Matthew ardently preached Jesus as Messiah to his Jewish community. The Pharisees asked them, Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [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. 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. He is mentioned in Matthew 9:9. 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. So it is more than probable that Matthew or someone else translated Matthews biography of Christ into Greek in order to spread the Good News beyond the Jews. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. Jesus came to give us the same choice he gave . B. Tax collectors were not very respected people in Jesus' time because many of them stole from the people. H. Gundry, 291. [39] Edwards (Hebrew Gospel, 210) identifies Matthews oracles in h.e. Matthew, or Levi, son of Alpheus, was one of the seven who received a call to follow Christ before the ordination of the Twelve. [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. http://www.brentcunningham.org/?p=316 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. ill. 3). 1/27/2013 09:47:39 pm. [1] Regardless of how this name change is explained, this toll collector may have been trained in accounting and documenting records and may have been functionally bilingual or trilingual in order to converse with travellers moving between the territories of Philip and Antipas. (vv. Sextus Julius AfricanusWhy Did The Magi Come ? Why Do Jesus' Middle Eastern Apostles Have Common English Names? Caravaggio, Calling of Saint Matthew and Inspiration of St. Matthew 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). 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. However, Mark . prol.) The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. There are many examples of irresistible grace in God's Word. But Levis guests were of his social ilksinners and other tax collectors.The Pharisees (we get our word pharisaical meaning self-righteous; hypocritical from this sect in ancient Judaism) were always watching whatever Jesus did and said and they followed him to Levis house and were appalled to see Him eating and talking with tax collectors and sinners.Several of Jesus other disciples were near. Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles (Lk 6:12-26) - UBF The Gracious Calling of Matthew by Richard Phillips - Ligonier Ministries Why 'Matthew' in Matt 9,9-13? - JSTOR Wilhelm Schneemelcher, trans. ; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 56869. After all, a toll collector may have at least needed functional literacy to perform certain tasks. Corrections? 5.10.3; Clement, in h.e. Who Were the Magi, and Why Did They Worship Jesus? (Matthew 2) The next disciple that Jesus called was Levi (Matthew). I. Jesus Calls Matthew to Follow Him (Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5 To follow Jesus requires renouncement. [42] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 21, 123; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebionerevangeliums in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. [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. The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick. Matthew (Levi) who wrote the first of the Gospels did write it in the Hebrew tongue which at that time was Aramaic. 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. Teilband 1, ed. 1.8.1; Clement, str. 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. Why Did Jesus Say, "On This Rock I Will Build My Church"? (Matthew 16) 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. 1) The name of the collector whom Jesus summons is not "Levi, son of Alphaeus", but "Matthew" (9,9). though this example differs slightly from Matthew 9:9 inasmuch as the woman is left unnamed. There are a number of Patristic and Medieval quotations that purportedly derive from a text that was commonly dubbed as the, James R. Edwards has revived the older position that Matthew was the author of the, Conversely, Papias may not have known the. Das Papiaszeugnis zur Entstehung des Matthusevangeliums ZNW 92 (2001): 257272; Nolland, Matthew, 3; Enrico Norelli, Papia di Hierapolis: Esposizione degli Oraculi del signore: I Frammenti (Milan: Figlie di San Paolo, 2005), 32829; David H. Sim, The Gospel of Matthew, John the Elder, and the Papias Tradition: A Response to R. H. Gundry HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 63.1 (2007): 290; Monte Shanks, Papias and the New Testament (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013), 196; Michael J. Kok, Did Papias of Hierapolis Use the Gospel according to the Hebrews as a Source? JECS 25.1 (2017): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 223; Jeannine K. Brown and Kyle Roberts, Matthew (Two Horizons; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 1516. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus' disciples. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners., CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Pharisees article. 1.9.9). "And Peter was the chief . 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. Key Verse: 6:13, "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles". In Matthew's parabolic aside, the wisest advice Pilate got that day -- our Good Friday -- was from his wife: "Have nothing to do with that innocent man" (27:19). [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. All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. Pan. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. 13:3; Pol. When Jesus said He would be there, Levi was so excited he invited lots of his friends. Krzinger and Gundry insist that, Krzinger enlists Irenaeus in support of his reading of Papias, despite the fact that Irenaeus used the article when affirming that Matthew wrote to the Hebrews in their, Hence, Krzinger identifies the each one (. How come only five disciples of Jesus Christ wrote books in the New Testament? Therefore, commentators often appeal to Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 as evidence that the Apostle Matthew was capable of composing either the Greek text of the first canonical Gospel or one of the literary sources incorporated into it. Acts 1:1-2 appears to tie the two books to the same author. Jesus did not call us because of our righteousness or gifting. 6.25.4; Epiphanius, Pan. Regardless of how this name change is explained, this toll collector may have been trained in accounting and documenting records and may have been functionally bilingual or trilingual in order to converse with travellers moving between the territories of Philip and Antipas. Clement. What created confusion was that Irenaeus reported that Jewish Christ followers who were called Ebionites or poor ones had a special affinity for Matthews Gospel, just as Marcion was inclined toward Lukes Gospel and Valentinus toward Johns Gospel (haer. Many commentators compare Matthews two names with other first-century Jews who had a Greek or Latin cognomen. Why does St. Matthew have two names in the Bible? - Aleteia The fishermen who followed Jesus, and some became His Apostles, had to pay taxes on fishing licenses and perhaps on their daily catch. The other Eleven were ordinary men. Harris J. Rendel, The Logia and the Gospels, For lexical discussion and debate about the term. Christ's Call To Matthew - Follow Me - Discover the Book Ministries People had to pay taxes to the *Romans. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. [33] For lexical discussion and debate about the term logion in Papiass vocabulary (cf. 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). Religion is "a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, [has] a . [10] Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. "John, James, Andrew and Peter were the disciples closest to Jesus," Traylor says. Papiass notice that Matthew addressed a Palestinian Jewish audience in their own vernacular language (i.e., Aramaic) was repeated in subsequent Patristic literature (e.g., Irenaeus, As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the, The majority position among the experts is that the fragments Jerome inherited from the Nazarenes do not derive from the. [45] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 100101; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 41; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 47, 47n.28. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Watchthe video below. There is no indication that Matthew wrote anything (contra John 21:24; 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.