Introducing Matthew…with a question…

Who wrote the gospel of Matthew?

You get one guess.

Right-Matthew is the author of this gospel.

We know he was a tax collector for Rome. More specifically, he was a tax collector for Rome in another country-an occupied country-Israel. A Jew himself, he made many Jewish enemies by his tax collection work. Tax collectors were known to skim extra money in taxes for themselves. This likely caused Matthew to be an outcast in society.

There is powerful and positive aspect of Matthew’s tax collector work. Tax collectors knew a form of shorthand. They could record a person’s words exactly…word for word. It is highly likely that Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew is word for word spoken from the mouth of Jesus. There is a positive to Matthew being a tax collector! Who knew this would be advantageous?

Jesus did.

He called Matthew to be His disciple.

3 more things:

1. Matthew, the concise tax collector, arranged his gospel in 6 discussions. All 6 are about the King of Kings-Jesus. They are:

The Person of the King

The Preparation of the King

The Plan of the King

The Program of the King

The Passion of the King

The Power of the King

2. The theme of the gospel of Matthew is “The kingdom of heaven.” One day Jesus will establish His kingdom on earth. Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of Heaven many times in this gospel. The Kingdom of Heaven is real.

3. A key verse from Matthew gives us understanding about the establishment of The Kingdom of Heaven on earth:

 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:17 (Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount)

Last word-One Bible expert has written this, “In fact, Genesis and Matthew are the two key books of the Bible.”

My friend…welcome to Matthew!