Goodwill Fellowship Bible Study Group

1. Goodwill FellowshipBible Study Group Apostle Saint Mathew The tenth disciple Prepared and Presented by Rev. Alfred Thiagarajan Welcome

2. Apostle Saint Mathew

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-bnGRN5J1E

4. Mathewwas one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He may have collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas. Matthew was "called" by Jesus of Nazareth to be one of the Twelve Disciples. According to the New Testament he was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension.

5. Bio Data: Full name: Mathew Meaning: Gift of YHVH Year of Birth: 1st century Place of birth: Galilee Father’s Name : Alphaeus Languages: Greek and Aramaic Profession: Tax Collector Canonized: Pre-Congregation Honored in : Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism, Aglipayan Church (Philippines Independent Catholic Church) Islam (named in Muslim exegesis as one of the disciples)

6. Feast : September 21st (Western Christianity)November 16th (Eastern Christianity) Patronage: Accountants, Salerno, Italy, Bankers tax collectors, Perfumers and others Attributes: Angel Major shrine: Salerno, Italy Year of Death: 1st centuryPlace of Death: Near Hierapolis or Ethiopia

7. Stained glass depiction of St. Matthew at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Churchin Charleston, South Carolina.

8. Evidences that Mathew is one of the 12 Disciples Mark 3:18 New International Version (NIV) 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot . Luke 6:13-16 New International Version (NIV) 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

9. Acts 1:13 New International Version (NIV) 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

10. Evidence that Mathew is a Tax Collector Matthew 10:3 New International Version (NIV) 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

11. Luke 5:27-31 New International Version (NIV) 27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

12. Evidence that He is son of Alphaeus Mark 2:14 New International Version (NIV) 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

13. Early Life Matthew was a first century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee, which was not part of Judea or the Roman Iudaea province) and the son of Alpheus. During the Roman occupation (which began in 63 BC with the conquest of Pompey), Matthew collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. His tax office was located in Capernaum. Jews who became rich in such a fashion were despised and considered outcasts. However, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek.

14. It was in this setting, near what is today Almagor, that Jesus called Matthew to be one of the Twelve Disciples. After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”

15. Mathew is being called by Jesus personally Matthew 9:9-13 New International Version (NIV) The Calling of Matthew 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. ‘For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

16. Is Mathew Brother James?

17. Matthew's Ministry When Matthew is mentioned in the New Testament, he is sometimes found paired with Thomas. The New Testament records that as a disciple; he followed Jesus, and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension. Afterwards, the disciples withdrew to an upper room (Acts 1:10-14) (traditionally the Cenacle) in Jerusalem. The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

18. Matthew may also be mentioned in the Talmud. Later Church fathers such as Ireneaus and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew, for 15 years, preached the Gospel in Hebrew to the Jewish community in Judea, before going to other countries. Ancient writers are not agreed as to what these other countries are. The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr.

19. Matthew's Gospel St. Matthew and the Angel by Rembrandt

20. Although the first of the Synoptic Gospels is technically anonymous, traditionally the Gospel of Matthew was held to be written by the apostle. As a government official in Capernaum, in "Galilee of the Gentiles", a tax-collector would probably have been literate in both Greek and Aramaic. Greek was the language used in the market-place. Some early church fathers recorded that Matthew originally wrote in "Hebrew", but still regarded the Greek text as canonical.

21. Many scholars today, such as Raymond E. Brown, believe that "canonical Matt[hew] was originally written in Greek by a non-eyewitness whose name is unknown to us and who depended on sources like Mark and Q", a theory known as Markan priority. However some scholars, notably Craig Blomberg, disagree variously on these points. The more traditional interpretation of the Synoptic Gospels posits a Matthean priority, most notably in the Augustinian hypothesis after one of the earliest and most notable proponents Saint Augustine of Hippo. This position once held with veritable consensus in the Medieval church has since waned, but still has several proponents.

22. Origen said the first Gospel was written by Matthew. This Gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea. The Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work. Matthew's Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles and it was once believed that it was the original to the Greek Matthew found in the Bible. However this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars.

23. Islam: The Qur'an speaks of Jesus's disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as "helpers to the work of God". Muslim exegesis and Qur'an commentary, however, names them and includes Matthew amongst the disciples. Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew, with Andrew, were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia to preach the message of God.

24. St. Matthew writing the Gospel with an angel holding the volume, an Islamic miniature by Kesu Das for the Mughal.

25. Commemoration Medieval relief of Saint Matthew in the Church of Ják, Hungary (XIII century).

26. Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches. His relics are said to be preserved in the Gonio Fortress in Georgia. Christian Art Like the other evangelists, Matthew is often depicted in Christian art with one of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:7. The one that accompanies him is in the form of a winged man. The three paintings of Matthew by Caravaggio in the church of San Luigi deiFrancesi in Rome, where he is depicted as called by Christ from his profession as gatherer, are among the landmarks of Western art.

27. Revelation 4:7 New International Version (NIV) 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

28. Thanks for coming God bless you all.