The claim of his gospel authorship is rejected by most modern biblical scholars, though the "traditional authorship still has its defenders."[4] The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus. Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, relate that Matthew preached the gospel in Judea before going to other countries.
In the New Testament
Matthew in a painted miniature from a volume of Armenian Gospels dated 1609, held by the Bodleian Library
Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9[5] and Matthew 10:3[6] as a tax collector (in the New International Version and other translations of the Bible) who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus.[7] He is also listed among the Twelve Disciples, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13.[8] In passages parallel to Matthew 9:9, both Mark 2:14[9] and Luke 5:27[10] describe Jesus's calling of the tax collector Levi, the son of Alphaeus. However, they do not explicitly associate it with the name Matthew.
Ministry
The New Testament records that as a disciple, Matthew followed Jesus. After Jesus' ascension, the disciples withdrew to an upper room (Acts 1:10–14)[11] (traditionally the Cenacle) in Jerusalem.[12] The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
Early Church Fathers such as Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.1.1) and Clement of Alexandria say that Matthew preached the gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, before going to other countries. Ancient writers are not in agreement as to which other countries these are, but almost all sources mention Ethiopia.[12] The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr and the Babylonian Talmud appears to report his execution in Sanhedrin 43a.[14][15]
According to Church tradition, while preaching in Ethiopia, Matthew converted, and then consecrated to God, Ephigenia of Ethiopia, the virgin daughter of King Egippus.[16] When King Hirtacus succeeded Egippus, he asked the apostle if he could persuade Ephigenia to marry him. Matthew invited King Hirtacus to liturgy the following Sunday, where he rebuked him for lusting after the girl, as she was a nun and therefore was the bride of Christ. The enraged King thus ordered his bodyguard to kill Matthew who stood at the altar, making him a martyr.[17]
Early Church tradition holds that the Gospel of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew. This tradition is first attested, among the extant writings of the first and second centuries, with the early Christian bishop Papias of Hierapolis (c. AD 60–163),[18] who is cited by the Church historian Eusebius (AD 260–340), as follows: "Matthew collected the oracles [in Greek, logia: sayings of or about Jesus] in the Hebrew language [Hebraïdi dialektōi], and each one interpreted [hērmēneusen – perhaps 'translated'] them as best he could."[19][b][20] Likewise, early Christian theologian Origen (c. 184–c. 253) indicates that the first gospel was written by Matthew,[21][22] and that his gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea. Sometime in the late fourth or early fifth century the Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome,[23] which he used in his work.[24] This Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews[25] or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles[26][27] and it was once believed that it was the original to the 'Greek Matthew' found in the Bible.[28] However, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman and James R. Edwards.[29][30][c][31][32]
Most modern scholars hold that the Gospel of Matthew was written anonymously, and not by Matthew.[33][4] The author is not named within the text, and scholars have proposed that the superscription "according to Matthew" was added sometime in the second century.[34][35]
In the 3rd century, Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these gospels survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius and others. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes (36 fragments), Gospel of the Ebionites (7 fragments), and Gospel of the Hebrews (7 fragments) found in Schneemelcher's New Testament Apocrypha. Critical commentators generally regard these texts as having been composed in Greek and related to Greek Matthew.[36] A minority of commentators consider them to be fragments of a lost Aramaic- or Hebrew-language original.
Jerome relates that Matthew was supposed by the Nazarenes to have composed their Gospel of the Hebrews,[24] though Irenaeus and Epiphanius of Salamis consider this simply a revised version of the canonical Gospel. This Gospel has been partially preserved in the writings of the Church Fathers, said to have been written by Matthew.[31] Epiphanius does not make his own the claim about a Gospel of the Hebrews written by Matthew, a claim that he merely attributes to the heretical Ebionites.[32]
The Quran speaks of Jesus' disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as "helpers to the work of Allah".[44] Muslim exegesis and Quran commentary, however, name them and include Matthew amongst the disciples.[45] Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew and Andrew were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia to preach the message of God.
In the Druze faith
Druze tradition honors several "mentors" and "prophets", and Matthew the Apostle is honored as a prophet.[2] In the Druze tradition and doctrine, Matthew the Apostle is respected for his contributions to spiritual knowledge and guidance.[2] Druze doctrine teaches that Christianity is to be "esteemed and praised", as the Gospel writers are regarded as "carriers of wisdom".[46]
The number 5 contains an unstated significance within the Druze faith; it is believed in this area that great prophets come in groups of five. In the time of the ancient Greeks, these five were represented by Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Parmenides, and Empedocles. In the first century, the five were represented by Jesus Christ,[47][48]John the Baptist,[49] Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke.[2] In the time of the faith's foundation, the five were Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, Muḥammad ibn Wahb al-Qurashī, Abū'l-Khayr Salama ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Samurri, Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad at-Tamīmī, and Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin.
In architecture
The Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth houses a capital that depicts Matthew the Apostle and his story regarding King Eglypus of Aethiopia and his sons. It shows how Matthew is leading them away from the demon in the far corner of the capital. The biblical story tells of Matthew converting the king and his sons to Christianity. Not only does this capital depict an act carried out by Matthew in the Bible, it foreshadows Matthew being a martyr. When Matthew the Apostle was murdered, he then became a martyr for the Christian religion as being killed for his faith and teachings given the demon in the corner of the capitol. The iconography of this capital helps understand the religion of the time period since it was just coming into Christendom. This shows the cross between Ethiopia and Nazareth as these are where the capitals are today.[3][50][51][52][53][54]
^Biblical Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ, romanized: Mattityahu, shortened to מַתִּי, Matti (whence Arabic: مَتَّى, romanized: Mattā), meaning 'Gift of YHWH'; Imperial Aramaic: ܡܰܬ݁ܰܝ, romanized: Mattai; Koinē Greek: Μαθθαῖος, romanized: Maththaîos, or Ματθαῖος, Matthaîos; Coptic: ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, romanized: Mattheos; Latin: Matthaeus
^Eusebius, "History of the Church" 3.39.14–17, c. 325 CE, Greek text 16: "ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἱστόρηται τῷ Παπίᾳ περὶ τοῦ Μάρκου· περὶ δὲ τοῦ Ματθαῖου ταῦτ' εἴρηται· Ματθαῖος μὲν οὖν Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ τὰ λόγια συνετάξατο, ἡρμήνευσεν δ' αὐτὰ ὡς ἧν δυνατὸς ἕκαστος. Various English translations published, standard reference translation by Philip Schaff at CCEL: "[C]oncerning Matthew he [Papias] writes as follows: 'So then(963) Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.'(964)" Online version includes footnotes 963 and 964 by Schaff. Irenaeus of Lyons (died c. 202 CE) makes a similar comment, possibly also drawing on Papias, in his Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 1, "Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect"
^The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, translated and adapted by Ryan, Granger and Helmut Ripperger. (Arno Press: Longmans, Green & Co) 1941. pp. 561–566.
^The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas (ROCOR). St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004. St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p. 70.
^Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN9781465546623.
^Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN9781903900369.
^Swayd, Samy (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77. ISBN978-1442246171.
^"Saint Matthew". franciscanmedia.org. Franciscan Media. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
^"The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^Jasmine A. L. Kilburn. 2003. "The Contrasted `Other' in the Old English Apocryphal Acts of Matthew, Simon and Jude." Neophilologus 87 (1) (01): 137–151.
^Naomi, Simhony. 2020. "The Central Synagogue of Nazareth Illit and its Architectural Dialogue with Nazareth's Basilica of the Annunciation." Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 7 (1) (12).
Beaton, Richard C. (2005). "How Matthew Writes". In Bockmuehl, Markus; Hagner, Donald A. (eds.). The Written Gospel. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-521-83285-4.
Fuller, Reginald H. (2001). "Biblical Theology". In Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael D. (eds.). The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195149173.
Levison, J.; Pope-Levison, P. (2009). "Christology". In Dyrness, William A.; Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti (eds.). Global Dictionary of Theology. InterVarsity Press. ISBN9780830878116.
Saldarini, Anthony (2003). "Matthew". Eerdmans commentary on the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN0802837115., in Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-3711-0.
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