When was the Gospel of Matthew written?
Many Church Fathers who lived only a generation or two after the Gospel writers lived state Matthew was written in Hebrew or Aramaic during the time of Peter and Paul. We know that Paul died sometime in the mid-60’s A.D., then we know that Matthew had to be written prior to the Temple destruction. This means Matthew’s Gospel would have been written before 70 A.D., a key year on the Jewish calendar since this was when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
Modern academics state the Gospel of Matthew was written after the Temple was destroyed, meaning it was written after 70 A.D. This better fits the timeframe modern Bible academic push in that Mark was the first Gospel written. Since Mathew and Luke include predications from Jesus that the Temple would be destroyed (and Mark’s account does not include this), modern Bible scholars say Matthew and Luke’s predictions were added in only after the Temple’s destruction to prove that Jesus’ prophecy came true.
If we look closely at the first three Gospel accounts, none of them make direct mention of the Temple’s destruction in 70 A.D. The focus of the Gospels is the life of Jesus, who died 40 years before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans.
The Dual Society: Pharisees and Saduccees
During at least the last 150 years leading up to Jesus’ brith. all during His lifetime, all during the lifetimes of Peter and Paul and of the original Disciples, and until the fall of the Temple to the Romans in 70 A.D., the Jewish people operated under a dual religious system. The one system was the Temple system, under the authority of the Sadducees. These were aristocrats who inherited or pushed their positions of authority. The other system was the Synagogue system under the authority of the educated rabbis and scribes. The common class were nearly universally members of the sect of the Pharisees. These two systems were not necessarily rivals, but each occupied a certain space in the overall Jewish scheme that was inseparable from every day social life. A natural tension existed between the two.
The Importance of the Temple
The Temple was where biblically mandated feasts and sacrifices occurred. It is also where the judicial system operated. The synagogue system was a result of the Babylonian exile, when the Temple and its system went defunct for a time. Organized religion was a critically important part of every person’s life in that era. This included both Jews and pagans. Since the Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem and the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, the Jews in Babylon decided to create a religious system which we now call the synagogue. Priests were only authorized to officiate in the Temple. So the new system was run by what the church would call lay people.
After their release from captivity, about 95% of all Jews chose not to return to the Holy Land. Rather, they decided to live in foreign nations. Even though Ezra and Nehemiah had led the rebuilding of the Temple and reinstated the priestly system, the bulk of the Jews remained far away from the Temple and its influence. The synagogue and its system emerged for the Jews in foreign lands. It became the center of their lives.
Only later, perhaps 70 to 80 years before the birth of Jesus did the synagogue take hold in the Holy Land. But when it did, it became popular and every bit as important to the Jewish people as the Temple system.
The Use of Parables
Parables play a crucial role in the Book of Matthew. When we come to Jesus’ teachings, we will talk extensively about their nature and their place in first century Jewish society. Before we get started, it is important to understand Jesus did not invent the literary style of parables. Parables were common and a mainstay within the Jewish culture for a long time before Jesus. There are still a regular feature used for teaching Torah principles.
Matthew shaped his Gospel for reading by first century Jews. We are going to spend time learning about the mindset of those Jews and their world in the Holy Land. We will study about how their religion was practiced at that time, their societal norms and nuances, and even what it was like for them to live under Roman rule. These are among the necessary ingredients which will help build the context for properly understanding and interpreting Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew Chapter 1
Genealogy
As we look at the beginning of chapter one, we find a very long list of genealogies full of difficult to pronounce names. These long lists carry more meaning and importance than a casual reading of them would imply. Genealogies in the Bible era were used for different purposes than what we use them for today. For us, genealogies are primarily a way to chart family trees. The information they supply has the purpose of telling us exactly who we are related to and perhaps where our ancestors were from.
Hebrew genealogies, on the other hand, were used for various purposes. For example, they were regularly used to prove inheritance rights which almost always involved land. Or they were meant as a bridge to connect a living person to a highly revered person who lived centuries earlier. This gave the contemporary person an elevated social status. Sometimes they were used to provide evidence of regal association and provide a basis for a person’s claim of the right to rule.
Matthew’s Gospel begins with a genealogy which has its own purpose and agenda. This was the norm for the era when presenting the credentials of a very important person.
The second word of the opening verse of Matthew is in almost all English Bible versions “genealogy”. Webster’s Dictionary says that genealogy is “a line of descent travel continuously from an ancestor”. Thus, when we read the word “genealogy” it means this list of names is but a simple table of distant family form that past which traces without interruption from a beginning ancestor to Jesus of Nazareth.
However, in Greek, the word is “genesis”. Yes, it is the same word used for the title of the first book of the Bible. As we put our first century mindset on, a theme which flows throughout the Gospel accounts and all of the New Testament is that the birth of Christ is to be viewed first and foremost as the beginning of a re-creation. It is a second genesis.
The Apostle Paul advance this theme is several of his books:
Therefore, if anyone is united with Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold. What has come is fresh and new. (2 Corinithians 5:17)
A better interpretation and translation of the opening few words of Matthew should be: “The Book of the New Genesis” wrought by Jesus Christs, son of David, Son of Abraham.”
The concept of Jesus inaugurating an actual second genesis, a full re-creation, is brought to us in the final book of the New Testament: the Book of Revelation.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer there. Also I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared ike a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s glory is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain, because the old order has passed away.” Then the One sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Also He said, “Write, ‘These words are true and trustworthy!’” (Revelation 21:1-5)
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