Gospel of Matthew

Another emphasis in Matthew’s gospel is the portrayal of Jesus as the Messiah. The genealogy opening of the gospel is designed to show how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Messiah (Hebrew for the Greek term “Christ”) promised to the Jewish people. The title “Son of David” designating Jesus as the restorer of Israel […]

The content of the gospel of Mathew may be easily divided in five discourses framed by the infancy narratives in the beginning, and the passion narrative at the end. The first element of the gospel I would like to discuss is the “Jewishness” of the text. The Jewish encyclopedia states: “the gospel of Matthew stands […]

The traditional attribution of the gospel authorship to Matthew occurred as early as the latter half of the 2nd century, with the bishop Papias writing around 125 AD: “Matthew arranged in order the sayings in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted/translated as he was able” (Brown 209) While much as been discussed regarding Papias’ […]

Tradition accords the Gospel of Matthew the primacy of order due to a variety of factors. One reason was that it was attributed to a disciple of Jesus, and thus it carried a great authority in the nascent church. Secondly, the content of the gospel itself was highly regarded (it contains highly -regarded material, such […]