Matthew: The Tax Collector Who Became One of the Twelve
The apostle who had been a tax collector was Matthew. Matthew 10:3 gives the clearest direct answer by naming him among the Twelve as “Matthew the tax collector,” while Matthew 9:9 shows Jesus calling Matthew from a customs post.
The harder questions are why Mark and Luke use the name Levi, what a customs collector actually did, whether Capernaum is certain or inferred, and why Matthew is often confused with Zacchaeus. This guide keeps those evidence levels separate.
Matthew.
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Matthew 10:3.
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Matthew 9:9–13.
Levi in Mark 2 and Luke 5.
Zacchaeus was not one of the Twelve.
Why Matthew is the correct biblical answer
Two passages do different jobs. Matthew 9 gives the occupation-and-call scene; Matthew 10 removes the remaining ambiguity about whether this Matthew belongs to the Twelve.
Matthew 10:3 is the clearest “which apostle?” proof
Matthew 9:9 gives the call from the customs post
Matthew 9:9 describes Jesus seeing a man named Matthew at a customs post and calling him to follow. The narrative then moves into a meal involving tax collectors and sinners, which becomes the setting for criticism from the Pharisees.
| Passage | What it establishes | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew 9:9–13 | A man named Matthew is called from a customs post; tax collectors appear in the following meal scene. | Occupation and calling. |
| Matthew 10:2–4 | Matthew is named among the Twelve and identified as the tax collector. | Direct answer to “which apostle?” |
Disciple or apostle?
Both words can describe Matthew, but they are not identical. “Disciple” is the broader follower/learner term; Matthew 10 uses the more specific apostolic list of the Twelve. That is why Bible quizzes asking either “which disciple?” or “which apostle?” normally expect Matthew.
Which Matthew claims are certain, traditional or inferred?
This is where many search results overreach. A stronger answer tells the reader how much weight each source can actually carry.
| Claim | Evidence level | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew was one of the Twelve | Direct Scripture | Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6 and Acts 1 include Matthew in the apostolic lists. |
| Matthew was a tax collector | Direct Scripture | Matthew 10:3 identifies him by that occupation; Matthew 9:9 places him at a customs post. |
| Matthew and Levi were the same man | Traditional / harmonizing identification | The Gospel call stories closely parallel one another, but no verse explicitly says “Matthew was also called Levi.” |
| Matthew worked at Capernaum | Reasonable geographic inference | The surrounding narrative points toward Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee; Matthew 9:9 itself gives no booth address. |
| Matthew personally cheated taxpayers | Not established | The profession had a reputation for abuse, but Scripture records no specific fraudulent act by Matthew. |
| Matthew personally wrote the canonical Gospel in its final form | Ancient tradition; historically debated | The Gospel is internally anonymous even though longstanding Christian tradition attributes it to Matthew. |
Matthew appears in all four New Testament apostle lists
Matthew’s presence is consistent across the lists. The unusual detail is that only Matthew’s Gospel attaches his former occupation to his name.
| List | Name | Occupation stated? | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew 10:2–4 | Matthew | Yes — tax collector | Strongest direct answer to this query. |
| Mark 3:16–19 | Matthew | No | Mark’s list uses Matthew although the Mark 2 call story names Levi. |
| Luke 6:13–16 | Matthew | No | Luke likewise lists Matthew although Luke 5 names Levi at the customs post. |
| Acts 1:13 | Matthew | No | Matthew remains in the apostolic group after Jesus’ ascension. |
Was Matthew the same person as Levi?
Christian tradition commonly identifies them as the same person because Matthew, Mark and Luke tell closely parallel call stories. But the Gospels use different names, so “Matthew was also called Levi” should be presented as the traditional harmonizing identification rather than a direct quotation from Scripture.
| Gospel | Name | Extra detail | What follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew 9:9 | Matthew | Called from the customs post. | Meal with tax collectors and sinners. |
| Mark 2:14 | Levi | Called son of Alphaeus. | Meal and criticism over eating with tax collectors and sinners. |
| Luke 5:27–32 | Levi | Leaves everything and follows. | Levi gives a large banquet in his house. |
Why the identification became natural
Does “son of Alphaeus” make Matthew the brother of James?
No family relationship can be established from the text. Mark calls Levi son of Alphaeus, and the apostle lists separately call James son of Alphaeus, but Scripture never says Matthew and James were brothers or that the two references involve the same father.
What did “tax collector” mean in Matthew’s world?
The Gospel setting is closer to a customs or toll collector than to a modern income-tax clerk. Matthew 9:9 places the collector at a customs post.
Goods or commercial traffic moving through routes, ports or jurisdictional points could be subject to customs duties or tolls.
The USCCB note on Mark 2:14 describes collectors paying for the right to collect customs in a district and profiting from amounts collected above the fixed sum.
Scripture does not describe a public counter with forms, email, office hours, a surviving tax schedule or a government-office address.
What does “publican” mean?
Older English Bible translations may use publican where modern translations use tax collector. In this biblical setting the word concerns revenue collection; it does not mean a modern British pub owner.
What cannot be reconstructed
Was Matthew’s customs post in Capernaum?
Capernaum is a reasonable inference, not an address stated in Matthew 9:9. The call appears in a Galilean narrative setting, while Mark’s parallel scene is near the Sea of Galilee.
Benedict XVI’s 2006 Vatican audience notes the surrounding Capernaum and seaside context and says it is possible to deduce that Matthew exercised his tax-collector function at Capernaum. That is a useful geographical inference, but it remains an inference.
Matthew is commonly placed at a customs post in or near Capernaum based on the surrounding Gospel setting.
No exact booth address, border checkpoint, rate schedule or surviving office site is supplied by Scripture.
Did Matthew work directly for the Roman government?
“Matthew worked for Rome” is a common shorthand, but it can sound more administratively precise than the sources allow. His work belonged to a Roman-era political and fiscal environment, while Galilee was ruled locally under Herod Antipas.
Matthew collected customs or taxes within the Roman-dominated political order of Galilee.
The New Testament does not name a Roman tax bureau as his employer, call him a salaried Roman civil servant or identify the exact tax he personally collected.
Why were tax collectors disliked in the Gospels?
Tax collectors were associated with an unpopular fiscal system and with opportunities to collect more than was legitimately due. The Gospels repeatedly place “tax collectors and sinners” together as a socially recognizable pairing.
Mark’s note explains the financial incentive
The USCCB note on Mark 2:14 describes a system in which customs collectors paid a fixed amount for the right to collect duties and could profit from amounts collected above it. The note connects that structure with widespread extortion and social disgrace.
Luke shows the ethical concern without proving Matthew was corrupt
In Luke 3, tax collectors are told not to collect more than the prescribed amount. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus promises restitution if he has extorted anyone. Those texts show why abuse was associated with the profession; they do not record a specific fraud committed by Matthew.
Matthew vs Zacchaeus: which tax collector was an apostle?
| Person | Tax role | Main text | One of the Twelve? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | Tax/customs collector | Matthew 9:9; 10:3 | Yes |
| Levi | Tax collector at customs post | Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27 | Levi is not the name used in the lists; traditionally identified with Matthew |
| Zacchaeus | Chief tax collector; wealthy | Luke 19:1–10 | No |
| Unnamed tax collector | Character in Jesus’ parable | Luke 18:9–14 | No; parable character |
Did Matthew stop being a tax collector after following Jesus?
Calling Matthew a former tax collector is a reasonable summary. Matthew 9 says he gets up and follows Jesus; Luke’s parallel account says Levi leaves everything behind. Matthew 10:3 still uses “the tax collector” as an identifying description when naming him among the Twelve.
Whose house was the meal in?
Matthew’s wording says Jesus was at table “in the house,” while Luke explicitly says Levi gave the banquet in his own house. Luke 5 is therefore the clearest text for stating that the collector hosted the meal.
What official Vatican sources add to the Matthew story
The answer does not depend on a modern document: Scripture is primary. But official Catholic sources show how later Christian teaching interprets the call and are useful when clearly labeled as interpretation rather than new biblical data.
2006 General Audience: limited biography, clear Gospel profile
Benedict XVI emphasizes that information about Matthew is sparse and fragmentary, points to his presence in the lists of the Twelve, highlights Matthew 10:3’s tax-collector label and treats Capernaum as a deduction from the Gospel setting.
2023 Vatican Press Office PDF: see → rise → return changed
The January 11, 2023 General Audience PDF uses Matthew 9:9–13. Its pastoral reading follows three movements: Jesus sees Matthew, Matthew rises from the tax booth, and the changed man then returns to people he knows in the banquet scene. This is theological/pastoral interpretation, not an additional employment record.
Did the apostle Matthew write the Gospel of Matthew?
Ancient Christian tradition attributes the first Gospel to Matthew the apostle and evangelist. The Gospel itself, however, does not identify its author by name. Modern critical scholarship debates its sources, date and direct apostolic authorship.
Matthew the former tax collector is traditionally honored as the evangelist associated with the Gospel bearing his name.
The canonical text is internally anonymous, so direct authorship is a different question from whether Matthew was an apostle and tax collector.
What the Bible does not tell us about Matthew
Good Bible content should show where the evidence ends rather than filling every gap with a confident-sounding story.
A short Bible-reading path for this question
Read the customs-post call, meal and controversy with the Pharisees.
See Matthew explicitly inside the list of the Twelve with his occupation attached.
Compare the Levi accounts and see exactly where the traditional Matthew–Levi identification comes from.
Then read Luke 19 if you were thinking of Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus is a wealthy chief tax collector in Jericho, but he is not listed among the apostles.
Sources used to verify the article
The identity answer comes from New Testament texts. Later church sources are used only for interpretive or historical context.
Which Apostle Was a Tax Collector? FAQs
Which apostle was a tax collector?
Matthew was the apostle explicitly identified as a tax collector. Matthew 10:3 lists him among the Twelve as Matthew the tax collector, while Matthew 9:9 describes Jesus calling Matthew from a customs post.
Which apostle was a tax collector before following Jesus?
Matthew is the answer. Matthew 9:9 places him at a customs post when Jesus calls him. Luke 5:27–28 gives the closely parallel story using the name Levi and says he leaves everything and follows Jesus.
Which disciple was a tax collector in the Bible?
Matthew was the tax collector who became one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. Matthew 10:3 gives the clearest direct identification. Disciple is a broader term for a follower; apostle here refers specifically to the Twelve.
Was Matthew the same person as Levi?
Christian tradition commonly identifies Matthew with Levi because Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 contain closely parallel call stories. The New Testament never directly says that Levi was another name for Matthew, so the identification should be stated with that textual nuance.
Was Zacchaeus one of the apostles?
No. Luke 19 describes Zacchaeus as a wealthy chief tax collector in Jericho, but he is not listed among the Twelve. Matthew is the tax collector who appears in the apostle lists.
How many of the twelve apostles were tax collectors?
Matthew is the only member of the Twelve explicitly identified in the New Testament as a tax collector. No other apostle is given that occupation in the biblical lists.
What kind of tax did Matthew collect?
Matthew 9:9 places him at a customs post. The Gospel setting and New Testament notes point toward customs duties or tolls rather than a modern income-tax office. Scripture does not preserve Matthew’s exact rates, commission, ledger or complete job description.
Did Matthew work directly for Rome?
That common summary is too simple. Matthew worked in a Roman-era fiscal environment, but the New Testament does not describe him as a salaried Roman civil servant or name a specific Roman tax bureau as his employer.
Why were tax collectors disliked in Jesus’ time?
They were associated with unpopular revenue collection and opportunities for overcollection. The Mark 2:14 note describes a system in which customs collectors could profit above a contracted amount, while Luke 3 warns collectors not to take more than prescribed. Scripture does not prove that every individual collector was dishonest.
Did Matthew write the Gospel of Matthew?
Ancient Christian tradition attributes the first Gospel to Matthew the apostle. The Gospel itself does not name its author, and modern critical scholarship debates direct apostolic authorship. That question is separate from the clear textual fact that Matthew is identified as an apostle and tax collector.