See more
When did Matthew write his gospel?
About 15 years after Mark, in about the year 85 CE, the author known as Matthew composed his work, drawing on a variety of sources, including Mark and from a collection of sayings that scholars later called "Q", for Quelle, meaning source.
Who was the youngest apostle?
John the ApostleJohn the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰωάννης; Latin: Iohannes c. 6 AD – c. 100 AD; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome.
Who wrote Matthew and when was it written?
It has traditionally been attributed to St. Matthew the Evangelist, one of the 12 Apostles, described in the text as a tax collector (10:3). The Gospel According to Matthew was composed in Greek, probably sometime after 70 ce, with evident dependence on the earlier Gospel According to Mark.
Did the apostle Matthew write the Gospel?
These books are called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because they were traditionally thought to have been written by Matthew, a disciple who was a tax collector; John, the "Beloved Disciple" mentioned in the Fourth Gospel; Mark, the secretary of the disciple Peter; and Luke, the traveling companion of Paul.
What are the ages of the 12 apostles?
Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesNameHierarchical positionAgeJeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve Apostles81.7Dieter F. UchtdorfQuorum of the Twelve Apostles81.8David A. BednarQuorum of the Twelve Apostle70.2Quentin L. CookQuorum of the Twelve Apostles81.98 more rows
Who was the 13th apostle?
Saint MatthiasSaint Matthias, (flourished 1st century ad, Judaea; d. traditionally Colchis, Armenia; Western feast day February 24, Eastern feast day August 9), the disciple who, according to the biblical Acts of the Apostles 1:21–26, was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus.
Was Matthew the first Gospel written?
The early patristic scholars regarded Matthew as the earliest of the gospels and placed it first in the canon, and the early Church mostly quoted from Matthew, secondarily from John, and only distantly from Mark.
Which of the four gospels was written first?
MarkMark is generally agreed to be the first gospel to be written; it uses a variety of sources, including conflict stories (Mark 2:1–3:6), apocalyptic discourse (4:1–35), and collections of sayings, although not the sayings gospel known as the Gospel of Thomas and probably not the Q source used by Matthew and Luke.
Why did Matthew write his Gospel?
Harnack tersely states it thus: " The Gospel of Matthew was written as an apology against the objections and calumnies of the Jews, which were soon also adopted by the gentiles.
Why is Matthew called Levi?
Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning “Yahweh's Gift”) would appear to be the Christian name of Levi (called by Mark “Levi the son of Alphaeus”), who had been employed as a tax collector in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee.
What is unique to the Gospel of Matthew?
The Genealogy Every page of Matthew's Gospel is steeped in this theme of promise and fulfillment. The Gospel begins with the announcement that, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” followed by a detailed genealogy of 41 generations!
How long after Jesus died was the Bible written?
The oral traditions within the church formed the substance of the Gospels, the earliest book of which is Mark, written around 70 A.D., 40 years after the death of Jesus.
Who is the youngest Mormon apostle?
He is one of the few individuals to have been an LDS Church apostle and member of the First Presidency without ever being a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles....John Willard YoungLDS Church ApostleNovember 22, 1855 – February 12, 1924Called byBrigham YoungReasonBrigham Young's discretion37 more rows
How old was Timothy in the Bible?
Although not stated in the New Testament, other sources have records of the apostle's death. The apocryphal Acts of Timothy states that in the year 97 AD, the 80-year-old bishop tried to halt a procession in honor of the goddess Diana by preaching the Gospel.
How old was John the Apostle when he died?
88 years (11 AD–99 AD)John the Apostle / Age at death
When was Judas Iscariot born?
3 BCJudas Iscariot / Date of birth
Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew?
Saint Matthew and the Angel (1661) by Rembrandt. The Gospel of Matthew is anonymous: the author is not named within the text, and the superscription "according to Matthew" was added some time in the second century.
What is Matthew's Gospel called?
Matthew's Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles and it was once believed that it was the original to the Greek Matthew found in the Bible. However, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman and James R. Edwards.
What is the name of the creature that accompanies Matthew?
The one that accompanies him is in the form of a winged man.
Who were Jesus' disciples?
Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew and Andrew were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia to preach the message of God .
Who wrote the first Gospel?
Origen said the first Gospel was written by Matthew. This Gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea. The Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work.
Who preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea?
Later Church fathers such as Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.1.1) and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, before going to other countries. Ancient writers are not in agreement as to which these other countries are.
Who is the tax collector in Matthew 9?
In passages parallel to Matthew 9:9, both Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 describe Jesus' calling of the tax collector Levi, the son of Alphaeus, but Mark and Luke never explicitly equate this Levi with the Matthew named as one of the twelve.
What is the Gospel according to Matthew?
The Gospel according to Matthew ( Greek: Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον, romanized : Euangélion katà Matthaîon ), also called the Gospel of Matthew, or simply Matthew, is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes ...
When was the Gospel written?
Most scholars believe the gospel was composed between AD 80 and 90 , with a range of possibility between AD 70 to 110; a pre-70 date remains a minority view. The work does not identify its author, and the early tradition attributing it to the apostle Matthew is rejected by modern scholars.
What is the prologue of Matthew?
Prologue: genealogy, Nativity and infancy (Mat. 1–2) The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words "The Book of Genealogy [in Greek, "Genesis"] of Jesus Christ", deliberately echoing the words of Genesis 2:4 in the Old Testament in Greek.
What was Matthew's vision of the church?
Writing from within a Jewish-Christian community growing increasingly distant from other Jews and becoming increasingly gentile in its membership and outlook, Matthew put down in his gospel his vision "of an assembly or church in which both Jew and Gentile would flourish together".
How many miracles are there in the Gospel?
From the authoritative words of Jesus the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two discipleship stories (the second narrative), followed by a discourse on mission and suffering.
What is the gospel of the scribes?
The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees with the position that through their rejection of Christ, the Kingdom of God has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.
How many discourses are there in Matthew?
Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished..." (see Five Discourses of Matthew ). Some scholars see in this a deliberate plan to create a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament; others see a three-part structure based around the idea of Jesus as Messiah; or a set of weekly readings spread out over the year; or no plan at all. Davies and Allison, in their widely used commentary, draw attention to the use of "triads" (the gospel groups things in threes), and R. T. France, in another influential commentary, notes the geographic movement from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, with the post-resurrection appearances in Galilee as the culmination of the whole story.
When was Matthew's Gospel written?
The date of Matthew’s Gospel is far from certain. Three pieces of confirmation have been advanced to show that he wrote it after 70 CE. First, Matthew himself is dependent upon the Gospel of Mark, and Mark is typically dated to the late sixties or early seventies.
Who wrote the Gospel of Mark?
The account is anonymous, but first church fathers universally agree Matthew was the sole author. Further, they also think John Mark—a close friend of Peter the apostle—wrote the Gospel of Mark.
What does the Gospel mean in the Bible?
The term “gospel” is translated from the Greek word euangeliou or euaggelion that means good news. In the Holy Bible, the Gospels are the four accounts of the life, death, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as written by His disciples.
What is the gospel literature?
Did you know that these gospels are considered to be narrative, historical, and theological literature? They are also deemed to be the full truth about Christ’s miracles and His teachings, either recounting what occurred after the events of the Gospels and how the church spread, or particular teachings by different apostles on how people are to live as followers of Christ and how to better understand the teachings of Christ. They are intended to be truthful and to share historically correct information.
What is the New Testament beginning with?
You see, the New Testament starts with the Gospel of Matthew. However, what do people understand about the origin of the First Gospel? In the age where traditional scholarship is questioned and often ignored, numerous theories exist as to whom the author of the First Gospel might be.
What is the purpose of the book of the Messiah?
The purpose of this book is to sanction for the readers that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. That’s mainly done by presenting how Jesus in his life and ministry fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.
What are the books of the Gospels?
Keep in mind that the Gospels are composed of the books of John, Luke, Mark, and Matthew. Traditionally, scholars think the previous tax collector Matthew, also referred to as Levi, and one of the apostles of Jesus who traveled along with him wrote the Gospel of Matthew.
When was Matthew written?
Various estimates have placed the date of Matthew's composition anywhere from AD 50 - to AD 100. But before a date can be decided, its relation to the Gospel of Mark must first be addressed. If Mark was written first, then Matthew must have a later date (and vice-versa).
When was the Gospel of Mark written?
Without going into much detail on the dating of Mark's Gospel, [10] it was probably written somewhere between AD 50 and AD 55. Consequently, Matthew's Gospel could have reasonably been written anywhere between AD 55 and AD 60. This date allows time for Matthew to have access to Mark's Gospel, and suggests that he completed the Gospel before ...
How many times does Matthew quote the Old Testament?
For one, he focuses on the fulfillment of the Old Testament, even quoting from it sixty-two times, which is more than any other Gospel writer. Secondly it is interesting that Matthew does not explain Jewish culture like the other evangelists (cf. Mark 7:3, John 19:40 ), which also adds to the argument that he is writing to Jews.
Why was Matthew written in Syria?
Most scholars conclude that Matthew was written in either Palestine or Syria because of its Jewish nature. Antioch of Syria is usually the most favoured because many in the early church dispersed there ( Acts 11:19, 27 ). Another reason for favouring Antioch is that the earliest reference to Matthew's Gospel was found in Ignatius' ...
How many parts are there in Matthew's Gospel?
The structure of Matthew's Gospel is very remarkable. The Gospel can be divided into three parts: the prologue ( 1:1 - 2:23 ), the body ( 3:1-28:15 ), and the epilogue ( 28:16-20 ). Matthew constructed his body around five distinct discourses: the Sermon on the Mount ( 5:1-7:29 ), the Commissioning of the Apostles ( 10:1-42 ), Parables about the Kingdom ( 13:1-52 ), Relationships in the Kingdom ( 18:1-35 ), and the Olivet Discourse ( 24:1 - 25:46 ). [13] Each discourse also ends with a recognizable closing statement ( 7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1 ), for example: "When Jesus had finished saying these things...." Even more interesting are the intricate parallels between the first and fifth discourses, and the second and fourth discourses. This leaves the third discourse (Parables about the Kingdom) as the focal point. Though we are not sure about the comparison of Jesus' baptism with his death, there is a rather striking parallel between Emmanuel ( 1:23; lit. "God with us") and Jesus' last words, "And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age" ( 28:20 ). [14]
Who was the first apostle to associate with Matthew?
After the resurrection there is no other mention of him in the New Testament. According to the resources available to us, Papias (the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia ca. AD 130) was the first to associate the apostle Matthew with this document. Eusebius, the early church historian, records Papias ' account: "Matthew collected the oracles ( ta logia) ...
Did Matthew write two Gospels?
Others have also concluded that Matthew wrote two Gospels-one in a Palestinian language and the other in Greek. Ralph Martin's conclusion is that "Papias' tradition can at best relate only to a collection of material later used in the composition of the entire Gospel.". [6]
When was Matthew written?
We have Matthew quoted by Clement by the very late 1st century AD, so we know it was written and already considered "scripture" in the late first century. Most reliable conservative scholars will put the date of writing of Matthew in the 50s or 60s AD, although some will even move it into the 40s.
Why did Matthew enter the New Testament?
Matthew entered the Christian canon of the New Testament because it was considered to have apostolic authority. In other words the apostles or those near to the apostles agreed the the book was authoritative. This in and of itself does not prove that Matthew wrote the book.
When was the book of the destruction of Jerusalem written?
As for the date of writing, given the mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in AD 70, is treated as a future event, and given that the rebellion which led to this destruction started in AD 66, I personally believe the book was written AD 65 or earlier.
Did Matthew write the Gospel?
However, we do not have the autograph (actual original) of the gospel and we will have to be content with knowing that the tradition is unanimous that the apostle Matthew wrote the gospel. The majority of scholars believe the original was in Greek, not Aramaic which was presumably Matthew’s first language.
When was Matthew written?
It is certainly reasonable to accept that Matthew was written in the 50s due to the reasonable assumption that Acts was finished before AD 64, with Luke coming before Acts, and Matthew writing his Gospel before Luke’s. Scholars generally hold that Matthew composed his Gospel in or around Antioch of Syria.
Who accepted Matthew's Gospel?
With the addition of Origen and Irenaeus’s acceptance of Matthew writing the First Gospel, one is hard-pressed to dismiss their claims.
What is the New Testament beginning with?
We will begin with the Gospel of Matthew today and will then move towards the other three Gospels before looking at some of the letters in Revelation. The New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew.
What is the evangelist's focus in the first Gospel?
Thus, the evangelist is mostly concerned with Jesus’s ministry to the Jews.
Did Matthew write the Gospel in Greek?
Regardless, one should not be surprised that Matthew, who would need to have great knowledge of Greek in the business world, originally wrote his Gospel in Hebrew or Aramaic, only to revise the Gospel in Greek. Even if his Gospel were written in Greek by another, even say an amanuensis, [4] this would not negate Matthew’s authorship.
Who wrote the teachings of Jesus?
First, the apostle Matthew wrote the teachings of Jesus in Aramaic. Then, Matthew added the miracles and deeds of Jesus to his Aramaic and/or Hebrew edition of his Gospel adding his eyewitness testimony and the testimony of Simon Peter as found in Mark’s Gospel. Finally, either Matthew himself or a highly trained scribe translated ...
Did Matthew borrow material from Mark?
Some may argue that a disciple like Matthew would not borrow material from Mark, if in fact it is true that Matthew did borrow material from Mark’s Gospel. However, when one considers that Matthew followed Jesus long after most of the apostles, and that Matthew was not an inner-circle disciple, then it stands to reason that Matthe w would borrow ...
Overview
Matthew's Gospel
The Gospel of Matthew is anonymous: the author is not named within the text, and the superscription "according to Matthew" was added some time in the second century. The tradition that the author was the disciple Matthew begins with the early Christian bishop Papias of Hierapolis (c. AD 60–163), who is cited by the Church historian Eusebius (AD 260–340), as follows: "Matthew collecte…
In the New Testament
Among the early followers and apostles of Jesus, Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3 as a publican (KJV) or tax collector (NIV) who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus. He is also listed among the twelve, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13. In passages parallel to Matthew 9:9, bot…
Early life
According to the Gospels, Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee, which was not part of Judea or the Roman Judaea province), the son of Alphaeus. As a tax collector, he would probably have been literate and could write highly educated Greek. His fellow Jews would have despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force.
After his call, Matthew invited Jesus for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criti…
Ministry
The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus, and was one of the witnesses of the Ascension of Jesus. Afterwards, the disciples withdrew to an upper room (Acts 1:10–14) (traditionally the Cenacle) in Jerusalem. The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
In the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a), "Mattai" is one of five disciples of "Jeshu".
Non-canonical or apocryphal gospels
In the 3rd century, Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these gospels survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius and others. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes (36 fragments), Gospel of the Ebionites (7 fragments), and Gospel of the Hebrews (7 fragments) found in Schneemelcher's New Testament Apocrypha. Critical commentators general…
Veneration
Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches (see St. Matthew's Church). His feast day is celebrated on 21 September in the West and 16 November in the East. (Those churches which follow the traditional Julian calendar would keep the day on 29 November of the modern Gregorian calendar, being 16 November in the Julian calendar.) He is also commemorated by the Orthodox, together with the other Apostles, on 30 J…
In Islam
The Quran speaks of Jesus' disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as "helpers to the work of Allah". Muslim exegesis and Quran commentary, however, name them and include Matthew amongst the disciples. Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew and Andrew were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia to preach the message of God.
Overview
The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and forms a community of disciples, of how he taught the people through such events as the Sermon on the Mount and its Beatitudes, and how Israel becomes divided and how Jesus condemns this hostile Israel. This culm…
Composition
The traditional attribution to the apostle Matthew, first attested by Papias of Hierapolis (attestation dated c. 125 AD), is rejected by modern scholars, and the majority view today is that the author was an anonymous male Jew writing in the last quarter of the 1st century familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture, and standing on the margin between traditional and non-traditional J…
Structure and content
Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished..." (see Five Discourses of Matthew). Some scholars see in this a deliberate plan to create a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament; others see a three-part structure based around the idea of Jesus as Messiah; or a set of weekly readings spread out over the year; or no plan at all. Davies and Allison, in their widely u…
Theology
Christology is the theological doctrine of Christ, "the affirmations and definitions of Christ's humanity and deity". There are a variety of Christologies in the New Testament, albeit with a single centre—Jesus is the figure in whom God has acted for mankind's salvation.
Matthew has taken over his key Christological texts from Mark, but sometimes he has changed the stories he found in Mark, giving evidence of his own concerns. The title Son of David identifie…
Comparison with other writings
The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the community of Matthew, the crucial element marking them from their Jewish neighbors. Early understandings of this nature grew as the gospels were being written. Before the gospels, that understanding was focused on the revelation of Jesus as God in his resurrection, but the gospels reflect a broadened focus extended backwards in time.
See also
• Authorship of the Bible
• Gospel of the Ebionites
• Gospel of the Hebrews
• Gospel of the Nazarenes
• Hebrew Gospel hypothesis