Everyone knows that Matthew (his Greek name; Levi in Hebrew) was the tax collector. This was not a popular activity, and traditionally he would have been considered a collaborator with the occupying Romans. But there are other views (Bissell, p. 33). It may be more accurate to call Matthew a toll collector, working not for the Romans but for Herod Antipas, the Jewish tetrarch under Roman authority.                                                      

Regardless, anyone taking money from subsistence farmers in the Galilee would not have been popular. The fact that Jesus chose him as a disciple speaks to the savior’s love for all humanity: the reviled tax collector, the fallen woman, the Samarian outcast, the leper, etc. All are included in the New Kingdom and previous social divisions are irrelevant. Indeed, Jesus says it best: “I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).                                                            

Whether or not our Gospel was written by this Matthew is a source of controversy. Origen (c. 230 CE) made the attribution, but it is not clear if he was referring to what we have as the Gospel of Matthew today.                                                      

Matthew is said to have preached in Judea, but the details are sparse. He may have reached the Caspian Sea and even Persia. It is not known if or where he was martyred. This may explain why the emblem of money bags was chosen: the only thing we know for sure was his job. Not surprisingly, Matthew is the patron saint of bankers, accounts, custom officers, and of course tax collectors.