The Gospel of St. Matthew
Introduction
The Gospel of Matthew is fervidly linked to the Old Testament. All four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – cite Old Testament prophets which the authors consider fulfilled by Jesus. However, Matthew meticulously emphasizes that Jesus’s teachings are harmonious with Judaism. Matthew accentuates Jesus’s connection to Jewish belief by tracing Jesus’s family tree to Abraham, the founder of the Hebrew nation. He insists that Jesus’ life conforms to many of the Old Testament prophesies. Matthew favorably compares Jesus to the prophet Moses yet as an even greater prophet. Like Moses, the young Jesus was concealed by his parents in Egypt from the fury of a merciless and vindictive ruler. Just as Moses delivered
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It has a preface, five discourses each concluding with a sermon that responds to the concerns raised in the preceding account and terminates with Jesus’s passion. Matthew’s careful composition shows his knowledge of Greek (and possibly Hebrew) rhetorical configuration. In contrast with Mark’s stark style and Luke’s conventional tone, Matthew’s prose is both encouraging and motivating. Many of Matthew’s readers deem his gospel to be some of the finest prose in the New Testament.
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