TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET

The Gospel of Matthew, written by a man who was a pilfering publican (tax collector) prior to his conversion to Christ, is the first book of the New Testament, as well as the first of the New Testament's four Gospels. It contains Matthew's narrative of the life of Christ and serves, by proving Jesus to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, as a vital bridge between the Old and New Testaments.

Matthew was also called Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), which suggests that he may have been a Levite. If so, he must have been a disappointment to his family, for instead of growing up to be a priest, he grew up to be a publican. In addition to being a disappointment to his family, Matthew was undoubtedly denounced by his fellow countrymen, for no one was more disdained by the Jews than a Jewish tax collector, who treasonously worked for the Romans and personally profited by ripping off his own people. Yet, Christ cared for and called this outcast of society not only to be His apostle, but also to be the author of the first of the New Testament’s four Gospels. It is significant that in all three lists of Christ’s twelve apostles (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16), only Matthew list himself as “Matthew the publican” or “tax collector,” as though he could never forget and wanted everyone else to know the amazing grace that saved a wretch like him.