If indeed it was the most popular, a simple explanation would be that the Christian Church sprang from the Jewish communities and the first body of the Church was heavily or nearly fully Jewish converts. Matthew spoke strongly to this community to prove Jesus was their promised Messiah.
The original, Greek manuscript of Matthew's Gospel has long been lost. However, enough early manuscripts have been discovered that scholars can establish some of the changes made to the gospel since that original was written.
covers the birth of christ to the early church.
The Book of Acts, attributed as a sequel to Luke's Gospel, it considered the 'history book' of the early Church.
Opinion/ Matthew's Gospel is listed first because it forms the perfect bridge between the Old and New Testament, and the genealogies listed at the beginning form a natural transition between the two. In addition, Matthew's arrangement presents the teachings of Jesus in well organised form.
Based on the integrity of the primary sources that place the Gospel of Matthew first in the New Testament canon, it is often called the first Gospel by those of a judicious disposition. Primary Sources include: 1. Origen: His words relating to canon Scriptures: 'The Gospel of Matthew which he wrote in Hebrew on a roll, when he was at Caesarea...then the Gospel of Mark ...Gospel of Luke ...Gospel of John...' Ref: History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church at Alexandria, of Demetrius the Twelfth Patriarch. 2. Jerome: 'Matthew who had first set forth the Gospel in Hebrew letters in Judea' Ref: Jerome, Preface for the Gospels. 3. Hillel III (circa A.D.100): Cites the order of the gospels as Matthew Mark Luke and John. Ref: p. 248 Hillel Letters, The Archko Volume. 4.Irenaeus: 'Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect'. Irenaeus then cites the other gospels in the order of Mark Luke and John. Ref: Against Heresies Book 3 Ch. 1. 5.Epiphanius: 'For Matthew was the first to become an Evangelist. He was directed to issue the Gospel first.' Ref: Panarion Book 2. 50.1. 6.Mahboub: 'Matthew wrote in Hebrew to the Hebrews', where follows in listed order, Mark Luke and John. Ref: Agapius, Universal History; the Second part of the History of Mahboub.
The author of Matthew's Gospel divided it into five major sections to emphasize the parallels between Jesus and Moses, who also delivered his teachings in five books. This structure highlights Jesus as the new lawgiver and emphasizes the continuity between the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus.
The special emphasis of Matthew is that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the Old Testament prophets. He quotes from and refers to the Old testament more often than any other New Testament author and seems to have had particularly Jewish readers in mind. This gospel does not name its author, but it has been accepted as the word of Matthew ever since the early church fathers, beginning with Papias, who was a student of the apostle John.
In the early first century, Matthew was never mentioned by anyone outside the gospels, and the gospel that bears his name was written anonymously and only attributed to Matthew later in the second century. So, the existence of the gospel is not evidence for the historicity of Matthew and there is no other extra-biblical evidence for him.
There are 28 chapters in the Gospel of Matthew.
Saint Matthew is known for writing the Gospel of Matthew, one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. His work helps form the foundation of Christian theology and provides valuable insight into the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Additionally, Saint Matthew is considered one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus, playing a key role in the early spread of Christianity.
The Acts of the Apostles which details the history of the early church is between the Gospel accounts and the epistles.
Arguments for authorship by the apostle Matthew include early church tradition attributing the Gospel to him, familiarity with Jewish customs and scripture evident in the text, and Matthew's background as a tax collector aligning with the detailed financial references in the Gospel. Against a late date of writing, arguments point to early manuscript evidence, linguistic similarities to Mark and Luke suggesting a timeframe closer to the events depicted, and lack of mention of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD which would likely have been included if written after that event.