Brief Note on The Gospel of Matthew

Historical Background:

Author

The Gospel of Matthew is ascribed to the Apostle Matthew. He was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. The early church fathers indisputably suggested that Matthew was the author of the book. But in recent times, there are many questions raised over the authorship of the book. The author has not imprinted his name, nor does the book clearly identify him. Matthew also has not claimed to be the author. If speaking meticulously, the Gospel of Matthew is fundamentally anonymous.

Date

Indeed, one of the major Greek manuscripts has the title “According to Matthew,” yet it is not sure if the original document bears the same title. J. Knox Chamblin wonders that the title did not belong to the original documents, because modern-day findings of the first-century history reveal that the subscribed title was originated no later than 140 A.D. [1] However, we should remember that people in Jesus’ time did not attribute their names for authorship. Instead, some scribes would author and dedicate their work to someone’s name. That is why we have several pseudepigrapha, falsely attributed works to a significant person of the past, as extra biblical materials.

The Matthew could not have been written earlier than 40 A.D. and after A.D. 100. Since the first of four gospels, “Mark cannot be earlier than A.D. 40, for Caligula’s attempt to profane the temple is reflected in ch. 13; John, the latest of the gospels, cannot be dated long after the year 100, for a papyrus fragment of it, found in upper Egypt, has been assigned to the second century by a competent papyrologist.” [2] When we try to date in between 40 and 100, the most likely result would be around A.D. 65-70. Elwell and Yarbrough affirm that A.D. 70 is most certainly correct. [3] Bearing some first-century historical events and writings of the early Church Fathers in our mind, we can safely put the Gospel of Matthew around A.D. 70.

Internal Evidence for Authorship

With some references from the text itself, the authorship of the gospel is established by scrutinizing the internal evidences within the passages. The writings reflect so much of Jewish school of thought. “The fact of his Jewish standpoint is further indicated by his Old Testament quotations.” [4] The author has applied the Scripture from the Old Testament in an orderly way, suggesting he was trained in the Jewish school of thought, so he had a good understanding of Jewish methods of writing. A Gentile Christian could not have described the relationship of Jesus to the Jews so deliberately and clearly.

External Evidence for Authorship

The internal evidence, however, indicates that the author was a Jewish Christian, rather than explicitly revealing their identity. Still, the internal evidence does not nullify the supposition of Apostle Matthew being an author, though. Moreover, we have many references from the early church fathers attesting to Apostle Matthew as the author. Among the Church Fathers, Papias, Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Jerome are worth quoting, who attested to and quoted Matthew in their early writings. The gospel that bears the name of Matthew is identified by these Fathers.

According to Papias (circa A.D. 130), Matthew composed the gospel in the Hebrew language, and later he himself interpreted it into Greek. [5] Irenaeus (circa A.D. 180) adds, “Now Matthew among the Hebrews published a writing of the Gospel in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel in Rome and founding the Church.” [6] Origen also confirms in the same tone of Irenaeus that “Matthew, who was once a publican but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ,” a Jewish Christian, composed it in Hebrew. [7] Eusebius (circa A.D. 330) writes that Panaenus (circa A.D. 190) himself found the Gospel of Matthew in the hands of the newly converted Christians in India whom Bartholomew preached to and left behind the copy of Matthew, which was in Hebrew. [8] All of this external evidence does not only verify the authorship of the gospel but also invites conflict about the language Matthew might have originally used to record the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. Since we do not have an original manuscript in order to confirm the original language of the book, it evidently has some substantial variations if we presume that the book was written in Hebrew. Nobody has seen it yet. Craig L. Blomberg suggests that the original manuscript is likely in Hebrew, but the highest probability would be to say that Matthew himself or some other Greek-speaking Christian scribe would have later interpreted it in incorporation with Mark and other hypothetical documents (Q) into Greek. [9]

Place of Writing

The writing styles, the use of a Jewish framework and method, and the treatment of historical issues from a Jewish perspective largely indicate that the primary recipients are Jewish Christians. Blomberg also admits that the external evidence consistently corroborates that Jewish Christians are the main target group of this gospel. [10] It is undeniable that the gospel frequently addresses Gentile Christians. Modern scholars have conjectured the most likely origins or destinations of the books. The proposed possible regions of the origin of the books are Syria, especially the center of Antioch, or Sepphoris in Galilee. [11] The majority of scholars take the side of one of these two proposed places. Some scholars view certain later works, including Ignatius’s letters and the Didache, as having similar characteristics and structure to the Gospel of Matthew, which justifies their suggestion that these works could be the origin of the place of writing. On the other hand, the proposal of suggesting its origin of place as Palestinian region is not surprising, as the entire Gospel has Jewish characteristics and feelings in its writing which could have only come out of Jewish mind that was written for Jews in mind.

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Bibliography