Author: Not stated but traditionally attributed to Matthew, a tax collector (9:9)
Date: Approximately AD 70, when Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.
In Ten Words or Less: Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah.
Details: The first of the four Gospels (meaning “good news”), the book of Matthew ties what follows in the New Testament to what came before in the Old. The book, written primarily to a Jewish audience, uses numerous Old Testament references to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah the Jews have been anticipating for centuries. Beginning with a genealogy that shows Jesus’ ancestry through King David and the patriarch Abraham, Matthew then details the angelic announcement of Jesus’ conception and the visit of the “wise men” with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew introduces the character of John the Baptist, relative and forerunner of Jesus, and describes the calling of key disciples Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Jesus’ teachings are emphasized, with long passages covering His Sermon on the Mount (Chapters 5–7), including the Beatitudes (“Blessed are they…”) and the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father, which art in heaven…”). As with all four Gospels, Matthew also details the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and is the only biographer of Jesus to mention several miracles—the tearing of the temple curtain, an earthquake, the breaking open of tombs, and the raising to life of dead saints—that[…]
From Know Your Bible, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.
