What are the significances of the Gospel of Matthew to the intended audience?

Answer 1

Because of its emphasis on fulfilled prophecy, the Gospel of Matthew was significant to the Jews since their scriptures foretold of a coming Messiah. Matthew wrote to communicate to Jews the authority of Jesus as the Messiah and as the fulfillment of these prophecies.

Answer 2

The historical content is important for understanding the past, present, and future. Since Christ is not limited to one era of time, the messages about his existence and divinity are relevant to all eras. The question of whether Jesus was the Messiah and whom he said he was is still asked by some today making Matthew's answers to these questions as relevant today as when first written.

Answer 3

More than any other gospel, the gospel of Matthew emphasises the supposed fulfilment in the New Testament of prophecies and prefigurement in the Old Testament. A famous example in which Matthew's author claimed that Isaiah 7:14 prophesied that a virgin would give birth, the Hebrew scriptures did not even contain those words - this is only to be found in the Septuagint, a flawed, early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. The actual Hebrew text refers to "the young woman" and the the young woman in question did indeed bear a child a few verses later. The author of Matthew either did not know the Hebrew text, or believed that his intended audience would only check against the Septuagint, not the original text.

Answer 4

Matthew's Gospel is believed to have been written by an anonymous author during the 80s of the first century CE, although Raymond E Brown suggests allowing some latitude for error. It was attributed to the disciple Matthew later in the second century, on the sole ground that Matthew was considered a well educated eyewitness and therefore the most probable author. Like other gospels, Matthew was written in Greek Koine, not as sometimes supposed in Aramaic, the language of Palestinian Jews in the first century. Matthew is likely to have been written somewhere near modern Syria, although the actual location is subject to debate.

Although traditionally viewed as being written for Jews, this is improbable, given the lack of knowledge of Jewish customs evident in the Gospel. The reference to Isaiah chapter 14, used by Matthew to suggest that Isaiah had prophesied the virgin birth of Jesus, proves that the author was using the Septuagint, a flawed early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, and not the original Hebrew version. Most Palestinian Jews, at least, would have realised this error and therefore dismissed the entire Gospel.

It can be demonstrated that Matthew relies entirely on Mark's Gospel for information on the life and mission of Jesus. Further sayings attributed to Jesus have been identified by scholars with the hypothetical 'Q' document. Some material in this Gospel is unique to Matthew, such as the story of the nativity of Jesus, the genealogy of his father Joseph and the resurrection of Jesus, and it is not known where this came from.

Since Matthew already had a copy of Mark's Gospel, there must have been a compelling reason for a new gospel account to be written. Given the heavy emphasis in Matthew's Gospel on supposed prophecies and references to Jesus in the Old Testament, it is possible that it had become necessary to defend the story in Mark. Matthew's Gospel gives us a more human, believable Jesus and shows that he was foreshadowed in the ancient scripture, thus that Christianity was more than just a new superstition.

Answer 5

A:Matthew's Gospel was written during the eighties of the first century, just a few years after the victorious Romans destroyed the Jeruselem Temple and carried off many of the Jewish leaders in slavery. Judaism was at a crossroads, no longer able to carry out its temple sacrifices and unsure of its future. The overall message of the Gospel of Matthew is that Christianity was that future, and that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament.

Although long thought to have been written to the Jews, Matthew was more likely written to Gentiles sympathetic to the Jews, perhaps those known as 'God-fearers'. With the cause of Temple Judaism so apparently lost, they could have been persuaded to consider Christianity the final form of Judaism. In the decades that followed, mainstream Judaism actually adapted to the loss of its Temple and evolved into Rabbinical Judaism, very much at odds with the emerging Christianity.

Answer 6

Jesus was Christ the Messiah who fulfills Old Testament prophecies.

Answer 7

Matthew is one of four recaps of the life and sayings of Jesus Christ perhaps with a more 'Jewish' perspective.