Matthew (The Gospel of the Hebrews) ...

Prologue ...

The disciple Matthew was called by Jesus from his job of collecting taxes for the Roman empire.  Most tax collectors of that day were crooked.  They asked for more than Rome demanded and pocketed the difference themselves.  The people were unable to refuse, for to refuse to pay the Roman tax was an invitation for a death sentence, and for slavery for the remainder of the family.  So the people could not argue, they could only pay whatever was asked.  As a tax collector Matthew was a record keeper.  He had to be fluent in more than just the local language.  He had to both read and write.  Within the Jewish faith, where he was hated, his job would make these skills of no effect.  But within the Christian faith, these skills could be employed to great effect. 
 

As with any book contained in our scripture, there are always plenty of theories about when it was written, additions placed in it over the years, and doubts as to the original author.  If faith were based entirely upon human efforts, human science, and human history; this book might be considered nothing more than a collection of “sayings” and stories about the life of Christ.  But those who believe that our God would not allow it to survive if it were nothing more than a collection of lies to base His church upon; for those believers, Matthew offers so much more.  Matthew was a Jew, who appears to offer a Jewish traditional perspective on the Messiah.  This is not in opposition to the Gospel of Jesus, it is in full support of it.  Matthew shows Jesus as the fulfillment of every hope, of every prophecy regarding the Messiah that the Jewish people had so longed for.  His Gospel was written from this perspective.  The Old scriptures that foretold the Messiah were not in error, they were correctly fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The body of our church is stronger because each of us have a different perspective on Jesus Christ.  No single perspective is correct or rather complete.  Each perspective builds upon the other, until a fuller picture begins to emerge.  The Gospel of Mark, recalled to him by his friend Peter, was sufficient in telling the story of Jesus.  But the Gospel of John offered it from a Greek perspective, and used methods and comparisons they would understand better.  Here the Gospel of Matthew looks to reach a Jewish audience and explain how the Old Testament scriptures remain in harmony with the reality of Jesus Christ.  Something our present-day churches would do well to remember.  All scripture should be examined through the prism of Jesus Christ.  Without the lens of His life, and His love, we lose the truth of what has been written.

So let us give Matthew’s Gospel a second look and add to the fullness of our picture of Jesus Christ …