Matthew

The four gospels introduce Jesus, and the ‘good news’ about the coming of the Kingdom. Jesus preached the good news or gospel of the Kingdom. In the OT the Kingdom had been promised and prophesied. The gospels are about the beginning of the fulfilment of this promise – though in some unexpected ways. The first three gospels are called the ‘synoptic’ gospels (from a word meaning ‘seeing together’) because they deal with very similar material from comparable points of view, whereas John takes a very different approach.

As I have said, the gospels are about the coming of the Kingdom but this aspect is especially emphasised in Matthew as he presents Jesus as the King. Written to mainly Jewish readers, Matthew introduces Jesus as both the son of Abraham (connecting him with the covenant) and David (connecting him with the Kingdom) and as the promised Messiah, or King. There are many times when Matthew mentions how something happened ‘to fulfil what was prophesied….’ Although it is written mainly to Jews and Jesus is seen as the promised Jewish Messiah, there is also a suggestion of the opening up of the Kingdom to other peoples – like the Roman centurion for example.

In fact the fulfilling of the promised Kingdom comes in many unseen ways. Jesus gradually begins to challenge his listeners’ understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven, for example in the parables of Matthew 13. The kingdom is neither a political kingdom, nor just an apocalyptic (end-time, otherworldly) one. It is a spiritual Kingdom and it centres in him as King. His death and resurrection, which the gospel culminates in, offer the ultimate grounds for understanding the true nature of the Kingdom.

Matthew’s gospel also recounts how Jesus challenges his listeners’ understanding of the Law and reinterprets their understanding of God’s moral demands on people. Jesus does not abolish the Law but rather he fulfils it. There is some uncertainty about what he actually means by this but it is clear from what he says in the Sermon on the Mount that God is not just looking for some outward observance of a list of laws, but that he is looking for a change of heart, of the inner person. We are also seeing here the beginnings of the fulfilment of that new covenant that Jeremiah had prophesied about the law being written on our hearts.

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five main bodies of teaching that form the basis for the structure of Matthew:

  1. Sermon on the Mount (5-7)
  2. Commissioning of the Twelve (10)
  3. Parables of the Kingdom (13)
  4. The Church and Forgiveness (18)
  5. Judgement and the End of the Age (23-25)

In between Jesus demonstrates the power of the Kingdom through healing the sick, driving out demons and performing miracles. By doing this and by some of the things he claims and teaches, Jesus is constantly challenging and upsetting the religious teachers and leaders of his day. It is they who plot to have him killed but in doing so they are made to serve God’s ultimate purpose and plan – his death and resurrection are followed by the great commission to his followers to go and make disciples of all nations: God’s plan to bless the world and have a people who are like him filling the earth is going to be fulfilled through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!