KATA MAQQAION

Introducing the Gospel of Matthew

There are four books in our New Testament which have come to be called "Gospels." In their most ancient form">

KATA MAQQAION Introducing the Gospel of Matthew   There are four books in our New Testament which have come to be called "Gospels." In their most ancient form, they were simply entitled "According to Matthew," "According to Mark," "According to Luke," and "According to John." The Gospel of Mark actually begins by saying, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ," (Mark 1:1). That same inspired document says in its concluding section, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel," (Mark 16:15). Other New Testament writers refer to the story of Jesus and what God has done through him as "the gospel" or "the good news." Therefore, since these four books tell that story from different perspectives, they are appropriately called "gospels." The order of the books in our present New Testament canon is one that simply results from years of Christian tradition. Many scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel to be written because of its short, terse, and unembellished style. There are really no compelling reasons to believe this unless one takes a wholly naturalistic view and discounts the biblical claim that the writers were inspired by God to write their accounts. We do know with a fair degree of certainty from the accounts of ancient Christian writers that John's gospel was the last gospel to be written down. John's gospel is probably the only one actually written after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Many naturalistic biblical scholars date the Gospel of Matthew after A.D. 70 because in it, Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 70. They reason that it is impossible to predict future events and since the event is so vividly described in Matthew, the gospel must have been written after the event. However, if one accepts that Jesus was God incarnate and he knows all things, the date no longer poses a problem. Another so-called problem for naturalistic scholars is what is termed "The Synoptic Problem." This problem is created for some by the fact that in some places the four gospels are remarkably similar, even to identical wordings. In other places, the gospels are very different. For example, Luke's account of the birth of Jesus tells of the shepherds in the field and does not mention the wise men. Matthew's narrative tells of the visit of the Magi when Jesus was a young child, but does not mention the shepherds, or the inn, or the enrollment for taxation. Numerous theories have been advanced to try to explain these similarities and differences naturally. What are we to make of these remarkable similarities and remarkable differences? When one accepts the biblical claim that the apostles and prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write their accounts, then the "problem" disappears. The inspiration of the Spirit can account for the minute agreement in wording in accounts of what Jesus said, and it can also account for the fact that each gospel writer presents unique material and unique lessons from the life of Jesus. God did not want us to have one gospel, but four. The gospel of Matthew is written to people who understand things from a very Jewish perspective. Its turns of phrase and its terminology betray it as a book designed for Jews. Matthew might appropriately be called "the gospel of the kingdom," (Matthew 24:14). Many times in the teaching of Jesus, it mentions "the kingdom of heaven." In the beattitudes, Jesus will say things like, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Many of the parables of Jesus begin with the phrase "the kingdom of heaven is like…," (Matthew 13). Jesus is presented as the king, born "King of the Jews" and crucified as "King of the Jews." There is much said about "authority" or "power" which culminates in the statement of Matthew 28:18, "All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth." The Gospel of Matthew asserts the sovereignty of God, the rule of God, through king Jesus. Its message is that God has made Jesus king and all people must submit to his rule. The gospel of Matthew tells of Jesus' birth, his baptism, his temptation in the wilderness, gives samples of his preaching on the "rule of heaven" or "kingdom of heaven", demonstrates his sovereignty through his miracles, confirms his divine election as king through the transfiguration, predicts his death and resurrection and his eventual return, recounts the events of his triumphal entry, his arrest, his trial, his death, his resurrection, and the great commission. As a gospel, Matthew forms part of the foundation of the New Testament. It tells of the redemptive work of God in Christ and asserts the Lordship or kingship of Jesus. It should be a fundamental part of the divine message in each of our hearts.