While there are credible arguments against his authorship, no alternative writer has been named. Matthew the Apostle, according to the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. The Gospel of Matthew talks about money in more detail and greater frequency than the other gospelssimilar to how the Gospel of Luke, written by Luke the physician, includes greater detail about ailments and uses precise medical terminology. Peter was the only one who had been married that was known to have existed. Revealing Christ is our current series where we are delving further into the Scriptures of Matthew 15:29 17:23, where Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, and where Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus transfiguration. Do you know where should I look for information on how old were the apostles when they joined Jess? This is supported by the educational tradition of the period. As we come to see Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and the Savior, may we also recognize that in order for any of this to be real, He had to take the route of the cross. Why? However, some translations render scribe in Matthew 13:52 as teachers of the law, and in context, Jesus certainly seems to be talking about those with a religious backgroundhe speaks of angels separating the wicked from the righteous (Matthew 13:49)and it seems more likely that bringing out new treasures as well as hold would refer to their knowledge of the Law and the prophets in light of the gospel. The man's name was Matthew. Generally speaking, the Book of Matthew is thought to have been written by, yep, Matthew, who was a disciple, apostle, and evangelist in the early Christian community. These accounts so closely parallel each other that its hard to imagine they arent speaking of the same person. It comes from the Greek word evangelion, meaning good news. These four writers proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ with their writings. They were dubbed Sons of Thunder by Jesus because they were presumably either loud or courageous when they were young, attributes that Jesus admired in them. "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. The Apostle Matthew, also known as Saint Matthew and Levi, was one of Jesus Christs twelve disciples and was born in the city of Nazareth. The author of the Gospel of Matthew is unknown, however Matthew the Apostle is widely regarded as the books primary author. The Greek word for . (according to the Bible) Fishermen . Matthew 4:18-22 relates that Andrew and Peter were fishing, plying their trade when called, and James and John were mending nets with their father. However, scholars say that the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, although later attributed to. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is incomparably more valuable than money, celebrity, and power. Scripture refers to the offering of a pair of doves or . But think of other indicators of the youthfulness of the disciples: In Matthew 11:25, Mark 10:24, Luke 10:21, and John 13:33, Jesus calls his trainees little children or little ones. I cant help but think of the scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: When it comes to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, In the middle of the night, Susan and Lucy are strolling with Aslan through the woods, gripping his mane and falling in love with him, only to realize that they are actually travelling with him to the Stone Table. Your email address will not be published. And its also possible that its simply a matter of him having a Greek name (Matthew) and a Hebrew name (Levi), like how the Apostle Paul was also known by Saul. Are you already a member? Matthew also states that AFTER Jesus was born, that Magi came to Jerusalem, to Herod and asked him "where is he that was born the King of the Jews." The priests Herod then consulted said that the prophecy indicated that Jesus would have been born in Bethlehem. Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism: Which is the true religion and why? Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don't Know About Them) By Bart D. Ehrman. Here are a few biblical indices of youth development: In Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21, and John 13:33, Jesus refers to his followers as little ones, referring to them as children. No one dared to disagree with them since their judgments were enforced by Roman soldiers. Evangelion is derived from the Greek word for good news, which is evangel. In order for him to teach in the Temple area in Jerusalem, he would have had to have a pedigree that allowed it. As an example, Levi becomes Matthew, which is taken from the Hebrew word meaning gift of Yahweh. Matthew is a fascinating character for theologians and historians since he was not a well-liked individual in his day. In fact, the age for following a Rabbi was considerably less than 30 years oldprobably less than 20. Some believe that Matthews involvement as an eyewitness to the events of the Gospel of Matthew is evidence that he did not write the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew, also called Levi, was the tax collector who Jesus called to follow Him in Luke 5:27 (also mentioned in Matthew 10:3), though he doesn't get much mention after that, except. Matthew, on the other hand, goes on to describe two further events in which Jesus disclosed these truths to His followers. Verse Concepts. What is the relationship between the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant? His mother was also there for her Jewish religious ritual of Purification or Cleansing. He didnt dither, and he didnt even bother to glance back. According to Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14, Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum (near modern Almagor, Israel, on the Sea of Galilee) when Jesus called him into his company. Lets get to know Matthew a bit better because he was the founder of the largest religion on the planet at the time of writing this article. Later, in Matt. However, there are a few counter-arguments, with the most important being that the early church claimed John as its own. As a Jew, stepping into this profession was essentially an act of betrayal to his people. What we know is that his personal promise from God was fully kept. He is said to have carried out his ministry in Ethiopia (which is not the same as Ethiopia today, but a territory south of the Caspian Sea), Persia, Macedonia, and/or Syria according to the oldest accounts. He may or may not have been that well educated. The other disciples were present (as evidenced by the preceding passages), but it does not appear that they paid the tax. Follow me, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:2728. As for how and when the Apostle St. Peter died, it is traditionally believed that he died between 64 and 67 AD and was crucified upside down at Rome. Four, the Mishnah explains why Jesus didnt start his ministry until age 30 even though his mission of redemption by death could have been accomplished at any age. The earliest records say he carried out his ministry in Ethiopia (not what we consider Ethiopia, but a region south of the Caspian Sea), Persia, Macedonia, and/or Syria. You are the Christ, the Son of God, Peter responded when Jesus went further and asked who the disciples believed He was (Matthew 16:16 ESV). In order to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, Matthew obviously wouldve had to live at the same time. Our website has teaching material for children of all aged - starting with the church nursery (age 0-1 years old), toddlers (age 2-3 years old), preschool (age 4-5 years old), young elementary (age 6-8 years old), older elementary (age 9-10 years old), and preteen youth ministry groups (age 11-12 years old). We cant be definite that he was born in the first century since we dont know how old he was when he encountered Jesus, but we can be confident that he lived throughout that time period. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, according to tradition, he preached for 15 years in Jerusalem before embarking on a missionary journey to various places across the world. This prophecy of His own death and resurrection aimed to let people recognize Him as Christ in the proper light, for to confess Him as Christ while denying Him the cross would be to have incorrect expectations of what He was capable of. Jesus would have entered into ministry when he reached the age of thirty. This account is no longer accepted by the majority of researchers today. These cookies do not store any personal information. This tax collector was reviled for who he was, but Jesus loved him for who he was. Of whom are Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others. Stromata. "Synoptic" means to see (optic) the same (syn). Lessons in Ghana, Liberia, Cote dIvoire and Senegal by John Oakes Lessons in English and French. But after that, the consistent picture of the disciples is of an older Peter and James with long beards, some gray hair, or balding heads, clearly middle aged, and clearly older than their strapping young Rabbi. We know that John lived until about AD 96 or 97, which is about 66 years after Jesus died. He understood King David's advice found in Psalm 37: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus asks Peter to fish up the tax he has been instructed to collect. St. Matthew, also known as St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Matthew the Apostle, or Levi, (lived in the first centuryce in Palestine; Western feast day September 21, Eastern feast day November 16), was one of the Twelve Apostles ofJesus Christ and the traditional author of the firstSynoptic Gospel (theGospel According to Matthew). Matthew 14:14. Despite the fact that there are compelling reasons against his authorship, no alternate author has been identified. Again, this in itself does not clinch the matter. Dont we have more patience with their blunders and pride? 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. He was born to Joseph and Mary sometime between 6 bce and shortly before the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2; Luke 1:5) in 4 bce. You may come to the conclusion that the others were minors and hence did not have to pay. The term "child" is mentioned in Matthew 2: 13-14. Despite the fact that there is no indication in Scripture of a specific age for any disciple, we can conclude from the evidence in the Gospels and from a little research into 1st century Jewish culture that this idea, which has been depicted repeatedly in movies and pictures, is almost certainly incorrect. Pleasurable Perplexity: Reflecting the Holy City. The Jewish Quarterly Review 108, no. So its more than a little unclear what exactly Papias is referring to. Including parallel passages, there are just seven mentions of him in the entire Bible. Peter is the exception to this, but because his brother Andrew is not married, and theyre working with James and John (Luke 5:10 perhaps their two families have a joint business venture), it stands to reason they are roughly the same age. 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