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St. Matthew, the Apostle and his Gospel

September 21st is the feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle, who is traditionally regarded as the author of one of the four Gospels in the New Testament. Though the probability that the Apostle wrote the Gospel is doubtful because for the most part it is based on the Gospel according to Mark. It isn’t likely that a companion of Jesus would have followed so closely an account that came from one who admittedly never had such an association, rather than rely on his own memories. But to follow ancient tradition and for the sake of simplicity, we attribute the authorship of the first Gospel to St. Matthew, the Apostle.

The main aim of this Gospel is apologetic, specifically towards the Jews; he doesn’t explain Jewish customs, like the other Gospels do for their Greek and Latin audiences, and he assumes the readers are acquainted with the geographical area of Palestine. He wanted to show them, whether they were converts or still unbelieving Jews, that in Jesus the ancient prophecies had been realized in their entirety.
As a side note, this is why there are some differences in the four Gospels. The reality was that when the authors wrote them, they had a particular audience in mind, so they emphasized different things, depending on the particular problems their audiences were experiencing. This can be confusing to a modern reader who compares them to each other but does not know this. (I know it was for me).

Finally, the place of the Gospel of Matthew as the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament reflects the early Church view that it was the first to be written. Also, it was highly esteemed in the Church; no other was so frequently quoted in the noncanonical literature of early Christianity. As the New American Bible introduction to this Gospel states: “The reason for [this high esteem] becomes clear upon study of the way in which Matthew presents the story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipleship, and the breaking-in of the new and final age through the ministry, but particularly through the death and resurrection of Jesus.”

St. Matthew pray for us, and may your writings continue to be ever greater channels of Grace for us.

God bless,
Daniel