Matthew is an enigmatic figure in the New Testament. We know much about what he did but virtually
nothing of his person. He was the
brother of another Apostle (James the Less) and was called while working as a
tax collector in Capernaum. In movies of the Gospels, the conversion of
Matthew is portrayed as a sudden experience from a chance encounter with the
Lord. However, as a tax collector, he
would have been well-known to Peter, Andrew, James, and John and probably Jesus
since Capernaum
was his home base. As a tax-collector,
Matthew would have had few friends in town.
This job was sold by the Roman government to the highest bidder who in
turn would repay his investment by charging more taxes than necessary. This made others consider him an outcast from
Jewish society and a traitor to their nation (much like an IRS auditor is in
our society). But the Lord is the friend
and champion of sinners and outcasts and it only stands to reason he should
have someone like this in his apostolic band.
Writing late in the 1st Century, Clement of Rome tells of him
spending 15 years evangelizing expatriate Jews living in Syria, Macedonia,
Persia, and Egypt. There are two traditions concerning his
death. One suggests that he was beheaded
in Egypt
during a persecution while the other maintains he died of natural causes.
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