King James Version
Matthew
Matthew in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of Matthew: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Matthew, also called Levi, the tax collector and one of the Twelve, in the unanimous early tradition (Papias, Irenaeus, Origen). The Gospel itself is anonymous. Many critical scholars hold that an unnamed Jewish Christian wrote it using Mark. |
|---|---|
| Date | Traditional about AD 50–70, before the fall of the temple. One survey gives after AD 70. Many critical scholars place it about AD 80–90. |
| Place written | Not named in the book. Irenaeus says Matthew wrote among the Hebrews. Antioch in Syria, near modern Antakya, Hatay Province, Turkey, is a common scholarly suggestion. |
| Genre | Gospel: an ancient biography of Jesus, arranged around five long blocks of teaching. |
| Chapters | 28 |
| Verses | 1071 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
The Gospel does not sign its name in the text. The title According to Matthew is attached to it in the earliest copies that carry titles, and no rival name is attached to it anywhere. Inside the book, the tax collector called from his booth is named Matthew in Matthew 9:9Matthew 9:9 · King James VersionAnd as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 · King James VersionOpen the Source, where Mark 2:14Mark 2:14 · King James VersionAnd as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Mark 2:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Luke 5:27Luke 5:27 · King James VersionAnd after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
Luke 5:27 · King James VersionOpen the Source call him Levi. The list of the Twelve in Matthew 10:3Matthew 10:3 · King James VersionPhilip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Matthew 10:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) adds the words the publican to his name. Readers have long taken that small detail as the author’s own touch.
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in the early second century, is quoted by Eusebius in Church History 3.39.16 as saying that Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language and each interpreted them as he was able. (3) Irenaeus, about AD 180, says in Against Heresies 3.1.1 that Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome. (2) Origen, reported by Eusebius in Church History 6.25, says the first Gospel was written by Matthew, once a tax collector, for converts from Judaism. (4) The early witnesses agree on the name. They do not describe a Greek Gospel that closely follows Mark, and that gap is where the modern debate begins.
Most critical scholars hold that Matthew used Mark as a source, since the two share most of Mark’s narrative and often its wording. They ask why an eyewitness apostle would lean on the account of a non-apostle. Many therefore assign the book to an anonymous Jewish Christian teacher and read Papias’s Hebrew oracles as a different work, or a sayings collection. Defenders of the tradition answer that an apostle could reasonably use Peter’s account, as Papias says Mark recorded it, and that Papias’s oracles may mean an earlier Semitic form of Matthew’s material. Both views take the same evidence seriously. The unanimous name in the second century is a fact any theory has to explain.
Who It Is Not
Matthias, chosen in Acts 1:26Acts 1:26 · King James VersionAnd they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Acts 1:26 · King James VersionOpen the Source to replace Judas, is a different man. Matthew is not the author of the Gospel of the Hebrews or the Gospel of the Nazarenes, later Jewish-Christian works sometimes linked with his name. Those are not in any church’s canon.
When and Where
Bible Gateway’s survey gives Matthew as after AD 70, preserving oral accounts from the previous generation. (5) Scholars who date it after 70 point to Matthew 22:7Matthew 22:7 · King James VersionBut when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Matthew 22:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source, where a king burns a city in a parable, as a reflection of Jerusalem’s destruction, and to the use of Mark. Scholars who date it earlier note that the temple still functions in passages like Matthew 5:23–24Matthew 5:23–24 · King James Version5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Matthew 5:23–24 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Matthew 17:24–27Matthew 17:24–27 · King James Version17:24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
17:25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
17:26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Matthew 17:24–27 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and that Irenaeus places the writing while Peter and Paul were alive. (2) The traditional range in At a Glance follows that report. The book prints no year.
Audience and Setting
The Gospel assumes readers who know the Law, the prophets, and Jewish custom. It opens with Jesus as son of David and son of Abraham in Matthew 1:1Matthew 1:1 · King James VersionThe book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and repeatedly says events happened so that Scripture might be fulfilled. Origen’s report that it was written for converts from Judaism fits that shape. (4) The purpose is to show that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah and to send his disciples to all nations.
Rulers at the Time
Herod the Great rules when Jesus is born in Matthew 2:1Matthew 2:1 · King James VersionNow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Matthew 2:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and Archelaus succeeds him in Judaea in Matthew 2:22Matthew 2:22 · King James VersionBut when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
Matthew 2:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Herod the tetrarch, Antipas, kills John the Baptist in Matthew 14:1–12Matthew 14:1–12 · King James Version14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
14:2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
14:3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.
14:4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
14:5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
14:6 But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
14:7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
14:8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.
14:9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
14:10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
14:11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
14:12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Matthew 14:1–12 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Pontius Pilate is governor and Caiaphas is high priest at the trial in Matthew 26:57Matthew 26:57 · King James VersionAnd they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
Matthew 26:57 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Matthew 27:2Matthew 27:2 · King James VersionAnd when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Matthew 27:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source. This page does not print their reign dates, because a chronology was not checked for this essay.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Birth and childhood | Genealogy, the magi, flight to Egypt, and Nazareth. Matthew 1–2 |
| Galilee ministry | Baptism, the Sermon on the Mount, healings, and the sending of the Twelve. Matthew 3–18 |
| Journey and Jerusalem | Entry into the city, debates in the temple, and the Olivet Discourse. Matthew 19–25 |
| Passion and resurrection | The Last Supper, crucifixion, empty tomb, and the commission. Matthew 26–28 |
| Composition | Traditional about AD 50–70. One survey gives after AD 70. Many critical scholars say about AD 80–90. (5) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem, West Bank, south of Jerusalem. | Matthew 2:1Matthew 2:1 · King James VersionNow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,Matthew 2:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Nazareth | Nazareth, northern Israel. | Matthew 2:23Matthew 2:23 · King James VersionAnd he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.Matthew 2:23 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Capernaum | Ruins at Tell Hum on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel. | Matthew 4:13Matthew 4:13 · King James VersionAnd leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:Matthew 4:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Jerusalem | The Old City of modern Jerusalem. | Matthew 21:10Matthew 21:10 · King James VersionAnd when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?Matthew 21:10 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Caesarea Philippi | Banias, at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights. | Matthew 16:13Matthew 16:13 · King James VersionWhen Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?Matthew 16:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
Matthew 1 and Matthew 2 give the genealogy and birth. Matthew 3 and Matthew 4 are John the Baptist, the baptism, and the temptation. Five blocks of teaching follow, each closing with a line that Jesus finished these sayings: the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7, the mission discourse in Matthew 10, the parables in Matthew 13, the community discourse in Matthew 18, and the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24–25. Narrative sections of healing and conflict lie between them. Matthew 26–28 are the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, ending with the Great Commission.
Key Themes
Fulfillment runs through the book. Matthew 5:17Matthew 5:17 · King James VersionThink not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 5:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source has Jesus say he came not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfil them. The kingdom of heaven is the theme of the parables in Matthew 13. The church appears by name only in this Gospel, in Matthew 16:18Matthew 16:18 · King James VersionAnd I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Matthew 18:17Matthew 18:17 · King James VersionAnd if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Matthew 18:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The mission widens from Israel in Matthew 10:5–6Matthew 10:5–6 · King James Version10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 10:5–6 · King James VersionOpen the Source to all nations in Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source. (1)
Apologetics Questions
Readers ask whether the Synoptic Gospels contradict each other where they tell the same event differently. Ancient biographies arranged material by topic, and Papias already says Mark wrote not in order. (3) Matthew’s genealogy differs from Luke’s, and the most common answers are that one follows Joseph’s legal line and the other a different line, or that one traces royal succession. Matthew’s use of Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14 · King James VersionTherefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source in Matthew 1:23Matthew 1:23 · King James VersionBehold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23 · King James VersionOpen the Source is debated over the Hebrew word for a young woman, and this site’s Isaiah page states that debate. The guard at the tomb in Matthew 27:62–66Matthew 27:62–66 · King James Version27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
27:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
27:65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Matthew 27:62–66 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Matthew 28:11–15Matthew 28:11–15 · King James Version28:11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
28:12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
28:13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
28:14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
28:15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Matthew 28:11–15 · King James VersionOpen the Source is unique to Matthew, and the book itself reports a rival story that disciples stole the body.
How the Book Points to Christ
Matthew calls Jesus Emmanuel, God with us, in Matthew 1:23Matthew 1:23 · King James VersionBehold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and closes with his promise to be with the disciples always in Matthew 28:20Matthew 28:20 · King James VersionTeaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:20 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Jesus receives worship in Matthew 2:11Matthew 2:11 · King James VersionAnd when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source, Matthew 14:33Matthew 14:33 · King James VersionThen they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Matthew 14:33 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and Matthew 28:17Matthew 28:17 · King James VersionAnd when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Matthew 28:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The baptismal command in Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source names one name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus is God. What Is the Trinity? sets out that confession.
Text and Manuscripts
Codex Sinaiticus, from the fourth century, contains Matthew complete. (6) The King James Version includes a doxology at the end of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:13Matthew 6:13 · King James VersionAnd lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source that is absent from the oldest Greek copies, and Matthew 17:21Matthew 17:21 · King James VersionHowbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Matthew 17:21 · King James VersionOpen the Source and Matthew 18:11Matthew 18:11 · King James VersionFor the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Matthew 18:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source are verses the critical Greek text omits. The verse pages show those differences. No doctrine depends on those lines.
Canon Reception
Matthew was never disputed. Irenaeus treats the four Gospels as received. (2) Eusebius lists the holy quaternion of the Gospels first among the acknowledged books in Church History 3.25. (3) Matthew stood first in the New Testament in most ancient lists and copies.
Further Reading
Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke? sets out the authorship evidence at length. Is the Bible True? covers manuscripts. What Is the Deity of Christ? gathers the New Testament claims about who Jesus is.
References
- Gospel of Matthew, 1:1; 9:9; 10:3; 28:19Matthew 1:1 · King James Version
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Against Heresies, 3.1.1Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen the Source (Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.1.1, about AD 180, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, on New Advent. Irenaeus names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as the writers of the four Gospels.) - Church History, Book 3, 3.24; 3.39.16Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.
Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen the Source (Eusebius, Church History 3.3, 3.24–25, and 3.39, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1, on New Advent. Chapter 25 sorts books into acknowledged, disputed, and rejected. Chapter 39 reports Papias on Mark and Matthew.) - Church History, Book 6, 6.25 (Eusebius, Church History 6.14 and 6.25, reporting Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1, on New Advent.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, Matthew (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives Matthew as after AD 70. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Codex Sinaiticus, About the manuscriptCodex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus Project
Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
Codex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus ProjectOpen the Source (The Codex Sinaiticus project’s description of the manuscript, a fourth-century Greek Bible with the earliest complete copy of the New Testament.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.