ABSTRACT
Matthew is probably best known as the author of the first Gospel. Given how central this Gospel has been historically and theologically, it may come as a surprise to many that Matthew is among the apostles of Jesus whom scholars know the least about. One author even refers to him as the “phantom apostle.”1 However, Edgar J. Goodspeed claims that more is known more about Matthew than any of the other apostles, except possibly Peter.2 While this is likely an overstatement, there is some information about the life and travels of Matthew that enables the critical scholar to make a reasonable inference about the manner of his fate.
