Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Placed first in the New Testament is Matthew's Gospel.
Matthew was one of the Apostles.
In Mark and Luke, he is called by his other name, Levi.
Written primarily for a Jewish audience, Matthew's Gospel links key promises of the
Old Testament Scriptures with their New Testament fulfillment.
Matthew's main purpose is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus is their
Messiah.
However, Matthew doesn't restrict his Gospel to Jewish people.
He records the coming of the wise men from a foreign land to worship the infant
Jesus, as well as Jesus' explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares,
that the field is the world.
Matthew also includes Jesus' full statement in the Great Commission that his
disciples are to go and teach all nations.
Matthew's Gospel is definitely Jewish, but clearly it has a universal outlook.
Matthew, formerly a tax collector for the Romans, wrote this Gospel in the A.D.
50s or 60s as one of the eyewitness disciples of the life of Jesus.
As an eyewitness, he gave extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching ministry.
Matthew begins by listing the genealogy of Jesus.
He traces Jesus' lineage through King David to Abraham, documenting Jesus'
birthright to Israel's throne.
Now listen as Matthew presents the case for Jesus as the promised King of Kings
and Lord of Lords.