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The Gospel According to Matthew

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MATTHEW

The most widely used gospelin the Church

Has been considered the first

gospel not only in the list of theNT books, but in importanceas well

Its place at the beginning of thecanon means that it is probablythe most frequently read of allthe NT writings

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CONTENT

The Lords Prayer (Ch. 6)

The Beatitudes (Ch. 5ff)

The Account of the Wise Men from the East(Ch. 2)

The Narrative of the Last Judgment (Ch. 25)

Jesus addressing Peter as the rock on whichthe Church will be built (Mt. alone)

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CHARACTERISTICS

Among the synoptics, Matthew is the gospel

that stresses the continuity between the old

and the new law. Matthew is the gospel

fulfillmentThis was to fulfill what the Lord

has spoke by the prophet(occurs 10x)

Example: Mt. :22, 23/Is 7:14 (Jesus born of a

virgin)

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CHARACTERISTICS

A teaching gospelMatthew wants to present

Jesus as second Moses, greater far than the

first lawgiver of Israel

Of the four gospels, it is solely Matthew

whom mentioned the word Church on two

occasions (16:18 and 18:17)You are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my Church, andthe gates of hell will not prevail against it.

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CHARACTERISTICS

It is only in Matthew where

we read the disputes or

conflicts are to be settled bythe church. If the member

refuses to listen to them, tell

it to the church(18:17)

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THE EVANGELIST

Authorship Matthew theapostle?The author seems to have

relied heavily on Marksgospel

By the year 85-90 CE/AD,the apostle Matthew would

probably have been dead

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THE EVANGELIST

The concerns or thetheological outlook of thisgospel are those of secondgeneration Christians (thefirst generation were verymuch preoccupied withthe imminent coming ofthe Lord)

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The Real Author Can Never be Identified

Internal evidence says, the author wasprobably a Jewish Christian convert of

the second generation after Jesus

He must have undergone rabbinic

schooling because of his familiarity withJewish law and traditions, prophets, andMessianic expectations

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The Real Author Can Never be Identified

The author knew Greek language very

well and at home with literary formsand methods of his time

He was probably a converted Jewishrabbi

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Why such a conclusion?

A rabbinic mode ofthinking and arguing: He isvery fond of stereotyping

and using formulaquotations (He is the onlyevangelist who uses theterms Kingdom ofHeaven (an expressioncommon to the rabbis)while his source used

Kingdom of God.

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Why such a conclusion?

He expanded the simple

form of address, Father

(Lk 11:2) to Our Fatherwho art in heaven (6:9)

He replaced Jerusalem

with Holy City (4:5)contrary to Luke 4:9 (Q)

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Why such a conclusion?

He repeatedly used the

formulae, When Jesus

finished saying thesethingsand All this took to

place to fulfill what the

Lord had spoken throughthe prophet throughout

the gospel.

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MATTHEW

His terms are Jewish in tone: Kingdom of

Heaven, righteousness, sons of God,

Your heavenly Father, day of judgment

His pictures of Jesus: Son of Abraham,

Messiah, or Coming One, Son of David,King of the Jews

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HIS READERS

Jewish Christians

(because of his

frequent

reference to the

Jewish scriptures

and traditions)

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HIS READERS

An established urban

community, relatively

wealthy (use of termslike gold, silver and

talents)

Written in Antioch of

Syria (present-day

Turkey)

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THE LANGUAGE

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DATE OFCOMPOSITION

Written after the

destruction of

Jerusalem (85-90

CE/AD)