why did jesus change levi to matthew why did jesus change levi to matthew

If these are all references to the same James, that would make James son of Alphaeus the author of the Book of James and one of the three men Paul called "pillars" of the church. This makes it doubtful that Matthew 9:9 was intended as either the evangelists self-reference or as a pseudonymous literary device supplementing the ascription of this Gospel to Matthew. See John P. Meier, The Vision of Matthew: Christ, Church, and Morality in the First Gospel(New York: Paulist, 1978), 2425. Matthew was a Levite from the priestly tribe of Levi, making his role that of writing on Christ's priesthood. [26] Gundry, Matthew, 619; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 67. The debate over the authorship of Matthews Gospel usually focuses on the replacement of Levi, the son of Alphaeus, with Matthew (Matt 9:9; contra Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) and the addition of the descriptor the toll collector after Matthews name (Matt 10:3; contra Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). [Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32] 13 Jesus went to the seashore again where large crowds came to him, . 3.39.17. Sometimes the men took too much money. Marys Perpetual Virginity & Jesus Brothers, Why Pollen on the Shroud of Turin Proves it is Real, Christian Inscriptions in Roman Catacombs, Eruption Of Mt. My theory is that for one thing John and Peter were closer to Jesus. The other Eleven were ordinary men. [35] For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought ExpTim 80 (1968-69): 32428; John S. Kloppenborg, The Formation of Q: Trajectories in Ancient Wisdom (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1987), 5164; Harry T. Fleddermann, Q: A Reconstruction and Commentary (Leuven: Peeters, 2005), 15557; Sarah E. Rollens, Framing Social Criticism in the Jesus Movement: The Ideological Project in the Sayings Gospel Q (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 9193. The Identification of the Toll Collector as Matthew. Matthew did follow Jesus for the rest of his life. [16] This English translation of the Greek text is taken from Michael W. Holmes, editor, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (rev. Based on Papiass title. [17] W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Matthias was chosen to be one of the Apostles after Judas of Iscariot had betrayed Jesus and died ( Acts 1:26 NIV). Jesus believed that he had the same right to reassign a person's nameand therefore a person's life calling and destiny" (Cunningham). http://www.brentcunningham.org/?p=316 Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. Supported by: Jefferson himself believed that a person's religion was between them and their god. For three main reasons, almost all scholars believe the Gospel of Luke was written by the same person who wrote Acts: Luke and Acts were written in the same style and express the same theology. Jesus did not call us because of our righteousness or gifting. 29.7.4). James son of Alphaeus is traditionally identified as James the Less and James the brother of Jesus. All of the harsh and disapproving things He could have or should have said to Matthew would have been justified as far as the culture around them was concerned. Jesus sees value in all people. CLICK HEREfor Taxes in the Ancient Roman World article. Vir. There were 12 men chosen to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the identification of Matthews oracles. Jesus came with some of His disciples. [24] Krzinger, Papias, 1516; Gundry, Matthew, 619; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6162, 67. Curiously, Origen answered the philosopher Celsuss criticism that Jesus assembled a motley crew of toll collectors and sailors by stressing that Matthew was the sole toll collector within the apostolic circle and that Levi was not numbered among the twelve apostles except for in select manuscripts of Marks Gospel (Cels. Calling of St. Matthew by Alexandre Bida, 1875. [8] Alternatively, the textual variant that has James instead of Levi as the son of Alphaeus in Mark 2:14 in a handful of manuscripts was plausibly motivated by a desire for uniformity by having a single son of Alphaeus (cf. Following Jesus Meant Matthew Lost His Lucrative Tax Collector Career. Mark 16:1),[11] though this example differs slightly from Matthew 9:9 inasmuch as the woman is left unnamed. Friedrich Schleiermacher, ber die Zeugnisse des Papias von unsern beiden ersten Evangelien, TSK 5 (1832): 73568; Manson, For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought, Daniel A. Bertrand, Lvangile des Ebionites: une harmonie vangelique antrieur au. The First Disciples [Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11, John 1:35-51] . The final option is that a non-extant Jewish Gospel stands behind Papiass reference to Matthews oracles or, at least, the New Testament Gospel that bears the name Matthew was mixed up with a Jewish Gospel circulating in Papiass milieu. See Krtner, Papias, 2045; Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus and the Adulteress NTS 34 (1988): 2444, 29; Philipp Vielhauer and Georg Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, in New Testament Apocrypha I: Gospels and Related Writings, ed. [23] Krzinger, Papias, 24, 3342; cf. He may call peop [21] Krzinger, Papias, 1214, 2122, 5256; Gundry, Matthew, xxixxii, 61820; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6364, 6768. Perhaps they did so because Levis call narrative closely resembled the summons of the first four apostles to discipleship in Mark 1:1620 and Alpheus was already remembered as the father of one of the apostles in Mark 3:18. Matthew's " original name, Levi, suggests that he was a man of the priestly tribe." Levi means " adhesion ." But Matthew was re-Christened " gift " or "given," a profound switch for a tax. John P. Meier even entertains the option that the evangelist wanted to replace Levi with any of the apostles and Matthew was chosen at random for this aim. 7.2627; 14.5960). I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners., CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Pharisees article. Matthew was obviously a small mokhes because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. Mich. 7.6; Is. Slaves Were Lifeless Tools in the Ancient World, Meaning of Names, Places & Things in the Bible, Gardens and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, The Roman Phalanx & Hannibals Pincer Movement. 2) Jesus explains his action in having a meal with tax collectors and sin-ners by saying "Go and learn what it means 'I desire mercy and not sacri-fice'" (Matt 9,13; Hos 6,6). So it is more than probable that Matthew or someone else translated Matthews biography of Christ into Greek in order to spread the Good News beyond the Jews. I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this volume in the Syrian city of Beroea to copy it. Jerome: De viris inlustribus (On Illustrious Men), chapter III. Luke, with greater fullness, says that "Levi made him a great feast in his house."From this it appears that Matthew at once marked the . Lettie Moses Carr saw Jesus depicted as Black, she was in her 20s. Matthew is the Greek name and Levi was the Hebrew name. [47] Whatever the case, Jerome slowly distanced himself from his earlier confident declarations that the Nazarenes had the original Matthean Gospel in their possession (cf. Epiphanius and Jerome later confused the traditional account of the authorship of Matthews Gospel with the origins of the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Matthew was an accurate counter. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collectors booth. From the place where he collected taxes near the Sea of Galilee (probably on the outskirts of Capernaum), Matthew may often have heard Jesus speak and must have known about his many miracles. [45] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 100101; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 41; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 47, 47n.28. 3. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. T/F. I. 184.9-10) and Eusebius regarded the text as disputed but not unorthodox (h.e. 1.62), though these There were, however, at the time of Christ and the Apostles two languages spoken by JewsAramaic and Greek. [9] Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. Luz, Matthew 17, 80. At worst, they were charlatans, sycophants, and brutes (cf. How do we know that Matthew changed after Jesus called him? R. McL. A minority view during the Patristic period was that Levi and Matthew were separate individuals. Phil. 6:25 (300s AD). Krzingers and Gundrys proposals have varying degrees of persuasiveness, but most scholars have not been swayed by their contention that Papiass words on Matthew have been misread through the centuries. Levi asked Jesus to come to dinner at his home. Matthews Gospel has more quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament than any other New Testament author. Teilband 1, ed. The story of Matthew's calling shows us the amazing power of God's grace and how it transforms people and become extraordinary servants of our Creator. It is the contracted name of Mattathias. Rather, he plainly states, So Matthew composed the oracles in the Hebrew language and each person interpreted them as best he could (in Eusebius, h.e. [1] Regardless of how this name change is explained, this toll collector may have been trained in accounting and documenting records and may have been functionally bilingual or trilingual in order to converse with travellers moving between the territories of Philip and Antipas. A survey of the ancient traditions about how the evangelist Matthew wrote his Gospel in Aramaic for a Jewish audience before it was translated into Greek suggests that the modern assumptions about the Apostles fluency in Greek or education in rhetorical composition may not have necessarily been shared by the Patristic intelligentsia. Das Papiaszeugnis zur Entstehung des Matthusevangeliums ZNW 92 (2001): 257272; Nolland, Matthew, 3; Enrico Norelli, Papia di Hierapolis: Esposizione degli Oraculi del signore: I Frammenti (Milan: Figlie di San Paolo, 2005), 32829; David H. Sim, The Gospel of Matthew, John the Elder, and the Papias Tradition: A Response to R. H. Gundry HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 63.1 (2007): 290; Monte Shanks, Papias and the New Testament (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013), 196; Michael J. Kok, Did Papias of Hierapolis Use the Gospel according to the Hebrews as a Source? JECS 25.1 (2017): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 223; Jeannine K. Brown and Kyle Roberts, Matthew (Two Horizons; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 1516. Pan. Wilhelm Schneemelcher, trans. What created confusion was that Irenaeus reported that Jewish Christ followers who were called Ebionites or poor ones had a special affinity for Matthews Gospel, just as Marcion was inclined toward Lukes Gospel and Valentinus toward Johns Gospel (haer. 30.3.7; 30.13.214.4), was the Gospel according to the Hebrews, though Epiphanius derided it as the Ebionites mutilation of Matthews Gospel. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthew, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Biography of Matthew, Catholic Online - Biography of St. Matthew, Catholic Information Network - St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist. Epiphanius added to the confusion when he imagined that the Gospel that he managed to get a hold of, which skips over the virgin birth and commences at Jesuss baptism (Pan. Matthew authored the first Gospel of the . Jesus was very popular in the Capernaum area where He and Levi lived and it is sure Levi had seen and heard the Nazarene. Acts 7:38; Rom 3:2; Heb 5:12; 1 Pet 4:11;1 Clem. Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. 8:2; 19:13; Isa. Tax collectors at that time were known as dishonest and corrupt people. T/F, 3. [46] Other scholars suspect that the Nazarenes only supplied Jerome with their own translations and commentary on Matthews Gospel. But Levis guests were of his social ilksinners and other tax collectors.The Pharisees (we get our word pharisaical meaning self-righteous; hypocritical from this sect in ancient Judaism) were always watching whatever Jesus did and said and they followed him to Levis house and were appalled to see Him eating and talking with tax collectors and sinners.Several of Jesus other disciples were near. [37], The final option is that a non-extant Jewish Gospel stands behind Papiass reference to Matthews oracles or, at least, the New Testament Gospel that bears the name Matthew was mixed up with a Jewish Gospel circulating in Papiass milieu. Harris J. Rendel, The Logia and the Gospels, For lexical discussion and debate about the term. It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. CHICAGO (RNS) The first time the Rev. [42], It was not until Epiphanius (Pan. Mark 3:18). Key Verse: 6:13, "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles". Yet our access to Papias is mediated through Eusebius, so it is uncertain whether Eusebius interrupted an interconnected statement about both evangelists or juxtaposed two separate excerpts from Papias together. Jerome may have anticipated that he would track down the Gospel according to the Hebrews in Pamphilus library in Caesarea (cf. [14] For the theory that Matthew was either the founder of a putative Matthean community or the source of their traditions, see Pesch, Levi-Matthus, 56; Gundry, Old Testament, 184; Hill, Matthew, 5354, 173; Gnilka, Matthusevangelium, 1.331; Davies and Allison, Matthew VIIIXVIII, 2.99; Hagner, Matthew 113, xlvi; John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 3-4; Witherington III, Matthew, 5, 29; Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 40; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 111. 16:18) Mark and Luke were probably stunned by Jesus' inclusion of a hated tax collector in His Twelve. I. 3.1.1). While He was on the cross, He cried out, "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani," which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". Excessive. Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). Even Jesus acknowledges the hatred people had for tax collectors: " If they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). The important take-away from this detour through the Patristic testimonies was that the oldest tradition was that the evangelist Matthew published a text in Aramaic and left it to more qualified translators to translate it into the form that we have today as the Greek Gospel according to Matthew.