(Pioneer Bible Translators and The Word for the World use the following introduction in many of their translation projects around the world.)
The Gospel according to Matthew is one of four books in the New Testament that describe the life of Jesus Christ. Each one of them is called a “gospel,” which means “good news.” They were written after Jesus’ death by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Scholars do not know the exact date when the gospel according to Matthew was written, but it was possibly sometime around 60 years after the birth of Christ. Also, the place where it was written is not known, but many guess that it was written in Palestine and maybe even in the city of Jerusalem.
The author is Matthew, who was a tax collector before Jesus asked him to become his disciple. He was also known by the name Levi. Matthew was one of the twelve Apostles and he wrote for Jewish readers. This can be clearly seen by over 60 references to Old Testament Scriptures. He intended to show that Jesus was the Messiah, God’s chosen savior, who was prophesied about. Matthew also wrote a lot about the kingdom of God. Jews expected the Messiah to become king of a political kingdom. Matthew takes great care to challenge that belief by describing the spiritual kingdom of God.
The gospel according to Matthew is a good book to start the New Testament because of all of its references to the Old Testament. It connects the two Testaments. Scholars have also suggested that Matthew may have been trying to imitate the form of the books of Moses, which are the first five books of the Old Testament.
Outline:
1. Matthew starts the gospel by telling about the birth of Jesus Christ and the beginning of his ministry in chapters 1-4.
2. Next Matthew describes the ministry of Jesus and many of his teachings in chapters 5-25.
3. The final section of Matthew is about the peak of Jesus’ ministry in his death and resurrection (26-28).
L’évangile selon Mathieu est un des 4 livres du Nouveau Testament qui décrivent la vie de Jésus-Christ. Chacun s’appelle un « évangile », ce qui veut dire « bonne nouvelle ». Ils étaient écrits après la mort de Jésus par Mathieu, Marc, Luc et Jean. Les spécialistes ne savent pas la date exacte à laquelle Mathieu a écrit son évangile, mais il se peut qu’il l’ait écrit environ 60 ans après la naissance du Christ. En outre, nous ne savons pas où l’évangile était écrit, mais beaucoup supposent que c’était en Palestine et peut-être même à Jérusalem.
L’auteur est Mathieu, qui était collecteur d’impôts avant que Jésus lui ait demandé de devenir un disciple. Il est connu aussi sous le nom de Lévi. Mathieu était un des douze disciples et a écrit pour des lecteurs juifs. Ceci est démontré par les références de l’Ancien Testament, dont l’évangile contient plus de 60. Mathieu avait l’intention de montrer que Jésus est le Messie, le Sauveur choisi de Dieu, dont la venue avait été prophétisée. Mathieu a aussi beaucoup écrit sur le royaume de Dieu. Les juifs s’attendaient que le Messie soit le roi d’un royaume politique. Mathieu conteste attentivement cette croyance en décrivant le royaume spirituel de Dieu.
L’évangile selon Mathieu est un bon livre pour commencer le Nouveau Testament grâce à ses références à l’Ancien Testament. Il lie les deux testaments. En plus, des érudits ont suggéré que Mathieu essayait d’imiter le forme des livres de Moïse, les premiers cinq livres de l’Ancien Testament.
Plan de l’évangile
1. Mathieu commence son évangile en racontant la naissance de Jésus-Christ et le début de son ministère (chapitres 1-4)
2. Après, Mathieu décrit le ministère de Jésus et raconte beaucoup de ses enseignements (chapitres 5-25)
3. La dernière partie de Mathieu concerne le point culminant du ministère de Jésus : sa mort et sa résurrection (chapitres 26-28)
Translation: Swahili
Utangulizi wa Injili kama ilivyoandikwa na Mathayo
Injili kama ilivyoandikwa naMathayo ni moja ya vitabu vinne katika Agano Jipya vinavyoelezea maisha ya Yesu Kristo. Kila kimoja cha vitabu hivyo kinaitwa “injili,” neno lenye maana ya “habari njema.” Vitabu hivi viliandikwa baada ya kifo cha Yesu na Mathayo, Marko, Luka, na Yohana. Wasomi hawajui ni wakati gani hasa Injili kama ilivyoandikwa na Mathayo iliandikwa, lakini yawezekana kabisa kwamba iliandikwa katika mwaka wa 60 baada ya kuzaliwa Yesu Kristo. Kingine ni kwamba mahali ilipoandikiwa hapajulikani kwa uhakika, lakini wengi wanadhani kwamba iliandikwa katika nchi ya Palestina, na inawezekana kiliandikwa katika mji wa Yerusalemu.
Mwandishi ni Mathayo, mtu ambaye kabla ya Yesu kumwita awe mwanafunzi wake alikuwa ni mtoza ushuru. Alijulikana pia kwa jina la Lawi. Mathayo alikuwa mmoja wa mitume kumi na wawili naye aliiandika injili yake akiwalenga wasomaji wa Kiyahudi. Hili linathibitika kwa kuona kwamba kuna nukuu zaidi ya 60 kutoka katika Maandiko ya Agano la Kale. Alikusudia kuonyesha kwamba Yesu alikuwa ndiye Masihi, mwokozi mteule wa Mungu, ambaye manabii walinena habari zake. Mathayo pia aliandika mengi yahusuyo ufalme wa Mungu. Wayahudi walimtarajia Masihi awe mfalme wa dola ya kisiasa. Mathayo kwa tahadhari na uangalifu mkubwa alikwenda kinyume na dhana hiyo kwa kuuelezea ufalme wa kiroho wa Mungu.
Injili kama ilivyoandikwa na Mathayo ni kitabu kinachofaa kuwa mwanzo wa Agano Jipya kwa sababu ya nukuu zake nyingi kutoka Agano la Kale. Ni kiunganishi kizuri kati ya Maagano mawili. Wasomi wamependekeza kwamba yamkini Mathayo alikuwa anajaribu kuiga mfumo wa vitabu vya Musa, ambavyo ni vitabu vitano vya kwanza vya Agano la Kale.
Muhtasari
1. Mathayo anaianza injili kwa kuelezea habari za kuzaliwa kwa Yesu Kristo na mwanzo wa huduma yake katika sura 1-4.
2. aada ya hapo Mathayo anaelezea huduma ya Yesu na mengi ya mafundisho yake katika sura 5-25.
3. Sehemu ya mwisho ya injili kama ilivyoandikwa na Mathayo inahusu kilele cha huduma ya Yesu kinachoonekana katika kifo na kufufuka kwake (26-28).
(The Catholic Christian Community Bible [first English edition 1997, other translations into Indonesian, Chinese, Cebuano, Chavacano, French, Ilonggo, Korean, Quechuan, Spanish, and Tagalog] “for the Christian Communities of the Third World” uses the following introduction.)
Who was Matthew, known also as Levi? We read in the Bible that he was a tax collector and that Jesus called him to be one of his apostles (Mt 9:9 and Mk 2:13). Yet we know for certain that the Gospel under his name was drawn up in its actual form towards the year 80 CE that is after his death. Could the author have been one of his disciples and used a first draft compiled by Matthew? Most probably this Gospel was written in a Christian community of both Jews and Greeks, possibly at Antioch (see Acts 12:19 and 13). It was a time deeply marked by conflict between Jews and Christians, when the Jewish community – suffering terribly from the war with Rome that destroyed the nation – was reorganizing itself under the direction of the Pharisees. These latter had only recently decided to exclude all Jews who believed in Jesus and were members of a Christian community.
This Gospel intends to assure Christians that they have no reason to be troubled even if their own people reject them. The very fact that the Jewish community did not recognize its Messiah resulted in the loss of its right to speak and to decide about God’s promises. Matthew refers to numerous texts in the Old Testament to prove that Christians are the true heirs of the people of the covenant.
In this perspective the whole history of Jesus is presented as a conflict, ending in a separation. The turning point corresponds with the end of chapter 13 where Jesus no longer speaks to the crowd, but to his disciples.
Matthew was impressed by the fact that Jesus during his two or three years of ministry presented himself most often as a preacher, as a teacher of Scripture. He therefore insists on the words of Jesus, which are more numerous in his Gospel than in the others.
It does not surprise us then that Matthew builds his gospel around five “discourses,” in which he has put together the words of Jesus spoken on different occasions. These discourses are:
– The New Law: 5–7.
– Instructions to Missionaries: 10.
– Parables of the Kingdom: 13.
– Admonitions for the Christian community: 18.
– The Future of the Church: 23–25.
Down below are the introductions in the Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Cebuano, and Spanish editions.
Sino ba si Mateo? Mababasa natin sa Ebanghelyo na maniningil ng buwis si Mateo na tinatawag ding Levi. Tinawag siya ni Jesus na maging isa sa labindalawang apostol (Mt 9:9 at Mc 2:13). Layunin ng Ebanghelyo ni Mateo na mailahad nang maayos ang aral ni Jesus. Hindi niya binanggit ang maraming detalye tungkol sa mga gawa ni Jesus na kanyang isinasalaysay, sa halip ay mga salita ni Jesus ang binigyang-pansin niya.
Bilang introduksyon, ilang istorya tungkol sa kamusmusan ni Jesus ang inilagay ni Mateo sa simula ng kanyang Ebanghelyo. Mahahati naman sa limang bahagi ang kabuuan ng Ebang¬-helyo; nagsisimula sa mga gawa ni Jesus ang bawat isa, at nagwawakas naman sa kanyang pananalita. Narito ang lima niyang diskursong ito:
Ang Bagong Batas: 5-7.
Mga tagubilin sa mga misyonero: 10.
Mga talinhaga ng Kaharian: 13
Mga salita tungkol sa pamayanang Kristiyano: 18.
Ang Kinabukasan ng Iglesya: 23-25.
Isinulat ang Ebanghelyo ni Mateo para gamitin ng mga pamayanang Kristiyano na mga Judio ang nakararami. Kaya ipinakikita nito na si Jesus ang Mesiyas na hinihintay ng mga Judio. Binigyang-diin nito na binigyang-kaganapan ni Jesus ang maraming propesiya ng Matandang Tipan tungkol sa Mesiyas at sa kanyang mga daan: Mt 4:14; 8:17; 12:17…
Maraming beses nitong inuulit ang mensaheng ito: dapat munang ipangaral sa mga Judio ang kaharian ng Diyos, pero alam ni Jesus na tatanggihan nila ito, kaya mga bansang pagano ang pagpapahayagan ng Iglesya.
Para sa Ebanghelyo ni Mateo, si Jesus ang Guro ng sangkatauhan. Isang daan ng kaganapan ang itinuturo sa atin ng kanyang aral at mga talinhaga, at ibinibigay ang mga panuntunan para sa sama-sama nating pamumuhay sa isang dukhang Iglesyang kung saan pantay-pantay ang lahat.
Sa edisyong ito, walang ibinibigay na mga paliwanag sa mga talatang halos kapareho ng nasa Ebanghelyo ni Marcos, at doon ipinapaliwanag.
Translation: Cebuano
Kinsa si Mateo? Sa Ebanghelyo si Mateo nga gitawag sab og Levi, mangungobrag buhis. Gitawag siya ni Jesus aron mausa sa 12 ka Apostol (Mt 9:9 ug Mc 2:13). Ang katuyoan ni Mateo sa ebanghelyo mao ang pagpaklaro sa mga pagtulon-an ni Jesus sa hapsayng paagi. Wala iapil ni Mateo ang daghang detalye sa mga buhat ni Jesus nga gihisgotan. Hinuon, gihatagag gibug-aton ang mga pulong ni Jesus.
Isip pasiuna, gihan-ay ni Mateo sa sinugdan sa Ebanghelyo ang pipila ka istorya sa pagkatawo ni Jesus. Ang uban, gibahin sa lima ka dagkong tema. Ang matag bahin nagsugod sa mga buhat ni Jesus ug ang wali. Kini ang mga wali:
Ang Wali sa Bukid: 5-7
Mga Awhag Alang sa mga Misyonaryo: 10
Mga Sambingay sa Gingharian: 13
Mga Pahimangno Alang sa Kristohanong Katilingban: 18
Ang Kaugmaon sa Simbahan: 23-25
Ang Mateo gisulat aron magamit sa mga Kristohanong Katilingban diin ang kadaghanan mga Judio. Tungod ini, gipaila ni Mateo nga si Jesus ang Mesiyas nga gipaabot sa mga Judio. Gikutlo niya ang daghang tudling gikan sa Daang Kasabotan diin gipanagna ang Mesiyas ug gihulagway ang iyang agianan: 4:14; 18:17; 12:17...
Sa makadaghan giingon: ang Gingharian sa Diyos kinahanglang isangyaw ngadto sa mga Judio, apan nasayod si Jesus nga ila ning isalikway. Busa, ang Simbahan angayng mowali sa paganong kanasoran.
Alang ni Mateo, si Jesus, una sa tanan, Magtutudlo sa katawhan. Ang iyang pagtulon-an ug sambingay nagpakita nato sa dalan sa kahingpitan ug nagbilig mga lagda sa katilingbanong pag-ambitay sa Simbahan sa mga kabos diin naay pag-angay-angay sa matag-usa.
Niining edisyona walay komentaryo nga gihimo sa susamang mga parapo nga makita sa Marcos diin gikomentaryohan ni.
Translation: Spanish
Quién era Mateo, llamado también Leví? Leemos en el Evangelio que era cobrador de impuestos y que Jesús hizo de él uno de sus apóstoles (Mt 9,9 y Mc 2,13). Los testigos más antiguos (Papías hacia el año 130; Ireneo hacia el 180; Orígenes hacia el 200) le atribuyen un Evangelio “escrito en letras hebraicas” que todavía era conocido en el tiempo de san Jerónimo (siglo cuarto). Nuestro Evangelio según Mateo, escrito posteriormente en griego, debe tal vez su nombre al hecho de que integró en su relato la traducción de la obra primitiva de Mateo: véase la Introduccion al Nuevo Testamento.
Con toda probabilidad este Evangelio fue escrito en una comunidad cristiana en la que había cristianos de origen judío y griego, tal vez Antioquía (véase He 12,1 y 13). Es el momento en que el sumo sacerdote Ananías hizo apedrear a Santiago, el obispo de Jerusalén (62). Entonces los cristianos son excluidos de la comunidad judía y ya no son protegidos por las leyes romanas que autorizaban a los judíos a que no sacrificaran a las divinidades romanas y un poco más tarde serán perseguidos por Nerón (64-65).
Este Evangelio trata de mostrar que los cristianos no deben preocuparse si por ahora los rechaza su pueblo. La comunidad oficial que no ha creído se ha quedado fuera del Reino, al que entraron los que han reconocido al Mesías. Esta minoría ha recibido los “bienes de la alianza” prometidos por los profetas. En adelante deben compartirlos con los creyentes de todo origen que querrán integrarse en la Iglesia.
Bajo esta perspectiva, toda la historia de Jesús es presentada como un conflicto que termina en una separación: véase el final del capítulo 13. En adelante Jesús no predicará ya a las muchedumbres sino sólo a sus discípulos.
Mateo destaca la figura de Jesús como predicador y Maestro de la Escritura. Se interesa en forma especial por las palabras de Jesús, que son más numerosas en su Evangelio que en los demás, y en cambio cuenta sus gestos y sus milagros del modo más esquemático posible.
No hay pues que extrañarse de que Mateo haya construido su Evangelio en torno a cinco “discursos”, en los que reunió palabras que Jesús pronunció en diferentes ocasiones. Estos discursos son:
– El Sermón de la montaña: 5, 6 y 7. Esta carta magna de los hijos de Dios se completa con diez signos de poder que anuncian nuestra liberación del pecado (c. 8 y 9).
– Las instrucciones a los misioneros: 10. Estas instrucciones son completadas por las controversias que enfrentan a Jesús con sus adversarios (c.11 - 12).
– Las Parábolas del Reino: 13. Los fariseos se ciegan, mientras que la fe de los Doce y de Pedro permite que Jesús funde su Iglesia.
– Las advertencias a la comunidad cristiana: 18. La ley funamental del perdón fraterno se completa con instrucciones diversas. Los guías del pueblo judío se cierran, mostrando por contraste lo que deberán ser los guías del pueblo cristiano.
– Cómo vivir a la espera del fin de los tiempos: 24 y 25.
A manera de introducción Mateo pone los dos primeros capítulos sobre la infancia de Jesús. Son relatos de un carácter especial, en los que se preocupa muy poco de la historicidad de los hechos, pues la intención es presentar a través de imágenes una enseñanza teológica.
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