St. Matthew: A Jewish Man Who Shifted His Master from Caesar to Jesus

In the Gospel Reading of the 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Luke 16:1-13, Jesus spoke the parable of the shrewd but dishonest steward and the parable’s application. In the year 2022, which is on Cycle C, the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (September 21) falls during the week of the 25^th week in ordinary time.  And I find this quite interesting because Matthew (also known as Levi in the Gospels of Mark and Luke) was a steward of the Roman colonial authorities, collecting taxes from his fellow Israelites for Caesar, while Roman citizens were exempted from taxation at that time. It is not certain if Matthew was dishonest as the steward in Jesus’ parable (Luke 16:1-8) was. He could be a publican (tax collector) trustworthy to the Roman authorities, and did not collect more than he was authorized by the Romans. Regardless of the degree of his honesty in his stewardship, Matthew’s career dealt with mammon, as the taxes he collected on behalf of the Romans were for Caesar, not for God.  Perhaps, he struggled with his Jewish conscience, which was in conflict with this stewardship for Caesar, a pagan, as portrayed in a popular TV show, “The Chosen”, though the steward in Jesus’ parable did not experience a pang of conscience at all as he went on to further squandered his master’s assets by reducing the debts of the master’s tenant farmers without his authorization.

Matthew is a late comer among the twelve apostles. He was not in the first batch of the disciples whom Jesus recruited by the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22). By the time he became a disciple, Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee had become quite well-known not only in the region of Galilee but also all the way to Judea and even to where Gentiles were predominant residents, such as Syria and Decapolis, as he drew a large crowd to his ministries of preaching on the Kingdom and healing (Matthew 4:23-25). According to Matthew, by the time he joined Jesus and other disciples, such as Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Jesus had already given his Sermon on the Mount to the crowds (Matthew 5:1-7:29), cleansed a leper (Matthew 8:1-4), healed a centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13), cured Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15), calmed the sea storm (Matthew 8:23-27), healed the demoniacs (Matthew 8:28-34), and healed a paralytic man brought by his faithful friends (Matthew 9:1-8).

While Jesus’ public ministry of preaching and healing was in progress in Galilee, Matthew served as a Caesar’s steward, collecting taxes from his fellow Israelites. It sure made him an object of hatred by them. In this sense, Matthew probably had no Jewish friend for him, except for fellow tax collectors. Perhaps, this had been tormenting him inside. And we cannot deny a possibility that Matthew had growing interest in Jesus, hoping to be free from his internal moral and spiritual dilemma as an Israelite betraying his fellow people by serving for the colonial power, Caesar the Roman.

Perhaps, it was just a right time for Matthew that Jesus saw and called him to follow, and he readily followed him (Matthew 9:9). He did not hesitate when Jesus called him. Matthew did not seem to be like one of these “would be followers” (Matthew 8:18-22), who could be indecisive in following Jesus. So, Matthew left his lucrative tax collecting career and simply followed Jesus, as he must have been waiting for the Messiah as a Jewish man.

Matthew must have been so happy that it was Jesus who took the initiative to reach out to him, as it was the case with other disciples, who were called by him. Calling Matthew to follow him and to be in his company was like finding a lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). But, in this case, Jesus could have found and redeemed more than just a lost sheep, named Matthew, because finding Matthew resulted in having contact with more lost sheep of Israel, Matthew’s fellow tax collectors.

Matthew must have rejoiced to be found and called by Jesus, as he invited him and his disciples to his house for dinner on that day, also bringing a bunch of other tax collectors and sinners to this table fellowship with Jesus (Matthew 9:10). Though it is not written whether these tax collectors and sinners converted their hearts and joined Jesus’ discipleship as Matthew did. Nevertheless, they encountered Jesus the Messiah. And his Word was sown to their hearts, as reflected in his parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15).

Then, the Pharisees complained and accused of Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:11), as they reacted contemptuously when he spoke of the parable of the dishonest steward and the parable’s application (Luke 16:14).

The Pharisees must have regarded Jesus befriending himself with those who had fattened themselves with mammon by cheating both their Roman masters and fellow Jewish tax payers. So, Jesus explained why, citing Hosea 6:6:

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners (Matthew 9:12-13).

Jesus was not just having dinner with the tax collectors and sinners at Matthew’s house on the evening of calling Matthew. Jesus must have called all of them to follow him as Matthew started, treating them with his mercy so that they could repent and respond to his call on them affirmatively. So, the First Reading of the Feast of St. Matthew (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13) reminds us to live worthy of Jesus’ call, which we all have received, with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace, in order to build the Church as one body.

We cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. Matthew handled mammon in his service to Caesar. But, he was happy to have been found by his true master, Jesus. So, by following his, Matthew began to serve Jesus, writing his Gospel, and engaging in his apostolic mission until he was beheaded in 60AD.