Levi doubtless was his Jewish name, later changed to Matthew, the Greek equivalent of Theodore, meaning “Gift of Jehovah.” George Milligan, Men of the New Testament (Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, n.d.), p.
And in all the lists of apostles in the Gospels and in Acts, aside from Matthew itself, he is listed simply as Matthew. In the Gospel of Matthew he is identified as Matthew, the taxgatherer. In these records he is called Levi, the publican or taxgatherer. Who was Matthew? Why was he called by Jesus? The only record we have of Matthew, aside from lists of disciples is found in Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2 :13-17, and Luke 5:27-32. The message of the King and his Kingdom will be better understood in the light of a brief study of the background of the Gospel. Matthew is careful to reveal the kind of King Jesus came to be and kind of Kingdom he came to establish. Israel would rule the world under his sovereign power, and his disciples would reign with him in splendor and glory.Īgainst this traditional expectation of the Jews, Matthew shows that Jesus indeed came to reign as King, but upon the throne of the hearts of those who accept him by faith he came to establish his Kingdom, but a Kingdom which would be the rule of God in the hearts of his children by faith. He would make his appearance at the Temple and conqueringly declare his Messiahship with great signs and wonders. He would reign in glory on the throne of God in Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. The Messiah-King was expected to re-establish the Davidic monarchy after conquering all the enemies of God. Against the dark background of bondage and affliction by foreign powers, the Jews looked for a political Messiah who would deliver them from the yoke of Rome.
In Christ the plan of redemption is completed.īut during the long period between the Testaments, Israel’s messianic hope gradually, but surely, took on a different expectation. Prophecy in the Old Testament prepared the setting for God’s fulfillment of his redemptive work in Christ. A significant change had occurred in the concept of the coming of the Messiah and the attending circumstances and results of that great event. The background out of which the Gospel of Matthew comes is Judaism which had undergone a vast doctrinal development during the four hundred years of the Interbiblical period. Or to put it in other words, God’s redemptive plan was begun in the history of Israel, depicted in prophetic fashion in the events and activities of the people of God, and was climactically finished in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Matthew’s message is that in the person of Jesus of Nazareth the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled.
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