The Gospel According to Matthew

The books in the Bible were not written in the order in which they appear.  Although Matthew is the first Gospel in the New Testament, it was actually written after the Gospel of Mark.  Based on evidence in the Gospel itself and references to the Gospel of Matthew in other ancient writings, it is estimated that Matthew was written in the 80’s CE.  In the first couple of centuries of the Church’s history, Matthew’s Gospel was the most widely used of all the Gospels.  As you read through the Gospel, you will see that this Gospel focuses on the church itself and, therefore, it was an excellent source for the early faith communities to use as they struggled to determine how they would act and serve as a faith community.  In addition, this Gospel often has Jesus offering very practical instruction about how Christians should live their lives:  Love your enemies (5:44); you can’t serve God and possessions (6:24); don’t judge (7:1).  It is important to note that, for Matthew, these instructions were for those who had already received and accepted God’s gracious call. 

As you read this Gospel, you will note that this writer is writing to a predominately Jewish community who are followers of Jesus.  In addition, the community he is writing to has apparently experienced rejection from the local Jewish synagogue community.  In Matthew, there is a heightened negative presentation of both the synagogue and the religious leaders.  For example, in the Gospel of Mark, Peter addresses Jesus as “Rabbi” twice but in Matthew the term is not used except in a negative way (see Matthew 23:6-7).  Most scholars would agree that Matthew’s faith community has been kicked out of their local synagogue for professing Jesus as the Messiah.  It is important, however, to remember that the Gospel of Matthew is not anti-Jewish.  The author and those to whom he writes are Jewish.  They may have been involved in a religious disagreement, but they were still faithful Jews. 

Lastly, as you read the Gospel, take note of its missional approach.  For this Gospel writer, it is very important to understand that the church does not exist for itself.  God’s plan for salvation includes all people (see 1:21).  In fact, according to Matthew, Jesus begins his ministry in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (4:15).  In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, he includes three Gentile women:  Tamar (1:3), Rahab (1:5), and Ruth (1:5).  Matthew desires us to know that God’s purposes extend beyond Israel.  This Gospel even includes three Gentile visitors form the East who come to worship Jesus after his birth (2:1-2).

As you read through Matthew’s Gospel, keep all of this in mind and remember that this is just one of the stories of the life of Jesus.

Shortened version of the overview:

As I read the Gospel of Matthew, I understand it to be a story of Jesus’ life that is intended to be counter-cultural.  It was probably written in the 80’s (roughly 50 years after the death and Resurrection of Jesus).  As a narrative written to a specific community, it stands/speaks over against the status quo of both the Roman Empire and the dominant religious leadership of its day.  The audience that Matthew is writing to is predominately Jewish, and it appears that this community has been kicked out of its synagogue community.  Matthew defines the community’s identity and lifestyle as one that is centered on Jesus and the story constructs an alternative worldview.  The Gospel challenges its community to live its life in resistance to the dominant culture and to be missional.  Jesus never promises this way of life will be easy in this hostile environment, but he does promise to return to establish God’s reign and salvation in full. 

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