Matthew was considered a villain in his community, until he was transformed by the calling of Jesus Christ. A despised tax collector of King Herod Antipas, and not trusted by the overburdened population of Jews, his only friends were prostitutes and other tax collectors. When Jesus approached Matthew at his table and said, “Follow Me,” Matthew immediately responded, leaving his work to follow Jesus. I often wonder at how Jesus must have viewed Matthew. What potential did Jesus see in Matthew that others would never have acknowledged? The Jews viewed Matthew as a publican and sinner. He was one who used his gifts against his own people and for personal profit. I tend to agree with them, but I am judgmental. I know, had I been there with the other disciples when Jesus called Matthew and later visited his home, I would not have understood. I would have questioned Jesus’ choice of this despicable man. May God forgive my sinful and unloving heart for how often I have those same thoughts and feelings about others today. I don’t always view people with the potential Christ sees in them. I view them as worse than me. The truth is, they are no worse and no better. All of us are wretched and terrible sinners with deceptive hearts and zero potential, apart from Christ and His saving grace poured out in our lives. Christ came to save the lost, the sinners and the publicans. May God help me remember that grace, which saved me, and help me extend it to others.
In my occupation for many years, as an Executive Assistant, my least favorite thing to do was filing. Matthew must have had to keep meticulous records of the taxpayers in his region, and maintain organized files without the benefit of electronics. He must have been good at his job, because he made a decent living. When Jesus invited himself to Matthew’s house on short notice, Matthew had a great feast prepared and invited numerous friends. Here again, Matthew was looked down upon and Jesus was criticized for the association. How beautiful it was when Christ transformed him. Matthew repaid those he had cheated and, in a sense, became a record keeper and storyteller to the Jews. The very people Matthew once exploited, he addressed with the most life-altering message in history--the Gospel According to Matthew.
Because he was a Jew and lived among the Jews, Matthew understood his audience. His Jewish name was Levi (Luke 5:27-29). As a child he must have studied Torah and learned the prophecies about Messiah. He also knew the facts about Jesus. Matthew was counted among the twelve Apostles who lived and worked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Matthew was a witness to the miracles, trial, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—some of the qualifiers for Apostleship. He witnessed the big and the small incidents captured in the Gospel narratives. Matthew understood the correlations with the promises of the Old Testament. Therefore, Matthew’s Gospel is an indispensable work, written primarily for the benefit of the Jews. It is a topical account rather than chronological. Matthew connects the dots topically between the Old Testament prophecies and the events in Jesus’ life with inextricable, God-breathed ties, sixty-two times, more than any other Gospel writer. This helps us view the entire Bible as one book with Jesus Messiah as the central figure.
Matthew’s Gospel is an exciting account of the life and ministry of Jesus with the central purpose of proving Jesus as Messiah. It begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ through his Earthly father, Joseph. It contains the supernatural account of Jesus’ birth, the Baptism of Jesus, the Temptation of Jesus (chapters 1-4), the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer (chapters 5-7), Jesus Healing, the calling of Matthew (chapters 8-9), the Parables of the Kingdom (chapter 13), the Great Commandment (chapter 22:34-40), the Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees, (chapter 23), the Olivet Discourse, which deals with apocalyptic scenarios and includes the destruction of the temple foretold by Christ (chapter 24-25), the Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus (chapters 26-27), the Resurrection of Jesus, and the Great Commission (chapter 28).
There is disagreement as to the time of Matthew's writing or the original language in which he wrote. Most of what I read indicates Matthew's Gospel was written first and possibly as early as 8-15 years after the ascension of Christ (A.D. 41-48) at the request of the Hebrew believers, amongst whom he worked, and in their language. Other scholars believe Matthew wrote his Gospel account in A.D. 50s-60s, possibly in Aramaic, using Mark's Gospel for reference within10 years prior to the destruction of the temple (ref: Matthew 24:1-2) in A.D. 70. Matthew's death is recorded in Foxes Book of Martyrs as occurring somewhere in Ethiopia and sometime in the A.D. 60s.
John's Gospel is believed to be the last of the written Gospel narratives. At the end of his book, the Apostle John writes (John 21:25 ESV), “Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
I feel so excited to be embarking on this feat of reading the Gospels 4 LENT (in 44 days) and becoming immersed in the life and teachings of Jesus. I am also excited to understand, what we have from the four Gospel writers, with their different target audiences and flavors, is only a snippet of all Jesus said and did during his short time on earth. All that we know about Jesus gives me great hope for the future, and all that we do not know, fills me with great anticipation for spending eternity with HIM. It will never be boring.
Start Reading Today: Day 1 - Matthew 1-3
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