Matthew

Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector (publican) in Capernaum whom Jesus called to follow him as he sat at his tax booth (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14). Tax collectors were despised in first-century Jewish society as collaborators with Roman occupation, so his calling was striking; Jesus's willingness to eat at his house with 'many tax collectors and sinners' drew criticism from the Pharisees (Matthew 9:10–13). He is listed among the Twelve in all four Gospels. By the late second century, the first Gospel was attributed to him, though modern scholarship is divided on the question of apostolic authorship. The Gospel bearing his name is structured around five major discourses, presents Jesus as the new Moses, and is the Gospel most frequently cited in the early church's catechesis and liturgy.