MATTHEW – INTRODUCTION

The December-February quarterly in Lifeway's Explore the Bible series jumps from the first book of the Bible to the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel According to Matthew. As in the last quarterly, this new one takes only the first half of the book, and in this case it's a great thing. You could easily take a full quarter on the sermon on the mount, if not just the beatitudes!

This essay covers the introduction to Matthew. Later this week, I will add notes on next Sunday's lesson, the arrival of John the Baptist.

After the resurrection of Jesus, the day of  Pentecost, and thousands converted, the new church continued to preach Christ. Peter's sermon is a good example of that first Gospel presentation. Note that it leans heavily on the Old Testament, linking Jesus's ministry to the history of the Jews and God's dealing with them. Since the New Testament had not yet been written, the OT was all the scripture they had, The gospel of Matthew continues to point out the relation of Jesus to the ancient covenant and prophesies. I have  a Greek New Testament that prints OT quotes in bold-faced type. Much of Matthew is in bold-face, just as red letter Bibles show much of John in red type. Not only are the prophecies bold, but many sayings of Jesus are also bold, reflecting his knowledge of Scripture.

In addition to preaching, people told stories about Jesus (“I remember the time He...). They also quoted sayings they remembered. That society had few writing materials, and relatively few could read, so their memories became far better than ours. Still, many could read and write, and I'm sure some wrote down Jesus's teachings. Both the sayings and the writings got passed around, told and re-told, copied and re-copied.

As time passed, that first generation of Christians began to die out. People became concerned that the memories would fade with each generation. Plus, as the gospel spread over the world, there were not enough first-hand witnesses to go around to each church and location. So a written record became necessary, even imperative.

One church father, early in the second century, tells us that Mark wrote first, recording the preaching of Simon Peter. Matthew perhaps wrote next, the father said in Aramaic, with a Jewish audience in mind. Today, most scholars see Mark as forming a spine-like framework from which Matthew and Luke follow in their outline. Each has his own separate material though, and Matthew and Luke share a common source of Jesus's sayings known as Q (from German “Quelle,” source).
Each has its own emphasis. Mark is an action gospel, “straitway,” “immediately,” or “next” seem to recur in many verses. Luke tells more compassionate stories, lifting up women and the weak. He relates the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, and other parables.

As mentioned already, Matthew emphasizes the Jewish heritage, but also contains more teaching. The Sermon on the Mount covers three chapters that must replicate many of Jesus's teaching sessions. We don't get to it in this quarterly, but all four gospels from the beginning aim toward the cross and the resurrection as the heart of their story. I'll try to point out as we go along that the reflection of the cross can be seen all through the book.

Traditionally Matthew is the author, and some early manuscripts include his name. The work itself, however, doesn't name the author. We remember Matthew, also called Levi, as the tax collector Jesus called to follow him. Without question, he left his business, threw a party for Jesus, and became his disciple. He would have been an educated man and capable of writing such a gospel.

All sorts of dates have been suggested from about 60 all the way to 100. One writer I read recently thought the destruction of the temple in 70AD led the Jews to scatter and also resulted in the gospels being written. I prefer to think Mark wrote about 55 and Matthew and Luke ten or fifteen years later after reading Mark and feeling led to add other materials. Most believe John wrote last near the end of the century.