Author, and when & where it was written .
How Matthew compares to the other gospels.
The Gospel of Matthew is the first of the twenty seven books of the New Testament. It is believed that the gospel of Matthew was written around the year 85 C.E. The author of Matthews's gospel is unknown, but it is believed that they used Marks gospel to help write it. Matthews's gospel was presented around the same time as the gospel of Luke whose author also used the gospel of Mark. The exact author of Matthew is unknown but some scholars say that it might have been the apostle Matthew who wrote it. Matthew's gospel was most likely written in the Palestinian area. During this time period there was a conflict going on within the Jewish community between those who followed Jesus and those that did not. This gospel was written to the Jewish community to show them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
.
The Gospel of Matthew was placed at the beginning of the New Testament for a good reason because it provides a good transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and made it easier for Judaism to relate to it. The arrangement of the Gospel of Matthew is very straight forward. At the beginning there is the birth of Jesus, the middle is the narrative of Jesus's life and teachings, and the end presents the passion story from the last supper to death and resurrection. .
.
Matthew's Gospel starts with the ancestry of Jesus all the way down from David and Abraham. The story of Jesus's birth is interesting because Joseph the husband of Mary at first wanted to abandon her until the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins (Mt. 1:21)." Jesus is then born in Bethlehem, but King Herod orders all the young children in Bethlehem to be killed so Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt. Finally after Herod's death they return to the land of Israel.