said that Matthew collected “oracles.” Subsequently Papias’s statement was understood as referring to the whole gospel. Or perhaps the scene involving Matthew as the learning disciple (9:9) powerfully grasped people’s imagination as a representative scene, and the name stuck. Whatever the reason, the authorial audience understands him to be an authoritative figure. In this chapter we have taken one step toward joining the authorial audience by considering aspects of the author’s world—
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