Has the name Levi the son of Alphaeus caused you to marvel at Jesus Christ? Who? He’s better known as Matthew. Recently I’ve been plying the waters of Mark’s Gospel, stunned by spectacular gems hidden in the seabeds of masterfully crafted literary designs. Mark’s buried treasure in this Levi son of Alphaeus is super cool! God never ceases to amaze me at the genius of His Word. His providential marvels and prevailing mercies astonish me! Beyond mere intellectual curiosity though, Mark dramatically unveils mercy to reshape how we think of God, which then sculpts how we live for Him.
Mark’s wordplay on Levi the son of Alphaeus demonstrates our Lord’s delight in turning curses into blessings.
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
Mark 2:13-14 ESV
What’s great about having four Gospels is being able to compare and spot differences in the same story elsewhere to perceive each author’s emphasis. Matthew and Luke also recount the tax collector’s calling (John is silent). Matthew, unlike Mark, does not self identify as Levi. He also appends “the tax collector” to his name in the roster of the Twelve, which neither Mark nor Luke do. Though Luke calls attention to Levi, only Mark adds “the son of Alphaeus.” Hmm. Mark’s minor details might seem nonessential. These apparent trivialities aren’t just surface facts but draw water from a deep well. I’ve been discovering that they’re surprisingly meaningful in his portraiture of Jesus Christ.
So why did Mark draw attention to “son of Alphaeus”? Alphaeus is a Hebrew name, originating from ḥēlep̄ (khay’-lef), which means in exchange for or in return for. The Septuagint’s Greek translation is anti, instead of. It’s used only two times in the Hebrew Bible.
“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for [ḥēlep̄] their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting” (Num 18:21).
“And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for [ḥēlep̄] your service in the tent of meeting” (Num 18:31).
In exchange for their service in the tabernacle (later, the temple), the Levites received tithes and edible portions of the people’s offerings. Watch Mark how springs into action with literary designs. “He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus [“exchange”] sitting at the tax booth.” “Son of exchange” transports the imagery of the Levites collecting a percentage from the people into the present scene. The name Levi endorses the wordplay with Alphaeus’ exclusive association to the Levites.
Levi “sitting at the tax booth” unites two conceptions: Levites collecting for the temple, tax collectors collecting for Rome. Placing this seemingly trivial “son of Alphaeus” alongside “sitting at the tax booth” prods us towards considering the Levites as tax collectors! When the Levites received tithes, they received 10% of the people’s income. That’s a tax. I’d never thought about Levites as tax collectors until seeing Mark’s linkage here.
Now, this wordplay isn’t just to be clever or cute. It significantly contrasts the essence of Matthew’s calling, and by extension you and me. There are more tax collectors present in the storyline than meet the eye.
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Mark 2:15-16 ESV
The Levites, the priests, were the temple authorities. They collected taxes from the people’s tithes and offerings. They could also enforce. An example of this is Matthew 17:24: “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” Not a question for information. They expected compliance.
So the Levites’ authority included the people’s obedience, not just tangibles like tithes and offerings. Over centuries the Pharisees and scribes, who delighted in governmental overreach (you know, like trying to kowtow Jesus to their rules), assumed authority over many facets of Jewish religious life. “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” They were notorious for exacting obedience from the people. They had become tax collectors for God! So as the scribes eyed Levi and all his tax collector buddies hanging out with Jesus, they grumbled, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Ironically, these scribes were themselves tax collectors! Tragically, they presented a warped image of Yahweh, the God of Israel, as a tax collector.
Not long after, Jesus calls Levi the son of Alphaeus among the twelve apostles. Note how he lists him as Matthew, not Levi:
He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Mark 3:16-19 ESV
I want to call your attention to Mark’s unique phrase “gave the name” (epethēken onoma). Matthew and Luke omit “gave the name” in their roll call of the Twelve. The word for gave, epitithēmi (ep-ee-tith’-ay-mee), is frequently used, 39 times in the New Testament and a whopping 233 times in the Septuagint (hats off to Blue Letter Bible for these stats). The basic idea is putting on, such as placing the hand upon for divine healing (as Mark employs it six other times). Though the Septuagint sports so many occurrences of epitithēmi, the phrase “epethēken onoma” (or equivalent grammar) only shows up five times. These five occasions shed a boatload of insight!
“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them” (Num 6:23). The Septuagint takes some linguistic liberty with “bless the people of Israel,” adding a second phrase, “give My name upon the people of Israel” to tease out the sense of this blessing.
God did this with Abram. “You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name (epethēkas autō onoma) Abraham” (Neh 9:7).
The last three usages are tied to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.
“And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names [epethēken onomata, plural of onoma]: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego” (Dan 1:7 ESV). Daniel 5:12 echoes this: “…Daniel, whom the king named [epethēken autō onoma] Belteshazzar.”
Now, a drum roll, please. This last usage is worthy of a hundred mic drops! Watch how Mark masterfully integrates a wordplay into his apostles’ roster.
“And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name [epethēken toonoma autou] to Zedekiah” (2 Kings 24:17). Look closely at a Greek letters comparison: Mattaniah (Μαθθανιαν) with Matthew (Μαθθαῖος). Mattaniah means “gift of Yah”; Matthew also means “gift of Yah”!
So King Nebuchadnezzar gave the name Zedekiah, “Yah is righteous,” to replace Mattaniah, “gift of Yah.” Now why would a pagan king, having zero allegiance to Yahweh of the Israelites, give the name Zedekiah, Yah is righteous? He didn’t give Mattaniah a Babylonian name as he did Daniel and his three compatriots. Being a king of an empire, obviously he had political motivations. The 2 Kings 24 context gives us some hints. And it fits perfectly with Mark’s portrait of Jesus seen through the lens of Levi the son of Alphaeus’ metamorphosis into Matthew.
Like a shark Nebuchadnezzar took three bites out of Jerusalem, each subsequent chomp increasingly in severity. 2 Kings 24:10-16 records Nebuchadnezzar’s second attack. The infamous devastation of Jerusalem, the third assault, came under King Zedekiah. In this second shark attack, King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took it captive. He ported King Jehoiachin, all the treasures of his house and the temple, and many thousands of captives away to Babylon. This is when King Nebuchadnezzar placarded over Mattaniah, “gift of Yah,” with Zedekiah, “Yah is righteous.”
In what sense did the king of Babylon mean by “righteous”? It’s right after he conquered Jerusalem, looted its treasures, and deposed its king. The name Zedekiah was a giant billboard constantly reminding this new king and the people that Yahweh is the righteous One who exacts payback on disobedience with righteous judgments! And King Nebuchadnezzar is His enforcer (obviously, since Yahweh gave the city into his hand—duh!) So the new name shifted emphasis from “gift of Yah”—unearned generosity, favor, gratuity—to “Yah is righteous,” a righteousness that exacts punishment for disobedience. The king’s not-so-subtle message was, “You’d better obey God or He will punish you (using me again, wink, wink). If you don’t, I will collect on the debt owed to Yah for your transgressions.” In other words, the name Zedekiah connoted Yah as a tax collector!
Now, what does all this history and Mattaniah/Matthew wordplay mean? Remember why we’ve been here in 2 Kings 24. Mark’s trademark “gave the name” trail of breadcrumbs led us here. The Septuagint’s “gave the name” limited this prerogative to authorities: priests, kings, or Yahweh. The one receiving the new name functioned in a new capacity of privilege, as in the case of Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”). King Nebuchadnezzar gave the name Zedekiah to Mattaniah. From this point onward, he’s Zedekiah.
Mark chapters 2 and 3 highlight Jesus’ authority. He is the Son of Man with authority to forgive sins. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He binds the strong man, Satan, and plunders his house. Jesus is king, appointing twelve apostles to inaugurate a kingdom renewal of the twelve tribes of Israel. So as King Nebuchadnezzar exercised authority to rename men as he willed, so too King Jesus. Among the Twelve, He conferred names of kingdom destiny. He gave the name Peter (“rock”) to Simon and “Sons of Thunder” to James and John.
Now, Mark does not explicitly say that Jesus “gave the name” Matthew to Levi the son of Alphaeus. Nor does he say, “Hey now, Levi is the same guy as Matthew.” He, as does Luke, expects his readers to catch the name swap. Common in the culture then was to have double names (i.e., Paul and Saul), so more than likely Levi and Matthew were given at birth. What Mark does rather is employ here a double entendre, a word or expression that can, like a pun, be understood in two different ways. We’ve seen how Alphaeus, “exchange,” joined with Levi connoted a tax collector exchange. But when Mark lists Levi among the Twelve, he’s Matthew. A quiet exchange took place. It’s an exchange of names.
Let’s regroup on the literary logic here. Mark’s signature “gave the name” is loaded with theological freight. It brings to mind the imagery of King Nebuchadnezzar changing Mattaniah to Zedekiah. Now watch the beauty of how two hyperlinked literary ecosystems mesh with each other. So King Nebuchadnezzar exchanges Mattaniah, “gift of Yah” for Zedekiah, “Yah is righteous” (“tax collector”). King Jesus exchanges Levi, son of Alphaeus (“tax collector”) for Matthew, “gift of Yah”! Wow!! What a glorious reversal!
Jesus emphasizes gift giving, not tax collecting. Jesus remakes the old wineskin of tax collector into the new wineskin of gift giver! Those gifts of God in Matthew were “to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (Mk 3:14-15). “Heal the sick,” Jesus further elaborated, “raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Mt 10:8). God’s kingdom is giving gifts to set people free, not collecting from them burdensome taxes. The new wineskin is following Jesus, not following rules.
Mark, like Luke, places Matthew seventh in the roster of the Twelve. Matthew positions himself eighth. Seven points to sabbath, the day of completion and rest. Jesus called “gift of Yah” to proliferate sabbath benefits in people’s lives—forgiveness, bodily healing, deliverance from demons, and much more. The essence of this kingdom is freely dispensing God’s bounty and freedom, not collecting compliance.
Think about Yahweh’s extravagant mercy! Yahweh, King of Israel, established David’s dynasty to rule forever. Under Zedekiah, though, Judah hit rock bottom. The wrecking ball of Babylon demolished David’s beloved city. The walls came down. Solomon’s grandiose temple was wiped out. The king reigned no more. These severe judgments can impress on our minds an Old Testament God who’s all sternness and wrath. But that’s a woefully incomplete statement about who He is. What Mark’s literary masterpiece does is show Zedekiah as a comma not a period. Mercy triumphs over judgment! Jesus is the son promised to reign forever on David’s throne. Jesus, King of Israel, established kings, qualitatively superior to the former ones, to carry on for Him after He ascended into heaven. Jesus assured these twelve apostles, “…you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt 19:29 CSB). Mattaniah/Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. Levi/Matthew was of the first kings of the renewed Judah!
Think about God’s intricate involvement to script all this. Mattaniah was Josiah’s brother, fathered by Amon, an evil king. Yet God influenced him to name his son Mattaniah. He moved upon pagan King Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to give the name Zedekiah. The hearts of kings are in the hand of the Lord! He moved upon Alphaeus to name his son Levi, and upon Alphaeus’ dad to name him Alphaeus. Had any one of these five names been different, this whole sophisticated wordplay would have fallen apart like a house of cards. Only God! And let’s not forget the Holy Spirit moving Mark to stick this in his Gospel.
One of my earliest impressions of God was of Him knowing my every thought. As a kid I feared to think negatively about anyone lest God retaliate against me in the same way. For example, if I thought someone was ugly, God would make me ugly. I viewed God like a cosmic parking ticket enforcer, eager to collect on any violation. As I’ve immersed my mind in His words over the decades, I see the Lord not as tax collector but as gift giver, extravagantly so! This meditation on Mark’s wordplay has made me reflect on my parenting with my teenage sons. Do I present God more as a tax collector or as God who delights to give gifts? It’s easy to reduce life to compliance to rules for keeping the peace in the home so my wife won’t get on my case. But I wonder if the overall impression my boys have of Jesus is His great mercy and gift-giving heart. I’m still pondering.
There’s good news for all of us here. Maybe you’re going through some tough stuff right now. When things are at their worst, God is silently planning outrageous mercy. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18). Not only that, but what Jesus did for Matthew was not for Matthew alone. Yes, Matthew’s apostleship is unique and unrepeatable. But there are principles in Matthew that are applicable to every Jesus follower. We’re all called to be gift givers on His behalf! However God has uniquely gifted you, may you abound in His grace to dispense bounty and freedom to those in your circle of influence.
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 