Matthew’s Gospel seeks to show that the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus fulfils what was promised in the Old Testament and has long been expected by the people of Israel. In this accessible guide to the first book of the New Testament, Patrick Whitworth explores key texts and themes of the Gospel of Matthew, such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Passion Narrative, the story of the resurrection and the Gospel's finale in the Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the good news”. He shows how Matthew’s Gospel was not only a manual for discipleship for its first-century readers but is a challenge for Christians today.

Following the author’s earlier book on Luke, Gospel for the Outsider, this is the second in a series of short introductions to the Gospels for all who want to explore the New Testament, be it as individual readers or in a Bible study group.

In post-Christian societies churches need to work much harder to nurture an appreciation of the transformative power of the Bible. These two books, one on Matthew and one on Luke and Acts, by a retired Anglican priest and educator, offer individual Christian learners and local congregations functioning as learning churches fresh insights into how they may be enriched by engagement with Matthew and with Luke. … The strengths of these two books reside in their accessible style, in the discussion questions set out in the appendices, and in the conversation that is generated between the word of scripture and the life-world of the Christian reader.Leslie J. Francis, Rural Theology

The book will be useful for preachers as the lectionary embraces Matthew for the coming year and it also provides discussion questions related to each chapter which would make it an ideal book for study in a group.David Gillies, The Reader