Book Review of Matthew

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Introduction

This paper serves as an analytical book review of The Gospel According to Matthew, which is the first Gospel in the New Testament. The purpose of this review is not to give a verse by verse analysis of Matthew. However, the purpose is to provide the reader with an analytical overview of the Gospel According to Matthew as told in the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

This review will provide the reader with such information as the author of the book, a discussion of the intended audience of the book, the date it was written, a synopsis of the content of the book, an identification of the theme, and a justification as to the choice of the selected theme. Furthermore, personal observations of the relevance of the teachings of the book will be provided to exemplify that the message of Matthew is meaningful to the modern reader.

Discussion

Who Wrote the Gospel According To Matthew?

The Gospel According to Matthew was written by Matthew who was one of the twelve apostles. Dr. Walvoord (1974) states

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“History uniformly testifies that the first gospel was written by Matthew, one of the twelve disciples (p.9).

Who Was the Intended Audience?

McGee (1991) states “The Gospel of Matthew was written to the nation Israel. It was first written in Hebrew, and it was directed primarily to the religious man of that time” (p.xi).

Purpose?

The New American Bible (1987) published by the Catholic Bible Press states:

The need for a gospel written primarily for Jewish

Christians developed. After the destruction of Jerusalem

and its temple in AD 70, the Jewish community had closed

ranks behind the leadership of the rabbi’s. They saw the

rise of Christianity as a challenge to their own religious

traditions and identity. Some may have associated

Christianity with the Roman threat (p.xxvi).

When was The Gospel According...