Despite authoring the second longest gospel, the Bible gives us very little direct information on Levi, otherwise known as the Apostle Matthew. He only appears in his own gospel twice and only seven times total in the New Testament. The bulk of what we know about him comes from three major passages: Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:14-17, and Luke 5:27-32. However, by studying Levi’s experiences, interactions, and behavior in these few passages, we can glean crucial discipleship principles that teach us what the appropriate response is to meeting Jesus Christ face-to-face and what it means to truly live as a “disciple indeed”.
Here’s what we know about Levi: he was Jewish, he was a publican, and he had two names – “Levi” and “Matthew”. A publican’s job was to collect taxes from their own townspeople to fund Roman rule. In the Bible, publicans are the archetypal low life; they are almost always associated with general sinners, harlots (prostitutes), or other publicans. The resident Jews would have despised publicans for their role in the Roman Empire’s oppressive reign over them. This hatred would only be intensified for a Jewish publican, who would have essentially traded their heritage, customs, and community for profit and personal gain. It’s likely Levi faced complete rejection on a daily basis by many of his Jewish neighbors and family, purely due to his position as a publican.
Levi, son of Alphaeus, can be translated as “joined, son of changing”, whereas Matthew means, “gift of Jehovah”. In the majority of the New Testament, he is referred to as Matthew. So how does a publican named Levi, a man joined to sin and this world, end up becoming a “gift of God?” It seems it would take a miracle. Interestingly, in each gospel account, Levi is always introduced to us after Jesus miraculously heals the man sick with palsy. Despite Levi’s seemingly advantageous life, the text is using this comparison to demonstrate how Levi’s situation was just as helpless as the paralytic’s. From Jesus’ vantage point, the receipt of custom in which Levi was sitting might as well have been the paralytic’s bed. Both are crippled by sin. Both need new life. Both need the living Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). Levi records his calling like so:
“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.” – Matthew 9:9
After performing a bona fide miracle, Jesus passes by Levi, teaches the shortest Cost of Discipleship class of all time: “Follow me,” and Matthew obeys. It is a strikingly simple, yet profound exchange. Matthew, “the son of changing,” is fundamentally and irreversibly changed by a single encounter with Jesus Christ. His physical posture is changed from sitting in the receipt of custom, to standing and following Jesus. His identity is changed from Levi, “joined” to this world and sin, to Matthew, a “gift of God.” His mindset is changed from self-indulgent to self-denying. And his purpose is changed from living for himself to living for God. Similarly, the disciple of Jesus Christ must be willing to be completely changed by the Word of God. The Word of God changed Matthew irreversibly – there was no turning back. When Matthew decided to follow Jesus, he left Levi in the receipt of custom for good.
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62
“Remember Lot's wife.” – Luke 17:32
If we compare the parallel passages (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27-28), we’ll find no hint of hesitation or deviation in Matthew’s response. This demonstrates Jesus’ final authority in Matthew’s life. Think of everything vying for Matthew’s attention in this moment: the chaos of the crowd, potential onlooking peers, his own thoughts, emotions, doubts, and fears. Yet he chose to only listen to the voice of Jesus.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” – John 10:27
Matthew’s obedience was the result of his faith in and understanding of who Jesus was. Meeting Jesus Christ in faith changes our identity; a changed identity produces changed behavior, not the other way around. In discipleship, it can be tempting to try and reverse this order by forcing perfect obedience for the sake of impressing your discipler, not getting “found out” as a “fake Christian,” or feigning spiritual growth. Don’t do this! Jesus is looking for followers – not fans (Luke 6:46) or fakes (Matthew 10:38), but followers. Our obedience must be the outpouring of our faith rooted in a right understanding of who Jesus Christ is.
“…for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth. – John 4:23b-24
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” – Galatians 1:10
Matthew begins his new life by immediately holding a feast solely for the sake of introducing as many people as he can to Jesus.
“And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.” – Matthew 9:10
Interestingly, without Mark or Luke's account, we would have never known Matthew was the host of this feast. Matthew wasn't doing this for any personal glory; everything was done for Christ's name to be magnified and glorified, not his (John 3:30). The guest list included publicans, sinners, and “many disciples,” in other words, this feast was a banger! How much work, preparation, and coordination would this have required? How would this affect his social standing and current relationships? How much would it cost? Matthew had counted the cost and committed to give his all, just like the widow with two mites (Mark 12:42-44).
If we consider the timing of this feast, Matthew had freshly given his life to Christ, yet he was announcing it to his entire world. This ruins most of our excuses for not evangelizing. Matthew proves evangelism is based on our love for Jesus Christ and what He did for us, rather than our biblical knowledge, experience, or personality type. Jesus says if we follow Him, He “will make [us] fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). If we aren’t fishers of men, then we should wonder why.
Jesus was willing to give everything for us. He never drew a line in the sand, He never said, “I’m not willing to give that”. He was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8). This is the same expectation for the disciple. Every day, we are commanded to crucify the flesh, to put to death the old man, to circumcise the flesh from our spirit. This is painful and difficult, and the reward is not always immediately apparent. However, it helps to examine Matthew’s end state. He may have started by sitting in a receipt of custom in Capernaum, but he will end by sitting on a heavenly throne, next to the Son of Man, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). The believer holds a similar fate, already being seated in heavenly places, in Christ (Ephesians 2:6).
David Gelvin is a Living Faith Bible Institute student and serves in the worship ministry at Midtown Baptist Temple in Kansas City, MO.