It was written by matthew levi, the disciple of christ around 4850 a. When jesus called matthew to follow him, he was a tax collector or publicanone of the most reviled professions in ancient judaism. This is matthew s chance to give his unique perspective to the tale of jesus life, death, and resurrection. It tells of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of jesus of nazareth.
The original audience may have been the church in antioch of syria. Consequently, matthew s gospel could have reasonably been written anywhere between ad 55 and ad 60. According to theologians, the gospels of matthew and luke were written after the gospel of mark. But the context of the whole gospel of matthew further informs how we should read this passage, especially because it is the conclusion of the gospel and readers would have finished the rest of this gospel by the time they reach it.
Matthew is the first book of the new testament and was written by the apostle matthew also known as levi. Intro to matthew biblica the international bible society. He records the coming of the magi nonjews to worship the infant jesus 2. What is the historical background of matthews gospel. Whenever matthew agrees with mark, the sequence and words in. A significant change had occurred in the concept of the coming of the messiah and the attending circumstances and results of that great event. Learn key facts and major themes from the first book in the new testament. The key word in matthew is kingdom and is used 28 times. This summary of the gospel of matthew provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the gospel of matthew.
This date allows time for matthew to have access to marks gospel, and suggests that he completed the gospel before the destruction of the temple in ad 70, because it would seem strange for the author not to mention this event in light of chapter 24. While matthew did not sign his own name to his gospel, the early church uniformly attested to the apostles authorship of the book. Matthew chapter 24 explained discover the 66 books of. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of matthew in the bible new international version. Morison professor of new testament studies and winn professor of ecclesiastical history harvard divinity. According to theologians, the gospels of matthew and. Introduction from the niv study bible go to matthew. Matthew seems to anticipate the future destruction of jerusalem in a. Gospel according to matthew, first of the four new testament gospels and, with mark and luke, one of the three socalled synoptic gospels. In his day, tax collectors were considered to be in the same class of society as harlots, thieves and murderers. When jesus showed them the temple, what did he say about it.
When we turn to matthew, we turn to the book which may well be called the most important single document of the christian faith, for in it we have the fullest and the most. Matthew the apostle was a tax collector for herod antipas. Matthew 4 background information with maps and images. As we come today to the gospel of matthew, id like to bridge the gap between the old testament and the new testament because, in order to appreciate and to have a right. Matthew was probably written in the late 50s or early 60s a. Introduction the gospel according to matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the new testament. Every page of matthews gospel is steeped in this theme of promise. In the first 18 chapters, matthew highlights the kingdom theme, leading him to depart from a chronological arrangement. The book of matthew is the first gospel an account of jesus life and ministry in the new testament. In matthew, jesus teaches people what it means to be part of his kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Deacon gary hoover provides background information to help us better understand this gospel. What questions did the disciples ask jesus on the mount of olives 6. Matthew, surnamed levi, before his conversion was a publican, or taxgatherer under the romans at capernaum. In his history of the church, bishop eusebius also recorded some of the fragments from origens commentaries on matthew.
Introduction to the gospel of matthew study resources. The gospel of matthew is another structurally significant book in the bible because it helps readers transition from the old testament to the new. These are all of the chapters of the book of matthew. The gospel of matthew is the first of the three synoptic gospels of the new testament the others are mark and luke. Matthew 3 1 and in those days cometh john the baptist, preaching in the wilderness of judaea, saying, 2 repent ye. The contents of this gospel, and the evidence of ancient writers, show that it was written primarily for the use of the jewish nation.
It was written by a greekspeaking gentile, in a community of other greekspeaking gentile christians. This does not deny the coming earthly kingdom, but explains the principles of gods kingdom. Our first stop is a little book called the gospel according to matthew. Strongs exhaustive concordance of the bible, numbered to the hebrew, chaldee, and greek, and english, coded to the strongs concordance numbers.
While the book possesses the same skeleton as the other gospels mark, luke, and john, it offers its own unique view of jesus. It is important for us to understand some background information so that we can understand what is going on in matthew 18 better. The story of the storytellers the gospel of matthew from jesus. The book of the prophet daniel in the hebrew bible is an excellent example of jewish apocalypticism. Matthew intro to matthew biblica the international bible society. The background out of which the gospel of matthew comes is judaism which had undergone a vast doctrinal development during the four hundred years of the interbiblical period.
However, the number of scholars who hold matthean priority is increasing. The gospel according to matthew matthew sparknotes. Like the other gospels, the main purpose of matthew s book was to record the life and teachings of jesus. It tells how israels messiah, rejected and executed in israel, pronounces judgement on israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles. As explained above, they hold this view because they believe it is more probable that matthew and luke drew from and expanded on mark, than that mark condensed matthew and luke. In fact, genesis and matthew are the two key books of the bible. This is a title describing the deity of the person of the son of. Whenever matthew agrees with mark, the sequence and words in the greek language are almost identical. This is why in the gospel according to mark and luke he is identified as levi. Book of matthew overview insight for living ministries.
The opening genealogy is designed to document christs credentials as israels king, and the rest of the book completes this theme. However, the last ten chapters 19 to 28 generally follow a chronological sequence. Matthew was the first one to write the good news in book form, somewhere between the years 4050 a. D he wrote it in aramaic for the jews in palestine who used that language. The question which naturally arises is whether or not matthew is the author of the gospel which bears his name. Matthew s gospel is largely based on marks gospel and includes 600 of the 666 verses in mark. The book of matthew background and why it was written. He is generally allowed to have written his gospel before any other of the evangelists. Even jesus death by crucifixion, a punishment typically. Although the first gospel is anonymous, the early church fathers were unanimous in holding that matthew, one of the 12 apostles, was its author. Outline 1 the temptation of jesus jesus dwells in capernaum 17 jesus begins to. Matthews signature phrase the kingdom of heaven occurs 32 times in this book and nowhere else in all of scripture. Even jesus death by crucifixion, a punishment typically reserved for political rebellion, suggests the threat he presents to the roman authorities. The weight of evidence is that the gospel of matthew was not written in a jewish cultural environment.
The apostle matthew, also known as saint matthew and levi, was one of the twelve disciples of jesus christ. Matthew was a publican, or a tax collector, when the lord called him to become one of his disciples. When christ taught of the coming earthly kingdom, he taught that its foundation was righteousness matt. Later on this gospel, whose original text in aramaic was lost, was translated to greek. Introduction to the book of matthew learn religions. New testament summaries and outlines gracelife 2018. Matthew also called levi, the former tax collector who became jesus disciple, is the author. When jesus went out from the temple, who came to him. Matthew shows that christ is the heir of the kingly line. Though this is a possibility, matthew shows no slavish dependence on mark. Chapter 2 matthew chapter 1 matthew chapter 1 the genealogy of jesus thebookofthegenerationofjesuschrist,thesonofdavid, thesonofabraham.
This summary of the gospel of matthew provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the gospel of matthew. Its interesting to note that matthew, mark, and luke were all written about a generation after jesus death and resurrection. If mark was the source of matthew, then a later date closer to a. What is the cultural background of matthews gospel answers. If you do not understand when, how, which, to who and why certain words are used in the bible, you will end up with a pretext a guess work of what the bible is saying. Background on the gospel of matthew before we start with matthew 18, i want to give yall some basic information on the book of matthew as a whole. As with many books in the bible, an exact date of writing is hard to figure out. This does not mean, however, that matthew restricts his gospel to jews. Its members included jewish and gentile christians. Historical context for matthew the core curriculum. Matthew was knowledgeable of jewish, greek, and roman culture and would be able to speak in aramaic and greek as well as hebrew. Matthew 5 background information with maps and images.
Jesus fasts for 40 days and is tempted by the devil, jesus begins his public ministry, jesus calls his first disciples, jesus heals the sick. Over 40 percent of matthew s gospel account is not found in any other gospel. The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelists community and the other jews, particularly with its sharp. The gospel according to matthew is the first book of the new testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. Matthew in the picture study bible the book of matthew. Gospel by matthews, gospel by mark, gospel by luke and the gospel by john. The books of reference used for this study of the book of matthew were the bible, king james version, called the companion bible, publisher kregel. He also gives a full statement of the great commission 28. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the gospel of matthew. A significant change had occurred in the concept of the coming of the messiah and. As i have stated before, matthew was one of the 12 apostles. Matthew and was composed in greek, probably sometimes after 70 ce, and borrows heavily from the earlier gospel according to mark. The book of matthew has always occupied a position of high esteem in the faith and life of the church.