The Gospel of Matthew

A land under Rome. Jesus lived in a Jewish land ruled by Rome through local rulers. Matthew names Herod the Great (2:1), his son Archelaus (2:22), Herod the tetrarch, who is Antipas (14:1), and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (27:2). People paid taxes to the emperor (22:17) and a yearly tax to the Temple (17:24).

The tax collector. Capernaum stood by the Lake of Galilee on a trade road. Pope Benedict XVI notes that Matthew probably worked there. Tax collectors were counted as public sinners because they handled the money of the occupying power and many were dishonest. That is why people are shocked when Jesus eats with them (9:10 to 13). Benedict draws the lesson: Jesus, he says, "does not exclude anyone from his friendship".

A faith rooted in Israel. Matthew's first readers knew the Scriptures well. He does not explain Jewish customs, as Mark does. He assumes that the reader knows the Temple gift (5:23), phylacteries (23:5), and the tithe of mint and dill (23:23). He speaks of "the kingdom of heaven", 32 times in the NRSV, in the reverent Jewish manner of naming God indirectly.

After the Temple. Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in the year 70. Many scholars think that Matthew's readers lived in the years after this, when Jewish communities were rebuilding their life around the Law and when those who followed Jesus and those who did not were in hard debate. If so, this helps to explain the sharp words of chapter 23. Others hold, with the ancient writers, that the Gospel comes from before that time. On either view, this is a quarrel inside one family of faith. The Gospel's writer and most of its first readers, as well as Jesus, Mary and the Twelve, were Jews.

A Church opening outward. Antioch in Syria is often suggested as the home of this community. It was a large Greek-speaking city with Jews and Gentiles side by side. Whatever the place, the readers are learning how Jews and Gentiles belong to one Church. The Gospel moves from the Magi (2:1 to 12) through the Roman centurion (8:5 to 13) and the Canaanite woman (15:21 to 28) to "all nations" (28:19).

The Church's tradition. Dei Verbum 18 teaches that the Church has always held the four Gospels to be of apostolic origin, handed down by Apostles and by apostolic men. From the earliest times this Gospel has carried the name of Matthew and has stood first among the four.

• Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, about 130, as quoted by Eusebius (Church History 3.39): "Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able." Benedict XVI cites this as the earliest witness.
• St Irenaeus, about 180 (Against Heresies 3.1.1), says that Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language.
• Origen, as quoted by Eusebius, holds that it was written first, for believers from Judaism, in Hebrew.
• Eusebius (Church History 3.24) adds that Matthew wrote it in his mother tongue before leaving to preach to other peoples, so that those he left would not lose his teaching. Benedict XVI repeats this.
• St Jerome (Illustrious Men 3) says that it was first published in Judea in Hebrew, and that no one knows who put it into Greek.

The Hebrew work. No copy survives. Scholars debate what Papias meant by "oracles" and whether he meant Hebrew or Aramaic. Benedict XVI says that the Hebrew or Aramaic text is lost, but that in the Greek Gospel we still hear the persuasive voice of the tax collector Matthew. The Greek Gospel is the one the Church received as inspired Scripture.

A scholarly note. Traditionally the Gospel is by Matthew the Apostle. Many scholars, Catholics among them, think that a later Jewish Christian teacher gave it its Greek form, possibly drawing on traditions linked with Matthew. Their main reason is that the Greek Gospel seems to use Mark and a collection of sayings of Jesus, called Q, which it shares with Luke. The Pontifical Biblical Commission (1993) describes this as a leading theory that is also under challenge. The Church has not defined the order in which the Gospels were written.

What does not change. None of these questions touches the faith. God is the author of Scripture, working through human authors, and the books teach firmly and without error the truth God wished to put down for our salvation (Dei Verbum 11). The Church affirms that the Gospels faithfully hand on what Jesus really did and taught (Dei Verbum 19; Catechism 126).

Matthew himself. Mark and Luke call him Levi (Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27), and Mark calls him son of Alphaeus. He left his post at once when called (9:9). Only this Gospel lists him as "Matthew the tax collector" (10:3), which reads like a humble memory of where he came from. What happened later is uncertain. Ancient writers name several mission lands, among them Ethiopia, Persia, Parthia, Macedonia and Syria. The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that they disagree over how he died, and that the Roman Martyrology places his martyrdom in Ethiopia. His symbol is a man or an angel, because the book opens with the human ancestry of Jesus (St Jerome's scheme).

Matthew arranges his Gospel with care. Five long discourses alternate with narrative, and each discourse ends with nearly the same words: "when Jesus had finished" (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Many readers see an echo here of the five books of Moses, though this is an interpretation and not something the text says.

Found only in Matthew, among other things: Joseph's dreams, the Magi, the flight to Egypt, Peter walking on the water, the coin in the fish (17:24 to 27), the parables of the weeds, the labourers, the ten bridesmaids and the sheep and goats, the end of Judas (27:3 to 10), the dream of Pilate's wife (27:19), and the guard at the tomb (27:62 to 66; 28:11 to 15).

• Jesus fulfils the Scriptures. He is the son of David and the son of Abraham (1:1). Again and again Matthew says that something happened to fulfil what the prophet said (1:22; 2:15; 2:17; 2:23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:9). Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfil it (5:17). The Catechism: the Law of the Gospel "fulfills" and leads the Old Law to its perfection (1967 to 1968; see 592).
• God is with us. Emmanuel at the start (1:23), "I am there among them" in the middle (18:20), and "I am with you always" at the end (28:20).
• The kingdom of heaven. John and Jesus open with the same call (3:2; 4:17). The kingdom is hidden and growing, like seed and yeast (13), and worth everything, like the treasure and the pearl (13:44 to 46). See Catechism 541 to 544.
• A deeper righteousness. Justice that goes further than outward observance (5:20), a heart without anger, lust or falsehood (5:21 to 37), love of enemies (5:44), being "perfect" as the Father is perfect (5:48; Catechism 2013). This is grace at work and not mere human effort: the New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and it teaches what must be done (Catechism 1966).
• Hearing and doing. Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" enters, but the one who does the Father's will (7:21 to 27). Faith shows itself in love. The Church holds faith and works together, both as gifts of grace (Catechism 2006 to 2011).
• Prayer, almsgiving, fasting. Done before the Father who sees in secret (6:1 to 18; Catechism 1969). The Our Father stands at the centre (Catechism 2763).
• Mercy. Twice Jesus quotes Hosea: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (9:13; 12:7). The forgiven must forgive (6:12 and 15; 18:21 to 35; Catechism 2843).
• The Church. Only Matthew uses the word (16:18; 18:17). Peter alone receives the keys (16:18 to 19). The power to bind and loose given to him is also given to the Twelve, united with him as their head (16:19; 18:18). See Catechism 552 to 553, 881, 1444.
• Judgment and the poor. Christ the King is met in the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner (25:31 to 46; Catechism 544, 678, 1033, 2443, 2447). Warning is never the last word: the same King gave his life "a ransom for many" (20:28).
• Mission to all nations. From a first sending to Israel (10:5 to 6; 15:24) to all nations, baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (28:19; Catechism 849, 1223, 1276).
• Mary and Joseph. Matthew tells the story through Joseph, a righteous man (1:19), guided by dreams (1:20; 2:13; 2:19). The virginal conception is the work of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling Isaiah (1:18 to 23; Catechism 497). The Magi find "the child with Mary his mother" (2:11). Where the Gospel speaks of Jesus's "brothers and sisters" (12:46; 13:55 to 56), the Church has always understood close relations and not other children of the Virgin Mary (Catechism 500). In fact James and Joseph are sons of "another Mary" (27:56; 28:1).

On chapter 23 and 27:25. Jesus's woes are a prophet's words against hypocrisy, spoken within Israel, and they are a warning to every religious person today, not least to Christians. The crowd's cry in 27:25 must never be used against the Jewish people. The Catechism says that we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, and still less on Jews of other times and places on the basis of that cry (597). Nostra Aetate 4 says that the Passion "cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive", nor against the Jews of today. The Church holds that sinners, all of us, were the authors of Christ's sufferings, and she lays the gravest responsibility on Christians who sin (Catechism 598).

• Son of David and Son of Abraham. The heir of Israel's promises and, through Abraham, a blessing for all peoples (1:1). The blind and the crowds call him Son of David (9:27; 20:30; 21:9).
• Son of God. The Father says so at the baptism and the Transfiguration (3:17; 17:5). Peter confesses it by the Father's revelation (16:16 to 17; Catechism 442). Only the Son truly knows the Father (11:27).
• The Teacher with authority. He goes up the mountain and teaches like a new Moses and more: "You have heard that it was said... But I say to you" (5:21 to 22). The crowds are amazed (7:28 to 29). The Catechism calls the Sermon the place where the Law of the Gospel is especially expressed (1965 to 1968). He is also gentle and humble in heart (11:29; Catechism 459).
• The Servant who heals and carries. He took our infirmities (8:17) and came to serve and to give his life (20:28; Catechism 622).
• The King who is crucified. Sought by the Magi as King of the Jews (2:2), he enters Jerusalem humbly (21:5), is mocked as king (27:29) and dies under that title (27:37). He cries out with the words of the Psalm (27:46; Catechism 603).
• The Lord who gives himself. At the Supper he gives his body and blood, "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (26:28). The Mass is rooted here.
• The risen Lord with all authority. He is worshipped (28:9; 28:17), holds all authority (28:18) and stays with his Church to the end of the age (28:20).

The Catechism calls the Gospels the heart of all the Scriptures (125), and it names three stages in their making: the life of Jesus, the preaching of the Apostles, the written Gospels (126). Of this Gospel in particular:

• The Holy Name and salvation from sin: 430. The virginal conception: 496 to 497. The Magi: 528. The flight to Egypt: 530.
• The Beatitudes: 1716 to 1717. The New Law and the Sermon: 1965 to 1970. The Golden Rule: 1970. The Sermon's call to conversion in prayer: 2608.
• The Our Father: 2759 says that St Luke has five petitions and St Matthew seven, and that the liturgy of the Church has kept St Matthew's text. It is "truly the summary of the whole gospel" (2761, quoting Tertullian).
• Peter and the keys: 552 to 553, 881. The rich young man and the commandments: 2052 to 2054. The two great commandments: 2083.

The Fathers, in substance. St Augustine says that anyone who meditates on the Sermon on the Mount will find there the perfect way of the Christian life (quoted in Catechism 1966). St John Chrysostom preached a long series of homilies on this Gospel at Antioch. He opens the first by saying, in substance, that we should have lived so purely that the grace of the Spirit would be our book, and that since we have lost this, we must at least hold firmly to the written word as the second best.

Benedict XVI, in his catechesis on Matthew (30 August 2006), sees in him two things: Jesus excludes no one, and following Jesus means leaving sin behind and beginning a new life at once.

In the liturgy.

• Syro-Malabar. In the calendars of readings from 2025 to 2027, Matthew is the Gospel read most often on Sundays at the Holy Qurbana. The readings include Mt 1:18 to 24 on the Fourth Sunday of Annunciation, the Magi and the Holy Family on the First Sunday of Nativity, and parts of the Sermon on the Mount during Denha and the Great Fast.
• Latin. Sunday Mass follows a three-year cycle, and Matthew is the Gospel of Year A, including the Passion on Palm Sunday of that year. On weekdays in Ordinary Time it is read from the Tenth to the Twenty-first Week. The feast of St Matthew is 21 September.
• Syro-Malankara. The 2025 to 2026 lectionary uses Matthew often, for example at the Holy Qurbono on Knanoitho Sunday, Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast (Mt 15:21 to 28), and at Evening on Aneede Sunday, the commemoration of the departed (Mt 25:31 to 46). That lectionary marks St Mathew in mid-November with Mt 9:9 to 13.

A plan for four weeks, a little each day:

• Week 1: chapters 1 to 7. Read slowly. Stay with the Beatitudes, and pray the Our Father in its place at 6:9 to 13.
• Week 2: chapters 8 to 13. Watch who comes to Jesus and how he treats them. Find yourself in one of the parables.
• Week 3: chapters 14 to 20. Follow Peter, his courage and his fear. Read chapter 18 with your own family or parish in mind.
• Week 4: chapters 21 to 28. Read the Passion in a single sitting. End on the mountain, and hear 28:20 as said to you.

When a passage says "to fulfill what had been spoken", look up the Old Testament verse. When the words are hard, read them with the Catechism and with the Church, and with respect for the Jewish people whose Scriptures these are.