[And He Walks With Me] Introduction to Matthew

Feb 24, 2026 -

Author

Technically, the book of Matthew is anonymous since the author’s name is not explicitly identified within its pages. However, church fathers unanimously attributed the first gospel to Matthew (aka, Levi), the tax collector who followed Jesus in Matthew 9:9. Some challenge this on the basis that the gospel of Matthew apparently borrows a large portion of its content from the second gospel, Mark. The reasoning is that, as an apostle and eyewitness to Jesus’ entire ministry, Matthew (the person) had no reason to borrow from Mark.

Date and Place of Writing

Traditionally, Matthew has been dated to the late 50s or early 60s CE. This is based largely on the writings of the second-century church father Irenaeus, who asserted that Peter and Paul were still alive when the book was written. More recently, however, some scholars have advanced a date after 70 CE. Their reasoning is that the Matthew records Jesus predicting the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and Matthew (the man) would not have recorded that prediction if Jerusalem was still standing.

Audience and Purpose

Scholars agree that the book of Matthew was written for Hellenistic (i.e., Greek-speaking) Jewish Christians to share the story of Jesus Christ with other Jews. As such, it was written primarily in Greek, and the Aramaic phrases included were translated into Greek (e.g., 27:46). It incorporates more Old Testament references than the other gospels, but those references are taken from the Septuagint (LXX), a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament begun in the third century BCE. Numerous other components are also tailored to a Jewish audience. For example, the genealogy recorded in ch 1 begins with Abraham.

Genre

The book of Matthew is classified as a gospel. This unique genre is a mixture of biography, epistle, historical narrative, textbook, and memoir. As such, it has some similarities with each of these other genres, and many of the strategies utilized when reading them are useful here. However, it also has some differences from each of these other genres, and so the strategies used to understand them are not completely effective here.

It is important to recognize that there are four gospels within the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of these records the story of Jesus, but from different perspectives and for different audiences. Thus, an essential method for interpreting the gospels is by comparing and contrasting parallel accounts to see what each author thought important to record.

It is also important to recognize that, although Jesus is the central character in each of the gospels, none of the gospels were written by him. Therefore, it is important to consider the contexts of both Jesus and the authors/audiences in order to fully understand.

Among the gospels, Matthew is distinguished by its Jewish audience and topical arrangement. While it does follow Jesus’ life chronologically, the different phases of his ministry focus on different topics (e.g., teaching, miracles). No doubt, these things combined to make this the most-cited gospel during the early second century.

Key Themes

  • God uses unlikely people to accomplish his purposes
  • God attends to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalized
  • Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy
  • Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God incarnate
  • Jesus’ core teachings are recorded in a series of discourses
  • Jesus followers are to be distinguished by their adherence to his character and command rather than ethnicity or other human characteristics
  • Jesus’ continuing presence as the essential characteristic of the people of God
  • Jesus expects his followers to continue his mission.

Structure

  1. The advent of Christ (1:1-2:23)
    1. His genealogy (1:1-17)
    2. His birth (1:18-2:12)
    3. Prophecy fulfilled (2:13-23)
  2. The preparation of Christ (3:1-4:11)
    1. John the Baptist prepares the way (3:1-12)
    2. The baptism of Jesus (3:13-17)
    3. The temptation of Jesus (4:1-11)
  3. The ministry of Christ (4:12-20:34)
    1. His mission (4:12-17)
    2. His first disciples (4:18-22)
    3. His early ministry summarized (4:23-25)
    4. His teachings: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29)
      1. The Beatitudes (5:3-12)
      2. Live as salt and light (5:13-16)
      3. Live above the Law (5:17-20)
      4. Sin begins in the heart (5:21-37)
      5. Exceed obligations (5:38-48)
      6. Be generous (6:1-4)
      7. Pray well (6:5-18)
      8. Prioritize God (6:19-24)
      9. Trust God (6:25-34)
      10. Don’t condescend (7:1-6)
      11. Keep seeking (7:7-12)
      12. Be extraordinary (7:13-23)
      13. Apply Scriptures daily (7:24-29)
    5. His power (8:1-9:34)
      1. To heal the unclean: A leprous man (8:1-4)
      2. To heal across distance and culture: The centurion’s servant (8:5-13)
      3. To heal at Capernaum (8:14-17)
      4. The cost of following Jesus (8:18-22)
      5. To command the storm (8:23-34)
      6. To forgive sin (9:1-13)
      7. To supercede the old ways (9:14-17)
      8. To be interrupted and raise the dead (9:18-26)
      9. To heal the blind (9:27-31)
      10. To drive out demons (9:32-34)
    6. His commission (9:35-11:30)
      1. Pray for workers (9:35-38)
      2. Jesus commissions the Twelve (10:1-15)
      3. The hardship of ministry (10:16-25)
      4. The promise for the minister (10:26-39)
      5. The nature of ministry (10:40-42)
      6. The reality of doubt (11:1-15)
      7. The challenge of this generation (11:16-24)
      8. The availability of rest in Christ (11:25-30)
    7. His opposition (12:1-13:58)
      1. Criticism (12:1-14)
      2. Distractions (12:15-21)
      3. Deniers (12:22-32)
      4. The mutated (12:33-37)
      5. The perpetual doubters (12:38-42)
      6. The complacent (12:43-45)
      7. The concerned (12:46-50)
      8. Jesus’ strategy: To speak in parables (13:1-52)
      9. The familiar (13:53-58)
    8. His perseverance (14:1-16:12)
      1. The Disruption: John the Baptist’s execution (14:1-12)
      2. Feeding Five Thousand (14:13-21)
      3. Walking on water (14:22-32)
      4. Healing (14:34-36)
      5. Answering opponents (15:1-9)
      6. Explaining defilement (15:10-20)
      7. Ministering beyond human barriers (15:21-28)
      8. Healing more people (15:29-31)
      9. Feeding four thousand (15:32-39)
      10. More testing (16:1-12)
    9. His identity (16:13-18:35)
      1. Success: Peter’s confession (16:13-20)
      2. Failure: Peter’s resistance (16:21-23)
      3. First prediction of death (16:24-28)
      4. The Transfiguration (17:1-13)
      5. Power over spiritual forces (17:14-21)
      6. Second prediction of death (17:22-23)
      7. So we won’t offend them… (17:24-27)
      8. The humble king (18:1-9)
      9. The seeking Savior (18:10-20)
      10. The forgiving Lord (18:21-35)
    10. His resolve: The road to Jerusalem (19:1-20:34)
      1. What about divorce? (19:1-12)
      2. Blessing children (19:13-15)
      3. The challenge of wealth (19:16-29)
      4. The Parable of the Vineyard Workers (20:1-16)
      5. Third prediction of death (20:17-19)
      6. The cup Jesus will drink (20:20-28)
      7. Blind men healed at Jericho (20:29-34)
  4. The passion of Christ (21:1-66)
    1. The Triumphal Entry (21:1-11)
    2. Cleansing the temple (21:12-13)
    3. Children praise Jesus (21:14-17)
    4. Cursing the fig tree (21:18-22)
    5. Clashing with the religious authorities (21:23-27)
    6. The Parable of the Two Sons (21:28-32)
    7. The Parable of the Vineyard Owner (21:33-46)
    8. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (22:1-14)
    9. Should a Christian pay tax? (22:15-22)
    10. The nature of the Resurrection (22:23-33)
    11. The Great Commandment (22:24-40)
    12. Who is the Messiah? (22:41-46)
    13. Denouncing of religious hypocrites (23:1-36)
    14. Lamenting over the lost (23:37-39
    15. Prediction of the destruction of the temple (24:1-2)
    16. The End of the Age (24:3-8)
    17. Persecution (24:9-14)
    18. The Great Tribulation (24:15-28)
    19. Jesus’ return trip (24:29-31)
    20. Signs of the end (24:32-51)
    21. The importance of preparedness (25:1-13)
    22. The Parable of the Talents (25:14-30)
    23. The Sheep and the Goats (25:31-46)
    24. The plot to kill Jesus (26:1-3)
    25. Anointing at Bethany (26:6-16)
    26. Betrayal (26:17-25)
    27. The Lord’s Supper (26:26-30-35)
    28. In the Garden (26:36-46)
    29. Facing the Sanhedrin (26:57-68)
    30. Peter denies Jesus (26:69-75)
    31. Facing Pilate (27:1-2)
    32. Judas’ fate (27:3-10)
    33. Facing Pilate (27:11-26)
    34. Mocked by soldiers (27:27-31)
    35. Crucifixion (27:32-56)
    36. Burial (27:57-66)
  5. The victory of Christ (28:1-20)
    1. The empty tomb (28:1-10)
    2. What about the guards? (28:11-14)
    3. The Great Commission (28:16-20)

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