christian@topaz.UUCP (04/05/87)
>Subject: Re: More Questions on Christianity< >Luke, the physician, and Matthew, the tax collector, were a members of >the "crew." So I would conclude from Luke's profession that he was a >scholar. By studing the book of Matthew and examining the style in >which it is written, one can conclude that Matthew was an Old >Testament scholar. (N.B. the references to O.T.) Luke wasn't one of the 12 disciples. He actually didn't even meet Jesus. He only knew him by the info given to him by Paul. Matthew was indeed a tax collector. This is an important fact since in those times the tax collectors and the whores were the lowest class in Judea and Galilee. Tax collector was another title for a sinner. It's VERY unlikely that a sinner would be an OT scholar in those times. There are certain places in the NT where Jesus or the society refers to the tax collectors as sinners. The fact remains as it is: The "crew"'s members weren't too educated.