Background of matthews

The roman occupation and government

The people of Judea were mostly Jewish and had been conquered and
occupied by the mighty Roman Empire. This was no big deal to Rome
they had more important things to worry about than some insignificant
Jewish provincebut it was a huge issue for the people of Judea.
Many of them resented Roman rule. After all, the Romans had complete
control over the land, laws, and government, and forced everyone to pay
tons in taxes. The Jews were hoping (and praying) that God would send a
messiah or "anointed one" to reclaim Jewish rule of Judea and to kick out
the Roman occupiers.
For Christians, that messiah was Jesus. For other Jewswell, they were still
waiting.

pharisees sadducees and herodians

Pharisees - a group of influential Jews active in Palestine from 2nd
century BCE through 1st century CE; they advocated and adhered to strict
observance of the Sabbath rest, purity rituals, tithing, and food restrictions
based on the Hebrew Scriptures and on later traditions.
Sadducees - another prominent group of Jews in Palestine from 2nd
century BCE through 1st century CE; they were probably smaller "elite"
group, but even more influential than the Pharisees; they followed the
laws of the Hebrew Bible (the Torah), but rejected newer traditions.
Herodians - probably a faction that supported the policies and
government of the Herodian family, especially during the time of Herod
Antipas, ruler over Galilee and Perea during the lifetimes of John the
Baptist and of Jesus.

The idea of the Messiah

The biblical idea of the messiah and his work is divinely revealed. It did not
originate in human thought. While the act of anointing was not foreign to
non-Israelites, the intent and consequences of the act are not found in
nonbiblical documents. God made his intent and the consequences of the
anointing act progressively known in the course of his self-revelation to
humanity.

The traditional view of matthew ad author

-rguments to support matthew as author
Around 130 A.D., Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, wrote about the various
Gospel editions. He tells us that the Apostle Matthew put together the
discourses of Jesus in the Aramaic language. In other words: he says that
Matthew collected Jesus words and made one book of them. This book
was written in Aramaic, that is: in the language spoken by Jesus himself.

arguments to challenging matthew as author

The author was familiar with geography (2:23), Jewish customs (cf. 1:1819), Jewish history (he calls Herod Antipas tetrarch instead of king). He
displays a concern for the OT law (5:17-20) and puts an emphasis on the
evangelistic mission to the Jewish nation as well (ch. 10). The evidence is
quite strong for authorship by a Jew.11

Possible reasons why matthews was written

Since the times of the early church fathers, the apostle Matthew has
always been accredited with the authorship of the first gospel Even the
title "According to Matthew" is found in the earliest manuscripts, and was
the most highly regarded and quoted of the gospels by the church
fathers. Matthew is also called Levi ,and was the son of Alphaeus .He was
a tax collector, probably stationed on a main trade route near Capernaum
where he would have collected tolls for Herod Antipas from commercial
traffic. Additionally, being a tax collector might better qualify Matthew for
his role as an official recorder of the life and actions of Christ.After the
resurrection there is no other mention of him in the New Testament.

The nuture of Matthews gospel

Idea od good news
Four men wrote the Good News about Jesus. But Matthew is the only one who uses
the word *church. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said that nothing would be able to
destroy his *church (16:18). The local *church would settle arguments between
Christians (18:15-17).

Key events in jesus life

Teachings: The New Testament records people's amazement at the
teachings of Jesus (Matthew 7:28-29). Large portions of the Gospels
include the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and many of the parables,
which were stories with a spiritual purpose.

Death: The death of Jesus was made clear due to both the impact of His
sufferings, His pierced side (John 19:34), His death cry (Luke 23:46-48),
Pilate's confirmation (Mark 15:44-45), that He was embalmed in about 75
pounds of spices (John 19:39), and that He remained in the tomb three
days.

Birth: Both Matthew 1 and Luke 1-2 provide accounts of the birth of Jesus
and the events surrounding it. Of important note are the facts that Jesus
was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:21), in the city of Bethlehem, and was
visited by shepherds who arrived following the appearance of angels who
told them of the king who had been born. Further, His birth came to fulfill
prophecies of one who would come from the seed of Abraham, the tribe of
Judah, and the family line of David.

Miracles
Defferent types of miracles
Healing-Healing a man with dropsy is described in Luke 14:1-6. In this
miracle, Jesus cured a man with dropsy at the house of a prominent
Pharisee on the Sabbath. Jesus justified the cure by asking: "If one of you
has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not
immediately pull it out?"
Exorcisms-According to the three Synoptic Gospels, Jesus performed
many exorcisms of demoniacs. These incidents are not mentioned in
the Gospel of John and appear to have been excluded due to theological
considerations.
Resurrection of the dead-All four canonical gospels describe Jesus
the resurrection of Jesus but also relate three occasions on which Jesus
calls a dead person back to life

Control over nature-The Gospels include eight pre-resurrection accounts

concerning Jesus' power over nature