Calling Of Matthew
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The Calling of Matthew, also known as the Calling of Levi, is an episode in the life of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
which appears in all three
synoptic gospel The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose ...
s, , and , and relates the initial encounter between Jesus and Matthew, the
tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations on behalf of a government. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns or work for a revenue agency. Tax collec ...
who became a disciple.


Biblical narratives

According to the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...
: "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me", he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." A tax collector could be either an independent contractor with the Roman government, who paid a fee to Rome to obtain the right to extract taxes from the people in a certain area, with an added fee for the collector and his employees; or he might have also been a toll collector for
Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...
, Capernaum was an area with a high traffic of people and merchants. In any case, Levi-Matthew would have been a very unpopular individual. The () is often translated as "the tax collector's booth" (e.g. NIV) or "tax office" (e.g. RSV). The
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
says Matthew was "sitting at the receipt of custom". Wycliffe's translation was "sitting in a tollbooth", and the Expanded Bible suggests that the was "probably a tariff booth for taxing goods in transit". In all three synoptic gospels, this episode takes place shortly after the miracle of healing the paralytic at Capernaum and is followed by Jesus' image of the danger of putting new wine into old wineskins. In the Gospels of
Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
and Luke, the person called is called Levi, who was the son of Alpheus according to Mark (Luke does not mention Alpheus). Also in all three synoptic accounts Jesus is then invited to a banquet, with a crowd of tax collectors and others. The
Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...
then complain:


Commentary

Roger Baxter reflects on Matthew's call in his ''Meditations'', writing that:
Great was the force of this call, which was able to withdraw a man from his riches: and yet the same call, perhaps, would not be forcible enough to withdraw you from smaller impediments. Who can despair of salvation, when he sees public sinners taken out of a custom house, assumed not only to the friendship of God, but raised to the highest dignity of the apostleship." Truly, " His tender mercies are over all His works." (Ps. 144:9.)
Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 28 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of Sacred Scripture. Life Lapide was born in Bocholt, Belgium. He studied hu ...
in his commentary writes:
Thus then as a magnet draws iron unto it, so did Christ draw Matthew, and by His drawing, gave him his virtues, and chiefly his exceeding love of God, zeal for souls, ardour in preaching. Listen to the account of S. Matthew’s conversion, which he himself gave to St.
Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, Bridgettines, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic Mysticism, mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the ...
, when praying at his tomb at Malphi: “It was my desire at the time I was a publican to defraud no man, and I wished to find out a way by which I might abandon that employment, and cleave to God alone with my whole heart. When therefore He who loved me, even Jesus Christ was preaching, His call was a flame of fire in my heart; and so sweet were His words unto my taste, that I thought no more of riches than of straws: yea, it was delightful to me to weep for joy, that my God had deigned to call one of such small account, and so great a sinner as I to His grace. And as I clave unto my Lord, His burning words became fixed in my heart, and day and night I fed upon them by meditation, as upon sweetest food.”


In art

The calling of Matthew has been the subject of works of art by several painters, including: * '' The Calling of St Matthew'' by
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
(1599–1600) at Contarelli Chapel in the church of
San Luigi dei Francesi The Church of St. Louis of the French (, , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic church near Piazza Navona in Rome. The church is dedicated to the patron saints of France: Virgin Mary, Dionysius the Areopagite and King Louis IX of France. The churc ...
in Rome *
Hendrick ter Brugghen Hendrick Jansz ter Brugghen (or Terbrugghen) (1588 – 1 November 1629) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter of genre scenes and religious subjects. He was one of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio – the so-called ''Utrecht Caravaggism, Utrecht C ...
(1621) * Juan de Pareja (1661). File:The Calling of Saint Matthew-Caravaggo (1599-1600).jpg, ''The Calling of Saint Matthew'', by Caravaggio File:Brugghen, Hendrick ter - The Calling of St. Matthew - 1621.jpg, ''The Calling of St. Matthew'', by Hendrick ter Brugghen File:Master of the Abbey of Dilighem - The Calling of St Matthew, RCIN 405788.jpg, ''The Calling of St Matthew,'' by the Master of the Abbey of Dilighem File:Orcagna, s. matteo e santi , da orsanmichele (uffizi), 1367-68, 05.jpg, ''The Calling of St. Matthew,'' by Orcagna File:Giovan battista naldini, vocazione di san matteo, 1579-88 ca.jpg, ''The Calling of St. Matthew,'' by Naldini


See also

* Commissioning the twelve Apostles * First disciples of Jesus *
Gospel harmony A gospel harmony is an attempt to compile the canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament into a single account. This may take the form either of a single, merged narrative, or a tabular format with one column for each gospel, technically kn ...
: Matthew 9, Mark 2, Luke 5 *
Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...
*
Life of Jesus in the New Testament The life of Jesus is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his Genealogy of Jesus, genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of J ...
* Jesus eats with sinners and tax-collectors


References


External links


St Matthew the Apostle
from The
Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
Orthodox
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
and
synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ ...
{{Gospel of Matthew Gospel episodes Matthew the Apostle