Jesus the Messiah arrives.
For centuries, Jews had anxiously waited for the Messiah, basing their dreams and expectations on a multitude of Old Testament promises. To Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, God promised that through him “all the families of the earth [would] be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). To David, Israel’s most beloved ruler, God likewise promised an enduring kingdom (2 Sam. 7:16). Through the prophets, God renewed this promise by providing details about the One who would fulfill it (for example, Is. 7:14; 9:6, 7; Dan. 2:44; 7:13, 14).
Over the years, various figures came and went. Some claimed to be the Messiah; some were regarded as likely candidates. But none proved convincing or fulfilled the expectations either of scholars who carefully studied the Scriptures or of everyday people who developed their own ideas about what the Chosen One would accomplish.
Then along came Jesus. He claimed to be God’s Son. He performed extraordinary miracles that seemed to indicate divine power. This rabbi, or teacher, spoke with unprecedented authority and attracted followers from unexpected walks of life. Yet He was largely rejected by the nation’s spiritual leaders. He died a criminal’s death. How could He be the fulfillment of God’s promises? Was He really Israel’s Messiah?
Matthew’s Gospel answers with a resounding yes! Matthew’s account is filled with Old Testament prophecies that point to Jesus as God’s Chosen One (Matt. 1:23; 2:6, 15, 18, 23, to mention just a few). The disciple wanted his fellow Jews to study the Scriptures and see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, and the Son of God.
However, while this book speaks to Old Testament prophecies, it is more than merely a Jewish Gospel. It is a global Gospel. In Jesus, all peoples of the world may find hope regardless of their ethnic or religious background. All are eligible for God’s blessing. All can participate in His salvation. Every human being is welcome to the unparalleled joy of God’s ways, love, and values through His Son, Jesus the Messiah.
As a tax collector, Matthew was a member of a group detested by other Jews. Tax collectors were perceived not only as cheats but as mercenaries serving the Romans. Condemned by religious leaders as unrighteous and ostracized by the general public as frauds and traitors, they found friends only among prostitutes, criminals, and other outcasts.
Yet Jesus selected Matthew to follow Him (9:9). Scripture gives no indication why Jesus chose Matthew, but it does record the Lord’s comment, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ [Hos. 6:6]. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matt. 9:13). Apparently the call of Matthew was an act of mercy—a decision that outraged smug religionists like the Pharisees. Jesus never condoned nor glorified sinful choices, but He reached out to people who knew that they were sick and lost. The Book of Matthew shows that Jesus can save anyone—that is, anyone who admits he needs saving.
Early church tradition identifies Matthew as the author of this book. But the Gospel itself does not name its writer, and it is curious that a man who followed Jesus as closely as Matthew did would rely so heavily on the work of Mark, who was not among the Twelve. (The Gospel of Matthew repeats 601 of the 678 verses in the Gospel of Mark, which is believed to have been the first Gospel written.) One possibility is that Matthew collected Jesus’ teachings, especially the five discourses that form the structure of the account, but left it to someone else to combine these sayings with much of Mark’s Gospel in order to produce what we know as the Gospel of Matthew. However the book came to be written, it was probably completed well before the end of the first century A.D.
Key Events in Matthew
• Wise men search for the King of the Jews and find Jesus (Matt. 2:1–12).
• King Herod orders the execution of all baby boys in and around Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus (Matt. 2:13–18).
• Jesus is tested by Satan in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11).
• Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7).
• Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him (Matt. 9:9).
• Jesus feeds the five thousand (Matt. 14:13–21).
• Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Matt. 16:13–28).
• Peter, James, and John witness the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1–9).
• Crowds cheer as Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. (Matt. 21:1–11).
• Pontius Pilate washes his hands, saying he is innocent of Jesus’ blood since the multitude is determined to kill Him (Matt. 27:24).
• Jesus is crucified between two thieves (Matt. 27:35–54).
• Jesus rises from the dead (Matt. 28:1–10).
• Jesus commands His followers to make disciples of the nations (Matt. 28:16–20).
A Christian Torah
Tradition holds that Matthew established and pastored a mostly Jewish church in or near Damascus of Syria. He may have created his Gospel as a discipleship manual organized like the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), which are also known as the Torah (“Instruction,” “Teaching,” or “Doctrine”). The Pentateuch, or Torah, is also sometimes referred to as “the Book of the Law” or simply “the Law.”
In the Torah, Moses warned God’s people to carefully observe all of the words of the Law: the commandments of God (Deut. 32:46). The English word law does not convey all that Moses intended when he spoke to the Israelites. In its fullest meaning, the Law involved both hearing and doing. It was a complete and compelling way of life based on God’s covenant with His people.
Matthew similarly balances the truths of Christ’s teachings with its applications for day-to-day life. He arranges his content around five major sermons of Jesus, resulting in what amounts to a five-volume Christian Torah.
Passage | Sermon |
The Sermon on the Mount | |
Instructions for outreach | |
Kingdom parables | |
Instructions on community | |
The Olivet Discourse |
Appearing before and after these teaching sections are action scenes in which Jesus and His followers live out God’s Word. The book climaxes with the Great Commission, in which Jesus commands His followers to multiply disciples throughout the world, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:16–20). Discipleship involves not only truth believed but truth applied.
Matthew also drew other connections to the Old Testament’s first books, linking Jesus’ earthly life to Israel’s history. Jesus fled to Egypt as an infant (2:13–15), just as Israel spent its early years in Egypt (Gen. 39:1). Jesus experienced temptations in a wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11), just as Israel was tested in the wilderness (Ex. 15:22—32:35). These examples demonstrate that Jesus was not a merely supernatural Savior untouched by Israel’s pain. He was a full-fledged Hebrew who fulfilled the name Immanuel, “which is translated, ‘God with us’ ” (Matt. 1:23; the name can also be translated slightly differently as “God-With-Us”; see footnote at Is. 7:14).
Alongside his book’s distinctively Jewish themes, Matthew also faithfully recorded Jesus’ connections to outcasts and non-Jews. He pointed out sinners and foreigners included in the Lord’s family line (see “The Women in Jesus’ Genealogy” at Matt. 1:3–6). This former tax collector understood that Jesus “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (9:13). And even though Jesus was born to the Jewish people, the Gospel of Matthew proclaims that the gospel message is for all.
