Characters:
Matthew

Primary Scriptures:
Luke 5

Story Summary:
Early ministry of Jesus

Location:
Capernaum

Time:
Circa 30 AD

We know almost nothing of Matthew’s life before or after he became a follower of Jesus. We know he was a tax collector in Capernaum when Jesus called him as a follower. He had a tax collecting booth and a house, and his friends included tax collectors and other people considered to be sinners. We know that Mark and Luke called him “Levi” and that he was an apostle. And most importantly, we know that Matthew heard Jesus’ call and left his booth immediately to follow him. That is virtually all we know directly about Matthew.

We don’t know Matthew’s hometown or how he was educated. We don’t know how long he knew Jesus before hearing and acting upon his call. We don’t know how well he got along with the other apostles or what he did after the death of Jesus.

From his writing of the book of Matthew, we can surmise he had an excellent knowledge of the Scriptures, and that he was focused on the Jews knowing about Jesus as the Son of God. We can surmise Matthew joined Jesus early in his ministry and wrote as an eyewitness to much of what Jesus said and did. We can deduce that Matthew knew several of the other apostles before Jesus came to the area, and also met Luke many years after the death of Jesus.

In Chapters 4 and 5, Luke insinuates that Jesus knew Simon Peter before he called him to follow him. It is possible Jesus would have known some of the other apostles before he called them.

In Chapter 5, Luke brings the Pharisees into the picture, and shows how they begin to oppose Jesus. It seems they are not quite sure what to do with someone who can so obviously do miracles and healings while not fitting their notion of “righteousness.” Jesus and his followers don’t even fast “appropriately” according to the rules of the Pharisees.

The healing of the man with leprosy and the paralyzed man have many facets. Jesus was the first to ever heal these types of maladies. Faith was involved with the healings. The healings led to the conclusion that Jesus could forgive sins, which meant he was God incarnate. No wonder the Pharisees were in a furious quandary about what to do with Jesus.

Eyewitness Bible Series