Why Did Matthew Write his Gospel?

Matthew was one of the twelve Jewish apostles of Jesus and was thus a personal eyewitness following the Savior during His three year ministry in Israel. The Jewish texture and tone of Matthew’s Gospel makes it obvious to readers that Matthew wrote his Gospel to a Jewish audience providing apologetic proof that Jesus of Nazareth is the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. To bolster and reinforce this fact Matthew quotes First Coming Messianic prophecies from the OT that Jesus exclusively fulfilled in His life as the Messiah of Israel.

Over 60 times Matthew quotes Old Testament prophecy that Jesus fulfilled as the Messiah of the Jewish Bible. This is irrefutable proof Jesus alone fulfilled these prophecies and no other. Out of deep love and a heavy burden for “the lost sheep of the House of Israel” Matthew goes to great length and detail to prove that by fulfillment of Messianic prophecy Jesus of Nazareth is the One and only promised Messiah prophesied by God to come to the Jewish people in the land of Israel from the region of Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2 with Matthew 4:13-19).

As a tax collector for Rome in the land of Judea, Matthew was already expected to write short hand for the Roman authorities; so he could have written what Jesus taught and did as they occurred and later collected them together to make up his Gospel. Matthew’s Gospel is a clear and concise historical record documenting the life and times of Jesus the Messiah from His virgin birth to His Ascension into heaven.

Since Jesus is the King Messiah, Matthew naturally wrote with the purpose in mind about matters pertaining to the Messianic kingdom. This is why Matthew’s repeated phrase “the kingdom of heaven” is found 32 times in this book. The Gospel of Matthew is an excellent example how the Christian faith is solidly grounded in biblical Judaism. The roots of Christianity are Jewish through and through, squarely based on the Jewish Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi when Mathew wrote his Gospel.

The genealogy of Jesus is given by Matthew to provide the proof Jesus is Jewish and has the required ancestry as the descendant of Abraham and King David Messianic prophecy mandates for being the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17). It is noteworthy that Mathew is the first Gospel placed in the New Testament Canon. This is no surprise since the Gospel is to go the Jew first (Romans 1:16) and this was the divine order of evangelism Jesus followed and His disciples later followed in the Book of Acts (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; Acts 2; Romans 1:16).

The Gospel of Matthew was probably written before the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. since the prophecies of Jesus about the destruction of the Temple was still spoken in the future tense (Matthew 23:38-39; 24:1-2).

Pastor and Bible commentator John MacArthur summarizes the overall purpose for why Matthew wrote his inspired Gospel. MacArthur writes of Matthew: “His purpose is clear: to demonstrate that Jesus is the Jewish nation’s long-awaited Messiah. His voluminous quoting of the OT is specifically designed to show the tie between the Messiah of promise and the Christ of history.”

If you don’t personally know this marvelous Messiah of Matthew’s Gospel for yourself then take up the offer of Jesus given in Matthew 11:28-30 to all weary and overburdened sinners. In this Messiah Jesus of Matthew’s Gospel you will surely find spiritual satisfaction and permanent rest for your unsatisfied, restless souls.