Four Gospels, One Jesus: Part 1 - the Gospel of Matthew

mhite3d

Oct 15

3 min read

In my last article, I introduced this little “series” about the gospels. In each article, we will be examining one of the four gospels in detail to get a better understanding of their unique makeup and focus. For this article, we will begin with Matthew.

Matthew’s Audience:

Matthew’s primary audience is Jewish. While Matthew never directly states who he is writing to, several pieces of evidence lead us to this conclusion. Matthew references the Mosaic Law and the Old Testament Scriptures (50 direct quotes; 75 allusions = ~125 total references) throughout the writing. These passages are often used to identify fulfillment of prophecy - something extremely significant to a Jew familiar with the Old Testament. Another piece of evidence is that Jewish customs and traditions are not explained in any detail, unlike other gospel writings addressed to Gentile audiences. Matthew’s gospel contains a genealogy - something a Jewish audience would particularly be interested in. Finally, the purposes of Matthew’s gospel (which we’ll discuss next) are much more Jewish in nature than Gentile.

Matthew’s Purpose / Goal:

While it is difficult to narrow down a 28-chapter book into one primary purpose, Matthew’s gospel reveals a consistent thread of thought. From the very first verse, we are given a key identifier: “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah…” (1:1). To the Jews, the Messiah was a prophesied leader who was going to bring about Israel’s deliverance, salvation, and ultimate glory. Matthew’s goal is largely centered on showing Jesus as the awaited Messiah, though not in the way the Jews expected. To support this goal, Matthew provides several elements of evidence: 1) Jesus is given several “titles” throughout Matthew’s gospel:

He is called “Messiah / Christ” 16 times
He is referred to as “King of the Jews” in 2:2 and 27:11
He is most often referenced as the “Son of Man” (31 times) - This phrase was packed with meaning for a Jewish audience. It comes from Daniel 7:13-14, in which a Son of Man appears before the Ancient of Days and is given “dominion, glory, and a kingdom… His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” Jesus calling Himself “Son of Man” is a direct statement of His authority and position.

2) 1:1 - “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” - Jesus carries the lineage of the Messiah. To the Jew, Jesus’ connection to both Abraham and David was extremely significant. Abraham was regarded as the father of the Jews, and David as Israel’s greatest king. Beyond this genealogical connection, God’s covenants with Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 17:5-8; 22:17-18) and with David (2 Samuel 7:14-16) were seen by the Jews as Messianic promises. Abraham’s descendant would bring blessings to the world. David’s descendant would establish an everlasting kingdom. Jesus accomplishes both.

3) Jesus’ teachings and miracles attest to His Messiahship - the people recognized Jesus’ teaching as being unique and authoritative (7:28-29). His miracles exhibit His authority over disease (4:23; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15), over physical ailments (8:2-4, 5-13; 9:28-30; 14:13-21; 15:30), over the natural world (8:23-27; 14:25-33), over the spiritual world (8:28-34; 17:14-20), over sin (9:1-8), and over death (9:24-26; 28:1-10).

There is much more that we could discuss regarding Matthew’s gospel than we have time and space for here. However, I hope that this can provide you with a helpful resource to further your studies and understanding of Matthew.