During the coming year (apart from the seasons of Lent and Easter) we will be reading from the Gospel of Matthewat our Sunday liturgies. Since we will hear this Gospel for a rather long period, I am beginning a series of columns on the Gospel of Matthew that, I hope, will assist you in reading this Gospel during the coming year.

The Gospel of Matthew is one of four Gospels, the others being the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John. It was, in many ways, the favorite Gospel of the early church because it presented so much of Jesus’ teaching such as the Sermon on the Mount. Moreover, since the Gospel was attributed to Matthew, one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles, it was viewed as the testimony of an eyewitness who had seen and heard Jesus. Consequently, it is not surprising that it is the first of the Four Gospels in the New Testament. Indeed this is the first writing that occurs in the New Testament.

The Gospel of Matthew is similar to the Gospel of Mark in many ways because it uses the Gospel of Mark as one of its sources. Consequently, if you have read the Gospel of Mark, you already know the storyline of the Gospel of Matthew. But the Gospel of Matthew is much longer than the Gospel of Mark, almost twice its length, because it makes use of other material in addition to the Gospel of Mark. For example, you will note that while the Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus and the story of his infancy, there is no genealogy or infancy narrative in the Gospel of Mark. And whereas the Gospel of Matthew contains five great sermons by Jesus (the Sermon on the Mount, a Missionary Discourse, a Parable Discourse, a Discourse on Church Life, A Discourse in the Temple of Jerusalem), most of this material is absent from the Gospel of Mark.

The Gospel of Matthew, then, is a revision of the Gospel of Mark. But why did Matthew revise the Gospel of Mark, and what was his purpose in doing this? First, it is important to note that Matthew and Mark agree on the essentials. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who preached the kingdom of God. He died to redeem humanity, and God raised him from the dead so that we might enter into the kingdom of heaven with Christ. But Matthew had access to some new information about Jesus that Mark did not, or that Mark chose not to use. Moreover, Mathew had to address a new situation in the life of the
church.

First, Matthew had access to material that Mark did not have or choose not to include. For example, I have already mentioned the genealogy of Jesus, the infancy narrative, and Jesus teaching, most notably the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew also had access to other parables that we do not find in the Gospel of Mark. Accordingly, the Gospel presents us with a fuller and more ordered account of Jesus’ ministry.

Second, the Gospel of Mark was probably written in Rome for a community of Christians who were Gentiles (non-Jewish) during a time of coming persecution about the year 70 AD. The Gospel of Matthew, by contrast, was written later, about the year 85 AD, in or around Syria for a community of Christians that included Jewish Christians as well as Gentile Christians. The Law of Moses was important for Matthew’s community, and we will find many references to it in his Gospel. Indeed one of the most distinctive aspects of this Gospel is its emphasis on the need to do the Law of Moses as interpreted by Jesus the Messiah. For, unless one does what Jesus commands, one cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Next week I will discuss the structure of the Gospel of Matthew and provide you with some suggestions for reading the Gospel. In the meantime, read through the Gospel once. It will take you about 90 minutes.
Father Matera