Jesus as Messiah

Abstract

Each Gospel writer namely: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John wrote to a specific community for a particular reason. Matthew wrote for a group of Christians who were undergoing a transformation from a predominantly Jewish - Christian church to an increasingly Gentile church, from a church whose roots and cultural origin were Palestinian to a church plunged into the midst of the Roman empire. (') In writing the infancy narratives Matthew intended to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the messiah, the fulfillment of all Old Testament expectations and prophecies. In doing so, he emphasized that: God is the master of the entire salvation history. The church is the true Israel God has drawn near to dwell to the end of time with his people.