Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how Israel’s Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgement on Israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles. The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist’s community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees: prior to the Crucifixion they are referred to as Israelites, the honorific title of God’s chosen people; after it, they are called simply Ioudaioi (“Jews”), a sign that through their rejection of the Christ the “Kingdom of Heaven” has been taken away from them and given instead to the church