St. Matthew Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Early Years And Education

Levi, son of Alphaeus, was born in the 1st century AD. He was born in Capernaum, a small fishing village. The town sat on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Career

Levi started his career as a tax collector. As a result of his work, Levi would have been proficient in the Aramaic and Greek languages. He worked with the Romans in his role, and due to this, the other Jews disliked him immensely.

Call to Ministry

Jesus called Levi to the Ministry, and Levi followed him. He became known as Matthew.

Matthew followed Jesus as one of his four disciples. He saw both the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and he preached the gospel in Jerusalem.

After preaching in Judea, scholars believe he traveled to other countries to continue his preaching. Matthew supposedly authored the Gospel of Matthew, but there is no proof he wrote it. Fragments of other gospels have been found, also attributed to Matthew. These are the Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Gospel of the Ebionites, and the Gospel of the Hebrews.

Matthew was one of the early followers of Jesus. He is known as Matthew the Apostle, Saint Matthew, and his birth name of Levi.

Sainthood

Several churches recognize Matthew as a saint. These include the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox, among others.