# Matthew — The Age of Reason character guide

> Matthew in The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** St. Matthew

**First appearance:** 0009-part-i-viii-of-the-new-testament

## Snapshot

The evangelist whose opening genealogy Paine uses as the first crack in the gospel edifice — twenty-eight generations from David that Luke flatly contradicts.

## Who they are

Matthew is Paine's Exhibit A: a gospel that begins by staking everything on a lineage from David through Joseph, then supplies a list that shares almost no names with Luke's. Paine's logic is merciless — agreement would not prove truth, but disagreement proves falsehood absolutely — and Matthew's account of Judas returning the thirty pieces of silver is later contradicted by Luke's Acts, where Judas keeps the money and buys the field himself. Matthew matters because he is where Paine's method first bites: if the gospels cannot be trusted in the very first thing they set out to prove, they are not entitled to be believed in anything afterward.

## Relationships

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_professional_

Matthew is one of Jesus's apostles and gospel writer, documenting his teachings and ministry.

### [Mark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/mark)

_professional_

Mark and Matthew are both gospel writers and apostles, sharing the task of documenting Jesus's life.

### [Joseph le Bon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/joseph_le_bon)

_rivalry_

Joseph le Bon, a radical revolutionary, clashes with Matthew's religious authority and traditionalism.

### [John the Baptist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/john_the_baptist)

_professional_

John the Baptist is a prophetic figure whose ministry precedes and overlaps with Matthew's apostolic work.

### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/eve)

_family_

Eve is the matriarch of humanity, and Matthew traces Jesus's genealogy back to her through the Old Testament.

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_professional_

Matthew is one of Jesus's apostles and gospel writer, documenting his teachings and ministry.

### [Joseph le Bon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/joseph_le_bon)

_rivalry_

Joseph le Bon, a radical revolutionary, clashes with Matthew's religious authority and traditionalism.

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_professional_

Matthew is one of Jesus's apostles and gospel writer, documenting his teachings and ministry.

## In the story

### [II: The New Testament](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-ii-ii-the-new-testament)

Attributed author of a Gospel; Paine contrasts Matthew's genealogy of Jesus with Luke's, showing irreconcilable differences.

### [An Examination of the Passages in the New Testament](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-iii-an-examination-of-the-passages-in-the-new-testament)

Gospel writer whose passages are examined and found to be false or misapplied.

### [The Book of Luke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-iii-the-book-of-luke)

Author of the Gospel of Matthew, whose account Paine contrasts with Luke's.

### [Contradictory Doctrines Between Matthew and Mark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-iii-contradictory-doctrines-between-matthew-and-mark)

Author of the Gospel that emphasizes salvation through good works.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/matthew
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters