1. Matthieu 9:9 (NEG79)
  2. Explication du texte

Did Matthew cease to be a tax collector when he followed Jesus?

Matthew (Matthieu) 9:9 (ESV)

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

En bref

Yes, Matthew (called Levi in Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27) immediately left everything to follow Jesus (Luke 5:27), like the four fishermen, who left their nets behind to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18–21).

Yes, in Mark and Luke’s Gospels Matthew is called Levi (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27). Here in Matthew 9:9, however, we also read about his other name Matthew. In this Gospel we had previously read(in Matthew 4:18–21) of four disciples who Jesus had called upon to follow him, all of whom were fishermen (Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John). The fifth is, remarkably, a tax collector. Luke 5:28 then also tells us that this man simply left everything behind when Jesus called him. He immediately joined Jesus’ small circle of disciples and travelled with them.1