Introduction

Author

The writer of this document was Matthaios, known in English as Matthew and in Hebrew as Levi. He was one of the twelve apprentices of Yeshua, and named by Alphaeus his father. He was from Galilee but worked in Capernaum as a tax-collector before he left that to follow Yeshua. It’s possible that it was Yeshua who changed his name from Levi when he became a follower, and named him Matthew which means ‘the gift of God’ in Hebrew.

This account

Matthew’s account starts by listing the ancestors of Yeshua, and then describes his birth, his immersion in water, and his temptation by the devil. He tells us about a lot of his preaching and teaching, and about how he healed many sick people in the Galilee region. After that, Matthew goes on to describe Yeshua’s trip to Yerusalem and what happened to him there. Then he explains what happened in Yeshua’s final week in Yerusalem, his execution on a stake, and his coming back to life.

This document tells how Yeshua is the messiah, promised by God to save the Jews, and all non-Jews who place their trust in him. So by means of him, God fulfills his promises to his people that were listed in the Old Testament.

This good message reveals Yeshua as the great teacher to explain God’s law. Here in this document, Matthew records five lengthy teaching sessions about God’s kingdom: (1) The preaching on the hill about people’s behaviour, their responsibilities, and what they might expect to receive in God’s kingdom (chapters 5–7); (2) warning the twelve apprentices about their works (chapter 10); (3) the parables about God’s kingdom (chapter 13); (4) the teaching concerning the way to become a follower (chapter 18); and (5) the teaching concerning the end of this age and God’s kingdom which is coming. (chapters 24–25).

This is still a very early look into the unfinished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.