The Gospel of Matthew was written around 70CE, probably few years after according to the two-source hypothesis. There is quite a bit of discrepancy as to the location that this Gospel was produced; according to White the most feasible place would have been in Antioch. At the time the Gospel of Matthew was written the Jewish Temple had just been destroyed and many Jewish people were in a great deal of distress over what had just happened. Many people believe that the author of this Gospel was directing his writing to the Jewish population- although not exclusively as White points out on page 296.

Matthew 18:15-20 focuses on instructions for church life. The author touches on the topics of sin and listening. Summarizing the passage, the author is saying that one should not ignore the sins of another church member however; he makes it clear that it should be a private matter until the sinner is no longer willing to listen. If that is the case then you should bring along two or three witnesses for confirmation of the exchange. If the accused member is not listening to the group of witnesses nor responding properly then you should bring it to the church and in an effort of last resort you should shun this person much like you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Reading White’s thoughts on The Figure of Matthew on page 311 we know that Jesus was illustrated to be more of a teacher in this Gospel. Jesus in the role of a teacher is very prominent in Matthew 18:10-14 when he uses the little children as an example. It is very noticeable in the chiasmus that Jesus brought the little children into the story to show that he was concerned about the future generations, something that appears to be very “teacher like” today.

Matthew 23:2-12 is examined closely in White on pages 313 and 314; these verses touch on both the Pharisees and Jesus’ disciples. White notes that this material is composed mostly of Q material but there is a uniquely Matthew quality about it, in that there is a lot of emphasis on teaching, a role that Matthean Jesus takes on. It’s hard to miss verses 13-33 which are the seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees; the author uses repetition as a tool to engage the reader and really highlight the bitterness that Jesus felt about the Pharisees. White is careful to point out that, “it is not based on what they teach, only on how they follow these teachings,” (314). The Q source draws a line between Matthew and the other Gospels in depicting Jesus as a teacher figure, something that we really only see in this Gospel.