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The book begins with Jesus’s origin story: his genealogical ties connecting him both to David and to Abraham, the events surrounding his birth to the virgin Mary, his family’s flight to Egypt seeking refuge from the infant massacres ordered by King Herod, and his eventual upbringing in Nazareth. Discipleship, church leadership, and preparing for the end times are other themes.
#Book of matthew bible study short full
The account goes beyond historical information to serve as a full biography, using stories about Jesus to help people understand who Jesus is-the messiah, the savior of Israel. Matthew’s account fully and systematically explains much of this, from Jesus’s genealogy and the circumstances of his birth to his teaching, healing, and other miracles. Main Theme and Purpose of MatthewĪfter the death and resurrection of Jesus, there was much interest in who Jesus was. Given that the account was written in Greek, not Aramaic, and that much of the language in the book assumes the readers are familiar with Jewish customs and terminology, the audience seems to be former Jews who have converted to Christianity, probably those living in an urban area such as Palestine or Antioch. The Gospel of Matthew is thought to have been written sometime between A.D. However, no other authors have been suggested, and most scholars agree on Matthew as the author.
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“And it is pre-eminently the gospel which is concerned to show us Jesus as the man born to be King.”īecause the Gospel of Matthew references the Gospel of Mark, some scholars debate whether Matthew was indeed the author, wondering why an eyewitness would reference the account of another eyewitness. “In no other gospel is the teaching of Jesus so systematically assembled and gathered together,” wrote theologian William Barclay in his foreword to The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. He was an eyewitness of the events and a member of Jesus’s inner circle. Matthew began following Jesus partway through Jesus’s journeys, and his gospel account includes the story of his own call to become a disciple. Matthew, whose name means “gift of the Lord,” is also referred to as “Levi” in Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-28. While all four gospels are anonymous, early church leaders held that Matthew, a former tax collector and one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, authored this book. Matthew’s account of the gospel is not only the first book in the New Testament, but also considered by many to be the most comprehensive story of Jesus, who he was, and what he did during his time on earth.
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