Matthew the Apostle
* Date marked with an asterisk is a placeholder estimate (lifespan heuristic), not a sourced claim. Hover for the derivation.
Tax collector called by Jesus, one of the Twelve, traditionally the author of the Gospel of Matthew (originally in 'the Hebrew dialect' per Papias).
Why Matthew the Apostle matters
Matthew was a tax collector — meaning he worked for Rome collecting from his own people, the most despised job in first-century Galilee — and Jesus called him out of the booth. The early church credited him with the Gospel that bears his name, the most Jewish of the four, structured around five long discourses (including the Sermon on the Mount) that mirror the five books of Moses. Modern scholars argue about whether the apostle himself wrote the Greek text or stood behind an earlier Aramaic source. Either way, his Gospel is the one that became the church's main teaching text for the first thousand years. Almost every early commentary is on Matthew.
Chain to Jesus
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Common questions
- Who was Matthew the Apostle?
- Matthew the Apostle (?–80) — Tax collector called by Jesus, one of the Twelve, traditionally the author of the Gospel of Matthew (originally in 'the Hebrew dialect' per Papias).
- Who taught Matthew the Apostle?
- Jesus of Nazareth.
Sources for biography
- Gospel of Matthew 9:9 primary
- Papias, Fragment in Eusebius HE 3.39.16 primary
documented connections(2)
- taught by Jesus of NazarethGospel of Matthew 9:9
- knew of (incoming) Papias of HierapolisPapias in Eusebius HE 3.39.16