The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
The first word in Matthew’s gospel in the original greek is ‘Biblos’, which means book or record, and is the same word from which we get ‘Bible’. After this introductory word, Matthew presents his account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. His gospel is written to a primarily Jewish audience, and presents Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and as the rightful King for Whom the Jews had long been waiting. At the time when Matthew wrote his Gospel, the majority of Christians were converted Jews. To them, Matthew’s ‘biblos’ would have been a wonderful confirmation of their faith.
The last word in the book of Matthew is ‘Amen’, and it’s the same word in the Greek original. After the children’s evangelist Robert Plant opened his meetings in prayer, he always quizzed the children as to the meaning of ‘amen’. They knew the answer: ‘I agree’. But this word holds an even deeper meaning. It is often translated ‘verily’ in our King James Version. It means ‘truly’, or ‘it’s true’. So Matthew, after recording 28 chapters of what he primarily experienced and witnessed first hand, could place his stamp of confirmation on it all by declaring ‘it is all true’.
Matthew used those two words ‘biblos’ and ‘amen’ to bookend his own Gospel. We can read his account with confidence that Matthew ‘spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost’. His is the longest of the four gospels and contains details not found in the others. We value it highly. But what those bookends tell us about Matthew’s gospel is just as true for the rest of our Bibles. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, it is all the Word of God. Note that the last word in our Bible is that same ‘Amen’. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/0G8Lpfwa5VI