Matthew

Matthew

Matthew’s Gospel – The Infancy Narrative

This paper explores the Gospel of Matthew, specifically the Infancy Narrative in which Matthew explains in great detail the ancestry of Jesus and his direct decadency from Abraham. It will establish the purpose and general meaning of the Gospels as well as their sources.

The Second Testament was written to give an account of the life, teachings and death of Jesus Christ. It begins with Matthew’s Gospel, telling the story of, as well as validating the life of Jesus, making use of the strong links back to the First Testament in terms of prophecies. This is followed by the Gospel’s of Mark, Luke and John, all sharing common stories and themes. Matthew begins his tale with the Infancy Narrative establishing the ancestry of Jesus. He goes on with tales of deeds that Jesus performed, embellishing the Gospel of Mark, making the story more contemporary for his own community, giving them hope for the future. The Gospel is written in a narrative style, telling of the origins, life and death of Jesus as a sequential story.

The term “Gospel” has an equivalent word in Greek of “euangelion” or Good News and acquired religious significance during the Roman Empire, when the Emperor made public appearances, or an acquired the throne or announced Royal decrees where known as “Good News” or “Gospels”. The usage of the term as a title in the New Testament suggests that it was “good news” for the community, a promise to fulfil the prophesies from the First Testament and gain freedom from captivity and persecution. While much of the news was oral in nature as was the norm for the time, the recording and writing of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John made the term “Gospel” move into a literary category (Goosen, 1994, pg 45).

The Gospels have long been considered as biographical accounts of the life of Jesus. Mark started with his own accounts and research into Jesus’ life to record it for the newly emerging...