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Name of the first book of the
New Testament and one of the four canonical gospels. It was written
towards the end of the first century and originally
composed in Greek, rather than being a translation from Aramaic or
Hebrew, and in Greek it is known as Kata Matthaion (Κατὰ
Ματθαίον), i.e. ‘According to Matthew’.
It narrates an account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ,
and describes his genealogy, his miraculous birth and childhood, his
baptism and temptation, his ministry of healing and preaching in
Galilee, his trip to Jerusalem, the conflict with the religious leaders and his crucifixion and
resurrection. Early Christian tradition accredits the
gospel to Matthew, one of
Jesus' disciples and a tax collector, who was probably stationed
somewhere on a main trade route near Capernaum, where he would have
collected tolls from traffic for Herod Antipas. Matthew is also called
Levi and was the son of Alphaeus. Later scholars however, have increasingly questioned
that traditional view and today it is assumed that Matthew did not write
the gospel which bears his name, even though it appears in the earliest
manuscripts, as well as being the most quoted of the gospels by the
church fathers. Eusebius,
the early church historian, recorded that it was Papias, the Bishop of
Hieropolis in Phrygia, who was the first to associate the apostle
Matthew with this gospel, in 130 AD. It was not until the 18th century
AD that did the question of authorship become an issue.
The date of its
composition is estimated anywhere from 50 to 70 AD and it is widely
believed that Matthew used the gospel of Mark as a source, reproducing
about 90% of it. Not mentioning the destruction of the temple in the
light of chapter 24, suggests that the author completed the gospel
before AD 70, the date of this important historic event. Because of the Jewish nature, it is assumed that
the gospel was written in either Palestine or Syria. Antioch of Syria is
usually the most favoured, due to the fact that many in the early church
dispersed there and because the earliest reference to it is found in the
Epistle to the Smyrnaeans written by Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch.
Matthew Chapter 1;
2;
3;
4;
5;
6;
7;
8;
9;
10;
11;
12;
13;
14;
15;
16;
17;
18;
19;
20;
21;
22;
23;
24;
25;
26;
27;
28. |
