Open English Translation MAT Introduction

Introduction

Author

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

This account

Matay’s account starts by listing the ancestors of Yeshua, and then describes Yeshua’s 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 Galil region. After that, Matay goes on to describe Yeshua’s trip down to Yerushalem/Jerusalem and what happened to him there. Then he explains what happened in Yeshua’s final week in Yerushalem, 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 Yehudim/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, Matay 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 an early look into the unpolished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.