Gospel of Matthew

Definition and Meaning

The Gospel of Matthew is the first of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament and consists of twenty-eight chapters. Together with Mark and Luke, it is one of the three "Synoptic Gospels." The term synoptic means "seeing together" and reflects the fact that these three Gospels narrate the same events in a similar order and with similar wording. The book takes its name from Matthew, a former tax collector who was one of the twelve disciples.

Biblical and Historical Background

The text itself does not name its author. Since the time of the early church, the apostle Matthew has traditionally been regarded as its author. Some scholars accept this tradition, while others regard the book as the work of a community that took shape under Matthew's name. Opinions also differ on the date of composition. Many scholars hold that the author used the Gospel of Mark as a source and therefore date the book after AD 70, while some conservative scholars date it before 70.

The book's distinctive features include the following:

• It opens with a genealogy tracing Jesus' descent through Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1), and it repeatedly points to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy with the formula "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken ... by the prophet." For this reason it is generally understood as a book written with Jewish readers in mind.
• Jesus' teachings are arranged in five long discourses. The best known is the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5–7, which contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).
• It usually refers to the kingdom of God as "the kingdom of heaven."
• It is the only Gospel in which the word "church" appears (Matthew 16:18; 18:17).
• It concludes with the so-called Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), in which the risen Jesus sends out His disciples.

Use in the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Matthew is one of the books most frequently used for preaching and Bible study. The Great Commission is the principal text for missions sermons and for services commissioning missionaries. The phrase "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" appears in the baptismal liturgies of many denominations. Matthew 18:15-17 is often cited as the biblical basis for church discipline.

Some passages are interpreted differently depending on denomination and theological tradition:

• "Upon this rock" in 16:18: The Catholic Church regards this as the basis for the primacy of Peter, that is, his preeminent position among the apostles. Many Protestant denominations interpret it as referring either to Peter's confession of faith or to Christ Himself.
• The eschatological teaching of chapter 24: The dispensationalist tradition reads it as describing the sequence of the rapture and the Great Tribulation. In the Reformed tradition, many interpreters understand it as speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the last day in overlapping terms.

In churches that follow the liturgical calendar and the Revised Common Lectionary (a table assigning the Scripture readings for each Sunday according to the church year), Matthew is read as the principal Gospel in one year (Year A) of the three-year cycle. These churches include the Anglican Church of Korea and some Methodist and Presbyterian churches.