Saint Matthew

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"

(Romans 10:15)
Painting of the Icon of St. Matthew at St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church

The Story In A Summary

Saint Matthew

He was one of the twelve disciples whom our Lord Jesus Christ chose (Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3: 14-19, Luke 6:13-16). The name Matthew comes from the Hebrew word “Mattathia,” which means the gift of God. This Saint was born in Cana of Galilee.

He had another name which is “Levi” the son of Alphaeus from the tribe of Levi. He was a tax collector in Capernaum for the benefit of Rome. This job was hated by the Jews.

His Calling

When the Lord Jesus Christ saw him sitting at the tax office in Capernaum, He called him for the apostolic ministry, so Matthew left everything and followed the Lord.

After his calling, he made a great feast for the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples and invited all his fellow tax collectors to hear the words of grace and life from the mouth of the Lord. This allowed the Pharisees to murmur against the Lord Jesus Christ by asking His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered and said to them,

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance"

(Matthew 9: 9-12, Mark 2: 14-17, Luke 5:27-32)

Saint Matthew became one of the twelve disciples of Christ and followed Him during His earthly ministry. After the ascension of the Lord and the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, Saint Matthew preached in the lands of Palestine, Tyre and Sidon.

Writing The Gospel

After preaching in many countries, Saint Matthew went back to Jerusalem. Some of the Jews who had believed and been baptized by him asked him to write down what he had preached to them. Therefore, he started writing his gospel around the year 60 A.D. in the Hebrew (Aramaic) language. It was said that he finished it during his preaching in India.

In his Gospel, Saint Matthew declared to the Jews that Jesus Christ is the awaited Saviour, the Messiah, in whom all the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled, and for this reason, he quoted many verses from the Old Testament that spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Saint Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.

His Ministry

Saint Matthew preached in the Arabian countries, and from there he travelled to Ethiopia, Africa. He wished to enter the city of the priests of the idols and preach the word of God there. He met a young man who told him, "You will not be able to go in unless you shave off the hair of your head and carry palm branches in your hand." He did as the young man told him.

As he was thinking about that, the Lord Christ appeared to him in the form of the young man who had met him earlier, and after encouraging and comforting him, He disappeared. Saint Matthew realized that this young man was the Lord of Glory Himself, and then he entered the city and went to the temple of Apollo and found Hermes, the high priest. He spoke to him concerning the idols that they were worshipping. He explained to him how those idols did not hear or sense anything and how the true Mighty Lord is He who created the Heaven and Earth.

The Lord made through him a wonder: a table came down to them from Heaven and a great light shone around them. When Hermes the priest saw this wonder, he asked him, "What is the name of your God?" The apostle replied, "My God is the Lord Christ" and started to tell them about Christ the Saviour. Hermes believed in Christ and many people followed him.

When the governor of the city knew that, he gave his order to burn them, but it happened at that time that the son of the governor died. St. Matthew prayed and made supplications to God to raise the son, and the Lord answered him and raised the child from death. When the governor saw that, he and the rest of the people of the city believed. Saint Matthew baptized them, ordained a bishop and priests, and built a church for them.

After that the daughter of the king of Ethiopia, Ephigenia, believed in Christ. She vowed to devote herself to a life of virginity and many of the daughters of noble families followed her. After the death of the king, his brother took over the kingdom by force. He wanted to marry Ephigenia to establish his kingdom, but she refused. The king summoned Saint Mathew and asked him to convince her of this marriage. Nevertheless, Saint Matthew did not do that, instead he encouraged her to pursue a life of chastity. The king was filled with rage and wanted to slay the Saint.

His Martyrdom

One day while Saint Matthew was praying the Divine Liturgy, the soldiers of the king took him by surprise and beat him severely until they killed him. He received the crown of martyrdom around year 70 A.D. The believers took his pure body and buried him with great honor and many churches were built after his name.

His Feast

The Church celebrates the commemoration of his martyrdom on October 22nd - the 12th day of the Coptic month of Paope.

References

Synaxarium- Coptic Reader App

St. Takla. Org

Full details Get Directions

Book your tickets