Bringing the Gospel of Matthew to Life features: the New American Bible translation of the Gospel of Matthew; a verse by verse and sometimes word by word explanation of Matthew's Gospel, bringing out the meaning that its words would have conveyed to their original readers; ninety blocks of information about the religious, social, and political conditions of the world of Jesus and of Matthew—background for understanding Matthew's Gospel; reflection questions to help readers apply the message of the Gospel of Matthew to their lives; cross references to parallel passages in the other Gospels, and to Old and New Testament texts that pertain to the passage being read; Old Testament quotations that throw light on a Gospel passage; orientations to certain sections of Matthew's Gospel; comments that explore the implications of Matthew's Gospel.