Reading Matthew

Matthew is the first of the four Gospels, only just in order though. The book was most likely written by the disciple Matthew, who was previously a tax collector before being called by Jesus. The account was most likely written between late 50 A.D. and early 70 A.D, to Greek Jews. Understanding that the original audience was Jewish is key to understanding some of the concepts and the way Matthew phrased certain stories.

The main purpose of Matthew was to depict Jesus as the promised Messiah. That's why so many Old Testament passages are quoted in the book. Matthew is attempting to show how Jesus' life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. To take this even farther, Matthew spends time focusing on Jesus being the descendant of David as well to prove his point. 

So what can we take from this specific Gospel to apply to our lives today? Well, it shows us how the Old Testament is connected with the New Testament, and also provides assurance that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

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