Overview of the Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew, also known as Levi. Matthew was a former tax collector who would go on to join Jesus during his ministry as a disciple. This Gospel was likely written in the late 50s or early 60s.

Matthew was one of the most popular books of the early church. The Gospel of Matthew identified Jesus as the one true King and would bring about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew also paints a clear picture of discipleship. A disciple is any person that submits to the teaching of another. In the New Testament, it refers to those who submitted to the teachings of Jesus. More specifically it refers to those who traveled with Jesus during his ministry.

The audience of Matthew is clearly Jewish. Because there are so many Jewish themes throughout this Gospel, it is obvious that the primary audience was Jewish-Christians. It is focused more than the other Gospels on how Jesus is the King who the Jewish people had waited on and who came as an answer to the fall that had cursed creation. The restoration of creation is announced in Jesus’ own words: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17). It is also illustrated in Jesus’ work as he worked many miracles and reconciled people to God through forgiveness of sins.

Included in Matthew is five major discourses, including the Sermon on the Mount, the commissioning of the apostles, the parables about the kingdom, a discourse about the childlikeness of believers, and the discourse on the second coming. Some have suggested a parallel between these five discourses and the five books of Moses in the Old Testament, the Pentateuch.