According to a very old tradition, the author of the Gospel of Matthew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. This view was expressed by Papias toward the middle of the second century, but what basis he had for this view we do not know. That Jesus did have a disciple who had been a tax-collector is evident from the accounts given in the different Gospels. In Mark, the name of this tax-gatherer is Levi, but in the Gospel of Matthew, he is called Matthew. However, most New Testament scholars agree that the Gospel of Matthew was not written by one of Jesus' disciples, although it is quite possible that Matthew the Apostle may have had something to do with one or more of the sources that were used. One of the main reasons for rejecting the traditional view concerning the author is that several passages in the gospel itself indicate quite clearly that the gospel was not written until after the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. The date of its composition is generally regarded as somewhere between the years 80 and 85 A.D.
The Gospel of Matthew, like the others in the New Testament, evidently is based on sources that were in existence for some time. The two sources on which most of the material is based are Mark and the Logia. The latter is sometimes called "The Sayings of Jesus" and is often referred to as the Q source. In addition to these materials, another source, sometimes called M, seems to be necessary to account for the unique portions of the gospel. The introductory section, for example, contains several stories that are not found in any of the other Gospels. These stories include an account of the birth of Jesus, the visit of the wise men from the East, the meeting of these men with King Herod, Herod's decree calling for the death of male infants, the flight into Egypt, and the settlement in Galilee. Whether these stories were based on oral or written sources is unknown, but they are not found in either Mark or the Logia.
