Book of Matthew

The book of Matthew is the first Gospel and the first book in the New Testament. This book tells the story of Jesus from His birth to his death and resurrection. Tradition has the author as Matthew, one of the twelve disciples. Most likely the book was written in the early part of A.D. 50 when the majority of the church was still Jewish as the book appears to be written to a Jewish audience. Many evidences of this are Matthew's concern with the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, his lack of explanation of Jewish customs, the use of Jewish terminology, and the emphasis that Jesus was the "Son of David." Matthew seems to be emphasizing that Jesus is the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for.

Structure

 * I. Jesus' Birth and Early Years (1:1-2:23)
 * II. Jesus Starts His Ministry (3:1-4:11)
 * III. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee (4:12-14:12)
 * IV. Jesus Withdrawals from Galilee (14:13-17:20)
 * V. Jesus' Last Ministry in Galilee (17:22-18:35)
 * VI. Jesus' Ministry in Judea and Perea (19:1-20:34)
 * VII. Passion Week (21:1-27:66)
 * VIII. Resurrection (28:1-20)