Matthew's Gospel
Most scholars agree that Mark's Gospel was written between 60 and 75 AD and that Mark's account served as a source for Matthew's Gospel, which was written at around the same period. However, while Mark wrote his Gospel for the Gentiles, Matthew wrote to the Hebrews in and around Palestine. Thus, their audiences were completely different with very different needs. For the Hebrews, it was important to understand how Jesus was God -- and that is the overall point of Matthew's Gospel: to show that "God is present in Jesus."[footnoteRef:1] [1: Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 58.]
The Gospel of Matthew gives an account of the history of Jesus Christ and is composed for the benefit of the inhabitants of Palestine in the time-period shortly after Our Lord's death. As one of the Apostles, Matthew had an intimate knowledge of Jesus. In his life before being an Apostle he was a tax collector (publican), a role that the Jews despised. The Gospel of Matthew is like Mark's in that it deals with Christ's ministry, His preaching, His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, and His passion, death, and resurrection there. It differs in that it begins with the genealogy of Jesus and goes on to act as a means of encouragement for the Christian believers in Palestine as well as a mode of instruction for non-believers -- namely, the Hebrews. Thus, it is Matthew's special purpose to show the Jews how Jesus is the Messiah come to establish the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew, by reference to the Old Testament prophecies, makes reply to those who had followed John the Baptist into the desert and asked, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Matt 11:3). This special purpose is revealed mainly through Matthew's expansion on Mark's narrative through key references to Old Testament themes and Scriptural verses. In this manner, Matthew locates the story of Jesus in the history of the Jews, identifying Him as the "one who is to come."
One way that Matthew differs from Mark is in the development of the theme of the Passover at the Last Supper. Mark writes, "He said to them, 'This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many'" (14:24), showing that Jesus clearly establishes a new covenant as He and His followers sit for the Passover. Matthew, however, seems to elaborate on Mark's description, stating,
And while they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke, and gave it to his disciples, and said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' And taking a cup, he gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'All of you drink of this; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins' (26:26-29).
Matthew mentions that the blood of Christ is being shed for the sins of man -- and makes this point especially clear for his audience, the Hebrews. Matthew wants the Hebrews to know that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Law, of the Old Testament, of the Passover Theme. Christ forgives sins because He is God -- which is the point he sees the Jews as needing to accept. In this sense, Christ becomes the Divine sacrificial lamb -- the Real Paschal Lamb, the fulfillment of the Passover Promise. Matthew's overall aim is to prove that Jesus is the Messiah -- and for this reason, Matthew's gospel is also called "The Teacher's Gospel" since it is always striving to teach us something about Jesus as God.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 76.]
Yet while it is Matthew who refers to the Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah and whose gospel is written for a Jewish audience, it is Mark who in 8:31, depicts Jesus as teaching His disciples that the Messiah leads through accepting the punishment for the sins of mankind. So in this sense, it can be understood that Matthew is also building on the teaching aspect of Mark and using Mark's foundation to further the lesson, just as Plato built on the teachings of Socrates, and Aristotle built on the teachings of Plato. Mark shows that Jesus would be rejected by the Jewish high priests, who looked for an earthly rather than a spiritual "messiah." But He also points to his power over death, a power significant to the Jews, because it...
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