The Gospel of Matthew

Fast Facts on Matthew

Length

28 chapters

Probable author

The Apostle Matthew, a tax collector (Mt 9:9-13)

Date

Jewishness may indicate early date of 50s AD, but if Matthew used Mark as a source, the date could be anywhere between late 50s and 80s AD.

Place of Origin

Palestine or Syrian Antioch

Recipients

Jews

Purpose

To demonstrate that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah

Structure

Organized around five great discourses of Jesus (chs. 5-7; ch. 10; ch. 13; ch. 18; chs. 24-25), with a prologue and epilogue.

Emphases

Jesus as Messiah; OT quotations; Jesus' Davidic lineage

Early references

"Matthew put together the oracles of the Lord in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could." (Papias, Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord, c. 120 AD)

"Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.1, c. 180 AD)

"Among the four gospels... I have learned by tradition that first was written that according to Matthew, who was once a tax collector but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, who published it for those who from Judaism came to believe, composed as it was in the Hebrew language." (Origin (c. 185-254 AD), Commentary on Matthew, quoted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.25.4)


Bible Commentaries on Matthew

Commentaries on the Book of Matthew (link goes to Amazon)

Sources

  1. Kenneth Barker, ed., The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan, 1985), pp. 1440-41.
  2. David W. Bercot, ed., A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers (Hendrickson, 1998).

Online Text of the Gospel of Matthew

Online Guides to the Gospel of Matthew

Books on the Gospel of Matthew

Outlines of the book of Matthew

From bible.org click here.

From catholicdoors.com click here.

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The Gospel of Matthew