The Gospel of Matthew was written nearly two thousand years ago in a language that has since fallen into obscurity. While much of the gospel is still a mystery?we have no idea who wrote it or even for what occasion?it remains an important document in the Judeo-Christian faith as one of the synoptic gospels. Like any good mystery, much speculation exists about the author and the origin of Matthew. In the second century, Christians hypothesizing about the identity of the author attributed the work to the Apostle Matthew in an attempt to give it authority. Even if the attribution were correct, we know nothing about the apostle Matthew and therefore, can make very few conjectures about the gospel's structure or meaning based on the supposed author's identity alone. Consequently, we must examine the actual text and its individual facets in order to discern the author's intention (i.e., the meaning of the work) and the situation for which he wrote it. Many of these issues can be uncovered by investigating the structure of Matthew?how the work is organized not only as a whole but also on a much smaller scale, such as individual verses and passages. As the structure of Matthew remains a dynamic topic in the theological community, it is not this paper's intent to discuss every aspect of the gospel but instead only those which I find to be compelling and well supported. In discussing the interpretation of a text, one theologian questions why two or more readers should ever agree because as we read, we use the literary work to symbolize and finally replicate ourselves (Davies, Matthew).
A cursory examination of Matthew's overall structure reveals the author's motives for a particular organization and becomes necessary to understand any further structural analysis. In considering the twenty-eight chapters of Matthew, it is clear that a major section flanks each end. In Chapters 1 and 2, we are introduced to the Infancy Narrative, which tells not only of Jesus? miraculous conception but also of the visit from the Magi.