The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. It presents Jesus as the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of Israel’s Scriptures, and the teacher who announces God’s kingdom.
The New Testament contains 27 books, beginning with Matthew and ending with Revelation. Matthew is followed by Mark, Luke, and John, the other three accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. Together, these four books are called the Gospels.
Matthew comes first because it provides a natural bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It begins with Jesus’ genealogy and repeatedly connects his life to promises and events recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. The book’s central message is that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the king who brings God’s purposes to fulfillment.
The order of the New Testament books is not necessarily the order in which they were written. Many scholars believe some of Paul’s letters may have been written before the Gospels, while the exact dates of composition remain debated. Matthew’s position at the beginning is primarily about its theological connection to the Old Testament, not a claim that it was the earliest New Testament text produced.
Matthew also works as an entrance to the Christian story because it explains who Jesus is before the reader encounters the rest of the New Testament. It introduces his ancestry, birth, teachings, miracles, conflict with religious leaders, crucifixion, resurrection, and commission to his followers.
Essential fact: Matthew is first in the New Testament’s canonical order, but that does not prove it was the first New Testament book written.
What the Gospel of Matthew says about Jesus
Matthew identifies Jesus through several connected titles and roles. He is the Son of David, linking him to Israel’s royal family; the Son of Abraham, connecting him to the covenant people; and the Messiah, the anointed king expected by Israel. The opening genealogy establishes these themes before the narrative begins.
The book also emphasizes Jesus as a new and greater Moses. Moses led Israel out of Egypt and received the law at Mount Sinai. In Matthew, Jesus comes out of Egypt, passes through testing in the wilderness, and teaches from a mountain. This pattern presents him as the authoritative teacher who reveals God’s will.
Matthew does not portray Jesus merely as a wise speaker. His teaching is supported by acts of healing, deliverance, forgiveness, and authority over nature. These deeds show the arrival of God’s kingdom, a central theme throughout the Gospel.
The title “Son of Man” appears frequently in Matthew and carries several layers of meaning. It can refer to Jesus’ humanity, his authority, his suffering, and his future reign. Readers encounter a Messiah who heals and teaches but also faces rejection, suffering, and death.
Matthew’s portrait therefore holds together two truths that readers sometimes separate: Jesus is the promised king, and Jesus is the suffering servant. His kingship is not presented as political domination. Instead, it is expressed through service, obedience, mercy, sacrifice, and faithfulness to God.
How Matthew is organized and what each part contains
Matthew has 28 chapters. It combines narrative sections about Jesus’ actions with substantial blocks of teaching. This arrangement helps readers see both what Jesus did and what he instructed his followers to believe and practice.
Jesus’ ancestry and birth
Chapters 1 and 2 introduce Jesus’ genealogy, birth, and early childhood. The genealogy traces Jesus’ line through David and Abraham, while also naming several women, including Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Their inclusion highlights the unexpected and sometimes complicated people through whom God’s purposes move.
Matthew describes Jesus’ birth to Mary, Joseph’s response to the pregnancy, the visit of the Magi, the family’s escape to Egypt, and their eventual settlement in Nazareth. These events are connected with Old Testament themes such as royal opposition, exile, deliverance, and God’s presence with his people.
Chapters 3 through 7 introduce John the Baptist, Jesus’ baptism, his testing in the wilderness, the calling of his first disciples, and the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus announces that God’s kingdom is near and calls people to repentance and faith.
The section reaches its teaching peak in the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 through 7. Jesus addresses anger, reconciliation, sexual faithfulness, honesty, retaliation, love of enemies, generosity, prayer, fasting, worry, judgment, and treatment of others. He moves beyond outward rule-keeping and addresses the motives and desires of the heart.
Jesus heals, teaches, and sends his disciples
Chapters 8 through 10 describe miracles and the growing activity of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew groups many healings together, showing Jesus’ authority over illness, demons, storms, paralysis, and death. The narrative then turns toward the disciples’ own mission.
Jesus sends the Twelve to proclaim the kingdom and serve others. Their mission includes practical dependence on God, courage under opposition, and a willingness to accept hardship. The section makes clear that discipleship involves participation in Jesus’ work rather than passive admiration.
Parables explain the kingdom
Chapter 13 gathers several parables of the kingdom. These short stories use ordinary images such as seed, soil, weeds, hidden treasure, a valuable pearl, and a fishing net. They show that God’s kingdom may begin in an apparently small or hidden way while ultimately producing a decisive result.
The parables also explain why people respond differently to Jesus. Some hear the message but do not understand it. Others receive it briefly and then abandon it under pressure. Still others allow competing concerns to choke it, while some receive it and bear lasting fruit.
Jesus faces opposition and prepares his followers
Chapters 14 through 20 include the feeding of the crowds, Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, predictions of suffering, the Transfiguration, teaching about humility and forgiveness, and lessons about wealth and service. The disciples increasingly recognize Jesus’ identity, but they continue to misunderstand what his mission requires.
Jesus repeatedly teaches that greatness among his followers is measured by service. He warns against causing others to stumble, stresses the value of restoring relationships, and tells his disciples to forgive generously. These teachings give Matthew a strong ethical focus.
Jesus enters Jerusalem and rises from the dead
Chapters 21 through 28 describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, his disputes with religious authorities, his teaching about the future, the Last Supper, arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The conflict reaches its climax in Jerusalem, where Jesus is treated as a threat and executed.
The book ends with the empty tomb and the risen Jesus meeting his disciples in Galilee. He gives them a worldwide mission to make disciples, baptize, and teach people to follow his commands. This ending connects Jesus’ authority with the continuing work of his followers.
Chapters 1–2: Jesus’ genealogy, birth, and childhood.
Chapters 3–7: Preparation for ministry and the Sermon on the Mount.
Chapters 8–10: Miracles and the mission of the Twelve.
Chapters 11–13: Opposition, responses to Jesus, and kingdom parables.
Chapters 14–20: Discipleship, suffering, humility, and service.
Chapters 21–28: Jerusalem, crucifixion, resurrection, and the disciples’ mission.
The main themes that shape Matthew
Jesus fulfills the Old Testament
One of Matthew’s most recognizable features is its repeated use of fulfillment statements. The Gospel explains events in Jesus’ life by referring to earlier Scripture, including his birth, movement from Egypt, residence in Nazareth, healing ministry, teaching, and suffering.
These references do not simply function as predictions matched with later events. They also show Matthew’s conviction that Jesus’ life continues the story of Israel. The promises, hopes, warnings, and patterns found in the Old Testament reach a decisive point in him.
The kingdom of heaven has arrived
Matthew often uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven”, while other New Testament writings commonly use “kingdom of God.” The two expressions refer to the same central reality: God’s active rule and saving authority. Matthew’s wording reflects Jewish reverence for God’s name.
The kingdom is both present and future in Matthew. Jesus’ ministry shows that it has begun, yet the book also points toward a future time when God’s judgment and restoration will be fully revealed. This combination shapes the Christian call to live faithfully now while awaiting the kingdom’s completion.
Matthew frequently speaks about righteousness, but the term is not limited to public respectability or religious reputation. Jesus teaches a righteousness that reaches inward and produces visible actions: mercy, truthfulness, reconciliation, generosity, prayer, and care for vulnerable people.
The Sermon on the Mount illustrates this emphasis. Jesus presents obedience as more than technical compliance. He addresses the heart behind murder, adultery, oaths, revenge, charity, and prayer. His followers are called to a deep faithfulness that affects ordinary decisions and relationships.
Discipleship includes costly service
Matthew does not present discipleship as agreement with a set of ideas alone. To follow Jesus means learning his way of life, practicing his teaching, serving others, enduring opposition, and placing loyalty to God above status or security.
The disciples often misunderstand Jesus, act impulsively, or fail under pressure. Their weaknesses make the book realistic about spiritual growth. Matthew’s message is not that followers never fail, but that they must return to Jesus, receive correction, and continue in faithful obedience.
Mercy and judgment belong together
Matthew gives sustained attention to mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and care for those in need. At the same time, it contains serious warnings about hypocrisy, hardened rejection, exploitation, and final judgment. These themes are not treated as opposites.
For Matthew, receiving God’s mercy should produce mercy toward other people. Religious language without compassion is exposed as empty. The book’s warnings call readers to examine whether their lives actually reflect the values they claim to believe.
Reading tip: Pay attention to repeated words and ideas such as kingdom, fulfill, righteousness, disciples, little ones, and heaven. Matthew uses these patterns to connect separate episodes into one larger message.
Who wrote Matthew, and when was it written?
The book is traditionally attributed to Matthew, one of Jesus’ Twelve disciples and a tax collector before joining Jesus. The Gospel itself does not name its author within the text. Early Christian tradition connected it with Matthew, which is why the title “According to Matthew” became associated with the book.
Modern scholars discuss the authorship and date because the Gospel does not provide a clear statement about when or by whom it was composed. Many scholars place its writing after the Gospel of Mark and before the end of the first century, although proposals differ. The exact date cannot be established with certainty.
Matthew’s relationship to Mark is an important part of this discussion. Large portions of Matthew closely parallel material in Mark, while Matthew also contains teachings and stories not found in Mark. Many scholars think Matthew used Mark and other traditions as sources, but the precise process remains a matter of scholarly debate.
The Gospel appears to address readers who know Jewish Scripture and are concerned with the relationship between Jesus and Israel’s story. At the same time, it reaches beyond one ethnic community. Its final mission directs the disciples toward all nations, showing that the message of Jesus is intended for a worldwide audience.
Questions about authorship and sources do not erase the book’s distinctive voice. Matthew carefully arranges material, groups teachings, highlights fulfillment, and presents Jesus as the authoritative Messiah. Reading it on its own reveals a coherent theological and literary work.
How to read the first book of the New Testament
A careful reading of Matthew benefits from attention to both individual passages and the whole narrative. Familiar sections such as the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, the parables, and the resurrection account are meaningful on their own, but their significance becomes clearer when read within Matthew’s portrait of Jesus.
Start by noticing who speaks, who responds, and what changes after each episode. Matthew often places a miracle beside a teaching section or follows a public success with conflict. These transitions show that Jesus’ authority produces both faith and resistance.
Keep the following questions in mind as you read:
What does this passage reveal about Jesus’ identity and authority?
How does the passage relate to the Old Testament or to Israel’s story?
What does it show about the kingdom of heaven?
How do individuals respond to Jesus, and what do their responses reveal?
What kind of character or behavior does Jesus ask of his followers?
How does the passage prepare for Jesus’ suffering, death, or resurrection?
It also helps to distinguish between description and instruction. Matthew describes arguments, failures, betrayals, and acts of violence without approving every action it records. When applying a passage, consider whether it reports what happened, commands what should happen, warns about what must be avoided, or illustrates a broader principle.
Readers should also consider the audience and setting of each passage. Jesus’ teaching about prayer, fasting, divorce, wealth, leadership, and community life addresses real human situations. Applying the text responsibly means understanding its central purpose rather than isolating a single sentence from its surrounding discussion.
The final chapters provide the direction for the whole Gospel. Jesus’ death is not treated as the collapse of his mission, and the resurrection is not an isolated ending. Together, they establish his authority and send his followers to continue the work of making disciples and teaching his ways.
How Matthew differs from the other three Gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all proclaim Jesus, but they emphasize different aspects of his life and mission. Matthew is especially known for its connection to the Old Testament, its major teaching collections, and its presentation of Jesus as the Messiah and authoritative teacher.
Mark is shorter and moves rapidly through Jesus’ actions, often emphasizing conflict, suffering, and the disciples’ difficulty understanding him. Luke gives particular attention to prayer, the Holy Spirit, outsiders, the poor, women, and God’s concern for those on the margins. John uses distinctive language and extended conversations to emphasize Jesus’ identity and relationship with the Father.
Matthew’s distinctive contributions include the genealogy at the beginning, the visit of the Magi, the Sermon on the Mount, several kingdom parables, extensive teaching about the church community, and the worldwide commission at the end. Some of these passages appear in different forms in other Gospels, while others are unique to Matthew.
Reading all four Gospels allows you to see both their shared testimony and their individual emphases. Matthew should not be treated as a replacement for the others. Its first position invites readers into the New Testament, while its themes continue to echo through the rest of Christian Scripture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Matthew the first book ever written in the New Testament?
Not necessarily. Matthew is the first book in the New Testament’s canonical order, but the order does not establish the date each book was written. Many scholars think some of Paul’s letters and possibly Mark were composed before Matthew. The exact sequence remains uncertain because the New Testament books do not all provide precise composition dates.
Why is the first Gospel called Matthew?
The title refers to Matthew, a tax collector who became one of Jesus’ Twelve disciples. The Gospel itself does not explicitly identify its writer inside the text, but early Christian tradition associated it with Matthew. Modern scholars continue to discuss authorship, sources, and date while recognizing the Gospel’s distinctive presentation of Jesus.
How long does it take to read Matthew?
Many readers can finish Matthew in roughly two to three hours at a steady pace, though the time varies with reading speed and study habits. A slower reading over several days may be more useful because the book contains long teaching sections. Reading a chapter each day also makes it easier to notice repeated themes and connections.
What is the most important message in Matthew?
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and authoritative Son of God who brings God’s kingdom, fulfills Scripture, and calls people to faithful discipleship. His followers are taught to practice mercy, righteousness, forgiveness, humility, and service. The resurrection confirms his authority and leads to a mission that extends to all nations.
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