Matthew

Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, the promised king through whom God’s purposes come into focus. His teaching, healing, death, and resurrection announce God’s kingdom and call people to a changed life. The Gospel begins with Jesus as God with us and ends with his promise to remain with his followers as they make disciples among all nations.

What kind of book is this?

A gospel is an account of Jesus' life and significance; the word means good news. Matthew combines narrative, teaching, and interpretation of Scripture. It selects and arranges material to make an argument about Jesus, rather than offering a diary of everything he did. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels: their stories can be viewed together because they share so much material.

Author, setting, and sources

Early Christian tradition attributes this Gospel to Matthew, the tax collector named among Jesus' twelve apostles. The narrative itself does not identify its author. Most scholars think its writer used Mark's Gospel and other traditions, although explanations of those sources differ. Many date its composition approximately to 80–90 CE, after Rome destroyed Jerusalem's Temple in 70; earlier and later dates are also defended. CE means Common Era.

The author's strong engagement with Jewish Scripture suggests a community deeply involved in debates about Israel's traditions and Jesus. Antioch in Syria is often proposed as its setting, but neither the location nor the precise makeup of its audience is certain. These are historical inferences, rather than information supplied by an author's introduction.

A map for reading

Stories alternate with five substantial teaching collections, often called discourses. This pattern helps readers follow the book without assuming every speech was delivered as one continuous address.

• Chapters 1–4: Ancestry, birth, baptism, testing, and the beginning of Jesus' public work.
• Chapters 5–7: The Sermon on the Mount, about life under God's rule.
• Chapters 8–10: Healings and encounters, followed by instructions for the disciples' mission.
• Chapters 11–13: Disputes and responses to Jesus, followed by stories about God's kingdom.
• Chapters 14–18: Jesus' identity, his approaching suffering, and teaching about community and forgiveness.
• Chapters 19–25: The journey to Jerusalem, confrontation there, and teaching about watchfulness and judgment.
• Chapters 26–28: The last meal, arrest, execution, burial, resurrection, and the disciples' commission.

Words that open up the story

Messiah means anointed one; Christ is the Greek equivalent, a title rather than Jesus' surname. Matthew presents Jesus as the promised king associated with David. The family tree includes women whose stories bring difficult circumstances and unexpected turns into the account of Jesus’ ancestry. The magi, visitors associated with eastern wisdom and astrology, recognize a king whom Herod fears.

The kingdom of heaven means God's reign: God's authority becoming effective in human life, with an expected future completion. It is more than a destination after death. A disciple is a learner or apprentice. A parable is a story or comparison that invites reflection and can challenge familiar assumptions. To fulfill Scripture, in Matthew's telling, includes bringing its promises, patterns, and purposes to expression in Jesus; it is more than matching isolated predictions.

One passage to read slowly

Read Matthew 5:17–48 in the NRSVUE. Jesus places his teaching in relation to the Law and the Prophets, meaning Israel's Scriptures. Torah means instruction, including the law associated with Moses. Notice how the teaching moves from murder toward anger and reconciliation, then toward truthfulness and love for enemies. Ethics reaches beyond avoiding punishable acts into habits, motives, and relationships. The debate happens within Jewish life; it does not establish a contrast between a merciful Jesus and a supposedly loveless Judaism.

Conflict, death, and the ending

Matthew 23's fierce criticism of religious leaders and the crowd's words in 27:25 have been used to justify hostility toward Jewish people. They cannot legitimately assign collective or inherited guilt. Jesus and his first followers were Jewish; the execution was Roman crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. Read these contested passages in their narrative and historical contexts, without turning named opponents into representatives of every Jew.

The resurrection brings Matthew’s account of Jesus to its decisive conclusion. Historical study can examine the testimony and how belief in the resurrection developed. The Christian affirmation that God raised Jesus also expresses a belief about God’s action in history. The ending commissions disciples to teach people of all nations. It joins worldwide scope to Jesus' promised presence, rather than ending with his followers' perfect understanding.

Questions for reading

1. How do Matthew's opening stories shape your expectations of a king?
2. Where does Jesus' teaching ask for more than outward compliance?
3. How does the promise of God’s presence connect the beginning and ending of Matthew?