In the Gospel of Matthew, the tax collector Jesus called to follow him was Matthew.
Matthew 9:9 describes Jesus seeing a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth and saying, “Follow me.” Matthew then rose and followed him. The passage continues with a meal attended by tax collectors and other people, prompting criticism from some Pharisees.
The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke describe a closely related calling, but they name the tax collector Levi rather than Matthew. Christian tradition has generally identified Matthew with Levi, although scholars discuss how the names relate and whether the texts preserve different traditions.
Matthew later appears in lists of the Twelve Apostles. Christian tradition also connects him with the Gospel of Matthew, though modern scholarship treats the Gospel’s authorship as anonymous rather than proven to belong to the apostle himself. Zacchaeus, another tax collector in Luke, is a separate person whom Jesus meets in Jericho.