The life of Jesus as presented by Matthew. The gospel covers His virginal birth to His death and resurrection. Matthew also presents Jesus as the Lion of Judah and the fulfillment of prophecy. It is placed first in the New Testament because many of the early church leaders believed it to be the first written. There are still a few scholars who hold to "Matthean priority."
##Matthew, Gospel Of##
The Gospel According to Matthew (Greek: κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον) is the book traditionally placed first in the New Testament canon. It is one of four canonical gospels describing the life and teaching of Jesus. Because of its position in the NT canon, Matthew is often referred to as "the first gospel." It was also reported by early Christian historians that Matthew was the first of the Gospels to be written.
Along with Mark and Luke, Matthew is one of the three synoptic gospels. These three gospels share similar structure, content, and wording. This has given rise to many theories as to the relationship between these gospels, the order in which they were written, and their use of sources.
Matthew's account begins with a genealogy and infancy narrative concerning Jesus, focusing on how Jesus fulfills the Scriptures and showing him to be the Son of David and the Son of God. After introducing Jesus, the narrative tells of his teaching and ministry and how he came to be rejected by Israel. Finally, the first gospel ends with a narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus and his commissioning of his disciples to go to the nations, teaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew's Gospel is written to an audience familiar with the norms and practices of late 2nd-temple Judaism and is considered to be the "most Jewish Gospel".
###Related Tags###
If your question is about about comparisons between this book and the other synoptic gospels, rather than specific to this book, use the synoptics tag.
