Matthew

Author - Matthew
Although no author is stated in Matthew, church tradition to the eighteenth century has ascribed the book to Matthew the Levite Mark 2:14, a Jewish tax collector who was appointed by the Roman Government. (Matthew 9:9)

Matthew means 'gift of Yahweh'. He was a tax collector who lived in Capernaum. His father was Alphaeus and he is also identified as Levi. (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) It was not uncommon in Bible times to have two names. Matthew's father is not the same as another Alphaeus who was the father of James. (Matthew 10:3; Acts 1:13) He is called by Jesus to become a disciple in Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-28.

While many of the Apostles were fishermen Levi was a tax collector. To be a tax collector in this period was one of the most despised jobs one could have. For Jews it was a great sin to pay taxes or tribute to any other than God. Tax collectors were also hated because of their reputation of being unfair and dishonest. They were placed among criminals in their estimation by Jews. That Matthew was a Jew working for the Roman government made his position worse than a criminal, it was equal to denying God. Jesus called him from his life of social injustice to a life of Gospel missions. His being called as an apostle displayed the grace and forgiveness of God in the hearts and lives of sinners. (Matthew 9:12-13; 21:28-32)

He wrote the first Gospel record of the life of Christ. To one so despised by the world has come a book that is most loved. His purpose in writing was to show his fellow Jew that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah the king of the Jews. Matthew shows how the grace of God extends to all sinners alike, both to Jews and Gentiles. While Church tradition has him dying as a martyr in Ethiopia, it is unlikely he died as a martyr and more likely that it was natural causes.