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Profiles of Faith:
Matthew
We abruptly meet Matthew in the Gospel that bears his name: "As Jesus passed . . . He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he arose and followed Him" (Matthew 9:9). What more can we learn about this disciple?
At the time he met Christ, Matthew was a "publican," a tax collector for the Romans. Such men often made a good living off both the Romans and the Jews. Although the Romans tolerated the Jews who served them in such offices, they did not consider them equals. And a tax collector's fellow Jews often detested all tax collectors-and probably Matthew as well.
One day Jesus offered Matthew the opportunity of a lifetime: "Follow Me." At once Matthew left his disreputable but profitable profession and traded it for an extraordinarily different calling.
Rome and Judea in Matthew's time
Rome was the greatest power on earth at the time. Jerusalem and Judea lived under the cloud of Rome, chafing under a governor appointed by the emperor.
Rome ascended to world supremacy over many years. Its strength grew as it acted against any who threatened its position. Rome did intervene to help its allies, but, since human nature hasn't changed throughout the ages, "the lust for brutal aggression and exercise of destructive power soon took hold of the Roman mind" (Nahum Glatzer, Jerusalem and Rome, 1970, p. 11).
Nahum Glatzer, quoting the Roman poet Virgil, says: "This Rome has 'neither period nor boundary of empire,' but 'dominion without end.' From henceforward, the idea of Rome as the eternal City of Man is to endure, however transformed, in the historical and religious consciousness of Western humanity" (Glatzer, p. 13).
The power of Rome was felt throughout the Mediterranean region, more so with the burden of taxes. This is where Matthew's story begins.
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