Matthew the Tax Collector: from the tax booth to the Twelve
Matthew enters the Gospel story with almost no introduction. Jesus sees him at a tax booth, tells him to follow, and Matthew gets up and goes. A few verses later, the story moves into a meal with other tax collectors and a debate over why Jesus welcomes people with bad reputations.
That short scene became one of the New Testament’s clearest pictures of a changed life. But several details often repeated about Matthew—his identification with Levi, authorship of the Gospel, missionary travels and death—need more careful wording than the calling story itself.
Who was Matthew the Tax Collector?
Matthew was a tax collector whom Jesus called to become a disciple and one of the Twelve Apostles. Matthew 9:9 places him at the collection booth, while Matthew 10:3 directly identifies “Matthew the tax collector” in the apostle list.
Matthew’s former occupation is not a later legend. The Gospel text itself connects his name with tax collection.
The calling story moves quickly from work at the booth to following Jesus. The occupation becomes his background, not the end of his identity.
The New Testament says much less about Matthew’s later ministry and death than later church traditions do, so those claims should not be presented with equal certainty.
The story of Matthew’s call in sequence
Matthew 9:9 introduces him in the middle of his work. There is no long biography before the encounter.
The invitation is short and direct. The scene does not describe a religious résumé, interview or probation period.
The narrative emphasizes response. Matthew’s movement away from the booth visually marks the change in direction.
The next scene includes tax collectors and other socially criticized guests eating with Jesus and his disciples.
The controversy is no longer only about Matthew. It becomes a larger question about why Jesus shares table fellowship with people who carry disreputable labels.
Matthew 10:3 lists him as an apostle and notably retains the description “the tax collector.”
What did Matthew actually do as a tax collector?
The English phrase “tax collector” can make Matthew sound like a modern IRS employee or a clerk at a county property-tax counter. That is the wrong mental picture.
The Gospel scene puts him at a tax, toll or customs booth. Several translations render the location as a customs post, place of toll, tax office or receipt of custom. The setting fits a revenue point connected with trade, transportation or goods moving through an area.
Matthew’s workplace is presented as a collection station. There is no modern tax return system, call center or public-service counter behind the story.
Collectors operated within political revenue systems that ordinary people could experience as burdensome and intrusive.
Tax collectors were repeatedly treated as a morally suspect social category in the Gospel narratives, which gives Matthew’s calling its social force.
Why the meal after Matthew’s call matters
Immediately after the calling scene, the Gospel moves to a meal where tax collectors and others described as sinners are present. Religious critics ask why Jesus would eat with people carrying those reputations.
The sequence makes Matthew’s occupation more than background trivia. It becomes part of a larger argument about who is welcomed, who needs mercy and whether social disgrace puts someone outside Jesus’ call.
What the story emphasizes
- Jesus calls a socially criticized person.
- Matthew responds rather than defending his résumé.
- Other outsiders are welcomed at the table.
- Mercy becomes more important than maintaining social distance.
What not to add to the story
- An invented amount Matthew supposedly stole.
- A fictional confrontation with a taxpayer.
- A claim that all tax collectors committed identical abuses.
- A detailed repentance speech the text never records.
Was Matthew the Tax Collector also Levi?
Matthew 9:9 names the collector Matthew. Mark 2:14 calls a very similar figure Levi, son of Alphaeus. Luke 5:27 also names Levi as the tax collector whom Jesus calls.
The sequence of events is remarkably similar in all three: Jesus encounters a collector at the booth, calls him, the man follows, and a meal with tax collectors follows. Christian tradition therefore commonly identifies Matthew and Levi as the same person.
| Feature | Matthew 9 | Mark 2 | Luke 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name used | Matthew | Levi, son of Alphaeus | Levi |
| At collection booth | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Called by Jesus | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Follows Jesus | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meal controversy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What do we know about Matthew after he becomes an apostle?
Matthew appears in the lists of the Twelve in the Synoptic Gospels. Matthew 10:3 uniquely keeps his former occupation visible by calling him the tax collector.
Acts 1:13 also names Matthew among the apostolic group gathered in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension. Beyond these list references, however, the New Testament does not give Matthew the kind of extended individual storyline it gives Peter, John, Thomas or Paul.
His place in the apostolic group is clear across the New Testament lists.
Acts still includes Matthew with the apostolic community in Jerusalem.
Specific missionary journeys, locations and circumstances of death come mainly from later traditions rather than narrative passages in Acts.
Did Matthew the Tax Collector write the Gospel of Matthew?
Christian tradition has long associated the Gospel with Matthew the Apostle. Early church testimony, including material attributed to Papias, connects Matthew with collecting sayings of Jesus in a Hebrew or Semitic language.
Modern scholarship treats the question more cautiously. Many scholars argue that the final Gospel is an anonymous Greek work that uses Mark and other traditions, making direct authorship by the apostle less certain than traditional church attribution suggests.
Traditional Christian view
Matthew the Apostle is the evangelist traditionally connected with the Gospel that bears his name. Early church writers preserve that association.
Modern critical view
Many scholars question whether Matthew personally composed the surviving Greek Gospel in its final form, especially because of its literary relationship to Mark.
How did Matthew the Apostle die?
The New Testament does not tell us how Matthew died. Acts names him with the apostolic group, but Scripture gives no later death scene for him.
Later Christian traditions place Matthew’s ministry in different regions, including locations described as Ethiopia, Persia or Parthia. Traditions also disagree about whether he died as a martyr or died naturally.
| Claim | Evidence level | How to state it safely |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew was one of the Twelve | New Testament | Directly supported by apostle lists. |
| Matthew remained with the apostolic group after the ascension | Acts 1:13 | Directly supported. |
| Matthew preached in Ethiopia, Persia or Parthia | Later tradition | Traditions differ on the location of his later mission. |
| Matthew died as a martyr | Later tradition | Some traditions remember him as a martyr, but the New Testament does not record his death. |
| Exact weapon or execution method | Conflicting later accounts | Do not present a single method as established biblical history. |
What Christians commonly learn from Matthew’s story
Matthew the Tax Collector story for kids
Matthew had a job collecting money. Many people did not like tax collectors, but Jesus saw Matthew and invited him to become a follower. Matthew got up from his work and followed Jesus. Later he became one of Jesus’ twelve apostles.
After Matthew’s call, Jesus ate with people whom others looked down on. Some religious leaders complained, but the story shows that Jesus was willing to welcome people others avoided.
Jesus saw Matthew as someone who could follow him, even when other people only saw Matthew’s bad reputation.
People can become trapped by labels. Matthew’s story asks whether we see a person only by their past or by what they can become.
Use Matthew 9:9 as the core story reference. Children can remember the simple movement: booth → call → follow.
Simple class activities
Place three paper markers on the floor labeled “tax booth,” “Jesus calls,” and “follow.” Let children walk the sequence while retelling the story in their own words.
Write harmless labels such as shy, loud, new student or bad at sports on cards. Talk about why one label never tells the whole story of a person.
Draw a long table and let students add paper figures around it. Discuss why the meal after Matthew’s call was surprising to people watching Jesus.
Older students compare Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 and circle what stays the same and what changes between the three accounts.
Matthew in The Chosen vs Matthew in the Bible
In the television series The Chosen, Matthew is portrayed by actor Paras Patel. The series expands Matthew into a continuing dramatic character with personality traits, relationships and detailed experiences that go beyond what the New Testament records.
Biblical core
- Matthew is connected with tax collection.
- Jesus calls him to follow.
- He is listed among the Twelve.
- His former occupation carries social stigma.
Dramatized details
- Extended conversations not recorded in Scripture.
- Detailed relationships with other disciples.
- Personality and behavioral characterization.
- Specific events created to connect scenes dramatically.
Matthew, Levi, Zacchaeus and other tax collectors
| Person | Tax collector? | One of the Twelve? | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | Yes | Yes | Called from the tax booth and directly labeled a tax collector in Matthew 10:3. |
| Levi | Yes | Traditionally identified with Matthew | Name used in the parallel Mark and Luke calling stories. |
| Zacchaeus | Yes, chief tax collector | No | A separate figure whose story appears in Luke 19. |
| Unnamed tax collectors | Yes | No stated connection | Tax collectors appear as a broader group in several Gospel scenes. |
How to study Matthew the Tax Collector without mixing fact and tradition
Read the call and meal as one continuous scene rather than stopping after the occupation detail.
Notice how Matthew is identified when the Twelve are listed.
Track the similarities in location, call, response and meal while noting that these accounts use the name Levi.
See Matthew still named with the apostolic group after Jesus’ ascension.
When reading about Gospel authorship, missionary travels or Matthew’s death, ask whether the claim comes from the New Testament or from later church writers.
Discussion questions
What does the retained tax-collector label add to the apostle list?
How does table fellowship expand the meaning of Matthew’s personal call?
Which details match between Matthew, Mark and Luke, and which do not?
Which claims are biblical, which are historical interpretations and which belong to later Christian tradition?
Sources for Matthew the Tax Collector
Matthew the Tax Collector FAQs
Who was Matthew the Tax Collector?
Matthew was a New Testament tax collector whom Jesus called to become a disciple. Matthew 10:3 later lists him among the Twelve Apostles and identifies him as a tax collector.
What Bible verse tells the story of Matthew the Tax Collector?
Matthew 9:9-13 is the main calling and meal passage. Matthew 10:3 gives the clearest direct occupational label by identifying Matthew as the tax collector in the apostle list.
Was Matthew the same person as Levi?
Christian tradition commonly identifies Matthew with Levi because Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 describe closely parallel tax-booth call stories using the name Levi. No Gospel verse, however, explicitly states “Matthew was also called Levi.”
Why were tax collectors disliked in Jesus’ time?
Tax collectors were associated with unpopular revenue systems, political authority and possible overcollection. The Gospel narratives show that the occupation carried strong social stigma, although they do not accuse Matthew of a specific act of fraud.
Did Matthew leave his tax collector job?
Matthew’s calling scene presents him getting up from the tax booth and following Jesus. The narrative clearly marks a move from his collection role into discipleship, although it does not provide a modern employment record.
Was Matthew one of the Twelve Apostles?
Yes. Matthew appears in the New Testament lists of the Twelve, including Matthew 10:3, and Acts 1:13 still names him with the apostolic group after Jesus’ ascension.
Did Matthew write the Gospel of Matthew?
Ancient Christian tradition attributes the Gospel to Matthew the Apostle. Many modern scholars question whether the apostle personally wrote the surviving Greek Gospel in its final form, so traditional attribution and modern critical authorship analysis should be distinguished.
How did Matthew the Apostle die?
The New Testament does not record Matthew’s death. Later traditions differ over where he preached and whether he died as a martyr or by natural causes.
Was Matthew the same tax collector as Zacchaeus?
No. Zacchaeus is a separate person in Luke 19 and is described as a chief tax collector. Matthew is the tax collector who becomes one of the Twelve.
Who plays Matthew in The Chosen?
Paras Patel portrays Matthew in The Chosen. The television characterization includes many dramatic details not stated in the New Testament, so viewers should distinguish the show’s storytelling choices from direct biblical evidence.