The Gospel of Matthew is the first of the four canonical Gospels and the one that opens the New Testament. Addressed primarily to readers of Jewish culture, it presents Jesus as the Messiah announced by the Scriptures, heir to the promise made to Abraham and David. It opens with a carefully constructed genealogy and unfolds around five great discourses, including the famous Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew gives an important place to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, to the ethical teachings of Jesus, to the birth and childhood of the Messiah, and to the conflicts with the religious authorities of his time, notably the Pharisees.
The articles in this section examine the literary and theological particularities of this Gospel, its context of composition, its narrative structure, and its major themes: the Kingdom of Heaven, the new Law, the parables, and the mission entrusted to the disciples.
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The Gospel of Matthew is the work of the apostle, a former tax collector from Capernaum, chosen by the Twelve to record their collective testimony. He seeks to show…