PursuingHim.com

Have you ever walked into the tail end of a conversation and wonder what started the discussion?  The conversation made sense as you were apart of it, but when you found out the origination of the conversation it provided greater insight into the discussion.  The same is true with the Bible.  The Bible makes sense as you read it, but once you know the origination of the book, one gets greater insight into what it says.  Over the next several weeks, PursuingHim.com will be sharing the skinny or overview of the origination of the books of the New Testament in hopes that this will provide some further insights for studying God’s word.  These articles coincide with our Spring 2009 Lunch Bunch called New Testament Challenge.  We’ll be starting things off with the book of Matthew.

The Book of Matthew

Publication Date: Most sources agree that the Gospel of Matthew was written between 50 – 70 A.D.

Author: While the author of the Good News of Matthew never tells us who they are, church tradition holds that Matthew wrote the text.  Matthew, (also known as Levi) was a tax collector who was an eye witness to Jesus’ life.  We can read about Jesus calling Matthew to “Follow Me,” in Mark 2:14.

Target Audience: The book of Matthew was written with the Jewish community as the primary audience.  Matthew wanted to show the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and how they pointed to Jesus as the anticipated Messiah.  He also wanted to convey the fact that Jesus is the King that the Jewish community was looking for.  We see the wise men ask “Where is the King of the Jews?”  We also see Pilate asking Jesus, “Are you king of the Jews?”

Book Outline:

1. Prologue:  the birth of the King (Chapters 1, 2).
2. Narrative:  the preparation of the King (Chapters 3, 4).
3. First discourse:  the law of the Kingdom (Chapters 5-7).
4. Narrative:  the power of the King (Chapters 8, 9).
5. Second discourse:  the proclamation of the Kingdom (10).
6. Narrative:  the rejection of the King (11, 12).
7. Third discourse:  the growth of the Kingdom (13).
8. Narrative:  the mission of the King (14-17).
9. Fourth discourse:  the fellowship of the Kingdom (18).
10. Narrative:  the King goes to Jerusalem (19-23).
11. Fifth discourse:  the consummation of the Kingdom (24, 25).
12. Narrative:  the death and resurrection of the King (26:1-28:15).
13. Epilogue:  the great challenge of the Kingdom (28:16-20).

(The above outline is taken from Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary. (1967). Grand Rapids: Merrill C. Tenney.)

Want to read more? Read the skinny on Mark; a book of the Bible.