3 November 2026

Papias started it! He was a bishop in the second century. He said that St. Matthew collected the words of Jesus and made a book about them. St. Irenaeus followed. And with him Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian … All the Church Fathers ascribed the edition of the first gospel text to St. Matthew, the apostle.

However, there is no evidence within the gospel itself to suggest that Matthew wrote it. His name is associated with the tax-collector who is called by Jesus to be one of his disciples. In St. Mark’s Gospel and in St. Luke’s Gospel, the tax-collector is called Levi. Furthermore, the most ancient manuscripts don’t have a title nor a title page referring the text to St. Matthew.

The authorship of this gospel remains a mystery but the point and purpose of the gospel does not. We aren’t drawn to the gospel because it was written by St. Matthew nor anyone else but because it introduces us to Jesus, the Divine Man. This is the traditional symbol for St. Matthew’s Gospel – the winged man. His presence enfolds the gospel.

Right at the start, we hear of his birth. He is given  the special name, Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ Right at the end of the gospel, the risen Christ speaks to his friends and says, ‘Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.’ This Divine Man, this God with us, enfolds the gospel and promises to be with us now and always.