Although the gospel of matthew was not the first gospel written, it is generally regarded as the most important and was placed first in the collection of writings that constitute the new testament. Eusebius indicates that papias, the bishop of hieropolis of phrygia, first associated matthew, the tax collector with the. Before we begin our study of the gospel according to matthew, the following historical background material is provided. He comes right out and says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me 28. This study investigates the issues of the origin and purpose of the gospel of mark. The key word in matthew is kingdom and is used 28 times. Later on this gospel, whose original text in aramaic was lost, was translated to greek. The structure of matthews gospel the scriptorium daily. As we will see when we come to the various systems of interpretation, maintaining the proper historical perspective is of utmost importance. The literal translation of the hebrew word mashiach is anointed, which refers to a ritual of consecrating someone or something by putting holy anointing oil upon it. The historical background of this period is, of course, the entire history of israel in general.
The jewish nature of matthews gospel may suggest that it was written in the holy. Deacon gary hoover provides background information to help us better understand this gospel. The gospel according to matthew is the first book of the new testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. The bible commentary and notes series hosted on is designed to help pastors and bible teachers study the bible in its proper historical and literary context. Not only is christianity trying to take root throughout the roman empire, judaism is also trying to figure out where it goes after this tragic defeat. Jesus many faces the historical jesus from jesus to. We see that jesus is making his way from the temple matthew 24. The setting of matthew the events in the book of matthew take place almost entirely within the vicinity of palestine, an area extending roughly from caesarea philippi in the north to beersheba in the south. The book also relies on the septuagint, a flawed early greek translation of the hebrew scriptures, and any knowledgeable jew would quickly detect the errors that resulted in matthews gospel. The books of the new testament were composed not in order to satisfy historical curiosity about the events they recount but to bear witness to a faith in the action of god. Even more tenuous is the connection between the historical jesus and later christianity. Certainly the essential message of matthews gospel was prevalent widely soon after pentecost. Even jesus death by crucifixion, a punishment typically reserved for political rebellion, suggests the threat he presents to the roman authorities.
He is the author or editor of many books on the gospel of matthew, including apocalyptic eschatology in the gospel of matthew cambridge university press, 1996 and the gospel of matthew and christian judaism. Introduction this book or collection of bible studies was developed and published to provide an in depth biblical study of the life, works and teaching of jesus christ and how they apply to the life and times of todays born again believer. Matthew intro to matthew biblica the international bible society. It tells how israels messiah, rejected and executed in israel, pronounces judgement on israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles. It was written by matthew levi, the disciple of christ around 4850 a. The setting of the new testament within the christian community is one factor that makes a biography of jesus or a history of the 1stcentury church difficult or impossible. Matthew even finds the history of gods people in the ot recapitulated in. The gospel of matthew is the first of the three synoptic gospels of the new testament the others are mark and luke.
Introduction to the gospel of matthew study resources. In mark and luke he is called by his other name, levi. If breaking matthew is a fivestar book, then healing ruby is a 10star. As early as ad 140, a christian named papias wrote that matthew had compiled the sayings of the lord in hebrew presumably before matthew translated them into greek for a larger audience. Matthews gospel is written in the aftermath of all this, probably sometime around 85 ce source, 285. The first book of the english bible that most of us read from is the gospel of matthew. A simple outline can capture the basic shape of the book well enough to assist a good reading, but a little more attention shows that this book has several layers of order, all helpful. The personalities of this book include the messiah jesus christ, his parents mary and.
Nov 10, 2008 there is a piece of history that ties the entire book together and gives continuity to the entire letter. The historical jesus and the jesus of the early church bear little resemblance to one another. Summary of the book of matthew bible history online. Literature on matthews historical context is, as one can imagine, vast. For example, he uses three words for money found nowhere elsetribute dedrachmon, 17. Introduction to the book of matthew learn religions. The first part of the book examines the situation of marks intended readers, and the. Of the 115 words in matthew but not in the other synoptics, many are of special interest in view of the fact that matthew was the taxgatherer. The way jesus presents himself here is also pretty interesting. It is used throughout the hebrew bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects. What is the historical background of matthews gospel answers.
Cruses of version of eusebius ecclesiastical history reprinted. The historical setting of st matthews gospel sage journals. It is a message befitting to the jews soon after jesus death. It is necessary to realize that mr kilpatrick depends, throughout his book, on the assumption that mark is a source used by matthew. Sermonarys bible background series is designed to help pastors and teachers study the setting and details behind every book in the bible. His purpose in writing to the jews was to show them that jesus of nazareth was the expected messiah and both his genealogy and his resurrection were. The city of ephesus was a large commercial port city in asia minor present day turkey located at. Matthew, whose name means gift of the lord, was a tax collector who left his work to follow jesus 9. Although all the gospel writers quote the ot, matthew includes nine proof texts unique to his gospel 1. The gospel of matthew was written by matthew approx.
While matthew did not sign his own name to his gospel, the early church uniformly attested to the apostles authorship of the book. The zondervan pictorial encyclopedia of the bible 1 and. Historical background of the new testament wikipedia. The history and social setting of the matthean community. In addition to materials found in the gospel of mark, the gospel of matthew contains a large number of jesus sayings and discourses and also a. The author argues that marks gospel was written in galilee some time after the jewish revolt in 70 ad for a christian audience that was living under the threat of persecution.
Matthew was the first one to write the good news in book form, somewhere between the years 4050 a. The book of ephesians was written to gods holy people in ephesus ephesians 1. Matthew and was composed in greek, probably sometimes after 70 ce, and borrows heavily from the earlier gospel according to mark. The book of matthew is a gospel that contains narrative history, genealogy, parables, sermons, and some prophetic oracles. Matthew uses the phrase, kingdom of heaven, the only author, in fact, to use this phrase which can be considered as a reverential jewish expression a term appropriate to a jewish audience. The gospel of matthew is the first of the three synoptic gospels. Each packet in this series contains important background information on a specific biblical booksuch as authorship, date, setting, and book outlinesas well as indepth versebyverse commentary on each. Matthew is the first of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about jesus christ and there are four different writers. Christ having, in the former chapter, armed his disciples against the corrupt doctrines and opinions of the scribes and pharisees, especially in their expositions of the law that was called their leaven, 16. Historical background on matthews gospel deacon gary hoover provides background information to help us better understand this gospel. It is noted that the following historical material was taken from the data presented in. Designed for the pastor and bible teacher, the zondervan exegetical commentary on the new testament examines the biblical text in its original environment.
The historical context the four canonical gospels matthew, mark, luke, and johnwere all composed within the roman empire between 70 and 110 ce five to ten years as biographies of jesus of nazareth. The book of the prophet daniel in the hebrew bible is an excellent example of jewish. His interpretations are lucid and compelling, arising from analysis of the text on its own terms and in consideration of its literary and historical contexts. His purpose in writing to the jews was to show them that jesus of nazareth was the expected. The importance of historical perspective commentary a. Intro to matthew biblica the international bible society. What is the historical background of matthews gospel.
It remains highly specious that the apostle matthew actually wrote the greek gospel that bears his name. The purpose of matthew seems to argue for the earlier datea time when judaism needed to be confronted with the truth in jesus before the doom that was to befall their worship in 70 a. What is the cultural background of matthews gospel answers. Learn key facts and major themes from the first book in the new. Numerous textual indications point to an author who was a jewish christian writing for christians of similar background. The background out of which the gospel of matthew comes is judaism which had. At the center of the doctrinal controversy are people who do. D he wrote it in aramaic for the jews in palestine who used that language.
Matthews sitz im leben and emphasis on the torah, acta theologica, 32 2, 2012. The gospel according to matthew is the first book of the new testament and one of the three. The gospel of matthew cliffsnotes study guides book. The book of the prophet daniel in the hebrew bible is an excellent example of jewish apocalypticism. However, it feels unfair after rating the first book in the series, healing ruby, five stars as well. The historical context of the new testament asbury bible. Thats matthew setting the stage for the future growth of the church right there. The new testament also contains a history of the first missionary efforts of the church the book of acts. To accomplish this objective, the gospel according to matthew will be used as the basis for these studies. Notable evangelical scholars carefully attend to grammatical detail, literary context, rhetorical flow, theological nuance, and historical setting in their interpretation. The purpose of the gospel of mark in its historical and.
Matthew 6 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Jesus is the fulfillment of the ot predictions of the messiah. Matthew zondervan exegetical commentary on the new testament. Studying romans historical background and occassion. In brief compass, talbert provides a fresh reading of matthew s gospel as a book that is graceoriented from start to finish.
The evangelist, then, composed his text with an array of sources in an effort to underscore to his community a particular perspective of jesus of nazareth as the jewish messiah. Book of matthew overview insight for living ministries. For a helpful survey of current scholarly opinion, see viljoen, f. Or to put it in other words, gods redemptive plan was begun in the history of. Sim is professor of biblical studies at australian catholic university. Historical context for matthew the core curriculum. I am rating breaking matthew five stars because it deserves it, and was a solid 5star story. The gospel of matthew was written in greek koine, originally anonymously. This commentary on matthew offers a unique interpretive approach that focuses on the sociohistorical context of the gospel and the nature of matthews exhortation to his firstcentury christian audience. Matthew in the picture study bible the book of matthew with. The gospel according to matthew is intricately structured. One of the first people to bring this up was wolfgang weifel in a chapter entitle the jewish community in ancient rome and the origins of roman christianity, karl donfried, ed.
It is known that the book of matthew could not have been written by the apostle named matthew, because of its use of the gospel of mark as source material. The book also relies on the septuagint, a flawed early greek translation of the hebrew scriptures, and any knowledgeable jew would quickly detect the errors that resulted in matthew s gospel. By merging a careful study of matthews gospel in relation to the social context of the ancient mediterranean world with a detailed look at what we know of firstcentury jewishchristian. As an apostle, matthew would have had no need to use the written work of someone not an apostle to write a gospel account argyle 16. Historical context for the new testament the core curriculum. Gospel according to matthew, first of the four new testament gospels and, with mark and luke, one of the three socalled synoptic gospels. Matthew almost certainly used additional materialwhat scholars often call mwhich lacks parallels in either mark or luke, rendering it unique unto matthew. Each packet in this series contains important background information on a specific biblical booksuch as authorship, date, setting, and book outlines gleamed from sources that are both rich and tested. Some have argued on the basis of its jewish characteristics that matthews gospel was written in the early church period, possibly the early. Biblical studiesnew testament commentariesthe gospel of. The dates of the events recorded and the writings preserved are roughly consonant with the beginning and end of the first century a. The era that constitutes the nt period can be simply delineated.