The Gospels of Matthew: introduction to the main chapters (chapters 4, 5, 7 and others), the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount “I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it”

The Gospel of Matthew was written in Aramaic, but has come down to us in a Greek translation.

The original Gospel of Matthew has not survived. Most likely, the text was written between 41–55 years. A number of researchers name another period: 70–80 years. In any case, this text is older than the other two canonical Gospels:

From Luke;
From John.

But most textual scholars believe that the earliest Gospel is the Gospel of Mark. And yet, it is the Gospel of Matthew that, according to tradition, is the first book of the New Testament.

The Apostle Matthew is usually depicted with the Gospel and an angel

The author of the Gospel of Matthew is unknown

We do not know who wrote the Gospel of Matthew (or any other canonical Gospel). The authors have remained anonymous, and the text itself does not make it possible to clarify the identity of its creator.

We can only say that the Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the four canonical books written in Aramaic (Hebrew). This is indicated by the manner of presentation, turns of speech, and general presentation of the text.

The Book of Matthew is the only canonical Gospel in Aramaic.

It is clear that the author is a Jew, familiar with the life of the Jews. And he writes for the same Jews who, without explanation, are aware of the realities of their life, traditions, and time.

We know all this indirectly, through the Greek translation. The original manuscript has been lost. There are a number of Greek sources that differ from each other in places, but have about 60% of the same text, which made it possible to restore the Gospel of Matthew with a high degree of accuracy.

There are no reliable reasons to consider the apostle Matthew as the author

Traditionally, the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew is attributed to Matthew. The Bible tells us a little about this man:

Mf. 9:9

“As Jesus passed from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth, and he said to him, “Follow Me.” And he arose and followed Him.”

Mf. 10:2–4

“And the names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James Zebedee and John his brother, 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, James Alphaeus and Levbeus, called Thaddeus, 4 Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”

This same apostle is also called:

Levi Matthew;
Levi Alfeev.

He is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke:

OK. 5:27-29

“After this [Jesus] went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collection office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he, leaving everything, stood up and followed Him. And Levi made a great feast for Him in his house; and there were many publicans and others who sat with them.”

So Matthew was a tax collector and became one of the twelve disciples, the apostles. We also know that Jacob Alfeev may be his brother. This is all that Scripture says about this man.

Where did the claim that he wrote the first Gospel come from? From Tradition.

Papyrus with the text of the Gospel of Matthew

We must admit that Tradition is not always a reliable source. Consider the stories that all the heroes of the New Testament are sisters, brothers and parents to each other.

Tradition tends to simplify everything, and in the couple of centuries since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, much has become conjectured. Therefore, you cannot trust legend 100%.

Irenaeus of Lyon

one of the first Church Fathers, Bishop of Lyon

Only in the 2nd century, Church Father Irenaeus of Lyons mentioned the written work of the Apostle Matthew:

“Matthew published the scriptures of the Gospel among the Jews in their own language, while Peter and Paul preached the gospel in Rome and founded the Church.”

In the 4th century, this idea was repeated by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea:

“Matthew originally preached to the Jews; Having gathered to other nations, he handed them his Gospel, written in their native language. Recalled from them, he left them his Scripture in return.”

He also cites a quote allegedly belonging to Papias of Hierapolis, a contemporary of the last apostles. Actually, all the statements of Papias of Hierapolis are known only from later sources by other authors. Here's the quote:

“Matthew wrote down Jesus’ conversations in Hebrew and translated them as best he could.”

All this is not enough to equate the canonical first Gospel with the text that the Apostle Matthew could have written. And there are good reasons for this. But we'll talk about them in another section.

Here it is important for us that the grounds for establishing authorship are quite shaky, and today we call this book the Gospel of Matthew only by tradition.

As for the apostle himself, according to legend, he preached either in Ethiopia or in Anatolia, for which he was killed around the year 60.

Apostle Matthew should not be confused with Apostle Matthew, who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. These are different people.

See also the article The Gospel of Judas

He was an apostle of the Twelve. Before turning to Christ, Matthew served as a publican, a tax collector for Rome. Hearing the voice of Jesus Christ: “Follow Me” (Matthew 9:9), he left his position and followed the Savior. Having received the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Matthew first preached in Palestine. Before leaving to preach in distant countries, at the request of the Jews who remained in Jerusalem, the apostle wrote the Gospel. Among the books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew comes first. Written in Hebrew. Matthew sets out the speeches and deeds of the Savior in accordance with the three sides of Christ’s ministry: as Prophet and Lawgiver, King over the invisible and visible world, and High Priest, Offering Sacrifice for the sins of all people.

Evangelist Matthew

The Holy Apostle Matthew traveled with the gospel to Syria, Media, Persia and Parthia, ending his preaching labors with his martyrdom in Ethiopia. This country was inhabited by cannibal tribes with rude customs and beliefs. The Holy Apostle Matthew, with his preaching here, converted several idolaters to faith in Christ, founded the Church and built a temple in the city of Myrmen, and installed his companion named Plato as bishop. When the apostle earnestly prayed to God for the conversion of the Ethiopians, during the prayer the Lord Himself appeared to him in the form of a young man and, giving him a staff, ordered him to place it at the door of the temple. The Lord said that a tree would grow from this rod and bear fruit, and a source of water would flow from its root. Having washed in the water and tasted the fruits, the Ethiopians will change their wild disposition and become kind and meek. When the apostle was carrying the staff to the temple, he met on the way the wife and son of the ruler of this country, Fulvian. possessed by an unclean spirit. The holy apostle healed them in the name of Jesus Christ. This miracle converted many more pagans to the Lord. But the ruler did not want his subjects to become Christians and stop worshiping pagan gods. He accused the apostle of witchcraft and ordered his execution. They laid Saint Matthew face down, covered him with brushwood and set him on fire. When the fire flared up, everyone saw that the fire did not harm Saint Matthew. Then Fulvian ordered to add brushwood to the fire, dousing it with resin and placing twelve idols around it. But the flame melted the idols and scorched Fulvian. The frightened Ethiopian turned to the saint with a plea for mercy, and through the prayer of the apostle the flames subsided. The body of the holy apostle remained unharmed, and he departed to the Lord (60). Ruler Fulvian bitterly repented of his deeds. but he did not leave his doubts. He ordered the body of Saint Matthew to be placed in an iron coffin and thrown into the sea. At the same time, Fulvian said that if the God of Matthew preserves the body of the apostle in water, as he preserved it in fire, then this One True God should be worshiped. That same night, the Apostle Matthew appeared to Bishop Plato in a dream vision and commanded him to go with the clergy to the seashore and find his body there. Fulvian and his retinue also came ashore. The coffin carried out by the wave was honorably transferred to the temple built by the apostle. Then Fulvian asked Matthew for a petition, after which Bishop Plato baptized him with the name Matthew, which he gave him at the command of God. Fulvian subsequently accepted the bishopric and continued the work of enlightening his people.

Based on materials from the site: pravoslavie.ru

The Life and Suffering of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, son of Alphaeus, otherwise called Levi (Mark 2:14. Matt. 9:9. Luke 5:27), lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum[1]. He was a wealthy man and held the position of publican[2]. His compatriots despised and shunned him, like everyone else like him. But Matthew, although he was a sinner, at the same time was not only no worse, but also much better than the Pharisees who were proud of their imaginary external righteousness[3]. And so the Lord fixed His Divine gaze on this despised publican. One day, during His stay in Capernaum, the Lord left the city and went to the sea, accompanied by the people. On the shore He saw Matthew sitting at the Mytnitsa[4]. And he said to him:

- Come after me!

Hearing these words of the Lord not only with the ears of the body, but also with the eyes of the heart, the publican immediately rose from his place and, leaving everything, followed Christ. Matthew did not hesitate, was not surprised that the Great Teacher and Wonderworker was calling him, the despised publican; he heeded His words with all his heart and unquestioningly followed Christ. In joy, Matthew prepared a great meal in his house. The Lord did not refuse the invitation and entered Matthew’s house. And many of his neighbors, friends and acquaintances, all publicans and sinners, gathered at Matthew’s house and reclined at the table with Jesus and His disciples. Some of the scribes[5] and Pharisees also happened to be there. Seeing that the Lord does not disdain sinners and publicans, but reclines next to them, they grumbled and said to His disciples:

- How does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

The Lord, hearing their words, said to them:

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance[6].

From that time on, Matthew, leaving all his property, followed Christ (Luke 5:28) and, as His faithful disciple, after that he was no longer separated from Him. Soon he was awarded membership among the 12 chosen Apostles (Matt. Chapter 10; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:13–16). Together with other disciples of the Lord, Matthew accompanied Him on travels through Galilee and Judea, listened to His Divine teaching, saw His countless miracles, went preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, witnessed the suffering on the cross and the atoning death of the Savior and His glorious ascension into heaven.

After the Ascension of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, Saint Matthew first remained in Palestine, together with the other Apostles, preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem and its environs. But now the time has come for the Apostles to disperse from Jerusalem to different nations to convert them to the faith of Christ. Before the Apostle's departure from Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem asked him to hand over for them the writings of the deeds and teachings of Jesus Christ. The other Apostles who were in Jerusalem at that time also expressed their consent to the fulfillment of this request. And Saint Matthew, fulfilling a common desire, wrote the Gospel 8 years after the Ascension of Christ[7].

Having retired from Jerusalem, the holy Apostle Matthew preached the Gospel in many countries. Preaching the gospel of Christ, he passed through Macedonia, Syria, Persia, Parthia and Media and went around all of Ethiopia[8], to which his lot fell, and enlightened it with the light of the mind of the Gospel. Finally, guided by the Holy Spirit, he came to the land of cannibals, to a black, bestial people, entered a city called Myrmene, and there, turning several souls to the Lord, appointed his companion Plato as their bishop and created a small church; He himself ascended a nearby mountain and remained on it in fasting, earnestly praying to God for the conversion of that unfaithful people. And the Lord appeared to him in the form of a beautiful young man, having a rod in his right hand, and greeted him. Stretching out his right hand and giving that staff to the saint, He commanded him to come down from the mountain and place the staff at the door of the church he had built.

“This rod,” said the Lord, “by My power will grow into a tall tree, and that tree will bear abundant fruit, surpassing in size and sweetness all other garden fruits; and from its root will flow a spring of pure water. Having washed in the water of the spring, the cannibals will receive a beautiful face, and anyone who tastes of that fruit will forget their brutal morals and become a kind and meek person.

Matthew, having received the rod from the hand of the Lord, came down from the mountain and went into the city to do what he was commanded. The prince of that city, named Fulvian, had a wife and son possessed by demons. Having met the Apostle on the way, they shouted at him in wild, threatening voices:

“Who sent you here with this rod to our destruction?”

The Apostle rebuked the unclean spirits and cast them out; those healed bowed to the Apostle and meekly followed him. Having learned about his arrival, Bishop Platon met him along with the clergy, and Saint Matthew, entering the city and approaching the church, did as he was commanded: he planted the rod given to him by the Lord - and immediately, in the sight of everyone, the rod became great a tree spreading many leafy branches, and beautiful fruits appeared on it, large and sweet, and a source of water flowed from the root. Everyone who saw this was amazed; the whole city came together for such a miracle, and they ate the fruit of the tree and drank clean water. And the holy Apostle Matthew, standing on a high place, preached the word of God to the assembled people in their language; and immediately everyone believed in the Lord, and the Apostle baptized them in a miraculous spring. And all the baptized cannibals, according to the word of the Lord, came out of the water with beautiful faces and white skin; they received not only physical, but also spiritual whiteness and beauty, putting off the old man and putting on the new man - Christ. Having learned about what had happened, the prince at first rejoiced at the healing of his wife and son, but then, according to the teachings of the demons, he became angry with the Apostle because all the people were coming to him, leaving their gods, and planned to destroy him. But that same night the Savior appeared to the Apostle, commanding him to take courage and promising to be with him in the coming tribulation. When morning came, and the Apostle in the church together with the believers sang the praises of God, the prince sent four soldiers to take him; but when they came to the temple of the Lord, darkness immediately enveloped them, and they could hardly return back. When they were asked why they did not bring Matthew, they answered:

“We heard him talking, but we couldn’t see or take him.

Fulvian became even more angry. He sent even more soldiers with weapons, commanding them to bring Matthew by force, and if anyone resists and defends Matthew, to kill them. But these soldiers also returned with nothing, for when they approached the temple, heavenly light shone on the Apostle, and the soldiers, being unable to look at him, fell into great fear and, throwing down their weapons, ran back half-dead from fear and told about what had happened. to the prince. Fulvian was terribly furious and went with all his many servants, wanting to seize the Apostle himself. But as soon as he managed to approach the Apostle, he suddenly became blind and began to ask to be given a guide. Then he began to beg the Apostle to forgive him his sin and to enlighten his blinded eyes. The Apostle, having made the sign of the cross in front of the prince, gave him insight. The prince regained his sight, but only with his bodily eyes, and not with his soul, for malice blinded him, and he attributed such a great miracle not to God’s power, but to sorcery. Taking the Apostle by the hand, he led him to his palace, as if wanting to honor him, but in his heart cunningly plotting to burn the Apostle of the Lord like a sorcerer. But the Apostle, foreseeing the secret movements of his heart and crafty plans, denounced the prince, saying:

- Flattering tormentor! Will you soon do what you plan to do to me? Do what Satan has put in your heart, and I, as you see, am ready to endure everything for my God.

Then the prince ordered the soldiers to grab Saint Matthew and stretch him face up on the ground, and nail his hands and feet tightly. When this was done, the servants, at the command of the tormentor, collected a lot of branches and brushwood, brought resin and sulfur and, placing it all on Saint Matthew, lit it. But when the fire flared up with a great flame and everyone thought that the Apostle of Christ had already burned, suddenly the fire cooled and the flame died out and Saint Matthew found himself alive, unharmed and glorifying God. Seeing this, all the people were horrified by such a great miracle and gave praise to the God of the Apostle. But Fulvian became even more furious. Not wanting to recognize the power of God in what happened, which preserved the preacher of Christ alive and undamaged from the fire, he brought a lawless accusation against the righteous man, calling him a sorcerer.

“By sorcery,” he said, “Matthew extinguished the fire and remained alive in it.”

Then he ordered to bring even more firewood, branches and brushwood and, laying it on Matthew, lit it, and poured resin on top; in addition, he ordered to bring twelve of his golden idols and, placing them in a circle of fire, called on them for help, so that by their power Matthew could not get rid of the flame, and would turn to ashes. The Apostle, in the flames, prayed to the Lord of hosts, so that He would show His invincible power, reveal the powerlessness of the pagan gods and shame those who trusted in them.

And suddenly a fiery flame with terrible thunder rushed towards the golden idols and they melted from the fire like wax, and in addition, many of the infidels standing around were scorched; and from the melted idols a flame came out in the form of a serpent and rushed towards Fulvian, threatening him, so that he could not escape and get rid of the danger until he cried out with humble prayer to the Apostle for deliverance from destruction. The Apostle rebuked the fire, and immediately the flame went out and the likeness of the fiery serpent disappeared. Fulvian wanted to honorably deliver the saint from the fire, but he, having made a prayer, gave up his holy soul into the hands of God[9]. Then the prince ordered to bring a golden bed and lay on it the honorable body of the Apostle, undamaged by the fire, and, dressing him in precious clothes, he lifted him up together with his nobles and brought him into his palace. But he did not yet have perfect faith, and therefore he ordered an iron ark to be forged, filled tightly on all sides with tin and thrown into the sea, and he said to his nobles:

- If the One who preserved Matthew whole from the fire will also preserve him from drowning in water, then truly He is the One God, and we will worship Him, leaving behind all our gods who could not save themselves from destruction in the fire.

After this iron ark with the holy relics was thrown into the sea, the saint appeared to Bishop Plato at night, saying:

“Tomorrow go to the seashore east of the prince’s palace and there take my relics, which were brought to land.”

In the morning, the bishop, accompanied by many believers, went to the shown place and found an iron ark with the relics of St. Matthew the Apostle, as he had been told in a vision.

Having learned about this, the prince came with his nobles and, this time having fully believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, loudly confessed that He is the One true God, Who preserved His servant Matthew unharmed - both during his life in the fire and after death - in the water. And falling to the ark, with the relics of the Apostle, he asked the saint for forgiveness for his sins against him and expressed his heartfelt desire to be baptized. Bishop Plato, seeing Fulvian's faith and zeal, announced him and, having taught him the truths of the holy faith, baptized him. And when he laid his hand on his head and wanted to name him, a voice was heard from above saying:

- Call him not Fulvian, but Matthew.

Having thus accepted the name of the Apostle in baptism, the prince tried to be an imitator of the life of the Apostle: he soon transferred his princely power to another, completely abandoned worldly vanity, devoted himself to prayer in the Church of God and was awarded the priesthood by Bishop Plato. And when, after three years, the bishop died, the holy Apostle Matthew, who had left the princely presbyter Matthew, appeared in a vision and exhorted him to accept the episcopal throne after blessed Plato. Having accepted the episcopacy, Matthew worked well in the gospel of Christ and, having turned many away from idolatry, led them to God, and then he himself went to Him, after a long godly life, and, standing with the holy Evangelist Matthew to the throne of God, he prays to the Lord for us, so that we were heirs of the eternal kingdom of God. Amen.

Troparion, tone 3:

Diligently from the tollhouse to the Lord Christ who called, I appeared on earth as a man for goodness, following that, you appeared as the chosen Apostle, and the evangelist of the Gospel to the universe was loudly spoken: for this reason we honor your honorable memory, Matthew the God-speaking. Pray to the Merciful God to grant forgiveness of sins to our souls.

Kontakion, tone 4:

You rejected the yoke of ordeal, you harnessed the yoke of truth, and you appeared as a most excellent merchant, bringing wealth, and from on high wisdom: from there you preached the word of truth, and you raised up sad souls, writing the hour of judgment.

Based on materials from the site: wikisource.org
Evangelie ot Matfeya

The Gospel of Matthew is written based on two texts: the Gospel of Mark and Source Q

The Gospel of Matthew is not the memoirs of a single author, but a collage of several primary sources. This is the conclusion reached by researchers who have carefully studied the text of the first book of the New Testament.

If we compare it with other Christian manuscripts, it is easy to see that the author of the Gospel of Matthew used at least two sources:

Gospel of Mark;
Source Q.

But don’t rush to open the Bible and look for the unfamiliar Gospel Q.

This text is not there, just as it is not in the hands of archaeologists. This is a hypothetical manuscript, the fact of its existence is calculated in the same way as astronomers detect the presence of invisible celestial bodies - due to indirect signs, such as gravity.

Graphic display of the contribution of the Gospel of Mark and source Q to the texts of Matthew and Luke

But first things first.

The Gospel of Matthew is the most independent Gospel. Only 20% of the information in it is unique to this text.

But at the same time, it is almost half filled with material from the Gospel of Mark. Also, the Gospel of Luke also reproduces 40% of the information from the Gospel of Mark. Further research allows us to draw the following conclusions:

The texts of "Matthew" and "Luke" are written on materials from the earlier Gospel of Mark;
20% and 35% in “Matthew” and “Luke”, respectively, are unique, the authors are unlikely to have read each other;
A third of the texts of “Matthew” and “Luke” coincide, which means that there is another source that has not survived to this day. It was called Source Q.

Q's source is the early Gospel. Perhaps this is the same, original text of Matthew or one of the other apostles. And yet, the first book of the New Testament makes it possible to touch upon this seemingly lost information.

GOSPEL. PART II

The rejection of reliance on lat was important for the beginning of critical studies of the synoptic problem in the West. text of the Gospels and the transition to the study of Greek. text caused by the publication of the Greek. NZ by Erasmus of Rotterdam (1516). However, the first substantiated hypotheses began to appear only in the 2nd half. XVIII century The turning point was the publication by Griesbach of the Gospel synopsis in the appendix to the New Testament (1774). In the preface to it, and then in a separate 2-volume work (Griesbach. 1789-1790), Griesbach opposed the “Augustinian” idea that Mark shortened the Gospel of Matthew, and sought to prove that Mark used the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as sources. His theory was consonant with the one put forward by the Englishman back in 1764. scientist G. Owen: Matthew wrote first to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the second Gospel was compiled by Luke based on the Gospel of Matthew for use in the communities of the apostle. Paul, and Mark relied on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Griesbach argued with the Göttingen scientist I. B. Koppe (Koppe. 1782), who denied direct lit. dependence of the Gospels, claiming that they used earlier Greek. and ev. narrative, and G. H. Storr of Tübingen (Storr. 1786), who argued the thesis that the Gospel of Mark was a common source for Matthew and Luke. The idea of a lost common written source of the canonical Gospels was first expressed back in 1689 by R. Simon. Afterwards it was picked up by G. E. Lessing (Lessing. 1784, posthumous publication), who suggested that this source was E. in Hebrew. language. Griesbach's student I. G. Eichhorn combined the theories of Koppe and Lessing, proposing, as it seemed to him, a universal explanation for the discrepancies between the canonical Gospels - the independent use of the lost Hebrews by the evangelists. sources (Eichhorn. 1793/1794).

I. G. Herder put forward the theory of an oral proto-source for the Gospels of Mark (the proto-Mark was transmitted in Aramaic) and Matthew (the proto-source later became part of the apocryphal “Gospel of the Nazarenes” (see “The Nazarene Gospel”)), which wrote it down independently (Herder. 1796; Idem. 1797). This theory was later developed by I. K. L. Gieseler (Gieseler. 1818).

In 1801, G. Marsh published an article proving that the synoptic tradition was based on 3 Heb. document: “Aleph1” (“proto-Matthew”, material from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, which is not in Luke), “Aleph2” (“proto-Luke”, material from the Gospels of Mark and Luke, which is not present) in Matthew) and “Beth” (material from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which is not found in Mark) (Marsh. 18022). Marsh came close to the 2-source theory, but did not recognize the priority of the Gospel of Mark.

In 1832, F. E. D. Schleiermacher suggested that the logia compiled, according to Papias, by Matthew in Hebrew. language, did not represent a full-fledged E., but only sayings of Jesus Christ (Schleiermacher. 1832). However, he believed that neither Mark nor Luke used this collection of sayings. K. Lachman, a proponent of the “fragmentary” hypothesis, showed that the Gospel of Mark is closer to the supposed Heb. original than other Gospels (Lachmann. 1835).

Evangelist Matthew presents the text of the Gospel to Christ. Miniature from the Four Gospels of Isaac Asan. 1346 (Sinait. gr. 152. Fol. 16v) Evangelist Matthew presents the text of the Gospel to Christ. Miniature from the Four Gospels of Isaac Asan. 1346 (Sinait. gr. 152. Fol. 16v)

E. Zeller, who adhered to Griesbach's theory, developed a new method for analyzing the synoptic Gospels (1843). He compiled a list of words that any 2 evangelists have, and then checked the presence of each word in parallel places and outside them in each of the evangelists: the evangelist whose word occurs only in pericopes that have parallels is secondary (Zeller. 1843). Zeller allocated approx. 78 such words and phrases that prove the priority of the Gospel of Matthew, and only 31 in favor of the priority of the Gospel of Mark. However, many examples later have been disputed by critics, as Zeller often ruled in favor of Matthew based on a 1-2 word margin over Mark. In addition, he did not take into account the possibility of greater use by one of the evangelists of those words that he had encountered in his predecessor. In general, although Zeller’s technique allows us to establish lit. dependence cannot indicate the direction of this dependence. It could be more effective if the comparison were made only across the editorial layers in each of the E.

Eichhorn's student G. G. A. Ewald proposed a theory of 9 sources of the Gospels: 1) proto-Gospel (Diac. Philip in Aramaic); 2) logia (Matthew); 3) proto-Mark based on them; 4) a certain book. “sublime history” (with stories about the temptation of Christ, etc.); 5) The Gospel of Matthew, based on the first 4 sources; 6-9) The Gospel of Luke, in which, in addition to Matthew’s 4 sources, 3 more sources were used, unknown to the evangelists Matthew and Mark (see: Ewald. 1848), which was immediately rejected by contemporaries due to its complexity. However, Ewald’s theory contained an important point for the theory of 2 sources: the Evangelist Luke used all sources except the Gospel of Matthew.

I. Theory of 2 sources. The founder of the theory is considered to be K. G. Weisse, who showed that Matthew and Luke independently used the Gospel of Mark and combined it with the source of logia (Weisse. 1838). But Weisse did not know where to place the stories about the preaching of John the Baptist and the temptation of Christ, so he later began to use the proto-Mark hypothesis in his constructions.

G. Yu. Holtzman recognized the indirect dependence of the canonical Gospels on each other (Holtzmann. 1863). The synoptic tradition, in his opinion, was based on 2 sources - “Alpha” (close to the canonical Gospel of Mark) and “Lambda” (the source of logia). In the 70s XIX century The theory of 2 sources became dominant in Germany. biblical studies (it was shared, in addition to Holtzmann, by B. Weiss in Berlin and K. H. von Weizsäcker in Tübingen).

The proto-Mark theory was soon refuted by Holtzman himself, as well as by Doorman. scientists P. Wernle (Wernle. 1899) and English. J. Hawkins (Hawkins. 1899). However, Hawkins has counted approximately 20 “minor agreements” between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke versus the Gospel of Mark that cannot be explained without invoking the proto-Mark hypothesis.

After the work of Wernle and Hawkins, the abbreviation Q (from Quelle - source), first used in 1880 in the dissertation of Holtzman's student E. Simons to distinguish Holtzmann's reconstruction (for which the designation "Lambda" was retained) from the larger reconstruction of B. Weiss (simply Q), and then adopted by I. Weiss (Weiss. 1890), became generally accepted in both English and German-language biblical studies.

An important step in the development of the Q hypothesis was the publication by B. Grenfell and A. Hunt in 1897 under the title “Logia of Jesus” of the Oxyrhynchian papyrus (P. Oxy 1), which was later recognized as part of the “Gospel of Thomas”. Although the direct connection of these texts with the canonical Gospels has been rejected, the source Q for the plural. scientists has ceased to be just a hypothesis, increasingly acquiring the features of a real monument. When other parts of the same papyrus were published in 1904 (P. Oxy 654 and 655), the title of the Logies was changed to Words. Under this title A. von Harnack published his reconstruction of Q (Harnack. 1907). Harnack believed that it was in Q that the oldest and most authentic version of Christ was preserved. teachings.

According to J. Wellhausen, source Q was a document in Aram. language, which Matthew and Luke received already translated into Greek. language (Wellhausen. 1905).

In England, where B. F. Westcott's hypothesis of oral tradition dominated for a long time, German. The 2-source theory became popular as the “4-source hypothesis” (Burkitt. 1907). The result of many years of work was summed up by the work of B. H. Streeter (Streeter. 1924), which affirmed the priority of Mark and the existence of Q. True, Streeter believed that special material in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke was also borrowed from written sources - this turned the hypothesis 2 sources into a 4 source hypothesis.

In German-language biblical studies, the dominance of the theory of 2 sources became undeniable after the works of R. Bultmann, who accepted it as an axiom and categorically denied the existence of proto-Marcus. In his opinion, only Mark had access to some other forms of tradition (stories of miracles, etc.), while Matthew and Luke wrote based on the Gospel of Mark and Q.

In Catholic Church theory of the priority of the Gospel of Mark, which won towards the end. XIX century many supporters, was regarded as blasphemy (Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIII “Vigilantiae”, 1902). Critical studies in this area Catholic. scientists were prohibited until the encyclical “Divino Afflante Spiritu” (1943).

The theory of 2 sources formed the basis of the app. biblical studies 2nd half. XX century All critical editions of the New Testament that were published during this period were guided precisely by it, and introductory courses on the New Testament presented the victory of the theory as a logical result of the history of the synoptic problem. At the same time, several things were done. important clarifications. The original language of the source Q was examined by M. Black, who concluded that Q is Aramaic. origin and that part of the disagreement between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke is due to incorrect translations from Aramaic. language (Black. 1967). At the same time, he noted that Q was finally formed in the Greek-speaking environment, since it contains signs of the “untranslatable” Greek language.

Screensaver for the Gospel of Matthew. XI century (RNB. Greek No. 801. L. 3)

W. Taylor has argued that Luke, more than Matthew, retains the order of Q (Taylor 1953). H. Tödt was the first to present Q as a product of the community, a kerygma it reflects (Tödt. 1959). The central place in this kerygma was occupied by the very words and sayings of Jesus, and not by the Passion of Christ. The special role of the doctrine of Wisdom in Q was emphasized in his dissertation by W. Wilckens, who attributed the source itself to the genre of wisdom literature (Wilckens. 1959). He was supported by J. Robinson (Robinson. 1964), whose work played a key role in establishing the Q genre, since before many. scientists doubted its existence due to the uncertainty of the genre. Bultmann's last doctoral student, H. Koester, tried to more accurately determine the place of Q in the history of early Christianity and compared it with the Gnostic “Gospel of Thomas” discovered in 1945 in Nag Hammadi (Koester. 1965). The presence of Deuteronomistic theology in Q was demonstrated by O. Steck (Steck. 1967). His ideas were developed by D. Lührmann, who applied the method of edition analysis to Q (Lührmann. 1969), but at the same time argued that it was a single document. A certain conclusion was summed up by the work of Z. Schulz, who recognized the existence of the “Q community” and emphasized the absence in Q of the kerygma about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Schulz. 1972).

During the same period, the theory of 2 sources began to be developed by Catholics. scientists A. Polag and P. Hoffmann (Polag. 1977; Hoffmann. 1982). Hoffman, who initially denied the existence of editorial layers in Q, subsequently began to share Luhrmann's theory that the apocalyptic sayings in Q are secondary and appeared as a result of the crisis after the Jewish War of 66-70.

Attempts by individual scholars to reconstruct the source of Q led to the organization of the Seminar on Q at the Society of Biblical Literature (1985-1989), which then received the status of the International Q Project (IQP), which culminated in the critical edition of Q (The Critical Edition of Q . 2000). The path to the reconstruction of the original text of Q (and not just its content) on the basis of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke was opened by the thesis of J. Kloppenborg that the differences in the verbal transmission of logias in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke should not be attributed to incorrect translations from aram. language, but should be considered an editorial edit by the evangelists of a document written in Greek. language, albeit in an Aramaic-speaking environment (Kloppenborg. 1987). The project participants adopted as a working model the idea of Q as a poorly preserved papyrus, the text of which can be reconstructed from individual letters. To help IQP, a database was founded in 1995 in Bamberg, which collects all materials related to Q (primarily statements of famous scientists, starting with the work of Weisse (1838), over the past 170 years regarding one or another fragment or aspect Q). The processed information is published in the “Documenta Q” series.

The result of the study of Q in the 20th century. can be considered an acknowledgment that Q is not a collection of logias, but a Gospel with a thoughtful composition, including, in addition to the hriyas, narratives (for example, about the temptation of Christ: Mt 4. 1-11; Lk 4. 1-13). Currently At the time, the main discussions between supporters of the 2-source theory unfold regarding the editorial layers in Q. For example, Kloppenborg identified 2 main layers in the source Q: 1) “Deuteronomistic” (focused on the theological ideas of Deuteronomy), addressed to Israel (“this generation”), which must repent, includes khrias and stories of miracles, which in essence are also khrias; the main theme in this layer is God's judgment and the Second Coming; 2) “sapient”, addressed to members of the community (who are sometimes likened to unrepentant Israel), includes rhetorical questions, beatitudes, parables; the main themes are poverty, discipleship, non-violence, and less commonly, justice. In this case, the sapient layer turns out to be more ancient, and the Deuteronomistic layer turns out to be editorial. J. M. Robinson, B. Mack and others agree with Kloppenborg, J. Ellison, K. Tuckett are against.

II. Alternatives to the 2 source theory. In the 20th century Works appeared, the authors of which sought to refute the theory that had become generally accepted. Yes, Anglican. Ep. Christopher Butler pointed out that the close similarity between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, on the one hand, and the Gospel of Mark, on the other, does not prove that the Gospel of Mark was the source of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but only that that they are in some connection with each other (Butler. 1951). Butler himself was a supporter of the “Augustinian” theory, although his work was used later. supporters of the Griesbach hypothesis.

The revival of Griesbach’s theory, forgotten back in the 19th century, was facilitated by the work of W. Farmer, who noted that “extra-scientific” factors played an important role in the dissemination of the theory of 2 sources (Farmer. 1964), namely the desire to refute Griesbach’s theory as the literary-critical basis of works D. F. Strauss and F. K. Baur. In con. 70s XX century Disputes about the origin of the Gospels flared up with renewed vigor. In 1977, H. H. Stoldt came to the conclusion that the theory of 2 sources was “unscientific”, having collected the statements of scientists of the 19th century, in which Griesbach’s theory was ridiculed and refuted with the help of rhetoric, and not on the basis of scientific facts (Stoldt. 1977 ).

To rid Griesbach's theory of accumulated negative connotations, a new name was invented for it - the “2 Gospels theory.” A group of scholars (A. McNichol, Farmer, Peabody, Dungan, etc.) analyzed the Gospel of Luke and came to the conclusion that the final text was edited on the basis of the Gospel of Matthew (Beyond the Q Impasse. 1996).

Hypothesis Q was opposed by O. Farrer (Farrer. 1951; Idem. 1955) and his student M. Goulder (Goulder. 1989), who argued on the basis of the so-called. small agreements between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke against the Gospel of Mark, that Luke knew the Gospel of Matthew, and if so, then the need for a hypothetical source Q disappears (a little earlier J. Ropes and M. Enslin came to similar conclusions: Ropes. 1934; Enslin. 1938). Denying the existence of k.-l. written sources of the synoptic tradition, in addition to the canonical Gospels, they recognized the priority of the Gospel of Mark (some researchers point to the work of E. Lummis (Lummis. 1915), who, long before Farrer, came to almost the same conclusions, but only using the hypothesis of the proto -Mark).

In French biblical studies 2nd half. XX century Various variants of the theory of multiple editions dominated. It is based on the thesis that the evangelists were exclusively scribe-compilers who did not make any changes to their sources. All discrepancies between the Gospels are consequences of the previous existence of the sources of the Gospel tradition in many editions. For example, L. Vaganay developed the hypothesis of proto-Matthew (Vaganay. 1954). M. E. Buamard complicated the situation by introducing, in addition to proto-Matthew, also proto-Mark and several others. editions of the Gospel of Luke. He believed that the evangelist Luke used proto-Matthew, and the last editor of the Gospel of Luke added information from proto-Mark. One of the main criteria for the material to belong to one or another evangelist in Boamard’s theory is the author’s style of each of them. In particular, based on the Acts of St. Apostles Boismard identifies “Lucanisms”, the presence of which in material usually attributed to Q is, in his opinion, an argument against the theory of 2 sources (Boismard. 1990).

Evangelist Mark. Miniature from the Gospel. X century (Ath. Iver. 247m. Fol. 79v)

The Jerusalem school hypothesis, or the priority hypothesis of the Gospel of Luke, was proposed by W. Lockton (Lockton. 1922; Idem. 1926; Idem. 1927). He believed that the Gospel of Luke was written first, used by Mark, and Matthew used the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke. In 1963, R. Lindsey (Lindsey. 1969), who, while translating the Gospel of Mark into Hebrew, came to the same conclusions independently. language, found out that Heb. There are many more idioms in the Gospel of Luke than in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. After a number of modifications, his theory acquired the following form: Matthew and Luke, independently of each other, and possibly Mark, used a certain “anthology of sayings” of Jesus Christ, translated into Greek from Hebrew. language; in addition, Luke was familiar with the “biography” of the Savior (proto-narrative), translated from Heb. in Greek language. This hypothesis was supported by D. Flusser (later he leaned towards the theory of proto-Matthew) and his students at the University of Jerusalem, which became the reason for the corresponding name of this hypothesis. The weakness of the hypothesis, in other words. critics, lies not only in the fact that new hypothetical sources are introduced, but also in the fact that Luke abundantly quotes the Septuagint; accordingly, the idioms do not come from the text he wrote, but from the translation of St. Scriptures from Hebrew in Greek language.

The oral tradition hypothesis represents the most serious alternative to literary theories. dependencies of the Gospels. In the 20th century the revival of this hypothesis was associated with the name of the orientalist H. S. Nyberg (Nyberg. 1935), who studied the Book of Prophets. Hosea and at the same time made a number of observations regarding the Gospel tradition. But the most famous are the works of H. Riesenfeld (Riesenfeld. 1959) and B. Gerhardsson (Gerhardsson. 1961), who argued that the Gospels contain vocabulary associated with mnemonics, characteristic of the rabbinic tradition, which makes it easier to remember the words of the teacher . Consequently, the synoptic tradition acquired fixed forms before the advent of written E. However, the use of Talmudic data without appropriate reservations is anachronistic, since it is impossible to prove that such a technique existed during the time of the earthly ministry of the Lord. In addition, Riesenfeld and Gerhardsson, in fact, did not solve the synoptic problem, but only explored the preliterate forms of the gospel tradition. This version of the theory of oral tradition does not explain the origin of the similarities and differences between the canonical Gospels.

V. Kelber, relying on data from folklore and social anthropology, advanced several times. further. He drew attention to the abundance of such litas in the Gospel narrative. techniques such as alliteration, paronomasia, appositions, contrasts and antitheses, tautological parallelism, etc., facilitating memorization by ear (Kelber. 1983). Kelber's conclusions are based on the study of the Gospel of Mark, since he recognized its priority within the framework of the 2-source theory (he considered the Q material to be exclusively oral). His position is largely ambiguous: Mark recorded the oral tradition, but at the same time interrupted its transmission, replacing it with a written text, which not only preserves the tradition, but corrects and supplements it. Thus, Kelber failed to go beyond the hypothesis of 2 sources.

Evangelist Mark (L. 70 vol.). Screensaver for the Gospel of Mark (L. 71). 10s (?) XV century (GIM. Usp. 2-p)

The most radical of the scientifically based attempts to solve the synoptic problem without Q was the work of E. Linnemann (Linnemann. 1992), who, using statistical analysis and, in fact, the methodology that Zeller developed, denies lit. dependence of weather forecasters on each other. In her opinion, the percentage of differences between E. at the lexical and compositional level is so great that Q can be considered a fantasy (only in 14 pericopes out of 65 (1/10 of all Q material) the similarity of the vocabulary used by Matthew and Luke approaches 100%).

A similar position is taken by J. Wenham, who advocates the “Augustinian” solution (Matthew wrote first, his text was used by Mark, the Gospel of Mark in turn served as a source for the Gospel of Luke), but supplemented by the hypothesis of oral sources (Wenham. 1992).

J. Dunn, accepting the 2-source theory, criticizes Project Q and rejects all attempts to identify lit. layers in Q (Dunn. 2003). Dunn's position is this: we can only talk about material Q, preserved by weather forecasters, but not about full-fledged E. or lit. text of the same type. He prefers to explain a significant number of discrepancies between weather forecasters by differences in the oral transmission of tradition. Q, in his opinion, if it was still a written text, was created not in order to replace living oral tradition, but in order to supplement and preserve it. At the same time, Dunn categorically denies the existence of a certain “Q community” in the strict sense of the word. Every Christian the community most likely had at its disposal several. documents of different genres. An example is the Qumranite community, who, in addition to their own special literature, read and copied books common to intertestamental Judaism. When comparing Matthew's and Luke's use of Q with their use of the Gospel of Mark, it can be concluded that Matthew and Luke used most of Q, but how much is impossible to say. If you try to reconstruct the Gospel of Mark from quotes from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, you won't get much. In addition, weather forecasters would hardly have used sources that were Christologically incompatible with the teachings of the Church, no matter how ancient they were. “Community Q,” even if it existed, could not exist in complete isolation from other Christians. communities, unless it had the status of heresy. And no church writer would use the sources of heretics or sectarians.

Thus, to the end. XX century In scientific biblical studies, with an abundance of marginal theories, 3 main options for solving the synoptic problem have been formed - the hypothesis of 2 Gospels, the hypothesis of 2 sources (lately more often called the hypothesis of 2 documents to emphasize the written nature of the sources of the Gospel tradition) and the Farrer-Goulder hypothesis. Hypotheses of oral tradition and hypotheses of several. sources are rather clarifying in nature (their supporters usually adhere to either the traditional solution (“Augustinian”) or one of the 2 indicated hypotheses).

The Apostle Matthew is called the author of two more apocrypha, but he did not write them

Apocryphal writings are also attributed to the Apostle Matthew.

Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

This is a late text. Possibly 6th century. It has not been previously reported. He inherits the tradition of the so-called proto-gospels - stories about the childhood of Jesus Christ. It is clear that the author of the apocrypha is familiar with this kind of literature, since he borrows a lot from other proto-gospels and develops the topic more deeply.

In the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, Jesus Christ is worshiped by dragons and leopards

The text tells about the period of pregnancy of the Virgin Mary and the early years of the Savior. Moreover, the concentration of miracles there is outrageously strong. Jesus Christ is worshiped by leopards, He preaches to dragons and sends the palm tree to heaven.

In spirit, this is not the Gospel at all, for in canonical texts the task is to convey the teachings of Christ. Here is to amaze the reader with the volume of fiction.

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew tells about the childhood of Jesus Christ

Gospel of Matthew the Sincere

Most likely a remake. At least, ancient sources do not report this text. It is impossible to determine for sure whether the authorship is attributed to the Apostle Matthew, but most likely this is the case.

The Apocrypha tells the story of the last years of Jesus' life and His Resurrection. Moreover, it contains incorrectly interpreted quotations from the canonical Gospels.

Here is a fragment of the first chapter:

Gospel of Matthew the Sincere 1:1–6

“He came to testify to the light, but not to bring glory to those who believed in him. He was not the light, but was sent to testify to the light. He was the One whose word became flesh. Imperishable flesh, not knowing death. There were those who, having filled themselves and those around them with doubt, said: We do not believe that this is from the holy spirit, for he suffers from our sufferings and rejoices in our joys. It is only said in the scriptures: Holy is not the one who, having renounced himself from the world, lives without sin, but the one who watches over himself among men and edifies others.”

It is clear that we are talking about Jesus Christ.

"He was that the word Was flesh."

This is confirmed by the following phrase:

Gospel of Matthew the Sincere 2:1

“When I found Confidence in Power, I came to the desert to John.”

But the first fragment is simply a paraphrased introduction from the Gospel of John:

John 1:7–8

“He came as a witness, to testify of the Light, so that through him all might believe. He was not light, but was sent to testify to the Light."

Matthew, as an evangelist, is depicted on the sails of the temple.
However, the author of the canonical Gospel is talking about John the Baptist, and in the Gospel of Matthew the Sincere we see thoughtless copying of phrases and a completely un-Christian statement:

"Jesus was not the light."

This is already enough to draw correct conclusions about the value of this apocrypha for Orthodoxy.

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ and ends with his Resurrection

The Gospel of Matthew is addressed primarily to a Jewish audience. The author tries to tell about Jesus Christ in a language familiar and understandable to modern people.

He draws on the Old Testament context, introduces quotations from the Holy Scriptures, and also immediately links the genealogy of Jesus Christ to the kings and patriarchs and Jews:

Matthew 1:1–16

“The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Judah, and his brothers Judah begat Perez and Zerah by Tamar; Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram; Aram gave birth to Abminadab; Amminadab begat Nahshon; Nahshon begat Salmon; Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab; Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth; Obed begat Jesse; Jesse begat David king; David the king begot Solomon from Uriah; Solomon begat Rehoboam; Rehoboam gave birth to Abijah; Abijah begat Asa; Asa begat Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat begat Joram; Jehoram begat Uzziah; Uzziah begat Jotham; Jotham begat Ahaz; Ahaz begat Hezekiah; Hezekiah begat Manasseh; Manasseh begat Amon; Amon gave birth to Josiah; Josiah begat Joachim; Joachim gave birth to Jeconiah and his brothers before moving to Babylon. After moving to Babylon, Jeconiah gave birth to Salathiel; Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; Zerubbabel begat Abihu; Abihu begat Eliakim; Eliakim begat Azor; Azor begat Zadok; Zadok gave birth to Achim; Achim begat Eliud; Elihu begat Eleazar; Eleazar begat Matthan; Matthan gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

The first two chapters are devoted to the genealogy of Jesus Christ (fourteen genera in total), His birth and flight to Egypt. There is no traditional story of the Annunciation here.

The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and reports that his wife will “give birth to a son,” after which the messenger of God gives instructions:

“You shall call his name Jesus.”

The third chapter describes the meeting of the Savior with Ivan the Baptist.

Chapter 4 begins with the famous episode of the temptation of the Messiah in the desert, and ends with His first meeting with the people and the calling of the disciples.

Chapter 5 opens with the Sermon on the Mount, fundamental to Christianity. Here the author again emphasizes the connection between the teachings of Christ and the Jewish tradition. The Savior says here:

“I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.”

For three chapters He teaches people how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it,” emphasizing the connection with the old tradition

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:

“I came not to break the law, but to fulfill it”

emphasizing the connection with the old tradition

Chapter 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount.

Chapter 3 of the Gospel of Matthew is occupied by the Sermon on the Mount.

Chapters 8–9 tell of further preaching and miracles performed by Christ. In 8–9 the action is concentrated in Galilee.

Chapter 10 describes the relationship of Jesus Christ with the 12 apostles. It tells how the Savior called them and how he instructed them to preach.

Chapters 11 to 16 again focus on the miracles and preaching of Jesus Christ in the area around Galilee.

Chapter 17 describes the Transfiguration of the Lord. Here the Savior predicts his fate:

Mf. 17:22–23

“While they were in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and on the third day will rise again. And they were very sad.”

Then Christ heals the sick and tells parables until chapter 18.

From chapter 19, the Savior begins to preach and perform miracles in Judea, gradually approaching Jerusalem. Many chapters contain deep Christian doctrinal truths.

Chapter 26 describes the Last Supper, arrest and trial.

Chapter 27 - meeting with Pilate, crucifixion, death.

Chapter 28 - the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

At the end, the Savior gives one last instruction:

Mf. 28:18–20

“And Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen".

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Character and features of each of the four Gospels / 1. Gospel of Matthew

The writer of the first Gospel was St. Matthew, who also bore the name Levi, son of Alpheus, is one of the 12 Apostles of Christ. Before his call to apostolic service, he was a publican, i.e. tax collector, and, as such, of course, was unloved by his Jewish compatriots, who despised and hated tax collectors because they served the heterodox enslavers of their people and oppressed their people by collecting taxes, and in their desire for profit, they often took much more, than it should.

About his calling St. Matthew himself tells it in chapter 9. 9 tbsp. of his Gospel, calling himself the name “Matthew,” while the Evangelists Mark and Luke, narrating the same thing, call him “Levi.” It was the custom of the Jews to have several names, and therefore there is no reason to think that we are talking about different persons here, especially since the subsequent invitation of the Lord and His disciples to the house of Matthew is described by all three Evangelists in exactly the same way, and in the list The 12 disciples of the Lord and Mark and Luke also call the one called “Matthew” (compare Mark 3 and Luke 6:15).

Touched to the depths of his soul by the mercy of the Lord, who did not disdain him, despite the general contempt of the Jews and especially the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew wholeheartedly accepted the teaching of Christ and especially deeply understood its superiority over the traditions and views of the Pharisees, which bore the stamp of external righteousness , conceit and contempt for sinners. That is why he alone cites in such detail the powerful accusatory speech of the Lord against the scribes and Pharisees - hypocrites, which we find in the 23rd chapter of his Gospel. It must be assumed that, for the same reason, he took especially close to his heart the matter of saving HIS native Jewish people, who by that time were so saturated with false, destructive concepts and Pharisaic views, and therefore HIS GOSPEL WAS WRITTEN PRIMARILY FOR THE JEWS. As there is reason to believe, it was originally written in Hebrew and only a little later, unknown by whom, perhaps by Matthew himself, was translated into Greek. St. testifies to this. Papias of Hierapolis: “Matthew set out the Lord’s conversations in Hebrew, and everyone translated them as best they could” (Church. East. Eusebius III, 39). It is possible that Matthew himself later translated his Gospel into Greek in order to make it understandable to a wider circle of readers. In any case, the Church accepted into the canon only the Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew, because the Hebrew was soon maliciously distorted by the “Judaizing” heretics.

Having written his Gospel for the Jews, St. Matthew sets as his main goal to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ is exactly the MESSIAH about whom the Old Testament prophets predicted, that He is “the fulfillment of the law and the prophets,” that the Old Testament revelation, obscured by the scribes and Pharisees, only in Christianity understands and perceives its most perfect meaning. Therefore, he begins his Gospel with the GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST, wanting to show the Jews His origins FROM DAVID and ABRAHAM, and makes a huge number of REFERENCES TO THE OLD TESTAMENT in order to prove the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies on Him. All such references to the Old Testament in St. Matthew are no less than 66, and in 43 cases a literal extract is made. The purpose of the first Gospel for the Jews is clear from the fact that St. Matthew, mentioning Jewish customs, does not consider it necessary to explain their meaning and significance, as other Evangelists do; it also leaves without explanation some Aramaic words used in Palestine (compare, for example, 15:1-3 and Mark 7:3-4; 16-17 and Mark 10:46).

Time of writing of the Gospel of Matthew Church. historian Eusebius (III, 24) refers to the 8th year after the Ascension of the Lord, but St. Irenaeus of Lyon believes that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel “while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel in Rome,” i.e. in the sixties of the first century.

Having written his Gospel for his Jewish compatriots, St. Matthew preached for them in Palestine for a long time, but then he retired to preach in other countries and ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia. The Gospel of Matthew contains 28 chapters or 116 church principles. It begins with the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ from Abraham and ends with the Lord’s farewell instructions to the disciples before His ascension. Since St. Matthew speaks mainly about the origin of Jesus Christ according to His humanity, then the emblem of man is assigned to him.

The contents of the Gospel of Matthew in chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1: Genealogy of Jesus Christ. Nativity. Chapter 2: Adoration of the Magi. Flight of St. families to Egypt. Massacre of the innocents. Return of St. family from Egypt and his settlement in Nazareth. Chapter 3: The Sermon of John the Baptist. Baptism from him of the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 4: The temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the devil. The beginning of His preaching in Galilee. The Calling of the First Apostles. Preaching Christ and healing the sick. Chapter 5: Sermon on the Mount: the doctrine of the beatitudes, the apostles are the salt of the earth and the light of the world; “I came not to break the law, but to fulfill it”; a new understanding of the commandments: “thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not commit adultery,” the doctrine of divorce, oaths, and love for enemies. Chapter 6: Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount: teaching on almsgiving, on the prayer “Our Father”; about fasting; about laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth; about the impossibility of serving God and mammon; about putting aside worries about the body and its needs, about seeking the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. Chapter 7: Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount: about not judging your neighbors; about not giving sacred things to dogs; about constancy in prayer; about narrow and wide gates; about false prophets; about the need to do good; a parable about a house built on stone and sand. Chapter 8: Healing the leper. Healing of the servant of the Capernaum centurion. Healing of Petrova's mother-in-law and many demon-possessed and sick people. “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” “Let the dead bury their dead.” Taming the storm at sea. Healing of two demoniacs in the country of Gergesin and the death of a herd of pigs. Chapter 9: Healing the paralytic. The Calling of the Publican Matthew. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” About the fast of Christ's disciples. The resurrection of the daughter of a certain boss and the healing of a bleeding woman. Healing of two blind men and a dumb demon possessed. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Chapter 10: Election of 12 Apostles and sending them to preach. Predicting persecution from people. The meaning of confessing Christ before people and the destructiveness of renouncing Him. About the need for complete love for the Lord, more than for relatives and for oneself. Chapter 11: The Embassy of John the Baptist to Jesus Christ and the testimony of Christ about John. Woe to Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. The Lord calls all who labor and are burdened to Himself. Chapter 12: The Lord's disciples plucking ears of grain on the Sabbath. Healing the Withered Arm. Fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy about Christ. Healing of a demoniac and the accusation of the Lord by the Pharisees that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus convicts the Pharisees of the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees Seeking a Sign from Jesus. A parable about an unclean spirit that came out of a man and returned again. “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” Chapter 13: Parable of the Sower. Why did Christ the Savior speak in parables? Explanation of the parable of the sower. Parable of wheat and tares. The parable of the mustard seed, the leaven; explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares. A parable about a treasure hidden in a field, about a pearl of great price, about a net thrown into the sea. “There is no prophet without honor”... Chapter 14: The beheading of John the Baptist. Feeding 5000 people. Walking on the waters. Healing the sick through one touch of the hem of Jesus' robe. Chapter 15: The Lord’s denunciation of the Pharisees that they prefer the traditions of the elders to the Word of God. About an unclean heart, as a source of evil that defiles a person. Healing the demon-possessed daughter of a Canaanite woman. Healing of many sick people and feeding of 4000 people. Chapter 16: The Sign of the Prophet Jonah. Warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Apostle Peter confesses Jesus on behalf of all the Apostles as the Son of the Living God. Jesus' prediction of His coming suffering and Peter's reproach. Teaching about self-sacrifice, taking up the cross and following Christ. Chapter 17: Transfiguration of the Lord. Healing a demon-possessed youth. Wonderful payment of the temple tax. Chapter 18: On the need to become like children in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. About temptations. Parable of the Lost Sheep. About the reproof of a sinning brother and about the highest authority of the Church. About forgiveness of grievances. Parable about the unmerciful debtor. Chapter 19: The doctrine of the reprehensibility of divorce and virginity. Blessing of children. About a rich young man and about wealth as an obstacle to inheriting eternal life. Chapter 20: The Parable of the Workers Hired in the Vineyard. Jesus' prediction of His death and resurrection. The request of the mother of the sons of Zebedee and the Lord’s instruction to the disciples about humility. Healing of two Jericho blind men. Chapter 21: The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and the expulsion of the merchants from the temple. The withered fig tree and the power of faith. The question of the high priests about the authority of Jesus. Parable of two sons. About the stone that became the head of the corner. Chapter 22: The parable of the wedding feast of the king's son, About the tribute to Caesar. Conversation with the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead. About the two most important commandments - love for God and love for neighbors and the Sonship of God. Chapter 23: The Lord’s accusatory speech to the scribes and Pharisees. Prediction of God's punishment for Jerusalem. Chapter 24: The Lord’s prediction of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, wars, persecution of His followers, the end of the world and His second coming. Chapter 25: The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Parable of the Talents. Last Judgment. Chapter 26: Conference of the high priests with the scribes about putting the Lord to death. Anointing of the Lord with myrrh in Bethany. Betrayal of Judas. Last Supper. Prediction of Petrov's abdication. Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The capture of the Lord by the servants of the high priest. Trial before Caiaphas. Peter's denial. Chapter 27: Trial before Pilate. Judas' repentance and his death. The people's request for Barabbas instead of Christ. Desecration of warriors. Crucifixion. Mockery of the Crucified One. Darkness throughout the land. Death of the Lord. His burial and sealing of the tomb. Chapter 28: The coming of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb. The great earthquake and the descent of the Angel, who rolled away the stone from the tomb. The Angel's Good News to the Myrrh-Bearing Women about the Resurrection of Christ. The appearance of the risen Lord Himself to the myrrh-bearers. Bribery of the guards to slander the resurrection of Christ. The appearance of the Lord to the 11 disciples in Galilee and the last instructions to them about preaching the gospel teaching to all nations.

Character and Features of Each of the Four Gospels

Table of contents

2. Gospel of Mark

Text of the book "GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"