Matthew the Evangelist

Matthew the Evangelist, in Hebrew מתיו הקדוש (also known as Matthew Levi, Alphaeus Levi or Matthew the Apostle), was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian tradition, and the majority of primary historical documents written in the same century, attribute the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew, originally written in Aramaic to him. Some current secondary criticism relativizes this attribution, at least with respect to the text that has come down to us as such, but more likely the book of Matthew was compiled by the apostle a few years after said events using notes written in Aramaic.

Etymologically, the Spanish name Mateo comes from the Greek Mathaios (Ματθαιος) and this, from the Aramaic Mattai, a short form of the Hebrew MattanYah, which means 'gift of Yah' (short form of Yahveh), that is, 'gift of God'.

Biblical sources

Matthew is quoted in the Gospels as Levi, son of Alphaeus and Cleopas, publican and tax collector in Capernaum (Matthew 9,9, Mark 2,14, Luke 5,27-29). There are small differences in the treatment given to Matthew in the different Gospels.

In the Gospel of Luke he is called Levi. In Mark's, he is given the name of Matthew in the list of the apostles, but is called Levi when the story of his vocation is related. According to all three synoptics, he left everything when he called him Jesus. That same day he threw a great party attended by Jesus and his disciples.

It is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, although hardly any information about it is offered (Acts 1,13). He is also one of the few disciples mentioned by name in the Gospel of Thomas.

According to Eusebius of Caesarea, he preached for fifteen years in Judea, where he wrote his Gospel around the year 80. According to Rufinus, he later went to Ethiopia.

Some traditions claim that he was martyred in Ethiopia.

In contrast, according to Epiphanius of Salamis (bishop of Cyprus), Matthew died in Hierapolis (in Parthia) and the one who suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia would have been Matthias, the substitute for Judas Iscariot.

Matthew is considered a saint by all Christian denominations that admit this distinction. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast on September 21 and the Orthodox on September 16. According to tradition, his remains are preserved in Salerno (Italy).

Attribution of the Gospel of Matthew

Christian tradition attributes to Matthew the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew, which bears his name (kata Mathaion: 'of Matthew' or 'according to Matthew'). The first known author to establish this attribution was Papias, who, around 110 or 120, in a text quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea, says: «Matthew [...] collected in order the logia in dialect Hebrew and each one interpreted them as he could» (Ecclesiastical History, III, 39,16). The term logia did not necessarily mean a gospel: it could simply be a collection of maxims. Based on this information, some early Christian authors considered Matthew the author of a first gospel, written in Aramaic, the vernacular language of Palestine in the century. I, and its translation into Greek would be the text now known as the Gospel of Matthew. Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, Origen and Jerome of Estridon considered the apostle Matthew the author of this gospel.

Matthew, having preached to the Hebrews, also published in his tongue an evangelical writing, while Peter and Paul preached in Rome and founded the Church.

Ireneo de Lyon, Adversus haeres III, 1, 1

The early Semitic original has been lost, though several ancient authors cite it; It seemed to be based on the sayings of Jesus Christ and used by Matthew for his own preaching. The Church used the new Greek text, apparently translated by Matthew himself, with an official canonical character. The Gospel of Matthew is the ecclesiastical Gospel par excellence, not only because it is the most used by the primitive tradition of the Church, but also because in its structure and formulation it embodies an apologetic ecclesial concern experienced in the first Christian generations.

The objective of the Gospel is clear from its original writing: to bear witness to the Jews that in Jesus Christ all the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding the Messiah are fulfilled.

Increasingly, critics dismiss the theory that it was written after the Gospel of Mark, as it contains many details that Matthew does not cite.

Statue of San Mateo on the frontis of the Cathedral of Lima

Iconography

Like the other evangelists, Matthew appears often in Christian art. His particular attribute is a winged man, alluding to the tetramorphs of the prophet Ezekiel (Ez 1,10; cf. Ap 4,7) so common in the representation of the evangelists. The paintings made by Caravaggio for the church of Saint Louis of the French (Contarelli Chapel) in Rome stand out above all.