He might have been Jewish.
Nowhere are we told what Matthew's religion was, although as a Jew in Palestine in those days, he probably followed the religion of the Jews. But, being a tax collector also made him both a traitor and an outcast, which may have made it difficult for him to practice this.
A:The trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin is in the synoptic gospels: Matthew 26:57-66, Mark 14:53-64, Luke 22:66-71. In Matthew and Mark, the trial takes place soon after Jesus is arrested at midnight, but in Luke the priests wait until daybreak, since the Sanhedrin would never have met during hours of darkness to try Jesus. John's Gospel does not have a trial before the Sanhedrin, but has Jesus taken first to the house of Annas, father-in-law to the high priest, who interrogated him alone. Then Jesus was taken to the house of the high priest, Caiaphas, who again interviewed Jesus alone.
Before he met Jesus, Saint Paul worked as a Pharisee and persecuted early Christians. He was known for his zeal to uphold Jewish laws and traditions.
From a historical and scholarly standpoint, the answer is no — none of the New Testament authors can be shown to have met Jesus during his lifetime. The gospels and epistles were written decades after Jesus’ death, and the texts themselves give no indication that their authors were eyewitnesses. In fact, the earliest gospel (Mark) appears around 70 CE, roughly forty years after the crucifixion, and it is anonymous. Matthew and Luke both copy Mark extensively, which strongly suggests they were not eyewitnesses; if Matthew had personally followed Jesus, he would not need to rely on someone else’s account. This aligns with what scholars note on the page you’re viewing: the “Matthew” who wrote the gospel was not the disciple Matthew and did not personally know Jesus . The Gospel of John is the only one that later church tradition tried to link to an eyewitness, but modern scholarship overwhelmingly rejects that attribution. The text is written in advanced Greek, contains highly developed theology, and refers to its source (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”) in the third person — all signs of a later author writing within a community, not an eyewitness writing directly. Outside the gospels, the rest of the New Testament is written by figures like Paul, who explicitly states he never met Jesus during his earthly life and only knew him through visions and revelations. So while Christian tradition later attached apostolic names to these writings, historians and textual scholars agree: the New Testament documents were composed by later followers of the movement, not by people who personally walked with Jesus.
Jesus saw him under the fig tree (John 1:48).
In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the event that triggered the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus was the cleansing of the temple. On the evening of the Passover, Jesus and the disciples celebrated with a ritual meal, known as the Last Supper, then went to the Garden of Gethsemene to pray. Here, Judas betrayed Jesus, who was arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin court then before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, because the Sanhedrin could not pass a sentence of death. In Luke's Gospel, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas for sentencing, which Herod refused to do, leaving Pilate to pass sentence.In John's Gospel, the event that triggered the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus was the resurrection of Lazarus, with the pharisees and the priests saying that the whole world is following Jesus. On the evening before the Passover, Jesus and the disciples met for a simple meal and Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Jesus then went to the brook of Cedron to pray. Here, Judas betrayed Jesus, who was arrested and taken before Annas, then separately to Caiaphas, because the Sanhedrin never met during the hours of darkness. They then took him before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate for sentencing.
Matthew met Jesus when he was a tax collecter and Jesus said follow me
The Bible does not specify the exact age of St. Matthew when he met Jesus. Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector before becoming one of Jesus' disciples. Given the historical context and typical life stages of individuals during that time, he may have been in his late twenties to early thirties, but this is largely speculative.
what did James the greater do before Jesus came to him
They met with Herod, who tried to extract information from them to kill Jesus. --Matthew chapter2
Matthew's original name was Levi, and his father was named Alphaeus, a Greek name. He was a tax-collector from Capernaum when he met Jesus. Jesus gave him the name Matthew. Obviously he had a gift for writing.
The Bible tells us nothing about Judas before the time of his call, Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; and Luke 6:16.
they were really the disciples of jesus. they just denied him in fear of being arrested because they were his disciples
Before encountering Christ, Matthew was a tax collector in Capernaum, despised by his fellow Jews for collaborating with the Roman authorities. However, when Jesus called him to be one of his disciples, Matthew left his old life behind and followed Jesus. Afterwards, Matthew became one of the twelve apostles and dedicated his life to spreading the teachings of Jesus.
Doctor.
From a historical and scholarly standpoint, the answer is no — none of the New Testament authors can be shown to have met Jesus during his lifetime. The gospels and epistles were written decades after Jesus’ death, and the texts themselves give no indication that their authors were eyewitnesses. In fact, the earliest gospel (Mark) appears around 70 CE, roughly forty years after the crucifixion, and it is anonymous. Matthew and Luke both copy Mark extensively, which strongly suggests they were not eyewitnesses; if Matthew had personally followed Jesus, he would not need to rely on someone else’s account. This aligns with what scholars note on the page you’re viewing: the “Matthew” who wrote the gospel was not the disciple Matthew and did not personally know Jesus . The Gospel of John is the only one that later church tradition tried to link to an eyewitness, but modern scholarship overwhelmingly rejects that attribution. The text is written in advanced Greek, contains highly developed theology, and refers to its source (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”) in the third person — all signs of a later author writing within a community, not an eyewitness writing directly. Outside the gospels, the rest of the New Testament is written by figures like Paul, who explicitly states he never met Jesus during his earthly life and only knew him through visions and revelations. So while Christian tradition later attached apostolic names to these writings, historians and textual scholars agree: the New Testament documents were composed by later followers of the movement, not by people who personally walked with Jesus.
Peter was a fisherman before he met Jesus
probably a fisherman