After more than three decades practicing corporate law, T. Walter Taylor has turned to what he calls the oldest case file in Western civilization. His debut novel, Matthew's Story: A Novel About Jesus, is narrated by the Apostle Matthew near the end of his life, offering a fictional first-person account of the man he followed and how that man's story became a global religion.
The novel opens with Matthew's stark confession: "I am an old man. I will die soon. I have decided that it is now time for me to share the story of some deceptions which gave rise to what is now called Christianity." That premise drives the narrative, which follows Matthew from his youth in Tiberias as the son of a tax collector, through his first encounters with Jesus at about age sixteen, and onward from John the Baptizer's camp on the Jordan to Galilee and Jerusalem.
Taylor, who lives in British Columbia, grounds the story in first-century history, Hebrew scripture, and classical writers such as Josephus and Livy. The narrative spans from 26 AD through Paul's ministry, the Jerusalem Council, the Jewish War, and the fall of Masada. Along the way, a slave named Marcus in Matthew's household emerges as a sharp theological voice, knowing more scripture than his masters and unafraid to challenge them. Mary of Magdala also plays a pivotal role, her relentless talk about Jesus helping to draw Matthew into the movement.
"I imagined a close follower of Jesus who, at the end of his life, confesses the secrets he kept, and how those secrets, woven into Greek, Roman, and Jewish beliefs, turned Jesus into a new path to God," Taylor said. The book closes with a final revelation that readers, according to the author, will not see coming.
The implications of such a narrative are significant for readers interested in the historical Jesus and the origins of Christianity. By framing the rise of the religion as the result of deliberate deceptions, Taylor invites scrutiny of how early beliefs merged with Greco-Roman and Jewish traditions. The novel does not claim to be history but uses fiction to explore a question that has occupied scholars for centuries: how did a first-century Jewish preacher become the center of a new faith? For readers of historical fiction, the book offers a dramatized window into the political and religious ferment of the era, from the Jerusalem Council to the fall of Masada. It also raises uncomfortable possibilities about the reliability of early accounts, suggesting that what became orthodoxy may have been shaped by hidden human choices.
Taylor's background includes degrees in science, business, and law, as well as a career as a science and physical education teacher before earning an MBA and practicing corporate law for over 30 years. He has maintained a lifelong interest in classical studies and world religions. Matthew's Story is his first novel. It is available in paperback for $16.99 and as an eBook for $9.99 from Amazon and through bookstores and libraries via Ingram.
