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Matthew, the Apostle,
February 24
Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו, "Gift of Yahweh",
Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: Mattay or Mattithyahu;
Aramaic/Syriac: ܡܬܝ Matai,
Septuagint Greek: Ματθαίος, Matthaios).
Matthew the son of Alpheus, was born in First Century in Judea. He was a Galilean. During the Roman occupation, Matthew worked for the occupying Roman forces, collecting taxes from other Jews people for Herod Antipas. His Tax Office was located in Capharnaum. Jews who became rich in such a fashion, were despised and considered outcasts. However, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic (but probably not Greek or Latin).
It was in this setting, near what is
today Almagor, that Jesus called Matthew to be one of the Twelve
Disciples. After his call, Matthew invited the Lord to his home for a
feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus
for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to
answer, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”
Matthew who been called into the circle
of the Twelve by Jesus, is also mentioned in the gospel and named
among the number of the Twelve, but without identification of his
background, in Mk 3:18, Lk 6:15 and Acts 1:13. He is often equated
with the figure of Levi, son of Alpheus, also a tax collector, who is
mentioned in Mk 2:13 and Lk 5:27.
Early church fathers Epiphanius and
Jerome mention Matthew as the author of a first gospel. He composed
the Gospel of which is known by his name (Gospel of Matthew). It was
first published in Judea in Aramaic/Syriac for Hebrew Christians. It
was later translated into Greek. Moreover, the Aramaic Gospel itself
was brought to the Library of Caesarea by Pamphilus. The Nazarenes,
who used it, had a copy of it transcribed for Jerome.
Matthew's ministry, as a disciple, he
followed Christ, and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and
the Ascension. Afterward, Matthew along with Mary, James and other
close followers of the Lord, withdrew to the Upper Chamber, in
Jerusalem. At about this time St. James which known brother Jesus
became as first bishop and spiritual leader of small converted Jewish.
Matthew, for 15 years, preached the
Gospel in Aramaic/Hebrew to the Jewish community in Judea. Later in
his ministry he would travel to Gentile nations and spread the Gospel
to the Ethiopians, Macedonians, Persians, and Parthians. Some said to
have died a natural death either in Ethiopia or in Macedonia. However,
according to the Church history, Matthew died a martyr on September 21
or on November 10. The Syriac Orthodox Church commemorates his day on
February 24.
Comment:
From such an unlikely situation, Jesus chose one of the foundations of the Church, a man others, judging from his job, thought was not holy enough for the position. But he was honest enough to admit that he was one of the sinners Jesus came to call. He was open enough to recognize truth when he saw him. "And he got up and followed Him" (Matthew 9:9b).
His prayers be with us. Amen.
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