A former corporate lawyer has turned his attention to what he calls the oldest case file in Western civilization. T. Walter Taylor, who practiced corporate law for more than three decades, has published his debut novel, Matthew's Story: A Novel About Jesus. The book is narrated by the Apostle Matthew at the end of his life, as he sets down his own account of the man he followed and of how that man's story grew into a new religion.
The novel opens with Matthew's 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 opening line signals the book's central premise: that the faith tradition billions of people adhere to may rest, at least in part, on secrets kept by one of Jesus's closest followers.
Taylor's Matthew is the son of a tax collector in Tiberias. He first hears of Jesus at about sixteen, and part of the pull is Mary of Magdala, who cannot stop talking about him. Matthew follows Jesus from John the Baptizer's camp on the Jordan to Galilee and on to Jerusalem. Some of the sharpest ideas come from Marcus, a slave in his family's household who knows more scripture than any of them and is not afraid to say so.
The story begins in 26 AD and runs through Paul's ministry, the Jerusalem Council, the Jewish War and the fall of Masada. Taylor grounds it in first-century history, Hebrew scripture and classical writers such as Josephus and Livy. The book closes with a final revelation readers will not see coming.
"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 implications of the novel extend beyond entertainment. By placing a confession of deception at the heart of the gospel narrative, Taylor invites readers to reconsider how Christianity emerged from the tangled cultural and political world of the first century. The book does not claim to be history, but it uses the tools of historical fiction to probe questions that historians and theologians continue to debate: How much of the Jesus story was shaped by human hands? What role did Jewish, Greek and Roman ideas play in transforming a Jewish preacher into a universal savior? And what might a firsthand witness have concealed?
Matthew's Story is written for readers of historical fiction and for anyone curious about the historical Jesus and how Christianity began. It arrives at a time of sustained public interest in the historical roots of religion, when audiences are increasingly willing to explore narratives that challenge orthodox accounts. Taylor's background in law may lend his fictional confession a particularly cross-examining quality, as Matthew weighs his own testimony and the consequences of what he did and did not say.
T. Walter Taylor holds degrees in science, business and law. He began his career as a science and physical education teacher, later earned an MBA, and practiced corporate law for over 30 years. He has kept a lifelong interest in classical studies and world religions. Matthew's Story is his first novel. He lives in British Columbia, Canada.
The book was published on September 11, 2026. The paperback ISBN is 978-1-0679746-0-2 and the eBook ISBN is 978-1-0679746-2-6. The paperback is priced at $16.99 and the eBook at $9.99. It is available from Amazon and through bookstores and libraries via Ingram.
