[Read more carefully before you criticize the Bible Part 5: Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew?]
The author in his Opening Post expresses doubts that Matthew is the author of the Gospel of Matthew, if I understand him correctly. He expressly states that none of the claimed Gospel authors were practicing Jews.
I have stated regarding Matthew:
“Matthew, who most certainly was Jewish, held a job as a tax collector that of course was not well-favored by Jews of his day. Nevertheless, Matthew answered the call to follow Jesus. Reading his account carefully, he obviously had connections that provided additional witness to the facts surrounding the crucifixion and bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Matthew’s Gospel has been recognized as having been written for the benefit of a largely Jewish audience, as seen, for example, by Matthew’s more frequent use of the expression “kingdom of heaven” rather than “kingdom of God.” Matthew gives us the account of the prophetic Olivet Discourse in its fulness, as does Luke in his Gospel.”
Note carefully this sentence from my statement about Matthew:
“Reading his account carefully, he obviously had connections that provided additional witness to the facts surrounding the crucifixion and bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
These “connections” are evident to very careful readers of the New Testament. Most readers will miss these connections for they are stated in an incidental way and would hardly be noticed by the ordinary reader. These “connections” in the text of the New Testament have been called “undesigned coincidences” by scholars who have studied and sometimes listed them.
Here is an example based upon what is written in Matthew 14:1-2,
Mat 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
Mat 14:2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Note particularly how Matthew in his Gospel includes the statement:
“And said unto his servants.”
How did Matthew know this little fact?
Here is the parallel account in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 9:7-9,
Luk 9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;
Luk 9:8 And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.
Luk 9:9 And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
Note that in the Gospel of Luke, Luke reports “And Herod said,” but there is no mention of to whom Herod said this.
Similarly, the record in the Gospel of Mark, at Mark 6:14-16, Mark tells us:
Mar 6:14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Mar 6:15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
Mar 6:16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
Mark, like Luke, does not provide the significant detail important to this undesigned coincidence which tells to whom Herod said these things, for in Mark 6:16 Mark only tells us “But when Herod heard thereof, he said” but does not report to whom Herod was speaking.
Matthew, therefore, did not copy his information from either the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of Luke when he reported that Herod was speaking to his servants. It is evident from Matthew 14:1-2 that Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus from his servants.
We learn from the Gospel of Luke, in an apparently unconnected statement found there, what the connection was between Herod’s servants and the reports of the ministry and work of Jesus, when Luke reports (Luke 8:1-3):
Luk 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
Luk 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
Luk 8:3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
Notice that Luke reports in Luke 8:3 that “Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward” supported Jesus financially in His ministry, and had a close connection with Herod, through whom Herod learned what Matthew reported in his Gospel.
No forger and no author years later in another place would have any basis to invent such obscure yet on the surface connections which demonstrate these accounts report real history, not fiction, and ultimately by their significant number show that Matthew had such connections by which he knew and reported these things as in this example of just one undesigned coincidence.
Just how does this information–one undesigned coincidence–contribute to the known fact that Matthew the disciple of Jesus wrote the Gospel of Matthew? Matthew includes information about things that happened at the time Jesus died on the cross, and things that happened when Jesus arose bodily from the grave and exited the tomb in the garden of Gethsemane “while the soldiers slept.” He knew these details because he had inside sources who communicated the information to him. Similarly, John in his Gospel had inside connections or relationships which enabled him to report details that would only be known to an insider. Otherwise, how could John have been able to enter and witness what was said to Jesus as well as have the authority to ask that Peter be allowed in (John 18:16). John was “known to the high priest.”