He was included as one of the Evangelists according to the Christian tradition. Matthew was an accurate counter. 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. Saint Matthew's decision lives on into eternity and benefited not millions . [5] Mounce, Matthew, 83; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 69, 69n.54; Morris, Matthew, 219; Robert H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on his Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution, 2nd ed. Say, Jesus saw Levi and knew that Levi and the other tax collectors needed to know the good news. 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. Matthew's Gospel was written in approximately A.D.___, before the destruction of Jerusalem. David: So, Matthew was one of Christ's disciples. Pelag. Impossible!"[3]. ill. 3; Tract. 11.1-3; Pelag. By Michael J. Kok Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. Matthew authored the first Gospel of the . A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. In Matthew 4:18-21, he tells them he will make them "fishers of men.". All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. If these are all references to the same James, that would make James son of Alphaeus the author of the Book of James and one of the three men Paul called "pillars" of the church. [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. Magi, or "wise men," were royal counselors. After his conversion, Matthew ardently preached Jesus as Messiah to his Jewish community. Ward Powers, The Progressive Publication of Matthew: An Explanation of the Writing of the Synoptic Gospels (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 2829. Omissions? Updates? Ps. 6.14.2; Epiphanius, Pan. The Romans were their enemies. 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. [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. Was the Gospel of Matthew written by Levi aka Matthew in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Matthew, the Apostle of Yahshua (Popularly known as Jesus Christ) is best known as the publican or tax collector. He was thirty-one years old and married and had four children. Matthew was obviously a small mokhes because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. My theory is that for one thing John and Peter were closer to Jesus. Vir. The First Disciples [Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11, John 1:35-51] . 135). h.e. Even Jesus acknowledges the hatred people had for tax collectors: " If they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Tax collectors at that time were known as dishonest and corrupt people. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collectors booth. In Mark 2:14, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector and son of Alphaeus, to follow him, much as Jesus calls other disciples, and at first Levi does follow Jesus. 3.39.1, 15), which subtly contrasts with an exclusive interest in the Lords logoi or sayings (3.39.14). Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). The important take-away from this detour through the Patristic testimonies was that the oldest tradition was that the evangelist Matthew published a text in Aramaic and left it to more qualified translators to translate it into the form that we have today as the Greek. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. He followed Jesus to his death. Tradition notes his ministry in Judaea, after which he supposedly missioned to the East, suggesting Ethiopia and Persia. [9] 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. Lettie Moses Carr saw Jesus depicted as Black, she was in her 20s. But let's hear Matthew's own account of his calling: [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. As a result, those who reject the academic consensus on Markan priority are often the most open to Papiass claim. Th. [34] Friedrich Schleiermacher, ber die Zeugnisse des Papias von unsern beiden ersten Evangelien, TSK 5 (1832): 73568; Manson, Gospels and Epistles, 7787; Hill, Matthew, 2427; Davies and Allison, Matthew IIV, 1.17; Black, Rhetorical Terminology, 3235; Hagner, Matthew 113; xlvxlvi; Nolland, Matthew, 3; Carter, Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist, 1617; Sim, R. Ein Beitrag zur Lsung eines alten Problems ZNW59 (1968): 4056; Mark Kiley, Why Matthew in Matt 9:913Biblica65.3 (1984): 34751; Michael J. Kok, Re-naming the Toll Collector in Matthew 9:9: A Review of the Options JGAR (forthcoming). Matthew, of course. Logion could be translated as an oracle or divine utterance. Christian missionaries have taught people in Papua, New Guinea who had many gods before their conversion to recite the Hebrew Shema announcing only ONE GOD. Neither Matthew 9:9 nor 10:3 advances an explicit authorial claim. News and Interpretations on the Bible and Ancient Near East History. [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). Levi had to keep very accurate records. [23] They render the verb hermeneuein as meaning to mediate or to interpret rather than to translate.[24] Hence, Krzinger identifies the each one (hekastos) who interpreted according to their ability as the evangelists conveying oral Jesus traditions in a new literary medium;[25] Gundry takes the referent to be the expositors who expounded on Matthews text. Richard Bauckham makes it clear why these examples may be irrelevant to this case: "[I]f Matthew and Levi were the same person, we should be confronted with the virtually unparalleled phenomenon of a Palestinian Jew bearing two common Semitic personal names (Matthew: ninth most popular, 62 occurrences; Levi: seventeenth most popular, 25 occurrences). Matthew (also known as Levi in the Gospels of Luke and Mark) was a Jewish tax collector, or publican, living in Capernaum. Matthew's shocked facial expression shows that he understands this societal dynamic well, but his look and gesture may indicate even more than that. Phil. [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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Teilband 1, ed. Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 62354. Vose Seminary While Jesus was having dinner at Matthews house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. [17] W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. 7.2627; 14.5960). Third, Matthew Wanted to Tell Others about Christ. [33] For lexical discussion and debate about the term logion in Papiass vocabulary (cf. According to Luke 5:29, the aforementioned dinner was given by Levi in his house after his call. Many commentators compare Matthews two names with other first-century Jews who had a Greek or Latin cognomen. 13:3; Pol. Matthew belonged to a family of tax gatherers, or publicans, but was himself a customs collector in Capernaum, where he lived. Some have also argued that he's the Apostle Matthew 's brother. CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Constant Crowds article. 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. Answer (1 of 3): In Mark, the first New Testament gospel written, Matthew and Levi are very definitely two different people. 12.13; Is. They were considered traitors because they worked for the despised Roman rulers. 3.39.17. 13:4; 19:1; 53:1; 62:3; 2 Clem. Gundry, Matthew, xxii. 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). It was to that man, the most despised of the despicable, to whom Jesus said, "Follow Me!" Scripture both prohibits and mocks astrology (Jer. He invited his friends to a feast, where they could meet Jesus. Ultimately, the identification of Matthews oracles. The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. [30] For instance, see France, Evangelist and Teacher, 6466; Morris, Matthew, 14; Carson, Matthew, 13 Osborne, Matthew, 34; Brown and Roberts, Matthew, 16. 3.27.4; 3.39.17; 4.22.8). 3 Whatever their character, the line between astrology and astronomy was thin, if only because stargazing was respectable. 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 . H. Gundry, 291. Follow me, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. And he got up and followed him. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 1089; cf. 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. Matthews relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. Alternate titles: Levi, St. Matthew the Apostle, St. Matthew the Evangelist. His symbol is an angel, and he is a patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. For two reasons *Jews did not like the men who did that work. Acts 1:1-2 appears to tie the two books to the same author. Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 26364. 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). 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. Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. [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. 2) Jesus explains his action in having a meal with tax collectors and sin-ners by saying "Go and learn what it means 'I desire mercy and not sacri-fice'" (Matt 9,13; Hos 6,6). 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. Jesus Calls Levi | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org One of the themes of Jesus' ministry is that He is not bound to choose the most obvious candidates for ministry according to social convention. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. There is no indication that Matthew wrote anything (contra John 21:24; Gos. The debate over the authorship of Matthews Gospel usually focuses on the replacement of Levi, the son of Alphaeus, with Matthew (Matt 9:9; contra Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) and the addition of the descriptor the toll collector after Matthews name (Matt 10:3; contra Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). [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. It felt "weird," Carr said. ill. The fact that three of the four Gospels recount the calling by Jesus of the tax collector Levi is important. 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. ; ; ; ; () Brezhoneg; Catal; etina; Dansk; Deutsch; Eesti Mark 3:18). 1.31.124), see Joseph Barber Lightfoot, Essays on the Work Entitled Supernatural Religion: Reprinted from the Contemporary Review (London: Macmillan, 1893), 17077; Bacon, Studies in Matthew, 443-51; T. W. Manson, Studies in the Gospels and Epistles (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1962), 6975; Krzinger, Papias, 5051; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 58-60; Krtner, Papias, 15167; Gundry, Matthew, 617; Norelli, Papia, 5980; Gundry, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6467; Sim, R. As most of us know, the tax collector named Levi became Saint Matthew. Could Ancient Sparta Defeat Ancient Rome? There is no evidence that any of the Patristic authorities made any inferences about Matthews proficiency in Greek or level of education in rhetorical composition based on Matthews former occupation alone. One did not give up collecting taxes for the Romans on a whim and expect to ever return. Why is Matthew called Levi? Clement. "And Peter was the chief . St. Matthew (Matthew 9:10) modestly says, "in the house," keeping himself as much as possible in the background.St. 3.25.5; cf. ill. 3) and, after comparing it to the textual fragments that he received from Jewish Christ-followers living in Beroea known as the Nazarenes, would translate the entire work. 3.2).[48]. Jesus ate a meal at Levi's house and . We soon discover the difference between the man and the rock. Or Levi was having a lot of friends over for dinner that night and asked Jesus if He would come, too. Jesus came to give us the same choice he gave . [42] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 21, 123; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebionerevangeliums in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. Matthew, or Levi, son of Alpheus, was one of the seven who received a call to follow Christ before the ordination of the Twelve. Vir. The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick. Matthew did follow Jesus for the rest of his life. Friedrich Schleiermacher, ber die Zeugnisse des Papias von unsern beiden ersten Evangelien, TSK 5 (1832): 73568; Manson, For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought, Daniel A. Bertrand, Lvangile des Ebionites: une harmonie vangelique antrieur au. 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. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. The assumption is that this order of the Gospels is a chronological one, when in fact it is a theological one. [20] Matthew Black, The Use of Rhetorical Terminology in Papias on Matthew and Mark JSNT 37 (1989): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 222. 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. In the Christian Bible, he was cited as one of the Jesus' apostles. He offered something infinitely better. It is touching that Matthew, gift of Yahweh loved his new name, probably given to him by Jesus. 4.9). B. [26], Krzingers and Gundrys proposals have varying degrees of persuasiveness, but most scholars have not been swayed by their contention that Papiass words on Matthew have been misread through the centuries. The fishermen who followed Jesus, and some became His Apostles, had to pay taxes on fishing licenses and perhaps on their daily catch. The fact of one man having two names is of frequent occurrence among the Jews. 20.5; Vir. Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. 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. The Bible shares in the book of Acts, that the betrayal and arrest of Jesus were foretold long ago by the Holy Spirit. 47:13-15), yet God . 2. 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. [3] Powers, Progressive Publication, 29 (emphasis original). Ward Powers enthusiastically endorses this line of reasoning in the following bold claim: "To have this evidence about the apostle Matthew his background, training, and employment in the Roman administration; his response to the call to follow Jesus; his appointment to the role and responsibility of apostle and to believe that he wouldnotwrite down what Jesus was doing and teaching requires a far bigger leap of faith than believing that he did. ill. 2), but several of his quotations were lifted from previous Greek texts penned by figures such as Ignatius (cf. [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. [27] For instance, see Ulrich Krtner, Papias von Hierapolis: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des frhen Christentums, Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 133 (Gttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1983), 203206; Davies and Allison, Matthew IVII, 16; Black, Rhetorical Terminology, 3334, 38; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 57; Hagner, Matthew 113, xlv; Morris, Matthew, 1314; William R. Schoedel, Papias ANRW 2.27.1 (1993): 257, 263; Carson, Matthew, 13; Armin Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus im kleinasiatischen Gottesdienst. Likewise, Jerome prematurely announced that he had finished his translations of the Old and New Testaments when he just started the task (Vir. 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 . 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. It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. [22] Krzinger, Papias, 22; Gundry, Matthew, 619; Pre-Papian Tradition, xxi, 68; cf. Klijn (Gospel Tradition, 11, 119) and Frey (Die Fragmente des Hebrerevangeliums, 606) treat Eusebiuss attribution of this tale to the Gospel According to the Hebrews as spurious since Eusebius may have had no firsthand knowledge of the text. [20], Krzinger and Gundry re-read the Papian fragment through the lens of rhetorical categories. "Meet Nathanael in the Bible, the 'True Israelite'." Learn Religions, Dec. 6, 2021, learnreligions.com/nathanael-the-true-israelite-701068. He was a tax collector who was sitting at his booth. (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. Of course, their hippy-dippy ways are . CLICK HEREfor Taxes in the Ancient Roman World article. Krzingers and Gundrys proposals have varying degrees of persuasiveness, but most scholars have not been swayed by their contention that Papiass words on Matthew have been misread through the centuries. 2.9.45.5; Origen, Jo. [15], The Original Language of Matthews Gospel, Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. [41], 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, haer. 135; Matt. [35] For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought ExpTim 80 (1968-69): 32428; John S. Kloppenborg, The Formation of Q: Trajectories in Ancient Wisdom (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1987), 5164; Harry T. Fleddermann, Q: A Reconstruction and Commentary (Leuven: Peeters, 2005), 15557; Sarah E. Rollens, Framing Social Criticism in the Jesus Movement: The Ideological Project in the Sayings Gospel Q (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 9193. Most general Bible readers have the mistaken impression that Matthew, the opening book of the New Testament, must be our first and earliest Gospel, with Mark, Luke and John following. CHICAGO (RNS) The first time the Rev. 16:18) Mark and Luke were probably stunned by Jesus' inclusion of a hated tax collector in His Twelve. The important take-away from this detour through the Patristic testimonies was that the oldest tradition was that the evangelist Matthew published a text in Aramaic and left it to more qualified translators to translate it into the form that we have today as the Greek Gospel according to Matthew. [43] Further, the Gospel according to the Ebionites features a pun that only works in Greek (cf. [23] Krzinger, Papias, 24, 3342; cf. Other than naming Matthew in the list of Apostles, usually pairing him with St. Thomas, the New Testament offers scant and uncertain information about him. [4] When Origen of Alexandria searched for a parallel for why Saul was surnamed Paul in the preface of his Commentary on Romans, he pointed out that the same individual appears under different names in Matthew 9:9 and Luke 5:27 (PG 14.836). Krzinger and Gundry re-read the Papian fragment through the lens of rhetorical categories. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus' disciples. T/F, 3. had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simons name to Peter.(Matt. Dan. 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. 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. Per tradition, Matthew was killed by by a soldier on the order of the king of Ethiopia. 1.62), though these observations contradict Origens argument in his commentary above. This is a painting of the Calling of Saint Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. (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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Dr. Beth Harris: In the Contarelli Chapel. in Mt. Both books are addressed to the same persona man named Theophilus. Levi - who the Bible tells us was also named Matthew - was a Jew and a tax collector. 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. The most natural reading is that a language was meant by the combination of the noun. When Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Gundry takes the referent to be the expositors who expounded on Matthews text. The Western reading attested in Codex Bezae that switched Thaddaeus with Lebbaeus, the Latinized form of Levi, in the list of the twelve apostles in Mark 3:18, influenced the textual transmission of Matthew 10:3. See Barnabas Lindars, Matthew, Levi, Lebbaeus and the Value of the Western Text, https://brentnongbri.com/2018/05/21/matthew-and-levi-and-james/, Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. Indeed, Papias commented on a story about the Lords encounter with a condemned woman that Eusebius located in this Gospel (cf. Another option is that Papias was referring to a lost source. [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. 29-30) Zavada, Jack. Consequently, the evangelist wrote Matthew into the Markan story of the toll collector in Matthew 9:9. 2. Early Christian CommunionWine or Mingled Wine? 5. 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. 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. On the other hand, after scrutinizing the onomastic data compiled by Tal Ilan. Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn. Excessive. [9] Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. - And it came to pass - seems the best reading - as he was sitting at meat in his house.This was the house of Matthew. I.2.26; Eusebius, h.e. (Matt. Teilband 1, ed. Among these repetitions are: variations of Mattathias (five times), Jesus (twice), Joseph (three times), Simeon (Semein), Levi (twice), and Melchi (twice). Jesus did not call us because of our righteousness or gifting. 6:25 (300s AD). 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. Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. Saint Matthew made a very small decision at the time that ended up not only affecting his life, and the people of his time, but he made a choice that affected all of mankind in the future as well. Matthew, the seventh apostle, was chosen by Andrew. News of his preaching and healing ministry was spreading far and wide. H. Gundry, 287291; James R. Edwards, The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 35; Shanks, Papias, 12529, 195; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 214. A minority view during the Patristic period was that Levi and Matthew were separate individuals. Rather, he plainly states, So Matthew composed the oracles in the Hebrew language and each person interpreted them as best he could (in Eusebius, h.e. As Jesus was having a meal in Levi's home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples . 3.24.6; Origen, in h.e. Curiously, Origen answered the philosopher Celsus's 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 Mark's Gospel (Cels. [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. 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. Hence Levi was the original name of the man who was subsequently called Matthew; the Maththaios legomenos of Matthew 9:9, would indicate this. 3.1.1). 1. 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.