Swindoll's Living Insights Commentary Matthew 1a - Flipbook - Page 18
THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
DID MATTHEW ORIGINALLY WRITE
AN ARAMAIC GOSPEL?
According to Papias of Hierapolis, a second-century pastor who had
been a disciple of the apostle John and knew many first-generation
disciples of the original apostles, “Matthew wrote the oracles in the
Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.”6
This early second-century testimony is also confirmed later by Iren
aeus of Lyons, a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, who himself had
been a disciple of the apostle John. Irenaeus wrote, “Matthew also
issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.”7
Most early church fathers believed this early tradition that Matthew
had originally written an account of the gospel in the language of the
Jews—Aramaic—that was later translated into Greek.8
Many modern scholars doubt this early testimony, however. Many
consider it more likely that Matthew wrote his Gospel based on the
earlier and shorter Gospel of Mark, expanding the account in ways
that would appeal more to a Jewish audience. To date, no Aramaic or
Hebrew-language version of Matthew has been found, so even if such
a text once existed, the Greek version of Matthew is the one the Holy
Spirit has preserved as part of the New Testament canon.
each for Mark and Luke and as few as fifteen for John. Clearly, Matthew
wanted to convince his Jewish readers that Jesus was their l ong-awaited
Messiah, who did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to
fulfill them (5:17).
OVERVIEW OF MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Matthew wrote his account of Jesus’ birth, life, teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension to demonstrate to Jewish readers that Jesus is
the King, Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. The opening line of the book
makes this clear: “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah,
the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). Every chapter contributes
in some way to this overarching theme.
However, Matthew also delves deeper into a question that would
have especially nagged his first-century Jewish readers who had already become convinced of the messiahship of Jesus: “If Jesus is our
King, where is the promised kingdom?” Part of the plot of Matthew’s
Gospel is that Jesus did, in fact, offer the kingdom to Israel, but the
offer was rejected by almost all Jewish political and religious leaders
as well as a majority of the people (4:17; 16:13-28; 21:42-43). Matthew
thus sets up the unexpected plot twist that Israel’s rejection of Jesus
8