An Introduction to Matthew’s Gospel

An excerpt from “Matthew: A Catholic Guide For Personal Study And Faith Sharing”

By: Fr. Joseph A. Mindling, OFM Cap

Wouldn't it be exciting if we could interview the writers who first captured the words and deeds of Jesus in the gospels of the New Testament?

Perhaps we would come to such an interview with a list of questions that have piqued our curiosity for a long time. Or maybe we would just ask these writers to read the inspired texts out loud to us, adding an explanatory remark here and there. But what would we hope to gain from such an exchange? Some people might desire nothing more than entertainment, like Herod Antipas who tried to impress his courtiers by asking Jesus to perform a miracle. Most of us who love and admire Jesus, however, would simply want to ask what it was like to have known the living Jesus. Not content to just discover new information about the world in which he lived and worked, we would want to ask these writers most of all about Jesus as our friend and savior.

The “Fountain”…