02 — The First Gospel
The Gospel that bears Matthew’s name and has stood first in every canonical ordering of the four — the book through which the apostle is known. These files take the Gospel whole: its architecture of five great discourses framed by narrative, its place at the head of the New Testament, and its unmistakably Jewish-Christian character, the Gospel written (in Origen’s phrase) “for those who came to the faith from Judaism.”
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle and Evangelist)
If almost nothing is known of the man Matthew apart from his call, the book ascribed to him is among the most studied texts in the world, and from the second century the Church has placed it first among the four Gospels (Eusebius, HE 6.25.4, quoting Origen). This section reads the Gospel as a literary and theological whole: its careful structure — five major discourses, each closed by the formula “when Jesus had finished these sayings,” set within a narrative of the Messiah’s birth, ministry, passion, and resurrection — and its pervasive concern to show Jesus as the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets and the promised Son of David. The genealogy that opens it, the formula-citations (“that it might be fulfilled”), the recurrent “kingdom of heaven,” and the closing Great Commission together mark Matthew as the bridge Gospel between Israel and the nations.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Gospel of Matthew | The Gospel as a whole: its fivefold discourse structure and narrative frame; the genealogy and infancy (Matt. 1–2); the ministry, Passion, and resurrection; the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19); and its place first in the canon. |
| The Jewish Gospel | The distinctively Jewish-Christian character of Matthew: the fulfilment formulae and the appeal to prophecy; “the kingdom of heaven”; the Son of David; the relation to the Law and to the scribes and Pharisees; Origen’s notice that it was written for believers from Judaism. |
See Also
- The Sermon on the Mount — the first and greatest of the five discourses
- The Parables of the Kingdom — the third discourse (Matt. 13)
- Papias and the Logia — the earliest testimony to the Gospel’s origin
- Reception and Legacy — the Gospel’s primacy in the Church’s catechesis and liturgy
References
- The Holy Gospel according to Matthew. Cited by chapter and verse.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History 6.25.3–6 (Origen on the order of the Gospels). Trans. McGiffert. NPNF II/1.
- Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies 3.1.1; 3.11.8. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885.
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew. NPNF I/10.