Greetings!  Welcome to the introduction of the Gospel According to Matthew.  We’ll cover one chapter at a time.  I encourage you to scan all of it before reading it line by line.  This will help give you an overview of what the book covers.

Who wrote this and when was it written?  Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles was the author.  It was written in roughly A.D. 60, less than thirty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Who was it written to?  This Gospel is for all believers, but at the time it was written primarily to a Jewish audience.  It covers many of the predictions of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection from the Old Testament and how they were fulfilled. 

Why was it written?  To prove the Jesus is the predicted Messiah and King and to tell us about Jesus.

Other information: Matthew contains the lineage of Jesus, the birth story, John the Baptist, the tempation by Satan in the desert, the Sermon on the Mount, loads of miracles and parables, and of course the crucifixion and resurrection. 

Matthew is a logical place to begin the New Testament because it helps explain how Jesus fulfills many Old Testament prophecies.  There was a gap of roughly 400 years from when the last book of the Old Testament was written until the first book of the New Testament was written (probably one of Paul’s letters). 

Reflect on what stood out to you in this reading and share your comments and questions if you like.