Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew[note 1] is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people (the Jews) but is rejected by them and how, after his resurrection, he sends the disciples to the gentiles instead.[3] Matthew wishes to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile.[4][5] The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees[6] with the position that through their rejection of Christ, the Kingdom of God has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.[7]
For the film, see The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film).The gospel is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Matthew. According to predominant scholarly views, it was written in the last quarter of the first century by an anonymous Jew familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture.[8][9]
Structure and content[edit]
Structure: narrative and discourses[edit]
Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished"[35] (see Five Discourses of Matthew). Some scholars see in this a deliberate plan to create a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament; others see a three-part structure based around the idea of Jesus as Messiah, a set of weekly readings spread out over the year, or no plan at all.[36] Davies and Allison, in their widely used commentary, draw attention to the use of "triads" (the gospel groups things in threes),[37] and R. T. France, in another influential commentary, notes the geographic movement from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, with the post-resurrection appearances in Galilee as the culmination of the whole story.[38]
Theology[edit]
Christology[edit]
Christology is the theological doctrine of Christ, "the affirmations and definitions of Christ's humanity and deity".[54] There are a variety of Christologies in the New Testament, albeit with a single centre—Jesus is the figure in whom God has acted for mankind's salvation.[55]
Matthew has taken key Christological texts from Mark, but has sometimes changed the stories found in Mark, giving evidence of his own concerns.[56] The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles), and the Jewish messiah is sent to Israel alone.[30] As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware.[31] As Son of God he is named Immanuel ('God with us'),[57] God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example.[32]
Relationship with the Jews[edit]
Matthew's prime concern was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile.[4] This concern lies behind the frequent citations of Jewish scripture, the evocation of Jesus as the new Moses along with other events from Jewish history, and the concern to present Jesus as fulfilling, not destroying, the Law.[58] Matthew must have been aware of the tendency to distort Paul's teaching of the law no longer having power over the New Testament Christian into antinomianism, and addressed Christ's fulfilling of what the Israelites expected from the "Law and the Prophets" in an eschatological sense, in that he was all that the Old Testament had predicted in the Messiah.[59]
The gospel has been interpreted as reflecting the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees.[6] It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgment on Israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles.[60] Prior to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews are referred to as Israelites—the honorific title of God's chosen people. After it, they are called Ioudaios (Jews), a sign that—due to their rejection of the Christ—the "Kingdom of Heaven" has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.[7]
