St. Matthew’s Gospel , like all four accounts in the New Testament, is geared to help us come to faith in Jesus. Matthew’s portrait of Jesus no doubt reflects his own experience of responding to the call to “follow me.” The overarching theme of the gospel can be found in the way St. Matthew brackets the story. He begins his Gospel with St. Joseph hearing from the heavenly visitor that the coming Jesus would be “Emmanuel, a name with means God is with us.” The close of the Gospel is called the Great Commission where before ascending to heaven Jesus tell his disciples, “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Faith in Jesus means God is with us no matter what.
