The author was a *Jewish Christian who wrote especially for *Jews. One early Christian writer said, Matthew collected what Jesus taught in the *Hebrew language. This book contains much of what Jesus taught. So the early Christians gave Matthews name to the whole book. Matthew collected taxes, but he became one of Jesus 12 special friends (Matthew 9:9). Matthew did not write the first book about Jesus life. Mark wrote about Jesus first. And Matthew uses much of what Mark wrote. The Christian *church put Matthews book first because Matthew often refers to the *Old Testament.