Yes—Matthew Is Explicitly Called a Tax Collector in the New Testament
The core question is unusually clear: Matthew 9:9 places Matthew at a customs post when Jesus calls him, and Matthew 10:3 names “Matthew the tax collector” among the Twelve.
The details around that answer need more care. Matthew and Levi are not explicitly equated in one verse, “tax office” does not mean a modern government office, Capernaum is an inference from the narrative setting, and Gospel authorship is a separate historical question.
Yes.
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Matthew 9:9–13.
Mark and Luke say Levi.
Traditional attribution; debated academically.
Was Matthew in the Bible really a tax collector?
Yes. Matthew 9:9 says Jesus saw a man named Matthew at a customs post and called him to follow. Matthew 10:3 independently identifies Matthew among the Twelve with the occupational label “the tax collector.”
The Bible passages that establish Matthew’s occupation
Matthew is named at the customs post when Jesus calls him.
Direct evidenceThe apostle list explicitly identifies “Matthew the tax collector.”
Direct evidenceThe parallel call scene names Levi, son of Alphaeus, at the customs post.
Parallel evidenceLuke names Levi, says he leaves everything, and then describes a large banquet.
Parallel evidenceMark 3, Luke 6 and Acts 1 include Matthew but do not repeat the tax-collector label.
Direct apostle evidenceThe meal with tax collectors and sinners supplies the social and theological context for the call.
Context evidenceWhy Matthew 10:3 is the cleanest answer
A reader can debate whether the Levi of Mark and Luke is historically identical with Matthew and still reach the same core conclusion: Matthew’s own Gospel lists an apostle named Matthew and directly calls him a tax collector.
“Tax office,” “tax booth” and “customs post” do not mean a modern office
Different English Bibles render the call scene with phrases such as tax office, tax booth, place of toll or customs post. The underlying scene is an ancient revenue station, not a municipal building where residents queued to pay annual property taxes.
| Wording | Useful meaning | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Customs post | A station connected with collecting duties, tolls or indirect revenue. | That Matthew ran a modern tax department. |
| Tax booth | A compact way of picturing the point where charges could be assessed. | The exact architecture, furniture or archaeological location. |
| Tax office | A translation of the ancient collection place. | Office hours, phone service, property-tax accounts or a surviving “Matthew Tax Collector Office.” |
| Publican | Older English usage associated with tax collection. | Matthew held the same rank as a wealthy chief contractor. |
Was the tax collector Matthew or Levi?
Matthew’s Gospel names the called collector Matthew. Mark and Luke tell closely parallel call stories but name the collector Levi; Mark adds “son of Alphaeus.” Christian tradition commonly identifies Matthew and Levi as the same person, but no verse explicitly says “Matthew was also called Levi.”
| Passage | Name at the tax post | What follows | Important detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew 9:9–13 | Matthew | He rises and follows; a meal with tax collectors follows. | Matthew 10:3 later labels him “the tax collector.” |
| Mark 2:14–17 | Levi son of Alphaeus | He rises and follows; Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners. | USCCB explicitly cross-references Matthew 9. |
| Luke 5:27–32 | Levi | Luke says he leaves everything and gives a large banquet. | Luke never inserts “Matthew” into this call scene. |
| Apostle lists | Matthew | Matthew appears among the Twelve. | Levi does not appear as a separate name in the Twelve lists. |
Three ways readers explain the name difference
The traditional harmonization: the setting, call and following meal are so similar that Matthew and Levi are understood as one man known by two names.
The USCCB note on Matthew 9:9 presents the possibility that the evangelist changed the source’s “Levi” to Matthew to connect the call with one of the Twelve.
Possible from the names alone, but it has to explain why the scenes line up so closely and why Matthew, not Levi, appears in the apostle lists.
Was Matthew a tax collector in Capernaum?
Capernaum is a reasonable inference, not a location stated inside Matthew 9:9 itself. Mark 2 begins with Jesus back in Capernaum, then moves to the sea and immediately tells the Levi customs-post story. Matthew’s narrative also places the call directly after a Capernaum-connected sequence.
Matthew was at a customs post when Jesus called him.
The call is commonly located in or near Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee.
No surviving booth, desk, chair or building can be identified from the Gospel as Matthew’s exact workplace.
What kind of taxes did Matthew collect?
The New Testament does not give Matthew’s rate sheet. The strongest textual clue is the customs post. USCCB notes describe New Testament tax collectors in this setting as dealing with indirect taxes such as tolls and customs, and the Mark 2:14 note explains a collection system in which the right to collect customs duties could be obtained for a fixed sum.
| Question | Evidence-based answer | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Did he collect tolls/customs? | That fits the customs-post setting and USCCB notes on indirect taxes. | Strong historical/textual fit. |
| Did he collect modern income tax? | The Gospel does not describe a modern income-tax system. | Do not claim it. |
| Did he collect property tax? | No passage assigns Matthew a modern real-property tax role. | Do not import modern categories. |
| Did he keep records and handle money? | Reasonable for customs work, but the Gospel does not provide his ledger or training history. | Inference only. |
| Did he set the rates himself? | Not stated. The collection system could permit profit above a fixed obligation, but Matthew’s personal contract is unknown. | Unknown individually. |
Did Matthew collect taxes for Rome?
“For Rome” is common shorthand, but the biblical text itself does not name Matthew’s direct employer. The region operated under Roman imperial domination, and later Christian teaching commonly describes Matthew as collecting within or on behalf of that imperial system.
- Matthew worked in a revenue system operating under Roman imperial power.
- Tax collectors could be regarded as collaborators with an alien ruling order.
- The occupation carried social stigma in the Gospel world.
- The name on Matthew’s employment contract.
- Whether a Roman official hired him directly.
- His administrative rank.
- The exact destination of every tax or toll he collected.
Does the Bible say Matthew cheated people or was corrupt?
No specific act of fraud, extortion or overcollection is attributed to Matthew. The tax-collection system had a reputation for abuse, and tax collectors were treated as socially suspect, but a group reputation is not proof that Matthew personally committed every abuse associated with the profession.
Was Matthew a chief tax collector?
No. The New Testament calls Matthew a tax collector but never a chief tax collector. Luke 19 gives that distinct title to Zacchaeus.
Tax/customs collector called by Jesus; later named among the Twelve.
Wealthy chief tax collector in Jericho; not listed among the Twelve.
Was Matthew the collector of the temple tax in Matthew 17?
The text does not identify Matthew as one of those collectors. Matthew 17:24 describes collectors of the temple tax approaching Peter at Capernaum. That episode concerns a different kind of levy and does not name the apostle Matthew as the collector.
Matthew is called from a customs post and later listed among the Twelve.
Unnamed temple-tax collectors question Peter about whether Jesus pays the temple tax.
Was Matthew who wrote the Gospel a tax collector?
The answer depends on what is being asked. The apostle Matthew is explicitly a tax collector. Whether that apostle personally composed the canonical Gospel of Matthew in its present form is a separate historical and scholarly question.
| Layer | What it supports | How to state it responsibly |
|---|---|---|
| Canonical text | The Gospel names Matthew as a tax collector and apostle. | It does not contain a first-person sentence saying “I, Matthew, wrote this Gospel.” |
| Ancient church tradition | Early Christian tradition associated Matthew with written Jesus traditions and later with the Gospel bearing his name. | Traditional attribution is historically early and important, but tradition is not the same thing as an internal author signature. |
| Traditional Christian view | Many churches identify the evangelist with Matthew the apostle and former tax collector. | State this as the traditional attribution. |
| Modern critical scholarship | Many scholars regard the final Gospel as formally anonymous and emphasize its literary dependence on Mark. | Do not present scholarly doubt as disproving Matthew’s occupation; it concerns authorship of the final Gospel. |
What the USCCB introduction says
The USCCB introduction notes the ancient attribution to Matthew but says the majority scholarly view does not regard the apostle Matthew as the author of the Gospel’s final form, particularly because the work uses Mark extensively. It also leaves open the possibility that traditions associated with the disciple Matthew contributed to material in the Gospel.
Why “he was good with records, therefore he wrote it” is too weak
A tax-collection job could involve records, but the New Testament never says Matthew’s occupation proves his literacy level, Greek composition skills or authorship of a Gospel. That argument may be suggestive to some readers, but it is not direct evidence.
Why Matthew’s call and the meal with tax collectors matter
The narrative does more than identify Matthew’s former job. It immediately places Jesus at a meal with tax collectors and people labeled sinners, prompting criticism and Jesus’ response about the sick needing a physician and about mercy rather than sacrifice.
Jesus calls someone from a stigmatized occupation instead of treating his public reputation as an automatic barrier.
The call is followed by contact with a wider group of tax collectors and outsiders.
The scene becomes a teaching moment about mercy, repentance and whom Jesus calls.
What the Holy See’s 2016 PDF emphasizes
Pope Francis’s catechesis on Matthew 9 presents the calling as an example of Jesus opening a new future to a socially condemned person and stresses mercy rather than exclusion. That is a Catholic interpretation of the passage; the underlying narrative itself is Matthew 9:9–13.
Popular claims about Matthew: supported, uncertain or wrong?
Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 establish the occupation.
Matthew 10:2–4 lists him among the apostles.
The stories strongly parallel each other, but the New Testament never explicitly equates the names.
The surrounding narrative supports Capernaum, but Matthew 9:9 does not state the city name.
The imperial setting is clear; the Gospel does not give a direct-employer contract.
The system had a reputation for extortion, but no specific fraud by Matthew is narrated.
Luke’s Levi hosts a large banquet, but the text does not give Matthew a net-worth figure.
Luke gives that title to Zacchaeus.
The temple-tax collectors in that episode are unnamed.
Occupation does not prove literary authorship; ancient attribution and modern scholarship must be evaluated separately.
What the New Testament does not tell us about Matthew’s tax career
Open these sources after you understand the question
Matthew the tax collector FAQs
Was Matthew in the Bible a tax collector?
Yes. Matthew 9:9 places Matthew at a customs post when Jesus calls him, and Matthew 10:3 explicitly names “Matthew the tax collector” among the Twelve.
Where does the Bible say Matthew was a tax collector?
The clearest passages are Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3. Matthew 9 describes his call from the customs post; Matthew 10:3 directly gives him the occupational label “the tax collector.”
Was Matthew a tax collector before following Jesus?
Yes. The call story presents him at the customs post before Jesus says “Follow me.” Matthew then rises and follows. Luke’s parallel story says Levi left everything, if Levi and Matthew are understood as the same person.
Was Matthew the tax collector the same person as Levi?
Christian tradition commonly identifies them because Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 contain closely parallel call stories. However, the New Testament never explicitly says “Matthew was also called Levi,” and the USCCB note discusses other ways to explain the name difference.
What kind of taxes did Matthew collect?
The customs-post setting fits indirect taxes such as tolls and customs duties. The Bible does not preserve Matthew’s exact rate schedule, contract or full job description, so modern income-tax or property-tax categories should not be imposed on the story.
Did Matthew work directly for Rome?
The Gospel does not name his direct employer. Matthew worked within a revenue system operating under Roman imperial domination, and later Christian sources often describe him as collecting on behalf of the Roman system. Direct Roman employment is more specific than the biblical text itself.
Does the Bible say Matthew was corrupt?
No specific fraud or extortion is attributed to Matthew. Tax collectors were widely distrusted and the collection system could enable abuse, but the New Testament does not record Matthew personally cheating a named taxpayer.
Was Matthew a chief tax collector?
No. Matthew is called a tax collector. Luke 19 gives the distinct title “chief tax collector” to Zacchaeus.
Was Matthew who wrote the Gospel a tax collector?
The apostle Matthew is explicitly identified as a tax collector. Traditional Christianity attributes the Gospel of Matthew to that apostle, while many modern scholars consider the final Gospel formally anonymous and question direct apostolic authorship. Those are separate questions.
What does the Bible actually say about Matthew the tax collector?
It says Jesus called Matthew from a customs post, Matthew followed him, tax collectors and sinners appear at a meal in the call-story sequence, Matthew was listed among the Twelve as “the tax collector,” and he remained named with the apostolic group in Acts. The New Testament supplies relatively little additional biography.