Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew and who was it written for?

The early church attributed this Gospel to Matthew, the tax collector who became one of the twelve, and that tradition is old and broadly held. It reads as though written mainly for Jewish believers, because it leans so heavily on the Hebrew scriptures and keeps showing how Jesus fulfils what the prophets foretold. You do not need to settle every question of authorship to read it well. What matters is that Matthew wanted readers who knew the old promises to see them coming true in Jesus, the son of David and son of Abraham.

What is the main message of Matthew?

Matthew presents Jesus as the long-promised king of Israel and the fulfilment of the whole Old Testament hope. Its great theme is the kingdom of heaven: a kingdom that arrives quietly, welcomes the humble and the outsider, and reshapes how we live. Woven through it is the name Immanuel, 'God with us', which opens the Gospel and is echoed in Jesus' final promise to be with his people always. If you read it asking what kind of king this is, and what his kingdom asks of you, you will be reading it as Matthew intended.

What does 'Come to me, all who are weary' mean in Matthew 11:28?

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus invites everyone who is worn out and carrying heavy loads to come to him and find rest. The picture is of an ox-yoke, and the surprise is that he calls his yoke easy and his burden light. He is not promising a life without work or weight, but a different way of carrying it, walking alongside him rather than struggling alone. Many of us return to this verse when religion has started to feel like a demand rather than a gift. It is Jesus reminding us that he came to give rest, not to add to the pile.

New Testament

Matthew

Matthew opens the New Testament by showing Jesus as the long-promised king of Israel, the fulfilment of everything the Old Testament reached towards. It gathers his teaching into great blocks, including the Sermon on the Mount, and never loses sight of one claim: God has come to be with us.

Matthew 1

Matthew 1:21

Call His Name Jesus

“She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.””

Matthew 2

Matthew 2:2

O Holy Night

““Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.””

Matthew 4

Matthew 4:4

Live The Word

“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’””

Matthew 4:19

Be Fishers Of Souls

“He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.””

Matthew 5

Matthew 5:4

Blessed Are Those That Mourn

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Matthew 5:16

Let Your Light Shine

“Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:44

Love Your Enemies

“But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,”

Matthew 6

Matthew 6:10

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

“Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:33

Seek First His Kingdom

“But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 7

Matthew 7:24-27

Like A Wise Man Who Built His House On Rock

““Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell, and its fall was great.””

Matthew 11

Matthew 11:28

Come To Me

““Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Come To Me And I Will Give You Rest

““Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

Matthew 19

Matthew 19:26

With God All Things Are Possible

“Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

Matthew 22

Matthew 22:37-40

Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.””

Matthew 22:39

Love Your Neighbour As Yourself

“A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”

More about Matthew

Matthew was almost certainly written for readers who knew their Hebrew scriptures well, and it shows on nearly every page. Again and again the writer pauses to say that what happened to Jesus had been promised long before, so the whole Gospel reads like a door opening between the old story and the new one. It opens not with a manger but with a long list of names, the family tree of a king, and from there it moves quickly to the heart of the matter. The angel tells Joseph to call the child Jesus, 'for he will save his people from their sins' (1:21). That sentence is the seed of everything that follows.

The teaching is what most people remember, and Matthew gathers it into great blocks rather than scattering it about. The Sermon on the Mount sits near the front like a foundation stone, with the Beatitudes blessing the very people the world overlooks: those who mourn (5:4), the poor in spirit, the merciful. Here Jesus tells his followers to let their light shine before others (5:16) and to love their enemies (5:44), which is still about the hardest thing he ever asked. Read these chapters slowly. They are not a list of rules to clear but a picture of the kind of life the kingdom grows in us.

If you are coming to Matthew for the first time, it helps to know who Jesus is talking to and why. The wise men ask early on, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?' (2:2), and that question of kingship runs right through. This is a Gospel about a kingdom that does not look like an empire: it begins small, it welcomes the wrong sort of people, and it asks us to seek it first and trust that the rest will be added (6:33). The famous invitation in 11:28 belongs here too, Jesus offering rest to all who are weary and weighed down, which is a strange thing for a king to say and a tender one.

What keeps drawing us back is the way Matthew never lets the grandeur drift away from the personal. The same Gospel that speaks of a kingdom come (6:10) ends with a promise that the risen Jesus is with us always, to the very end. He sums up the whole law as loving God and loving your neighbour (22:37-40), and he reminds the discouraged that with God all things are possible (19:26). If that feels out of reach this week, you are in good company. Start with the invitation to rest, and let the rest of the book meet you from there.

Questions about Matthew

Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew and who was it written for?: The early church attributed this Gospel to Matthew, the tax collector who became one of the twelve, and that tradition is old and broadly held. It reads as though written mainly for Jewish believers, because it leans so heavily on the Hebrew scriptures and keeps showing how Jesus fulfils what the prophets foretold. You do not need to settle every question of authorship to read it well. What matters is that Matthew wanted readers who knew the old promises to see them coming true in Jesus, the son of David and son of Abraham.
What is the main message of Matthew?: Matthew presents Jesus as the long-promised king of Israel and the fulfilment of the whole Old Testament hope. Its great theme is the kingdom of heaven: a kingdom that arrives quietly, welcomes the humble and the outsider, and reshapes how we live. Woven through it is the name Immanuel, 'God with us', which opens the Gospel and is echoed in Jesus' final promise to be with his people always. If you read it asking what kind of king this is, and what his kingdom asks of you, you will be reading it as Matthew intended.
What does 'Come to me, all who are weary' mean in Matthew 11:28?: In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus invites everyone who is worn out and carrying heavy loads to come to him and find rest. The picture is of an ox-yoke, and the surprise is that he calls his yoke easy and his burden light. He is not promising a life without work or weight, but a different way of carrying it, walking alongside him rather than struggling alone. Many of us return to this verse when religion has started to feel like a demand rather than a gift. It is Jesus reminding us that he came to give rest, not to add to the pile.

Topics in Matthew

The themes these verses speak to. Follow one to find related verses from right across the Bible.