Matthew, Gospel according to: 1. The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an apostle
of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the Gospel of Christ
according to his own plans and aims, and from his own point of
view, as did also the other "evangelists."2. As to the time of its composition, there is little in the Gospel
itself to indicate. It was evidently written before the destruction
of Jerusalem
(Matthew 24:1)ff and some time after the events it
records. The probability is that it was written between the years
A.D. 60 and 65
3. The cast of thought and the forms of expression employed by the
writer show that this Gospel was written for Jewish Christians of
Palestine. His great object is to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was
the promised Messiah, and that in him the ancient prophecies had
their fulfilment. The Gospel is full of allusions to those passages
of the Old Testament in which Christ is predicted and foreshadowed.
The one aim prevading the whole book is to show that Jesus is he
"of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write." This Gospel
contains no fewer than sixty-five references to the Old Testament,
forty-three of these being direct verbal citations, thus greatly
outnumbering those found in the other Gospels. The main feature of
this Gospel may be expressed in the motto, "I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil."
4. As to the language in which this Gospel was written there is much
controversy. Many hold, in accordance with old tradition, that it
was originally written in Hebrew (i.e., the Aramaic or Syro-Chaldee
dialect, then the vernacular of the inhabitants of Palestine), and
afterwards translated into Greek, either by Matthew himself or by
some person unknown. This theory, though earnestly maintained by
able critics, we cannot see any ground for adopting. From the first
this Gospel in Greek was received as of authority in the Church.
There is nothing in it to show that it is a translation. Though
Matthew wrote mainly for the Jews, yet they were everywhere
familiar with the Greek language. The same reasons which would have
suggested the necessity of a translation into Greek would have led
the evangelist to write in Greek at first. It is confessed that
this Gospel has never been found in any other form than that in
which we now possess it.
5. The leading characteristic of this Gospel is that it sets forth the
kingly glory of Christ, and shows him to be the true heir to
David's throne. It is the Gospel of the kingdom. Matthew uses the
expression "kingdom of heaven" (thirty-two times), while Luke uses
the expression "kingdom of God" (thirty-three times). Some
Latinized forms occur in this Gospel, as kodrantes
(Matthew 5:26) for
the Latin quadrans, and phragello
(Matthew 27:26) for the Latin
flagello. It must be remembered that Matthew was a tax-gatherer
for the Roman government, and hence in contact with those using the
Latin language.
6. As to the relation of the Gospels to each other, we must maintain
that each writer of the synoptics (the first three) wrote
independently of the other two, Matthew being probably first in
point of time. "Out of a total of 1071 verses, Matthew has
387 in common with Mark and Luke,
130 with Mark,
184 with Luke
387 being peculiar to itself."
(See MARK)
(See LUKE)
(See GOSPELS)
7. The book is fitly divided into these four parts:
a. Containing the genealogy, the birth, and the infancy of Jesus
(Matthew 1:1-2:23)
b. The discourses and actions of John the Baptist preparatory to
Christ's public ministry
(Matthew 3:1-4:11)
c. The discourses and actions of Christ in Galilee
(Matthew 4:12-20:16)
d. The sufferings, death and resurrection of our Lord
(Matthew 20:17-28)
