📖 Biblical Definition
Matthew was a tax collector (publican) sitting at the tax booth in Capernaum when Jesus called him with two words: "Follow me" (Matthew 9:9). Tax collectors were despised in Israel — they collaborated with Rome, extorted their own people, and were classified with sinners and prostitutes. That Jesus chose a publican as one of His twelve apostles was a deliberate scandal — a living demonstration that the kingdom of God comes by grace, not merit. Matthew immediately left everything and followed, then hosted a feast for Jesus with other tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29). Matthew authored the first Gospel, written primarily for a Jewish audience, demonstrating that Jesus is the promised Messiah who fulfills Old Testament prophecy. Matthew's Gospel contains more Old Testament quotations and fulfillment formulas than any other — repeatedly showing that what was "spoken by the prophet" was fulfilled in Christ. His Gospel organizes Jesus' teaching into five great discourses, including the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7) and the Olivet Discourse (chs. 24-25), presenting Jesus as the new and greater Moses who gives the law of the kingdom.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
An apostle of Jesus Christ; a publican called from the receipt of custom; author of the first Gospel.
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MAT'THEW, n. [Heb. gift of the LORD.] One of the twelve apostles, originally a tax collector, also known as Levi, who wrote the first Gospel of the New Testament, presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecy.
📖 Key Scripture
• Matthew 9:9 — "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he rose and followed him."
• Matthew 1:22-23 — "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet."
• Matthew 28:19-20 — "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Matthew's Gospel is subjected to source criticism that undermines its apostolic authority.
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Liberal scholarship treats Matthew's Gospel as a late composition dependent on Mark and a hypothetical "Q" source — effectively denying that an eyewitness apostle wrote it. This source-critical approach reduces Matthew from an apostolic witness to a nameless editor who compiled earlier traditions. The effect is to undermine the reliability and authority of the Gospel. Additionally, Matthew's presentation of Jesus as King and Lawgiver is co-opted by social justice movements that claim the Sermon on the Mount as a political manifesto while ignoring its call to personal holiness, repentance, and the narrow gate. Matthew 25 ("whatever you did for the least of these") is ripped from its eschatological context and turned into a proof-text for government welfare programs, when Jesus is speaking about how the nations will be judged based on their treatment of His brethren — believers who preach the gospel.
Usage
• "Matthew's calling is the gospel in miniature — a despised sinner, sitting in his sin, summoned by Christ's sovereign word, who immediately rose and followed."
• "Matthew wrote for Jews, proving from their own Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ — every fulfillment formula is a nail in the coffin of unbelief."