Gospel of Matthew

Matthew’s Gospel… Known as the first Gospel. Mark was written first, but Matthew appears in the Bible first. –Early Christians believed it was written by Jesus’ Apostles. –Well-ordered and contains detailed teaching lessons. –Emphasis on fulfillment of O.T. prophecy. Which makes it a great link between O.T. and N.T.

Lord’s Prayer It is Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer that we memorize and pray.

Why people doubt Matthew was not the first gospel written. 1. Contains about 80% of Mark’s gospel. –Matthew improves Marks gospel by eliminating difficult phrases and double expressions by writing more coherently. –Matthew removes any parts that makes Jesus or the Apostles look “bad.” –Matthew also writes more reverentially about Jesus and stresses the miraculous element found in Mark’s Gospel.

Why people doubt Matthew was not the first gospel written. 2. Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Greek for predominantly Greek- speaking Jewish Christian Church, probably in Antioch in Syria, sometime between 80 to 85 AD.

They also thought the original gospel was written with Aramaic sayings, and what appears in the Bible does not. The author may have known the Apostle Matthew or used a source of sayings originally written in Aramaic.

Evidence the gospel was written for a predominantly Jewish Christian audience. Author of Matthew assumes that his audience knows Jewish customs Pg.141

Evidence the gospel was written for a predominantly Jewish Christian audience. The author uses “Kingdom of heaven” rather than “Kingdom of God,” because Jews held God’s name as most sacred and would not pronounce it pg. 141

Evidence the gospel was written for a predominantly Jewish Christian audience. Like the Gospel, Jewish writings also contained infancy narratives with genealogies. The author of Matthew compares Jesus to Moses

To compose his Gospel, the author of Matthew drew on the Gospel of Mark; the sayings source of “Q”, which Matthew arranges into sermon discourses; and his own unique sources (designated “M”.)

Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the O.T., he strongly reminds his readers that Jesus commands his disciples to spread the Gospel to all the nations.

Themes in Matthew’s Gospel 1. Judgment Second coming of Christ We should always be ready for the Lord’s return. 2. Jesus is Emmanuel 3. Discipleship * more than lip service, requires humility, rejection and even suffering. Pg. 142

Themes in Matthew’s Gospel 4. Church * Only gospel where the word “church” (ekklesia) appears. Church refers to….. 5. Right Instruction * catechetical * teaches righteousness, prayer, and conversion.

What are the differences between Matthew and Mark?

Activity Pg. 143 Reading The Gospel of Matthew. –Five groups –Read your groups part –List the major events and key characters. 25 min.