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The Gospel of Matthew – Introduction

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." (Matt 1:1)

The order of the biblical books as we find them in our Bibles is not inspired, i.e., supernaturally given by God. Nevertheless, we can well understand the place of certain books. It also makes sense that we find the Gospel of Matthew classified as the first book of the New Testament. This is because Matthew follows on from the Old Testament, more than the other evangelists. He presents the Lord Jesus as the long-awaited King - the Messiah for whom at least the believing part of the people of Israel was waiting. [1]

Jesus Christ - The King of Israel

The major theme of Matthew's Gospel is, therefore, Jesus Christ, the Messiah given by God to the people of Israel [2]. It is fitting that the writer himself is a Jew - Luke, for example, was not a Jew.

Matthew was not just any Jew; he was a tax collector - a customs officer. In doing so, he supported the foreign rule of Rome because Israel was part of the Roman Empire at the time. But now Matthew was to write a book about the true ruler of Israel, the Lord Jesus. The very first chapter makes this claim clear. The Lord Jesus is referred to as the "Son of David" and the "Son of Abraham". Every Jew - and everyone who has read the Old Testament - knows that David was king of Israel. The son of David was the great King Solomon. And it is with these two kings that the Lord Jesus is associated here - as the true heir of David. Later, the Lord Jesus would make it clear that He is not only the Son but even the Lord of David (chapter 22:41-46).

But the Lord Jesus is also the "Son of Abraham," to whom God had given all His promises. And these promises were to be fulfilled in Isaac. Here, too, the Lord Jesus is thus named as the actual bearer of God's promises to His people, Israel, the descendants of Abraham and Isaac. [3] And the genealogy of Jesus also makes clear His claims to the royal crown and the promises. In 3 x 14 genealogies, Jesus' lineage is traced back to David and Abraham.

Jesus Christ and His Portrayal in the Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew comprises 28 chapters. In the first 12, we find that the Lord Jesus comes to His people as the promised King to bring them back to God. But the people of Israel do not want to accept Him. This refers both to the ruling class of the people in their various religious and political groupings (the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees) and to the common people.

The Lord Jesus, therefore, withdraws from the Jewish people (from chapter 13) in order to offer salvation and grace to the other nations as well. From this point on, He is shown as the One rejected by His people. Characteristically, it says at the beginning of this chapter: "On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea." Here, Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles, nations) were able to gather to hear His message of grace.

In the final chapters of the Gospel - as in the other Gospels [4] - the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are described (from chapter 26). It is very striking that we do not find the ascension of the Lord Jesus in this book. He says to His disciples: "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt 28:20). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (v. 18). Matthew now emphasizes that the Lord Jesus exercises this authority on earth by giving the disciples power for the missionary task. He would work in their midst and through them, even if He were not on earth in the flesh. However, they would feel His "presence" as clearly as if He were in their midst.

Jesus Christ and the "Kingdom of Heaven"

Jesus Christ is now in heaven. And from heaven, He exercises power and authority. Matthew calls this form of government the "kingdom of heaven." And he is the only one to use this term. The fact that God has a kingdom in which He rules and reigns was already known in the Old Testament. "They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will speak of your power" (Ps 145:11). The prophet Daniel also referred to this in various places. In this way, the believing Jews also expected that God would publicly establish the kingdom through his Messiah.

Now, the Lord Jesus had come to earth. The believers recognized the King in Him (compare, for example, Jn. 4:29). His disciples also firmly believed that Jesus would establish the kingdom of God on earth: "But we hoped that He would be the One to redeem Israel" (Lk. 24:21) - and this redemption was also understood to mean political liberation.

But the people of Israel did not want Jesus as their king. They rejected Him and nailed Him to the cross. Nevertheless, God has not given up on the idea of His kingdom. And He will not only realize His reign in the future! He already has His kingdom here on earth - but in a mysterious way. Matthew summarizes all this with the expression "kingdom of heaven."

 The ruler, the king, is absent. He is now in heaven and rules from there. His kingdom also has a heavenly character - it is not earthly, not of this world. But it remains true for the time being: His reign is only accepted by those who have accepted Him into their lives as Savior and Lord.

Jesus Christ and the Assembly

There is another remarkable expression in Matthew's Gospel: the assembly (congregation, church). In no other Gospel do we find this expression, this "community" again. By using this term, the Lord Jesus announces that after His death, resurrection, and ascension, there would be a "community" of people on earth that would bear special characteristics and receive special blessings. This refers to all believers who confess their sins in the time from Pentecost (Acts 2) until the return of the Lord Jesus and accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus says that He is the owner and foundation of this assembly, which cannot be touched by death or the devil. This means that the assembly and all who belong to it are completely safe with the Lord Jesus [5]. In Matthew 18:15-20, the Lord Jesus then shows what authority He has given to the local assembly. This is associated with glorious blessings but also with great responsibility, as verse 20 shows: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them."

Jesus Christ - The Fulfillment of many Old Testament Prophecies

However, Matthew does not only speak of "something new" in the Gospel. He also shows that many of Jesus' stations and deeds are the fulfillment of statements made long ago in the Old Testament. In total, we find around 60 references from the Old Testament. Fourteen times, events in Jesus' life are directly identified as the fulfillment of certain prophecies.

This makes it very clear that the Lord Jesus really is the Messiah sent by God, who comes to His people through the "door" (Jn. 10:2) of the Old Testament. He is not only the fulfillment of many images, sacrifices, and allusions in the Old Testament. Many prophetic statements were made exclusively to point to Christ. This should spur us all on to read the Old Testament again carefully with this in mind!

Jesus Christ - His Five Great Sermons

The discourses of the Teacher are an important part of Matthew's Gospel. And they, too, are ultimately the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy: "By His knowledge, My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities." (Is. 53:11). We find five great speeches in this book. God commissioned Matthew to bring together some of our Lord's utterances, which were certainly not all made on the same occasion, in five great discourses in order to pass on a specific teaching message to us in each case.

  1. The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:28):

 In this - probably the best known - discourse, the Lord Jesus proclaims the principles of the kingdom of heaven in contrast to the law. These three chapters have often been called the "basic law of the kingdom." It is striking that in this so-called "Sermon on the Mount," the Lord Jesus does not mention His suffering and death at all. Rather, He sets out the essential character of His future reign: Justice. For the first time, a government will be able to say righteously that it is righteous through and through.

It has often been asked whether this speech applies to Christians. Some wanted to make the Sermon on the Mount "one-to-one" valid for Christians as a basis, while others thought that because the Lord was addressing His disciples and thus Jews, we as Christians need not concern ourselves with these three chapters at all.

Both views are wrong. On the one hand, reading the three chapters makes it clear to everyone that Jesus' sermon is thoroughly Jewish in character. Chapter 5, in particular, makes it clear that the Lord Jesus does not abolish the law here - He did not come to abolish it but to fulfill it (verse 17). He even intensifies it. But we know from Romans 10:4: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

In this sense, for example, a wrong use has been made of the so-called "Lord's prayer" (Mt. 6:9-13), as if we Christians should say this prayer over and over again. On the other hand, it would be just as wrong to ignore the Sermon on the Mount. The moral principles of God's government have never changed: God rewards the good and condemns or punishes the evil. Are we not to be "the salt of the earth" and the "light of the world"? Therefore, the moral and spiritual principles of the kingdom of heaven written down in these chapters are valid for us.

2. The Sermon to send out His Disciples (10:1-11:1):

In His second "great" discourse, the Lord Jesus addresses Himself exclusively to His twelve disciples - incidentally also to the unbelieving and ungodly Judas Iscariot. The King sends out His subjects, so to speak, so that they may bear witness to Him in His kingdom. For His kingdom is to be established. This ministry was to be carried out during the time that the Lord Jesus lived here on earth (verses 1-15). But it was to continue until the 1000-year kingdom was really established (verses 16-23). [6] In this respect, the twelve apostles here are the forerunners of the Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

In the further course of the speech, the Lord Jesus shows that although people persecute the witnesses, they have received their ministry from God and should, therefore, also fulfill it before Him. And there is a reward for this!

It is clear from some of the Lord's instructions that the instructions contained in this speech have a clearly Jewish character, so we cannot transfer the details to our ministry life. [7] The Lord Jesus Himself, therefore, changes this command in Luke 22:35-37, and in Matthew 28:19-20, we also get an impression of the changed character.

Nevertheless, we Christians can no more skip this chapter than we can skip chapters 5-7. On the one hand, every Christian will be interested in what his Lord and Savior have planned for other eras. On the other hand, it is also true here that there are certain moral [8] principles from which we can learn for our own lives.

3. The Sermon on the "Kingdom of Heaven" (13:1-53):

 In Matthew 13, we read seven or eight parables that the Lord tells to the crowds or His disciples. In the "parable of the sower," the Lord Jesus begins by showing that the word of God is preached but that the recipients of this word react in very different ways. Many ultimately reject the word - some believe the word and bear fruit for God (vv. 1-23). This is followed by three parables of the "kingdom of heaven," which shows the external development that this kingdom would take after the departure of the Lord of the kingdom (the Lord Jesus). The "Parable of the Field" illustrates the lack of faithfulness of the servants in the kingdom and the massive work of Satan and his servants to destroy the seed of the Word. The "Parable of the Mustard Seed" shows the unnatural development of the great expansion of the kingdom of heaven so that every form of evil (the birds of the air) finds a place in this kingdom. In the "parable of the leaven," the Lord instructs the crowds about this. That sin will continue to increase in the kingdom of heaven and permeate the entire system of Christianity. This thought makes it clear that we all live in this very "kingdom"!

In the next three parables, which the Lord Jesus only describes to His disciples and which speak of things that only believers can properly understand. It is no longer about the external but about the internal character of this kingdom. The "parable of the treasure" shows us the "treasure" that believing Israel represents for God and the Lord Jesus (cf. Ex 19:4 and Ps. 135:4 where "property" or "treasure" is mentioned). It is precisely for this believing remnant that the man Jesus Christ died (verse 44). In the "parable of the pearl," we find a picture of the assembly for which the Lord Jesus laid down His life (Eph. 5:25). [9] In the "parable of the net," we find a reference to the future time when the assembly will be in heaven, and the "fishing net" will also be thrown among the nations in order to win a large crowd for the Lord Jesus (Rev. 7:9-17).

The 8th parable, "of the new and old," is easily overlooked. Here, the Lord Jesus shows that His teachings refer in part to things revealed in the Old Testament - such as the establishment of the kingdom - but that they also include completely new topics - His references, for example, to the assembly of the living God.

4. The Sermon on "Personal and Corporate Behavior" (18:1-19:1):

In this discourse, the Lord Jesus addresses a number of principles for the personal and corporate behavior of believers. It is about the attitude of the disciples (humility), but also about not being an offense. At the same time, the Lord shows what value God attaches to a single soul in order to save it. A further teaching concerns our attitude towards others and the attitude of forgiveness we should have towards them. Finally, the Lord Jesus deals with the subject of blessings for the congregation mentioned above when believers biblically treat each other.

5. The Discourse on Mount Olive (24:1-25:46):

In this last great sermon, the Lord Jesus explains to His disciples the developments that would take place on this earth after His ascension. It becomes clear that Jesus' disciples would suffer rejection and persecution just like their Master. The Lord Jesus takes up the threefold division that He had already used when dealing with the inner character of the kingdom of heaven: Israel, the Christians, and the nations.

The first part (24:1-44) deals with the fate of Israel, especially the faithful remnant of the people. Here, an arc is drawn from the time immediately after the Lord's departure to His return in glory (verse 30).

In the second part (24:45-25:30), the Lord Jesus deals with the time of Christianity in three parables: here, we find the parables of the faithful and the wicked servant, the ten virgins, and the man who traveled out of the country to give talents to his servants. In this way, we as Christians are called to be faithful and watchful servants who wait on the Lord Jesus and act for His glory with the gifts of grace entrusted to us.

In the third and final part (25:31-46), the Lord Jesus explains to His disciples the fate of the nations - their judgment, when He will come again to this earth as the Son of Man to establish His kingdom and reign in righteousness. Among the nations, too, there will be those who accept Him as Lord - and those who reject Him and are eternally lost.

There is nothing more beautiful than dealing with the Lord Jesus. To contemplate Him in the Gospel of Matthew and fall before Him - is a beautiful task that we can all undertake. This article aims to give you a little help with this.

Questions for personal study

  • Who is the writer of this Gospel? Why did God choose him in particular?
  • From what perspective is the Lord Jesus shown in this gospel? Look for examples of this!
  • In each Gospel, the Lord Jesus is not seen from just one perspective. Where can we see Him in Matthew's Gospel as the Son of God, as the Son of Man, as a servant, as a prophet?
  • What "structure" does this Gospel have? Why does it have to be like this?
  • The "sacrificial death" of the Lord Jesus and the sacrifices in Genesis 1-5 have some similarities. Which ones stand out in particular?
  • The Gospels in the New Testament have a more or less direct connection to individual other books/letters in the New Testament. Which books are particularly based on the Gospel of Matthew?
  • Why does Matthew refer particularly often to the Old Testament? Why does he introduce the assembly?
  • In each Gospel, the Lord's disciples are also seen from a particular perspective. Which one is in Matthew's Gospel?
  • Why did the Lord Jesus choose Judas Iscariot as a disciple when He knew that he would be eternally lost and would even betray Him?

Footnotes:

[1] This faithful part of the people is often called the "remnant" in the Bible. It was and is no longer the whole people who submit to God's commandments but only a part - a remnant. This existed in relation to the people of Israel (cf., e.g., Is. 1:9; Mic. 2:12), but even today, those who believe in the Lord Jesus are ultimately called a remnant. Many call themselves Christians, but only a few have true faith in this confession. And in the future, not all the people of Israel will return to the Lord Jesus, but only a part of the people - the remnant (Rom 9:27). But the remnant stands before God with regard to privileges and responsibility for the whole people. We find this idea again and again in the Bible, including in Romans 11:26.

[2] We will not go into further detail here about the similarities between the four bloody sacrifices in the Old Testament (especially Genesis 1-5) and the depictions of our Lord Jesus in the Gospels. The Gospel, according to Matthew, shows us the death of our Master, especially according to the character of the guilt offering.

[3] Moreover, I have the impression that these two titles simultaneously indicate two glories that we find in the New Testament: The Lord Jesus is the King promised by God (David's Son), but He is also the eternal Son of God, possessing life in Himself. Is this perhaps implied by the reference that He is Abraham's son?

[4] At this point, it should be briefly noted that the Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are also called the "synoptic" Gospels because they have a rather similar structure. They describe the words and deeds of our Lord in more or less chronological order and show that the Lord Jesus was gradually rejected. John, on the other hand, has a completely different perspective. He mentions only very few of the Lord's deeds but a whole series of sayings that we do not find in any of the other three Gospels. Moreover, the Lord Jesus is portrayed in the Gospel of John as the rejected one from the very beginning.

[5] Of course, this does not mean that these people on earth could not have external difficulties. Peter, to whom the Lord Jesus addresses the words in Matthew 16, is the best example of this because he became a martyr. But that is not what the Lord Jesus is concerned with. In spiritual terms, He does not allow the assembly (and therefore also the believers) to be touched. They will be with Christ in glory.

[6] The Lord Jesus is not referring to the "intercalated" period that we call the Christian era in which we live today. The Jews, and especially the Old Testament believers, knew nothing about this time because it is a mystery that God only revealed to the apostle Paul and other apostles.

[7] This concerns, for example, the healing of the sick and the casting out of demons (verse 8). But it also concerns the instruction not to take two pairs of sandals and staff - something that we do not find again later in the letters of the New Testament. The expression of judgment in verse 14 - to shake the dust off your feet if you are not accepted - also stands in contrast to the attitude of grace that should characterize us today.

[8] These are spiritual, moral, inward - not outward - principles.

[9] A number of interpreters understand the two parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl as a kind of "double parable." Both then refer to the assembly for which the Lord Jesus died. While the treasure emphasizes the value of each believer in the Lord Jesus, the pearl shows the value of the great unity of the assembly, which is expressed in this one pearl.

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