Thirdmill Institute

Teaching/Preaching Badge
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in
all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:27

Explaining the message of the Bible clearly and faithfully takes work. Whether you are in
the front of the classroom or standing in the pulpit, people need to have a clear picture of the
Bible’s message on any number of topics. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus took the time to
explain who he was to the disciples. This badge focuses on that singular task. With your trainer
as a guide, you will look to develop and sharpen your skills in teaching and preaching so that
you might proclaim the Scriptures faithfully.

Badge Components:

Faithful to the Text – Say what your passage says

Faithful to the Subtext – How does your lesson/sermon point to Jesus and his work?
Faithful to your Context – Cross the bridge from the biblical world to your own world in
a way that is understandable to your listeners

Discussion Topics:

Practicality – What does teaching or preaching usually look like in your church or
ministry? Who usually teaches or preaches? How long does it usually
last?

Prayer – What is the role of prayer as you choose a passage, prepare your lesson or
sermon, deliver it, and trust the Holy Spirit for the results?

Plan – How should you choose a passage or topic? What passages relate to the topic
you want to teach on?

Parts – How is the passage divided? What is the subject of the passage? What is the
main point of the passage? What are the sub-points the author uses to
help the main point? What details are used to enlighten the subject?

Prepare – Are there any confusing words or phrases in your text? Are there any names
or places of significance that should be explained? What resources
can/should you have to help you study this passage? How does this
author or other biblical authors develop the same theme?
 Persons – What kind of people make up the typical group where you teach or preach?

Purpose – What is the distinct outcome you hope results from what you communicate?

Prune – What illustrations/ideas should be kept? What should be cut?

Produce – Should you write out your lesson/sermon and read it to your listeners? Write
it out and memorize it? Have an outline and notes with you?

Practice – Should/where/how could you practice your lesson/sermon before delivering

it? After practicing, is there anything you should change?

Point – In Luke 24:27 Jesus, on the road to Emmaus, showed how all Scripture pointed
to him. How does your lesson/sermon point to Jesus?

Pace – Do you talk too fast, or too slow, or without much variation in speed?

Provide – Have you given your audience anything to think about or do as they leave?

Ponder – Will your listeners be stirred in their love and devotion to Jesus alone?

Power – What is the difference in delivering a lesson/sermon by the power of the Holy
Spirit versus delivering one in your own strength?

Call to Action:

1. Following all the steps prescribed by your trainer, prepare a lesson/sermon and
deliver it to those in your group.

2. Ask the following questions for feedback:

What made sense? What didn’t?
What resonated with you?
What difference will/can these ideas make in my own life?
Did this lesson/sermon stir my affections for Jesus?

3. Deliver the same lesson/sermon in a local church.

Badge Criteria:

This badge shall be awarded by the trainer upon successful completion of the call to
action in a manner that is faithfully consistent with the badge components and in light of the
topics discussed throughout the course.
NEW TESTAMENT FOUNDATIONS Course Guide
The Gospels
The Book of Acts

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The first five books of the New Testament are key books of the Bible since they narrate the life,
teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as the beginnings of his church. Each of the
four gospels has a unique perspective and a unique purpose. In lessons one through five, this
course explains the background, the structure, the main contents, and the major themes of
each gospel. In lessons six through eight, we’ll look at the Book of Acts, exploring Luke’s main
points as he wrote and providing the framework he gave his readers as a context for
understanding primary and secondary matters. This course is based on two Thirdmill video
series, The Gospels and The Book of Acts, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted
by Dr. Pete Alwinson and Dr. Hans F. Bayer.

COURSE GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND LIST OF MODULES

Goals

In this course, we would like to accomplish the following:

1. We hope you will learn the key information about the background, the contents, and
the major themes of each of the gospels.
2. We hope you grow in your desire to know Jesus better and follow Him more faithfully as
you study the gospels.
3. We hope that you will apply to your own life the lessons learned as you study the four
gospels especially that you come to know Jesus better and follow Him more faithfully.
4. We hope you will make use of all the resources of the course to learn key things about
the background and content of The Book of Acts.
5. We hope you will become enthusiastic about doing your part to help extend the
kingdom of God throughout the world.
6. We hope you make some changes in your life as a response to the teachings of The Book
of Acts, especially making a greater effort to do your part in the extension of the
kingdom of God.
Objectives

When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:

1. Obtain satisfactory grades on the tests, demonstrating that you can:

o Identify key information about the background of each of the four gospels,
including their author, the audience, the date of composition, and the purpose.
o Identify the structure and key contents of each of the four gospels.
o Identify the major themes of each of the four gospels.
o Identify key information about the background, structure, content and themes of
The Book of Acts.
2. Complete the study guides, expressing your sentiments toward Jesus and the extension
of the kingdom of God, and showing how you have applied the teachings of the course
to your own life, especially how the course has helped you know Jesus better and follow
Him more faithfully, as well as the ways in which the Book of Acts has encouraged you
to work for the extension of the kingdom of God.

List of Modules for New Testament Foundations Course

1. Introduction to the Gospels

2. The Gospel of Matthew
3. The Gospel of Mark
4. The Gospel of Luke
5. The Gospel of John
6. The Background of Acts
7. Structure and Content of Acts
8. Major Themes in Acts

EXPLANATION OF COURSE ELEMENTS

Badge

1. Each week, part of your group discussion time should be devoted to working through
the Badge document. This two-page guide will provide a general direction for your
Trainer as you seek to develop this vital ministry skill.
2. In the first few weeks, part of your discussion time will be spent walking through the
Discussion Topics given in the Badge Instructions.
 3. Once a solid foundation has been laid through the group discussion times, spend the
remaining weeks working through the badge Call to Action.
4. You will be awarded the badge once your Trainer has determined the completion of the
action steps in light of the Badge Instructions.

Modules

1. Study the lessons; watching the video, listening to the audio, or reading the manuscript.
2. Complete the Study Guide for each module. These study guides will prepare you for the
online quiz.
3. Take the online Quiz for each module. The quizzes may be taken as many times as you
want, but you must wait one hour between each attempt. Your highest grade will be the
official grade. We suggest achieving at least an 80% before participating in the weekly
discussion to ensure you understand the concepts correctly.
4. Participate in the weekly discussions with your group and Trainer, utilizing the
Discussion Guide. These discussions are vital to your full understanding of the course
material and your ability to correctly apply the concepts to your life and ministry. We
recommend the discussion for each module last at least one hour.

Final Exam

You may take the test as many times as you want for review, but you must wait one
hour between each attempt. The official grade will be your highest grade, and in order
to complete the course, you must achieve at least an 80% on the Final Exam.

GRADES

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

1. The quizzes on the lectures are each worth 30 points.

2. The final exam on the lectures is worth 100 points.
3. The Badge won’t affect your grade but must be completed to the satisfaction of the
Trainer and marked as complete on the Foundations Certificate Checklist.

A total course score above 80% is considered passing.

------------------------------------

List of Contributors to this course (institutions listed relative to the time of recording)

Dr. Pete Alwinson is the founding pastor of Willow Creek Church, PCA, Winter Springs, FL, where he
served as Senior Pastor for 26 years.
Dr. Richard J. Bauckham is a New Testament scholar and author and is Professor Emeritus at the
University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Dr. David R. Bauer is Dean of the School of Biblical Interpretation and the Ralph Waldo Beeson Professor
of Inductive Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Dr. Hans F. Bayer is Professor of New Testament and Chair of the New Testament Department at
Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Steve Blakemore is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
Dr. Stephen Chan is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University in
Washington State.
Dr. Peter Chow is President of China Evangelical Seminary in Taiwan.
Rev. Larry Cockrell is Senior Pastor of Household of Faith Church and faculty member of Birmingham
Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Steve Cowan is Associate Director of the Apologetics Resource Center and Associate Professor of
Philosophy and Apologetics at Birmingham Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Brandon D. Crowe is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary.
Dr. Saul Cruz is a psychologist, and he and his wife, Pilar Cruz-Ramos, are co-directors of Armonia
Ministries in Mexico City.
Dr. Daniel Doriani is Vice President of Strategic Academic Initiatives and Professor of Theology at
Covenant Theological Seminary.
Dr. John M. Frame is Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological
Seminary in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Matt Friedeman is Professor of Evangelism and Discipleship at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
Dr. Mark Gignilliat is Associate Professor of Divinity in Old Testament at Beeson Divinity School of
Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Rev. Michael J. Glodo is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary’s
Orlando Campus.
Dr. Jim Hamilton is Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary and Preaching Pastor of Kenwood Baptist Church.
Dr. Steve Harper is the founding Vice President of the Florida Dunnam Campus of Asbury Theological
Seminary.
Rev. Thad James, Jr. is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Birmingham Theological Seminary in
Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Riad Kassis is Regional Director for Overseas Council, an international training ministry for Christian
leaders.
Dr. Peter Kuzmic is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European
Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the co-founder and director of Evangelical
Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.
Dr. David Lamb is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biblical Theological Seminary.
Dr. Jeffery Lowman is Senior Pastor at Evangel Church PCA, in Alabaster, Alabama, and Professor of
Homiletics and Systematic Theology at Birmingham Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Rev. Jim Maples is Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Leadership program at Birmingham
Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. John McKinley is Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Biola University.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. WaiYee Ng is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at the China Graduate School of Theology in
Hong Kong.
Dr. John Oswalt is the Visiting Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Rev. Youssef Ourahmane is involved in training church leaders at the Timothy Training School in Algeria.
Dr. J. I. Packer is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British
Columbia, and preaches and lectures widely in Great Britain and America.
Dr. Jonathan Pennington is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Gregory R. Perry is Associate Professor of New Testament and Director of City Ministry Initiative at
Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Robert Plummer is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary.
Dr. David Redelings is a New Testament professor at Bethel Seminary.
Mr. Emad Sami serves at Veritas College as the Regional Director of Middle East & North Africa.
Dr. Thomas Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and
Associate Dean of Scripture and Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Glen Scorgie is Professor of Theology at Bethel Seminary’s San Diego Campus.
Dr. James D. Smith III is Associate Professor of Church History at Bethel Seminary’s San Diego Campus,
as well as an Adjunct Professor of Religion at the University of San Diego.
Dr. Mark Strauss is Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary’s San Diego Campus.
Dr. Frank Thielman is the Presbyterian Professor of Divinity in New Testament at Beeson Divinity School.
Dr. K. Erik Thoennes is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Biola University.
Dr. Steven Tsoukalas is Associate Professor of Apologetics and Christian Thought at Wesley Biblical
Seminary.
Dr. Bill Ury is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
Rev. Dr. Simon Vibert is the former Vicar of St. Luke’s Church, Wimbledon Park, UK, and is presently the
Vice Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and Director of the School of Preaching.
Dr. Brian Vickers is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary and Assistant Editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.
Rev. Dr. Peter Walker is Professor of Biblical Studies at Trinity School for Ministry.
Dr. Willie Wells is Pastor at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Fairfield, Alabama and a professor at
Birmingham Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Stephen Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Ben Witherington III is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Study Guide
Biblical Foundations
Module Two – The Gospel of Matthew
Instructions: Each study guide is divided into sections with time codes that correspond to the main
categories covered in each module. Sections contain two main components: an Outline for Taking Notes
and Review Questions. You should utilize the Outline for Taking Notes while you watch the video lectures,
and then answer the Review Questions in preparation for the module quiz. For more information about
best ways to utilize the study guides, refer back to the Student Orientation Manual. Also, be sure to save
the study guides as they will be an excellent resource to prepare for this course’s final exam.

**********************************

OUTLINE FOR TAKING NOTES on minute 0:00 – 35:10

Introduction

I. Background

A. Author

1. Traditional View

2. Personal History

B. Original Audience

1. Kingdom of Heaven

2. Jewish Customs

C. Occasion

1. Date

2. Location

3. Purpose

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is the teaching of the lesson regarding the authorship of the gospel of Matthew?

2. Write down the quotes of each of the following authors regarding the authorship of the gospel of
Matthew. Make sure you can identify each one.
 Papius (early 2nd century, quoted by Eusebius in the 4th century)
Irenaeus (wrote around AD 180)
Tertullian (155-230 AD)

3. Note key details about Matthew.

4. What was Matthew’s profession? Note key details about the attitude toward his profession on the
part of the Jews in his day.

5. For whom did Matthew especially write his gospel? Was he considering other people as well? Explain.

6. According to the lesson, what is the probable reason that Matthew used the expression “Kingdom of
heaven” more frequently than “Kingdom of God”?

7. Describe the evidence which shows that Matthew expected his readers to be familiar with Jewish
customs.

8. According to the lesson, when did Matthew probably write his gospel? What are the arguments?

9. What was the unique special purpose of Matthew in writing his gospel?

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OUTLINE FOR TAKING NOTES on minute 35:11 – 1:46:41

II. Structure and Content

A. Introduction: The Messianic King

B. The Gospel of the Kingdom

C. The Spread of the Kingdom

D. Signs and Parables

E. Faith and Greatness

F. Present Opposition and Future Victory

G. Culmination of Jesus' Ministry

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. According to the lesson, how do most scholars divide the Gospel of Matthew into sections? What is
their guideline?

2. Name the five main sections of Matthew, as given in the lesson.

3. Besides the five major sections of the gospel, what does Matthew include?

4. According to the lesson, what is the purpose of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus?

5. How does the lesson answer those who think that the genealogy of Jesus does not prove anything
about Jesus’ legal claims, since He was not really born of a human father?

6. The five main divisions of the Gospel of Matthew each include two parts. What are these two parts?

7. How does the lesson explain the meaning of Matthew 4:17, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
near”?

8. As the kingdom of heaven began to spread because of Jesus’ miracles, how did most people react?

9. What was the theme of most of Jesus’ parables?

10. What was the only case in the Gospel of Matthew where someone firmly believed in Jesus?

11. What is the main point of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse about the second coming?

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OUTLINE FOR TAKING NOTES on minute 1:46:42 – 2:23:36

III. Major Themes

A. Old Testament Heritage

1. Quotations and Allusions

2. Kingdom of Heaven

3. Messianic King

4. Unbelieving Jewish Leaders

5. Humility and Gentleness

B. People of God

1. Church

2. Family of God

3. Calling

Conclusion

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What two major themes of the Gospel of Matthew are highlighted in this lesson?

2. How does Matthew highlight the Old Testament heritage of the gospel?

3. The lesson expresses the fact that Jesus was “Israel _________.”

4. What does Matthew quote more than any other gospel writer?

5. What name does Matthew use for Jesus more frequently than the other gospels?

6. How does the lesson interpret Jesus’ comments, “You have heard that it was said,...” and “But I say
unto you...”? Is He nullifying the Old Testament law?

7. In what ways does Matthew speak of the people of God?

8. What is the Hebrew word for “assembly”? Make sure you can pronounce it and write the
transliteration.

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9. What is the Greek word for “assembly”? Make sure you can pronounce it and write the
transliteration.

10. What kind of terminology does Matthew use frequently to speak of God’s people and their
relationship with Him? Give examples.

11. What is the emphasis in Matthew regarding the calling of Jesus’ disciples?

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 The Gospels

The Gospel According

Lesson 2
to Matthew

Manuscript

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© 2011 by Third Millennium Ministries
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means for
profit, except in brief quotations for the purposes of review, comment, or scholarship, without
written permission from the publisher, Third Millennium Ministries, Inc., 316 Live Oaks Blvd.,
Casselberry, Florida 32707.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 International Bible
Society. Used by Permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

ABOUT THIRDMILL
Founded in 1997, Thirdmill is a non-profit Evangelical Christian ministry dedicated to
providing:
Biblical Education. For the World. For Free.
Our goal is to offer free Christian education to millions of pastors and Christian leaders
worldwide who lack sufficient training for ministry. We are meeting this goal by producing
and globally distributing an unparalleled multimedia seminary curriculum in English,
Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. Our partner ministries are also translating our
curriculum into more than 20 additional languages. Consisting of graphic-driven videos,
printed instruction, and internet resources, Thirdmill curriculum is designed to be used by
schools, groups, and individuals, both online and in local learning communities. We also
offer free, structured, certified biblical and theological training in multiple languages
through our Thirdmill Institute.
Over the years, we have developed a highly cost-effective method of producing multimedia
lessons of the finest content and quality. Our graphic designers, illustrators, and producers
adhere to the highest production standards and use state-of-the-art equipment and
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In order to accomplish our distribution goals, Thirdmill has forged strategic partnerships
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Thirdmill is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) corporation. We depend on the generous,
tax-deductible contributions of churches, foundations, businesses, and individuals. For
more information about our ministry, and to learn how you can get involved, please visit
[Link].

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 The Gospels
Lesson Two
The Gospel According to Matthew

Contents
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1

BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................1
Author ...........................................................................................................................2
Traditional View ......................................................................................................2
Personal History .......................................................................................................4
Original Audience .........................................................................................................6
Kingdom of Heaven .................................................................................................7
Jewish Customs........................................................................................................9
Occasion .......................................................................................................................9
Date ........................................................................................................................10
Location .................................................................................................................10
Purpose...................................................................................................................11

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT ....................................................................................13

Introduction: The Messianic King (1:1–2:23) ............................................................14
Genealogy (1:1-17) ................................................................................................14
Infancy Narrative (1:18–2:23) ...............................................................................15
The Gospel of the Kingdom (3:1–7:29)......................................................................17
The Messiah had Come (3:1–4:25) ........................................................................17
Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)...........................................................................19
The Spread of the Kingdom (8:1–11:1) ......................................................................21
Jesus’ Miracles and Reactions (8:1–9:38) .............................................................21
Emissaries of the King (10:1–11:1) .......................................................................23
Signs and Parables (11:2–13:53) ...............................................................................24
Signs and Reactions (11:2–12:50) .........................................................................25
Kingdom Parables (13:1-53) ..................................................................................25
Faith and Greatness (13:54–18:35) .............................................................................27
Resisting Faith in Jesus (13:54–17:27) ..................................................................27
Greatness in the Kingdom Family (18:1-35) .........................................................29
Present Opposition and Future Victory (19:1–22:46) ................................................29
Intensifying Opposition (19:1–20:16)....................................................................30
Future Victory (23:1–25:46) ..................................................................................32
Culmination of Jesus’ Ministry (26:1–28:20).............................................................34
Conflict ..................................................................................................................34
Discipleship............................................................................................................35
Victory ...................................................................................................................35

MAJOR THEMES ...........................................................................................................36

Old Testament Heritage ..............................................................................................36

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Quotations and Allusions .......................................................................................37

Kingdom of Heaven ...............................................................................................39
Messianic King ......................................................................................................39
Unbelieving Jewish Leaders ..................................................................................40
Humility and Gentleness ........................................................................................41
People of God .............................................................................................................42
Church ....................................................................................................................43
Family of God ........................................................................................................45
Calling ....................................................................................................................47

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................49

CONTRIBUTORS ...........................................................................................................50

GLOSSARY .....................................................................................................................52

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 The Gospels
Lesson Two
The Gospel According to Matthew

INTRODUCTION
In 1919 King Albert of Belgium was traveling across the United States by train. He
was something of an authority on locomotives, so for a ten-mile stretch he dressed as an
engineer and ran the train. At the next stop, the cheering crowd looked for King Albert but
couldn’t find him. They expected the king to look a certain way, and to act in a certain way.
So, they didn’t realize that the tall man dressed in a flannel shirt and a railroad cap was
actually the king of Belgium.
From one perspective, the Gospel of Matthew tells a similar story. It’s the story of
a king — Jesus, the King of the Jews. But many in his day didn’t recognize him because
he didn’t look the way people expected him to look, and he didn’t act as they expected him
to act. He was a different kind of king.
This is the second lesson in our series The Gospels. We have entitled this lesson
“The Gospel According to Matthew,” because we will focus our attention on the first
gospel, the book of Matthew. Our study of Matthew’s gospel will divide into three parts.
First, we’ll consider the background of Matthew’s book. Second, we’ll explore its structure
and content. And third, we’ll look at some major themes in Matthew’s gospel. Let’s begin
with the background of the Gospel According to Matthew.

BACKGROUND
A lot of people ask the question, “Why do I need to know all of this
contextual stuff about the Bible? Can’t I just read the Bible in a good
English translation and figure out what it means?” I like to say a text
without a context is just a pretext for whatever you want it to mean.
The problem is that all ancient texts are given in certain kinds of
historical, literary, rhetorical, archeological, religious context, and
those contexts are all different from ours… The past is very different
from the present and the greatest hedge we have against anachronism,
of reading back into the past all of our modern assumptions, is careful
contextual study of the Bible.

— Dr. Ben Witherington III

It’s important to understand background issues such as who the author

is and what the historical context is when we’re interpreting books of
the Bible precisely because when authors write books, they assume that
their audience is operating in a shared culture, and they take for

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

granted that their audience is going to know much of the broader

context of the statements that they make. And so, our task, in many
cases, is to discern who this author is and what his culture is so that we
can get some more light from the broader culture and history so that
we can fill in some of these assumptions and given realities.

— Dr. James M. Hamilton

We’ll discuss the background of Matthew’s gospel in three steps. First, we’ll speak
of Matthew as the author of the work. Second, we’ll talk about Matthew’s original
audience. And third, we’ll look at the occasion or circumstances in which Matthew wrote.
Let’s turn first to the question of the author of this gospel.

AUTHOR
Whenever we study a book, or a letter, or any other writing, it’s helpful to know
who wrote it. After all, the more we know about an author and his context, the better
prepared we are to understand his perspectives and meaning. And the same is true when
we study the Bible. The more we know about biblical authors, the better prepared we are
to understand the lessons they are teaching us. So, as we approach the Gospel of Matthew,
one of the first questions we want to ask is “Who wrote this book?”
We’ll consider the author of the Gospel According to Matthew in two stages. First,
we’ll affirm the traditional view that this book was written by the apostle Matthew, who
was one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples. And second, we’ll explore Matthew’s personal
history. Let’s start with the traditional view that this gospel was written by Matthew.

Traditional View
I think we can have a lot of confidence that Matthew, the apostle
Matthew, really is the author of the Gospel of Matthew, though some
scholars today doubt that. For one thing, we know that the early church
fathers were very skeptical — in fact, that’s an understatement actually
— that they were absolutely opposed to accepting forgeries as being
authentic, canonical works, as belonging to the inspired collection of
Scriptures… Secondly, there’s absolutely no competing tradition
regarding the authorship of Matthew. The only tradition we have is
that Matthew wrote this book… Thirdly, if the early church were going
to associate the name of someone with this gospel for anything other
than historical reasons, just make up a name, or just pick one of the
apostles out of a hat, to attach to this book, they made a poor choice
with Matthew. The reason is because Matthew was a tax collector. He
followed a profession that was absolutely despised by the Jewish
people… And yet Matthew’s gospel is a gospel that is written to a

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Jewish audience, trying to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah…

So, we have this gospel written to Jews to convince them that Jesus is
the Messiah, and they’re going to pick Matthew to be the writer of this
gospel? That makes no sense at all. The only reason they would
associate Matthew’s name with the Gospel of Matthew is if they had
good, strong reason to believe that Matthew actually wrote it.

— Dr. Steven Cowan

The traditional view that Matthew wrote the first gospel comes from the earliest
centuries of the church. In every ancient manuscript of this gospel that contains a title, the
title attributes the book to Matthew and only to Matthew. We have no evidence that this
gospel ever circulated among the churches without Matthew’s name attached to it.
One of the earliest people to attribute the first gospel to
Matthew was Papias of Hierapolis. Papias lived from the end of
the first century into the second century. He represents
viewpoints from the earliest period of the church to which we
have access. The church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, who
wrote around A.D 325, recorded Papias’ testimony regarding the
authorship of Matthew’s gospel in his Ecclesiastical History,
book 3, 39, section 16. Listen to Papias’ words:

Matthew put the logia in an ordered arrangement.

Eusebius Here we see that early in the second century, Papias
attributed the gospel to Matthew. It’s also worth noting that Eusebius quoted Papias in
order to corroborate his own view that Matthew wrote the first
gospel.
Another early church father — Irenaeus of Lyons — who
wrote around A.D. 180, also attributed the first gospel to Matthew.
Listen to what he wrote in Against Heresies, book 3, chapter 1,
section 1:

Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the

Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul
were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of
the Church.
Irenaeus
Tertullian lived a little later, from AD 155 to 230. He
affirmed Matthew’s authorship in his work Against Marcion, book 4, chapter 2:

Of the apostles, therefore, John and Matthew first instill faith into us
… Luke and Mark renew it afterwards.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

As far as Irenaeus and Tertullian were concerned,

Matthew wrote this gospel. And their conviction was shared by
the early church. Matthew’s authorship of the first gospel was
accepted as a certainty.
It’s also important to realize that these early claims of
Matthew’s authorship are strengthened by Matthew’s relative
obscurity. Presumably, if the church or someone else had wanted
to give credibility to a gospel by attributing it to an apostle of
their own choosing, they would probably have chosen one of the
more prominent apostles. But Matthew is rarely mentioned in the
Gospels. This makes it unlikely that his name was falsely
Tertullian attached to this gospel.

First of all, we have to recognize the importance of eyewitness

testimony in the first century. Eyewitness testimony was very highly
regarded, and no one claiming eyewitness testimony was taken lightly.
It’s almost, if you will, a sacred category of saying things about things
that happened. We also know that in the early second century, a fellow
named Papias wrote that the Gospel of Matthew was by the apostle
Matthew. And Papias would have very likely known apostles firsthand
because of his lifespan. The final reason I would say that we can be
confident that the Gospel of Matthew is by the apostle Matthew is that
even though Matthew’s name is not mentioned in the text of the Gospel
of Matthew, the fact is that the Gospel of Matthew from our earliest
records never circulated without Matthew the apostle’s name
associated with it as its author and authority.

— Rev. Michael J. Glodo

Of course, some modern critical scholars have doubted that the apostle Matthew
wrote the first gospel, just as they have questioned many other traditional views of biblical
authorship. But the overall strength of the ancient attestation to Matthew as the author of
this gospel, together with the complete absence of any ancient challenges, gives us strong
reason to believe that he wrote this book.
Now that we have looked at the traditional view that Matthew wrote this first
gospel, we should turn to Matthew’s personal history.

Personal History

Scripture tells us a few important facts about Matthew’s personal history. For
instance, it mentions that he was both a Jew and a tax collector. We’ll consider both of
these details, beginning with the fact that Matthew was a Jew.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Matthew’s Jewish heritage is revealed in a number of

ways. For one thing, he was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, who Matthew
were all Jewish. For another, Matthew had Jewish names. The
name Matthew is itself a Jewish name, derived from the Hebrew
Old Testament. And his other name, Levi, which we find in
Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:28, was the name of one of the tribes of
Israel. So, both names demonstrate that Matthew was Jewish.
Matthew’s Jewish ancestry may also be implied by ancient
Christian reports that he wrote in Hebrew.
Matthew’s Jewish heritage is important background for
understanding his gospel because it helps us interpret his
distinctly Jewish emphasis. We’ll study the Jewish character of
this gospel in greater detail later in this lesson. So for now, we’ll
mention only one example for the sake of illustration. In
Matthew 15:24, Matthew reported that Jesus made the following
claim:

I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24).

More than any other gospel, Matthew emphasized that Jesus had come particularly
to the nation of Israel.
Besides Matthew’s Jewish heritage, another detail of his life worth noting is that he
was a tax collector. In the first century, many Jews in Palestine collected taxes on behalf
of the Roman Empire. Some of these tax collectors collected tariffs on goods that moved
from one area to another. They were private entrepreneurs who paid the rulers for the
authority to collect taxes. They made their profit by inflating the taxes they collected from
the people. As a result, these tax collectors were seen as extortionists and thieves — and
this reputation was often justified.
For this reason, Jewish tax collectors were doubly guilty in the eyes of their
countrymen. First, they were the agents of the hated occupying forces of Rome. And
second, they robbed their own people for the sake of personal gain. In fact, they were
considered to be so evil and untrustworthy that early rabbinic writings prohibited them
from testifying in a Jewish court. Moreover, lying to tax collectors was approved and even
praised as an act of justified rebellion. Listen to the way Matthew recorded his own call
from Jesus in Matthew 9:9-10:

Jesus … saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.
“Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While
Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and
“sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples (Matthew 9:9-10).

Matthew was very candid in his description of himself, and openly admitted that he
and other tax collectors were associated with “sinners” in Jesus’ day. By doing so, Matthew
put himself, Jesus, and his written gospel at odds with the Jewish leadership. This division

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

is often expressed in Matthew’s gospel. For example, listen to the way Jesus criticized the
Jewish leadership in Matthew 21:31-32:

I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way
of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the
prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe
him (Matthew 21:31-32).

Matthew’s willingness to speak openly about his sinful personal history may also
be related to another emphasis of his gospel, which we will look at more closely later in
this lesson. Matthew, more than any other gospel writer, stressed the fact that Jesus was a
humble king who called for humility in his followers. By acknowledging his past, Matthew
freely admitted his own need for grace, and proclaimed his willingness to follow the King
that had called and changed him. Jesus had transformed him from a sinful servant of Herod
into a humble servant of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.

In our lives, humility should look like we are glad, we are satisfied when
good things are happening for other people, for ourselves as well, but
when other people are progressing, when other people are in some sense
finding honor or their works are shown to be fruitful, we are glad in
that. We are thankful to God for that, and we want to honor and thank
God in the first place. We want to live for God’s sake above all, not
simply for our sake. So, humility is going to be that — not looking to
my interests being fulfilled, but looking, in the first place, God’s
interests being fulfilled, whether that’s through somebody else, or
through me.

— Dr. John E. McKinley

Now that we’ve concluded that the traditional view that Matthew wrote the first
gospel is correct, and become familiar with a little of his personal history, we’ll explore
the identity of the original audience for whom Matthew wrote.

ORIGINAL AUDIENCE

Matthew did not specifically identify his original audience. But he did give us a
few clues about them. As we’ll see, Matthew appears to have written primarily for Jewish
Christians. As we mentioned in a prior lesson, all the Gospels were written specifically for
Christian audiences. But several emphases in Matthew’s gospel make it particularly well-
suited for a Christian audience from a Jewish background. For example, Matthew quoted
the Old Testament more than any other gospel writer. He frequently pointed out the ways
in which Jesus fulfilled Old Testament expectations. And he especially emphasized that

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Jesus was the messianic King the Jews had awaited for centuries. His emphasis on Jewish
issues also appears in Jesus’ conflicts with the unbelieving leaders of the Jews, which
Matthew described in more detail than the other gospel writers did. And Matthew also put
the greatest focus on Jesus’ relationship to the Old Testament law, especially as its Lord.
Later in this lesson we’ll look at some of these emphases in greater detail. So, at
this point, we’ll simply mention two examples that suggest Matthew wrote to a Jewish
audience, beginning with Matthew’s use of the phrase “kingdom of heaven.”

Kingdom of Heaven

In a prior lesson, we noted that all four gospels are unified by the theme of the
kingdom of God. But Matthew rarely used the phrase “kingdom of God.” Instead he
generally used the phrase “kingdom of heaven.” The Gospel of Matthew is the only book
in the Bible that uses this terminology. And as we have seen, both phrases mean the same
thing.
Out of reverence for God, the Jews often avoided using the divine name — or
anything close to it — so that they would not accidentally take God’s name in vain. One
way that they did this was by replacing the word “God” with the word “heaven.” And this
is precisely what Matthew did when he used the phrase “kingdom of heaven.” When we
compare parallel passages in the Synoptic Gospels, we see that where the other gospel
writers used the term “kingdom of God,” Matthew used the phrase “kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew uses the phrase, “kingdom of heaven,” almost the whole time
in his gospel for what we, in the other gospels, refer to as the “kingdom
of God.” I think that there’s a couple of occasions where Matthew uses
the phrase, “kingdom of God,” but it’s because Matthew is a Jewish
writer, a Jewish believer in Christ, and for Jews, the name of God was
something almost too holy to use. So, to use the phrase “heaven” is
another way of referring to God. We read in another gospel, “I have
sinned against heaven and against earth.” It means, “I have sinned
against God.” And, the danger is that when we hear the phrase,
“kingdom of heaven,” we mishear that and think, “Oh, it sounds rather
ethereal and anemic… the kingdom of heaven — can’t see that.” But in
fact, he was talking about the kingdom of God, with the idea that God
really now is becoming King of this world through Jesus Christ. So,
there’s a real danger of Christians later to mishear “kingdom of
heaven.” Actually, Jesus is saying, God is King, and is becoming King,
through me.

— Dr. Peter Walker

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Listen to Mark’s record of the parable of the mustard seed in Mark 4:30-31:

[Jesus] said: “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable
shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest
seed you plant in the ground” (Mark 4:30-31).

Here Mark used the normal form of the phrase: kingdom of God. But listen to
Matthew’s version of the parable in Matthew 13:31:

[Jesus] told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and planted in his field” (Matthew 13:31).

When Matthew recounted this same event, he used the term “kingdom of heaven”
where Mark had used the term “kingdom of God.”

When you compare what Matthew calls the kingdom of heaven with
other places where Mark and Luke have the very same passage and call
it the kingdom of God, that’s one of the definitive ways to see that they
have the same referent, that they refer to the same thing… Well, when
you read Matthew overall, you’ll see that there’s a major theme of
contrasting God in heaven with humanity on earth. God’s way of doing
kingdom, which he calls the kingdom of heaven, and humanity’s way
of ruling and reigning and acting and behaving towards each other,
which we might call the kingdoms of this world… And for Matthew to
talk about the kingdom of heaven is a very powerful way for him to feel
the difference between merely the things of this world, and our Father
in heaven who reigns and rules and promises to come again… So, the
point of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s language is to let us feel
and taste the difference between God’s reign that is still yet to come,
and all the reigns and ruling and behavior of this earth, there’s a
contrast between those two realities, and Matthew using “kingdom of
heaven,” helps us feel and taste and hope in that time coming for God’s
kingdom of heaven.

— Dr. Jonathan T. Pennington

Many scholars believe that Matthew preserved the way Jesus spoke to Jewish
crowds, and that Mark and other New Testament writers used the phrase “kingdom of God”
in order to make Jesus’ meaning more clear to broader audiences. But whether or not this
is true, Matthew’s use of the phrase “kingdom of heaven” adds weight to the view that his
original audience was Jewish.
Another aspect of Matthew’s gospel that points to a Jewish audience is the way
Matthew assumed that his audience had substantial knowledge of Jewish customs.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Jewish Customs

Another aspect of Matthew’s gospel that points to a Jewish audience is the way
Matthew assumed that his audience had substantial knowledge of Jewish customs. As just
one example, in Matthew 15:1-2, Matthew recorded this event:

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem
and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They
don’t wash their hands before they eat!” (Matthew 15:1-2).

Mark included this same story in 7:1-5 of his gospel. But Mark added a three-verse
explanation of the Jewish custom of hand washing so that his Roman audience would
understand the custom. Matthew felt no need to add that sort of explanation for his
audience.
Now, assuming that Matthew did write for a Jewish audience, there is one
characteristic of his gospel that seems to be out of place. In a few instances, Matthew
quoted Jesus speaking in Aramaic, and then translated those Aramaic words into the
language of his audience. For example, listen to the words of Matthew 27:46:

Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — which
means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

There are a variety of explanations for why Matthew might have written in this
way, even if his audience were primarily Jewish. First, even though his audience was
primarily Jewish, it was not exclusively Jewish. So, he may have included these
translations for the non-Jews among his readers. Second, Matthew’s audience may have
included people living outside Palestine that did not know Aramaic. And third, Matthew
may simply have copied the information from another source. For example, the translation
from Matthew 27:46 also appears in Mark 15:34, which Matthew may have used as a
source. In all events, the weight of evidence strongly suggests that Matthew wrote his
gospel primarily for Jewish Christians, in order to strengthen their faith in Jesus by
addressing many issues that were particularly important to them.
Now that we have investigated the author and audience of the first gospel, we’re
ready to examine the occasion of its composition.

OCCASION

When we speak of the “occasion” of a book, we have in mind several things that
are related to its historical context — things like its date of composition, its location of
composition, the location of its intended audience, and the purpose for which it was written.
Knowing when, where, to whom, and why a book was written gives us a lot of information
about its context. It helps us understand its historical setting, its grammar and vocabulary,

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

its religious and social assumptions, and its rhetorical strategies. And in turn, this
information helps us understand and apply the book.
We’ll consider three aspects of the occasion for the writing of Matthew’s gospel:
first, the date of the writing; second, the location of both the author and audience; and third,
the purpose for which Matthew wrote. Let’s begin with the date of Matthew’s gospel.

Date
First, as the majority of scholars believe, Matthew probably used the Gospel of
Mark as one of his sources. As we will see in a later lesson, it’s likely that Mark was written
around A.D. 64. If this is correct, the earliest date at which Matthew probably wrote was
the mid-to-late 60s.
Second, Matthew was an apostle of Jesus. This means that he was already an adult
by the time he engaged in ministry with Jesus, probably by the year A.D. 30. So, unless
Matthew lived an extraordinarily long life, the latest date at which he could have written
would be around the end of the first century.
This gives us a fairly wide range in which Matthew might have written. But we can
narrow down the likely dates within this range by noticing a particular detail in Matthew’s
writing. Specifically, Matthew frequently referred to the temple, as well as to the
Sadducees, who were closely associated with the temple. Some
of these references are largely historical, but a few references
suggest that both the temple and the Sadducees were still
significant factors at the time that Matthew wrote. Since the
temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, these references make the
most sense if Matthew wrote before then.
In light of all the evidence, it seems best to conclude that
Matthew wrote his gospel in the late 60s, perhaps around A.D.
67 or 68. Certainty in this matter is not possible. But
fortunately, while it is helpful to know the approximate time
when Matthew wrote, the precise dating of his gospel is rarely
Matthew wrote
if ever critical to the interpretation of his teachings.
his gospel around Now that we’ve looked at the date of the writing of this
A.D. 67 or 68 gospel, let’s turn to the question of the geographical location of
the author and audience.

Location

We should start by noting that scholars have debated the location of this gospel, so
we should not be dogmatic in our conclusions. Even so, there are a number of details worth
noting. To begin with, because Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish Christians, it’s most
likely that he addressed his gospel to a group that lived in an area with a significant Jewish
population. Palestine is one obvious possibility, since this was the traditional homeland of
the Jews, and since they were concentrated there. But parts of Syria also had substantial

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Jewish populations. And Ignatius, who was the bishop of Antioch in Syria, is the earliest
of the Church Fathers to demonstrate familiarity with Matthew’s gospel. For this reason, a
number of scholars have argued that Matthew wrote to believers in Syrian Antioch.
And of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that Matthew had a wider audience
in mind, writing to Jewish Christians in general, throughout the Mediterranean world.
Palestine, Syria, or any other area with a significant Jewish population within the Roman
Empire would be a fitting destination for a gospel with the strong Jewish character of
Matthew.

During the first century A.D., the Jewish people were spread around
much of the Roman Empire, and indeed, to the further east as well.
This goes back a long time. Ever since the time of the Babylonian exile
there have been Jews living outside the land of Palestine. And they
continued to live over there in the Far East, as it were. That’s in
Mesopotamia, modern Iraq. Then they come to Syria, Damascus, and
then the Diaspora — that’s the name for the spreading or the dispersion
of the Jewish people. Well, it spreads further west into Asia Minor,
modern Turkey, and as far as Rome — the Jewish population there by
the River Tiber in Rome — and not forgetting North Africa as well. We
read in the gospels of Simon of Cyrene coming to Jerusalem from North
Africa. So, imagine the whole of the eastern half of the Roman Empire
and to the further east, that’s where the Jews are living.

— Dr. Peter Walker

Now that we have spoken of both the date and location of Matthew’s gospel, we
can consider Matthew’s purpose in writing his gospel.

Purpose
Broadly speaking, Matthew wrote because the true history of who Jesus was and
what he had done was critically important. But he also had narrower, more immediate
goals. Specifically, Matthew wrote to Jewish Christians in order to nurture their faith in
Jesus as their messianic King. At the time that Matthew wrote, Jewish converts to
Christianity were strongly rejected by Jewish authorities, and often by former friends and
family members. The book of Acts makes it clear that in the Mediterranean world of that
day, persecution had become a way of life for Jewish Christians. As we read in Acts 8:1:

Great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except
the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1).

Because of persecution, Jews who followed Jesus as their Messiah certainly faced
the temptation to return to their former lives and abandon Christianity. In response to this
temptation, Matthew wrote to remind them that Jesus was the true Messiah who had

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

brought the kingdom of heaven. His gospel was a story of encouragement, a story of
comfort. But it was also a story of challenge because Jesus had not brought the kingdom in
the way many of them had expected, and the demands of the kingdom were great.

Consummation

Continuation

Inauguration

Jesus brought the kingdom in three stages.

In this context, Matthew reassured his readers that Jesus had begun to fulfill the
Old Testament expectations for the messianic kingdom. At the same time, the kingdom of
heaven was not yet complete. So, Matthew also wrote to encourage Jewish believers to
remain faithful until the King himself returned to make everything right — until the time
that Jesus destroyed the enemies of his kingdom, and welcomed his faithful people into the
full experience of his kingdom blessings.
This is why Matthew so often mentioned the theme of the kingdom of heaven. In
fact, he used the words “king” and “kingdom” over 75 times in his gospel. The other three
gospel writers together used them fewer than 110 times. For Matthew, the best way to
encourage and challenge his Jewish audience was to tell them the story of their messianic
King and his kingdom.

In Matthew’s gospel we find a great emphasis on the kingdom of

heaven. Matthew begins his gospel with the lineage of Jesus with the
intent of showing that Jesus is the rightful heir, the Davidic king. This
Davidic king is Jesus of Nazareth… His audience, his original audience,
was primarily a Jewish audience, we believe, and this book is to say to
the people, “Here’s your rightful king.” … And he emphasizes the
kingdom of heaven in its concrete manifestation as he demonstrates in
this gospel that this term “kingdom of heaven” refers to Christ’s rule
over all people and all spheres. It is a question of authority… The
Pharisees and the Sadducees always asked Jesus, “By what authority

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

do you do these things?” The gospel ends with the words Jesus said,
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth.” And this
kingdom idea is much more than the nationalistic, Davidic king that the
people had come to expect and to look for. This is the statement that
Matthew makes that Christ is king over every square inch of creation.

— Dr. Jim Maples

Now that we have studied the background of Matthew’s gospel, let’s turn to the
structure and content of the gospel.

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

There is considerable agreement among scholars about some of the features of the
structure of the Gospel of Matthew. And this agreement is due to the fact that Matthew has
given us a very helpful key. At five different points, he uses a phrase such as, “When Jesus
had finished saying these things…” to indicate major transitions in the gospel. Sometimes
a statement like this appears as the last sentence of a division, and at other times it’s the
first sentence of a new division. But it always indicates a major transition.
Following these structural markers, most scholars agree that the Gospel of Matthew
divides into seven sections. There are five major sections set off by transitional statements
in Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1 and 26:1. And Matthew also included an introductory
narrative, and a concluding narrative.
• The gospel begins with a narrative introduction that presents Jesus as the messianic
King in Matthew 1:1–2:23.
• The first major division describes the gospel of the kingdom in Matthew 3:1–7:29.
• The second major division focuses on the spread of the kingdom in Matthew 8:1–
11:1.
• The third major division records the signs and parables of the kingdom in
Matthew 11:2–13:53.
• The fourth major division of Matthew’s account focuses on faith and greatness
beginning in 13:54 and continuing through 18:35.
• The fifth and last major division is about the present opposition to the kingdom and
the future victory of the kingdom in Matthew 19:1–25:46.
• Finally, there is a conclusion that narrates the King’s death and resurrection in
Matthew 26:1–28:20.

Each of these sections of Matthew’s gospel furthers the story of Jesus, the messianic
King that brought the kingdom of heaven to earth. Let’s take a closer look at each of these
sections, beginning with the introduction in Matthew 1:1–2:23.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

INTRODUCTION: THE MESSIANIC KING (1:1–2:23)

The introduction to Matthew’s gospel introduces us to Jesus as the messianic King,

and is made up of two sections: a genealogy and an infancy narrative. The genealogy is
found in Matthew 1:1-17.

Genealogy (1:1-17)

Technically, the first verse is actually an introduction or title, in which Matthew

summarized his main point, namely, that Jesus is the messianic King of Israel. Matthew
1:1 reads as follows:

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of
Abraham (Matthew 1:1).

From the very beginning, Matthew placed special emphasis on David the King of
Israel, and on Abraham the father of the Jewish people.
Following this introductory statement, the genealogy itself begins in verse 2.
According to Matthew 1:17, the genealogy is arranged in three segments, each containing
fourteen generations. The first began with God’s covenant with Abraham, in which
Abraham was promised that his descendants would rule the world.
The second segment begins with King David and with God’s promise to fulfill his
covenant with Abraham by establishing David’s dynasty forever. This second segment
ends with God’s people being exiled from the Promised Land because of their sin and

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

covenant breaking.
The third segment of the genealogy runs from the exile to the birth of Jesus. Israel
had broken God’s covenant and fallen under his covenant curses. But God still intended to
bless Israel by fulfilling the promises he had made to Abraham and David. The past kings
of Israel had failed. But now the last King of Israel, the one who would fulfill Israel’s
destiny, had finally come. The list of Jesus’ ancestors ends in Matthew 1:16, where we read
these words:

Jacob [was] the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born
Jesus, who is called Christ (Matthew 1:16).

In this way, Matthew proved that Jesus had a fully legal claim to David’s throne
through his father Joseph.

The Messiah had to be a descendant of David because of prophetic

revelation, basically, because it was predicted so. And that goes all the
way back to Genesis… Every king that followed David was compared
to him either favorably or unfavorably. Then, of course, we have the
covenant made with David himself. When David proposed to Nathan,
the prophet, to build a house for the Lord, to build the temple, Nathan
came back and said, “You’re not going to build a house for the Lord;
the Lord is going to build a house for you.” And by house, he meant
dynasty. It’s in 2 Samuel 7, and that prophecy that God would build a
house for him, would establish his kingdom forever, that his descendant
would reign forever on David’s throne, became the foundation for the
messianic prophecies that followed. And so, when the prophets referred
back after the collapse, especially, of the Davidic dynasty, the Davidic
kingdom — when they referred back and looked forward to the hope
that God would restore the glories of the Davidic dynasty, it was
through the line of David that God would raise up a king. And so, the
King, the Messiah, had to come through the line of David.

— Dr. Mark L. Strauss

Following Jesus’ genealogy, we find his infancy narrative. Jesus’ infancy narrative
runs from Matthew 1:18–2:23.

Infancy Narrative (1:18–2:23)

This section is fairly brief, only 31 verses, compared to 116 verses in the Gospel of
Luke. In this section, Matthew’s purpose was quite limited. Each of the five short
paragraphs was designed to focus attention on one central fact: Jesus the Messiah had been
born. Each paragraph tells a brief story, and then explains how that story fulfills the Old
Testament expectations for the Messiah.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

One of the most interesting things we learn in Jesus’ infancy narrative is that he
didn’t have a human father. Instead, God was his father — literally. The Holy Spirit caused
Mary to conceive Jesus even though she was still a virgin. Now, some critics of Christianity
have suggested that this is a weakness in Jesus’ genealogy, since he wasn’t physically a
descendant of Joseph, through whom he claimed the throne of David. But it’s a well-
recognized fact that biblical genealogies, such as those in 1 Chronicles 1–9, often trace
ancestries through adoptive parents. Moreover, because Jesus was the Son of God, he was
also fully divine. And this meant that he was able to keep God’s covenant perfectly. Merely
human kings had never perfectly obeyed God’s covenant. And therefore, they had never
been able to inherit the full covenant blessings God had promised to Abraham and David.
So, God sent his perfect Son to be King, in order to ensure that his covenant would be kept,
so that his promises of blessing would be fulfilled.

It's very clear that the Messiah comes through David's line as human.
And there's a lot of important truths there. But it's also crucial to
realize that the Messiah also has to be God, has to be divine. Why is
that the case? Well, ultimately, it's because our problem as human
beings before God is that we have sinned against him. He must provide
the answer. He must provide the solution. The problem of forgiveness
that we want to sometimes speak about, is that our sin before God isn't
something that he can overlook. It's not something that he can say, “I'll
grade on the curve,” or “You do your best.” God is a holy God. God is
righteous and just. We cannot simply have him overlook our sin. That
would be a denial of himself. So … to forgive us, he must take the
initiative. He must provide, ultimately, the solution to the satisfaction
of his own righteous requirements. God himself must do it. Now, when
you read the Old Testament, this comes through over and over again.
You think of, say, of Jonah 2:9: “Salvation is of the Lord.” It's God
himself that must provide. It’s God himself that must provide the
solution. It's God himself that must forgive, so that if there is going to
be salvation through the Messiah, he must represent us — be human.
Yet, he also must be the Lord. The Lord who comes. The Lord who
saves. The Lord who satisfies his holiness and righteousness, and that
is why the Messiah must be divine.

— Dr. Stephen J. Wellum

In the introduction to his gospel, Matthew presented Jesus as the messianic King,
the royal Son of David who received all the blessings God had promised to Abraham and
the people of Israel. In this way, Matthew set the stage for the amazing good news that is
the subject of the rest of his book.
Following the introduction are the five major literary divisions of the gospel. Each
of these five divisions is composed of two parts: a narrative section, in which Matthew
described what Jesus did, followed by a discourse section, in which Matthew reported what
Jesus said.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

The first major division of Matthew’s gospel tells the story of the gospel of the
kingdom of heaven. This section extends from Matthew 3:1–7:29.

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (3:1–7:29)

The narrative portion begins in Matthew 3:1 and ends in 4:25. Here, Matthew
proclaimed that the messianic King had come, and that he had brought the kingdom of
heaven to earth.

The Messiah had Come (3:1–4:25)

The first section of the narrative is Matthew 3:1-12, where John the Baptist
announced that God’s Messiah would soon come and baptize his faithful people with the
Holy Spirit. For 400 years, the Holy Spirit had been relatively inactive in Israel because of
God’s judgment against his wayward people. But now, just as Old Testament prophets had
predicted, a new day was about to dawn when God’s Spirit would be poured out.
The narrative continues with Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:13-17. In this event, the
Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, anointing him for his messianic ministry, and the Father
announced from heaven, “This is my Son,” applying to Jesus the royal title from Psalm 2:7.
The divine voice also alluded to the suffering servant of Isaiah 42:1-2 by describing Jesus
as the one “whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Jesus was the royal Messiah, but he
would be a different kind of King. He would fulfill his calling through suffering.
In the next story in the narrative, found in Matthew 4:1-11, Satan challenged Jesus’
commitment to this role of a royal suffering Messiah. Three times he tempted Jesus to be
a Messiah without suffering, essentially saying, “Don’t be hungry like a man. Astonish

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

people into believing without pain. Rule the nations without suffering.” But each time Jesus
rejected the easy path that would have denied the character of his suffering messiahship.
Then in Matthew 4:12-17, Jesus began his public messianic mission by preaching the
gospel of the kingdom. Listen to how Matthew summarized Jesus’ message in
Matthew 4:17:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

According to Matthew, the good news that Jesus preached was that the kingdom of
heaven was near — that through his own ministry, Jesus was about to bring the kingdom
of heaven to earth. And this kingdom was available to all who would repent of their sin
and faithfully follow Jesus as king.

The “kingdom of heaven” is used in Matthew’s gospel, and only in

Matthew’s gospel, I think, synonymously with the “kingdom of God.”
I would agree with most scholars who say there’s no difference between
them. The fact that it is described by Jesus as being near, or as some
translations have it, “at hand,” indicates that the end-time rule of God
has in some sense already come in the person and work of Jesus. But
there’s a sense in which it awaits its completion. The technical term is
“consummation,” which will happen at the second coming of Christ, so
that Christians then live in a rather — to use a technical expression —
a rather dialectical existence. They have one foot in God’s end time
kingdom, but there is another foot that is not yet within God’s end time
kingdom. And a great deal of the challenge of Christian discipleship is
negotiating in terms of life and life decisions and how we think about
life, what it means that the kingdom of heaven is already here in some
sense and what it means on the other hand that it is not yet fully
appeared.

— Dr. David R. Bauer

When Jesus went preaching from village to village in the Gospels,

“Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand,” or “is near,” he was saying
a couple of things. He was saying, first of all, that in him the kingdom
of God was present, was in their midst. And that’s something that he
showed and demonstrated by his authoritative teaching, by casting out
demons and taking authority over the demons, and also through his
healing ministry as well. So, the first thing Jesus was saying was that
the kingdom and the authority of the King is present in me, right here
in your midst. But the other thing that he was saying is that the
kingdom is coming; the kingdom is not yet here in its fullness, but at
one time in the future the fullness of God’s reign will be visible to

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

everyone. So that’s what Jesus was talking about when he was saying,
“the kingdom of God is near.” … So, by calling people to repent
because the kingdom of God was near, he was calling them to submit
to the king, that by their submission, by their obedience, by literally
following the King they were then being incorporated, or
reincorporated, into the covenant people of God. So, it’s that sort of
submission to the King that is signified by repentance.

— Dr. Gregory R. Perry

In Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus called his disciples. The picture is one of the messianic
King recruiting the leaders of his kingdom. Following this, in Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew
gave a preview of the next two sections of the gospel. He announced that Jesus traveled
throughout Galilee teaching and healing the crowds. Matthew 5–7 illustrate Jesus’
teaching, while chapters 8–9 illustrate his healing.
Now that we’ve looked at Matthew’s narrative on the gospel of the kingdom, let’s
turn to the accompanying discourse that appears in Matthew 5:1–7:29.

Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

This discourse is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. In this teaching, Jesus
described the righteous lives of kingdom citizens. He explicitly mentioned the kingdom
seven times, and the entire sermon revolves around this theme.
Time after time, Jesus stressed that the challenges of righteousness were far greater
than the leaders of Judaism had imagined. He also stressed that the heavenly Father of the
citizens of the kingdom was closer and more ready to bless than they ever imagined. It’s
the combination of these twin thoughts that gives the sermon its distinctive character.
Consider just one example from the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus’ teaching on adultery.
Jesus taught that the law of God demanded more than a surface reading might indicate, and
more than the Jewish teachers commonly taught. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew
5:27-28:

You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you
that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

When Jesus referred to what was “said,” he was talking about common
interpretations of Scripture among the Jewish rabbis of the day. Some rabbis taught that
the Old Testament commandments prohibited adultery, but they failed to address the more
fundamental issue of the human heart. But Jesus pointed out something that was true even
in the days of the Old Testament: God is not just interested in controlling outward behavior;
he wants obedience to begin in the heart.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

I think sometimes we can have a perspective on the Old Testament

versus the New Testament where we think, in the Old Testament God
required these external signs: he wanted people to be circumcised, he
wanted sacrifice, he wanted them to observe special days. And that was
a sort of an external religious expression. And then in the New
Testament this is now as a religion of the heart. God wants our hearts;
he wants our affections. But that won’t work, I don’t think, when one
begins to look closely at the material in the Old Testament, especially
in the prophets. The prophet Joel, for example, says, “Rend your
hearts, not your garments,” which is a direct statement against an
external religion, where God didn’t just want their external forms of
expression to him, but he wanted their hearts, he wanted what was
internal to them, what made them who they were. You see this as well,
for example, in Psalm 103. “Bless the Lord, O my soul. All that is within
me bless his holy name.” I mean, here the psalmist is calling on the
people of God to bless him, to worship the Lord with everything that
makes them who they are. So, this sort of idea that the affections is
something that’s in the New Testament and heartfelt religion’s not in
the Old Testament, doesn’t do justice to the full-orbed reality of God’s
covenantal involvement with his people in the Old Testament.

— Dr. Mark Gignilliat

Jesus’ emphasis on heartfelt obedience led him to describe the citizens of the
kingdom as “meek” in 5:5, as “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” in 5:6, and
as “pure in heart” in 5:8. Now, of course, Jesus knew that his followers would not be
completely changed into these kinds of citizens until the kingdom of heaven had come in
all its fullness. But he still exhorted them to be righteous before then. Listen to what he
said in Matthew 5:48:

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

In one sense, this command is impossible to fulfill — no one can be as perfect as

God is. But that shouldn’t lead us to despair. On the contrary, Jesus also gave us a gracious,
encouraging promise. Throughout his sermon, he assured his faithful followers that the
kingdom already belongs to us. For instance, in the Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:3-10,
we find eight blessings. The six in the middle promise that the blessings will be received
on that future day when the kingdom of heaven comes in all its fullness. But the first and
the last blessings are different — Jesus said his people already have these blessings of the
kingdom. Listen to the way Jesus stated these blessings in Matthew 5:3, 10:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3, 10).

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

The truly great challenge of following Jesus is matched by the equally great promise
that God’s kingdom power is already transforming us into righteous citizens of his
kingdom.
In the first major division of his gospel, Matthew emphasized the gospel of the
kingdom by drawing attention to the purpose and message of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was
the messianic King that brought the kingdom of heaven to the people of God. He taught
them about the life-transforming power of that kingdom. And he promised them that if they
were faithful, they would inherit the great blessings of the kingdom when it came in all of
its fullness.
The second major division of Matthew’s gospel deals with the spread of the
kingdom. It extends from Matthew 8:1–11:1.

THE SPREAD OF THE KINGDOM (8:1–11:1)

The narrative dealing with the spread of the kingdom runs from Matthew 8:1–9:38.
It consists of stories about Jesus’ miracles and the reactions that different people had to his
miracles.

Jesus’ Miracles and Reactions (8:1–9:38)

This narrative section divides into eleven segments involving Jesus and a leper in
8:1-4, a centurion’s servant in 8:5-13, Peter’s mother-in-law in 8:14-17, a storm in 8:18-

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

27, two demoniacs in 8:28-34, a paralytic in 9:1-8, tax collectors and sinners in 9:9-17, a
girl and a woman in 9:18-26, two blind men in 9:27-31, and another demoniac in 9:32-34.
Then this section ends with a depiction of Jesus’ compassion in 9:35-38.
Time will only permit us to make a few observations about these events in Jesus’
life. He exercised his kingdom power over sickness by healing a leper in 8:1-4, a
centurion’s servant in 8:5-13, and Peter’s mother-in-law in 8:14-17, a paralytic in 9:1-8, a
hemorrhaging woman in 9:20-22, and two blind men in 9:27-31. He also brought a dead
girl back to life in Matthew 9:18-26, proving that he even had power and authority over
death itself. Jesus demonstrated his control over nature by calming the storm in Matthew
8:23-27.
Beyond this, Jesus demonstrated his power over the kingdom of Satan by driving
demons out of two men who lived among the tombs in Matthew 8:28-34, and out of a man
who couldn’t speak in 9:32-34. The call of Matthew as a disciple introduces a larger
segment in dealing with Jesus’ association with tax collectors and sinners in 9:9-17. Jesus
called Matthew to leave his life as a tax collector and to begin a new life. This change was
nothing short of a miracle. The transformation of tax collectors and sinners was so
astonishing that Matthew immediately moved to Jesus feasting with tax collectors and
sinners so much that he had to explain the reason for their joy.
In addition to focusing on Jesus’ power, Matthew also called attention to the
crowds’ reaction to Jesus’ power. Simply put, they were amazed. We see this in places like
Matthew 8:27, 34, and 9:8, 26, 31, and 33. And their amazement most commonly led them
to oppose Jesus. Some opposed Jesus simply by disbelieving. Others — especially the
Jewish leaders — criticized him openly. Some feared Jesus, as in Matthew 8:34. Others
were horrified and shocked, as in Matthew 9:3. Occasionally, the opposition to Jesus seems
to have been well-intentioned, as in 9:14 — though it was still wrong. And sometimes
people opposed Jesus because they willfully rejected what they knew to be true, as in
Matthew 9:34. Sadly, opposition to Jesus became more and more prominent as Jesus’
ministry continued.

Probably one of the greatest puzzles, when you look at the New
Testament, is how the people could reject Christ when they saw with
their own eyes the miracles. The people were amazed, the Scripture
says, over and over at what he did. When we consider that question,
how could they do that, I think we need to look at Matthew 22:29. Jesus
said to the Pharisees you are in error because you do not know the
Scripture or the power of God. Now he, in that context, specifically
addressed the Sadducees, but I think the same could be said of the
Pharisees, the teachers of the law. They had taught the people in error;
the expectations for the Messiah who was to come had been shaped by
incorrect teaching. I think there is a great lesson for us there today —
people who mishandle the Word of God and incorrectly teach the
people, set up false expectations on the part of people. And I think that
is exactly what happened in the first century in Israel. They had
expected a messiah to come, and it was a nationalistic triumphalism,

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

you might say. And Jesus came. Even though he did things they had
never seen and would never see again, they ended up rejecting him
because the attacks of the leaders upon Christ always sought to
discredit his miracles. They wanted to put him in a league with Satan
as the means of doing these things. And this eventually, sad to say, the
decades, the generations, of incorrect teaching, the attacks of those in
positions of authority, religious authority, eventually turned the hearts
of many of the people away from Christ in spite of the miracles that
they saw.

— Dr. Jim Maples

Matthew closed this narrative section on Jesus’ powerful miracles in 9:35-38 by

describing Jesus’ compassion for the crowds. Listen to this account in Matthew 9:36-38.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his
disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord
of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”
(Matthew 9:36-38).

Jesus understood that one reason his people did not receive him as king was that
they had been mistreated and poorly taught by many of their leaders. But he also knew that
his miracles were softening their hearts, and inclining them to follow him. So he instructed
his disciples to pray that God would raise up evangelists and righteous leaders — men who
would bring the lost into God’s heavenly kingdom on earth, and teach them how to be its
righteous citizens.
Having explored Matthew’s narrative on the spread of the kingdom, let’s turn to
the corresponding discourse in Matthew 10:1–11:1. This discourse focuses on the disciples
as emissaries, or representatives, of the king.

Emissaries of the King (10:1–11:1)

In this section, Jesus answered the challenge that he had posed at the end of the
preceding narrative. After commanding his followers to pray for God to raise up
evangelists and leaders, Jesus extended his personal kingdom ministry by empowering
twelve disciples for ministry, and commanding them to announce the presence of the
kingdom in word and deed, just as he himself had done. As we read in Matthew 10:7-8,
Jesus commissioned them with these words:

As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons
(Matthew 10:7-8).

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Jesus gave his disciples many warnings before he sent them out. Life would not be
easy when they followed Jesus’ example. The world would not be kind to them. They
would suffer. They would be mocked, arrested, and killed. But Jesus also promised that
their ministry would be blessed by their heavenly Father and that eventually the life of the
kingdom would be theirs. Listen to how Jesus reassured his disciples in Matthew 10:39:

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it (Matthew 10:39).

Jesus’ disciples were abandoning their prior lives for the sake of Jesus’ teaching
and healing ministry. But Jesus assured them that they would find true kingdom life in the
company of King Jesus himself.
In this second major division of the gospel, we’ve seen that Matthew described the
spread of the kingdom especially in terms of Jesus’ works of power, and Jesus’ instructions
to his disciples. And this provides a good model for our own ministry in the modern church.
As we rely on Jesus’ power and serve him as faithful disciples, Jesus will build his kingdom
through us as well, and reward us with heavenly blessings.
The third major division of Matthew’s gospel continues the display of the King and
his kingdom through both signs and parables, and is found in Matthew 11:2–13:53.

SIGNS AND PARABLES (11:2–13:53)

Matthew’s narrative focuses on the signs Jesus performed and reactions to his signs
and extends from Matthew 11:2–12:50. These signs demonstrated that the King and his

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

kingdom were present, and corrected false expectations of what the kingdom would look
like. As a result, the criticism that had already taken root began to grow and spread.

Signs and Reactions (11:2–12:50)

This series of episodes divides into five segments: In 11:2-19, Jesus assured
John the Baptist that his signs proved that he was the Messiah who fulfilled Old Testament
prophecies, and Jesus called for the crowds to respond to his signs with repentance. In
11:20-30 Jesus addressed the cities where he had performed miracles, and he warned
the unrepentant and offered rest to those who would come to him. As he put it in
Matthew 11:30:

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

In 12:1-21, Matthew begins several episodes that focused explicitly on the reactions
of the Pharisees to Jesus’ signs. First, he reported how Jesus disputed with the Pharisees
about God’s purposes for the Sabbath and demonstrated his authority by healing a man on
the Sabbath. Jesus taught that the Sabbath is for healing and saving lives. In 12:22-37, the
Pharisees accused Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub, even as the crowds were
astonished by his miracles. Rather than receiving him as the Messiah, the teachers of the
law believed he was possessed by the devil. In 12:38-50, the Pharisees hypocritically
demanded another sign, but Jesus warned that they would only receive the sign of Jonah.
And what was this sign? Much like Jonah’s exit from the huge fish after three days led to
the repentance of Gentiles in Nineveh, Jesus’ future resurrection after three days in the
earth would lead to the repentance of many more Gentiles. To demonstrate how God would
receive anyone from any nationality who repented, Jesus even went so far as to say that his
natural Jewish mother and brothers were not his family. Rather, as he put it in Matthew
12:49-50:

Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my
Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:49-50).

Now that we’ve looked at Matthew’s narrative of the signs that Jesus performed,
let’s turn to his discourse on Jesus’ kingdom parables in Matthew 13:1-53.

Kingdom Parables (13:1-53)

Matthew’s account reports Jesus’ well-known parables in five segments. The

parable of the sower in 13:1-23, the parable of the weeds in 13:24-30, the mustard seed and
the yeast in 13:31-43, the hidden treasure and pearl in 13:44-46, and the parable of the net
in 13:47-53. These parables were designed to correct misunderstandings that explained the

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

kingdom of God.
In some of the parables — such as the parables of the mustard seed in 13:31-32, the
yeast in verse 33, the treasure in verse 44, and the pearl in verses 45, 46 — Jesus taught
that the kingdom of heaven was of supreme value and was to be sought at all cost. It might
look insignificant at first, but one day it would be seen in all of its glory.
But Jesus also told other parables that focused on Israel’s failure to embrace King
Jesus and his kingdom. In the parable of the sower and its explanation in Matthew 13:1-
23, Jesus made it clear that there were many obstacles to belief, and that most people would
reject the kingdom. This idea is reinforced by the parable of the weeds in verses 24-30 and
36-43, and the parable of the net in verses 47-51. Jesus taught that many would refuse to
embrace the kingdom and would be destroyed in the end. These parables were clear
warnings to those who opposed Jesus; they provided an opportunity for unbelievers to
repent, and to become faithful followers of the one true King.

Christ has come. He has fulfilled the prophecies; he has brought his
kingdom to pass. Yet, it still awaits its culmination. We as Christians,
we enter into that kingdom, but we need to constantly be reevaluating
in terms of our priorities, repenting of not following him as we ought,
making sure that we are faithfully seeking to live out our lives in
conformity to his will, agreeing with him in terms of his values, what
the kingdom is all about. So, there's a constant need for repentance,
confession, coming to him as a Prophet, as well as Priest, as well as
King, the one that we then seek to follow and serve in such a way where
we carry out his purposes for us in this world.

— Dr. Stephen J. Wellum

We are to encourage Christians to pursue and long for the coming of

God’s kingdom. First, in the personal dimension, the authority of the
kingdom of heaven is our power in life. It motivates us to submit to
God, and live a God-centered life, so that the authority of God
manifested in our lives would become the goal of our spiritual lives.
Second, we need to learn the concept of the kingdom of heaven in view
of redemptive history. As we learn how it begins, uncovers, and
completes his redemptive plan we will see that the teachings of the
kingdom of heaven unify the Old and New Testament. They help us to
see the grand blueprint of our redeeming God and easily grasp his
comprehensive purpose. Third, the kingdom of heaven creates a right
biblical world-view, and helps us to see that all things belong to God.
His kingdom will come to completion, and he will judge and wipe out
all the evil powers on earth because God himself is the absolute King.
So, we no longer live just for ourselves. We want to care for our
neighbors, society, and the well-being of this world. We ought to pay

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

attention to the things, either near or far from us. We ought to enter
into the society and transform all aspects accordingly, as our duty.

— Dr. Stephen Chan, translation

The fourth major division of Matthew’s account focuses on faith and greatness
beginning in 13:54 and continuing through 18:35. This division reveals what it means to
be a faithful disciple of Jesus who reaches greatness in his kingdom.

FAITH AND GREATNESS (13:54–18:35)

The narrative portion of this section runs from 13:54–17:27 and includes thirteen
episodes that report different ways in which all but one woman resisted putting their full
faith in Jesus.

Resisting Faith in Jesus (13:54–17:27)

The first two episodes focus on two times when faith in Jesus was entirely rejected.
First, when Jesus came to his hometown in Nazareth, in 13:54-58, his former neighbors did
not dispute his ability to do miracles. But they still took offense and rejected him. In 13:58
we read that the people of Nazareth did not receive many miracles because they lacked
faith.
Next, 14:1-12 is about Herod and the death of John the Baptist. Herod deserved the
judgment of God for what he did to John. But more than this, verse 1 explains that Herod
did not dispute the reports of Jesus’ miracles. Instead, his advisors believed that Jesus was

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

John the Baptist come back from the dead to trouble Herod. The next three episodes focus
on Jesus’ disciples and how they needed to grow in faith. Matthew 14:13-21 is the story of
Jesus feeding five thousand. Jesus told the disciples to feed the crowd that followed him,
but in verse 15 his disciples doubted and complained that he had too little food. So, Jesus
proved his power by multiplying their food and feeding five thousand with plenty to spare.
In 14:22-36, Jesus walked on water. At first, Peter showed confidence in Jesus by stepping
out of the boat, but Peter doubted when he saw the danger and began to sink into the sea.
After rescuing him, Jesus commented in verse 31, “You of little faith… why did you
doubt?”
Chapter 15:1-20 reports a conflict between Jesus and some Pharisees. Peter asked
Jesus for an explanation of something simple that Jesus had said. So, in verse 16, Jesus
replied disapprovingly, “Are you still so dull?” In 15:21-28, we have the only time in these
episodes when someone firmly believed in Jesus — a Canaanite woman with a demon-
possessed daughter. Unlike others, she begged Jesus to help her. And in verse 28 Jesus
responded approvingly by saying, “Woman, you have great faith!” Matthew then returned
to the weak faith of Jesus’ disciples. In 15:29-39, he wrote about the feeding of four
thousand. In verse 33, the disciples asked where they could find enough food, even though
they had seen Jesus feed five thousand earlier.
In 16:1-12, Jesus debated with the Pharisees and Sadducees. At one point, he turned
to his disciples and warned them of “the yeast of the Pharisees,” and they thought he was
angry because they had not brought bread with them. But Jesus reminded them of the times
when he had made bread for thousands, and in verse 8 he called his disciples, “you of little
faith.” Following this, we find two closely related episodes. On the one hand, Peter’s well-
known confession of faith in 16:13-20. In 16:16, Peter declared of Jesus, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus praised and blessed Peter for his faith. But
on the other hand, in 16:21-27, Jesus rebuked Peter just as strongly. Jesus began to tell the
disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. When Peter objected, Jesus
replied harshly in verse 23: “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus explained that Peter was thinking
like men and not like God.
Following this rebuke, we come to Jesus’ transfiguration in 17:1-13. When the
disciples saw Jesus in his glory, they wanted to build a shrine at the place. But in verse 12,
Jesus reminded them that his true glory would be seen only after he died and was
resurrected. In 17:14-23, we read of a young demoniac. Jesus’ disciples had tried but failed
to cast out the demon. After doing it himself Jesus said in verse 20, “You have too little
faith.” Finally, in 17:24-27, collectors came to Jesus’ disciples and asked if Jesus paid the
temple tax. Peter replied quickly, and probably out of fear, that Jesus did pay. Then later
Peter came to Jesus for the money, and Jesus provided by performing a miracle and
explained that Peter had no reason to be concerned. Matthew mentioned those who rejected
Jesus and the believing Canaanite woman, but his main focus was on the need for his
disciples to grow in their faith in him.
Once again, Matthew followed his narratives with Jesus’ discourse in 18:1-35. This
discourse focuses on true greatness in the family of God’s kingdom, greatness that comes
from humble service among the brothers and sisters of God’s kingdom.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Greatness in the Kingdom Family (18:1-35)

In the last segment of the previous chapter, Jesus spoke of his followers as sons of
God, the King. This identification led Matthew to begin this portion of his gospel with a
key question. As we read in Matthew 18:1:

Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (Matthew 18:1).

Jesus answered this question by mixing instructions with illustrations and parables
in four main parts. First, in 18:2-4, Jesus exhorted his disciples to live in humility as little
children. In the face of increasing opposition from his enemies, Jesus taught his disciples
how to live in the kingdom of heaven as children of God. He knew that the future
consummation of the kingdom had not yet arrived. And he knew that struggles against
enemies and sin would be a part of life for God’s children. And in verses 5-14, he taught
them to care for the weak like their heavenly Father cared for his lost sheep. Listen to Jesus’
words in Matthew 18:10, 14:

See that you do not look down on one of these little ones… [Y]our Father
in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost
(Matthew 18:10, 14).

Jesus built on this idea in Matthew 18:15-20, where he demanded that his followers
deal with each other as members of the family of God even when sin disrupted their
relationships. And in verses 21-35, he insisted that they forgive the sinning “brother” the
same way their heavenly Father had forgiven them.
God’s glory continues to increase in our own day, because God continues to do
many mighty works and to grow his kingdom on earth. But just as in Jesus’ day, this often
means that resistance to God is increasing as well. Thankfully, God gives us many precious
gifts to help us in our struggles with hardships and temptations. Among these gifts are
endurance and peace, and even his immediate presence with us. And one of the most special
gifts is our relationship to God as our Father. God cares for us and protects us, and he
understands and sympathizes with our weakness. And he also gives us a family of human
beings that can minister to us and love us — the church, our brothers and sisters in the
family of God.
The theme of the fifth major division of Matthew’s gospel is the present opposition
to the kingdom of heaven, and its future victory. This narrative extends from 19:1–22:46
and shows how Jesus faced great opposition at this point in his life.

PRESENT OPPOSITION AND FUTURE VICTORY (19:1–22:46)

These chapters divide into three main sections based on Jesus’ movement. In 19:1–
20:16, Jesus faced opposition in Judea.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Intensifying Opposition (19:1–20:16)

There he dealt with Pharisees and the question of divorce. He also dealt with
opposition that grew out of misunderstandings of riches and power.

Earlier in the gospel, Matthew had noted the beginning stage of the tensions
between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. In this section, he reported that full hostility had
developed. For instance, the Pharisees sometimes asked questions designed to trap Jesus,
as in Matthew 19:3-9; 21:16, 23; and 22:15-40. As just one example, listen to Matthew’s
report in Matthew 22:15:

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words
(Matthew 22:15).

At the same time, Jesus sometimes challenged the Jewish leaders. We see this in
the parables of the two sons, the tenant farmers, and the wedding banquet in 21:28–22:15.
But the conflict wasn’t always limited to verbal exchanges. Sometimes it was more direct
and forceful, as when Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers and drove them
out of the temple in Matthew 21:12-16. Especially biting were his words in the seven
cursing woes of 23:13-35. Listen to how Jesus rebuked them in Matthew 23:15:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel
over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you
make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15).

Of course, Jesus and the Jewish leaders were not the only characters in these

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

chapters. The hostility of the Jewish leaders was aggravated by the way the crowds still
honored Jesus on occasions such as the triumphal entry in 21:1-11.
Throughout this section Jesus encouraged his disciples to put this confrontation into
perspective. In Matthew 19:27-30, he promised that one day they would sit with him in
glory. But in 20:17-19, he also warned them that those glorious days would only come after
his own suffering death. Moreover, Jesus insisted that his disciples would reach glory only
after a life of humble suffering. Jesus drove home this point three different times. In
Matthew 19:30, Jesus said:

Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first
(Matthew 19:30).

Then in Matthew 20:16, he said:

The last will be first, and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16).

And he repeated this in Matthew 20:26-28, saying:

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many
(Matthew 20:26-28).

Jesus’ kingdom looked strange. His followers would suffer, and the King of Israel
himself would be killed by the people of Israel. Apparent defeat would come before
victory.
The next segment of intensifying opposition involves Jesus going to Jerusalem in
20:17-34. Jesus made it clear that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. He only
faced opposition from the mother of two disciples who sought authority for her sons in the
kingdom. Then, Jesus was welcomed by the crowds into Jerusalem as he fulfilled Old
Testament prophecy in his triumphal entry.
In the next segment, in 21:12–22:46, Jesus faced opposition as he moved in and out
of Jerusalem and the temple. He drove out money changers, told parables that warned about
God’s coming judgment. Moreover, Jesus and the religious leaders disputed theologically
over taxes to Caesar, the resurrection of the dead, the greatest commandment and the
question of whose son the Messiah was. But Jesus dealt with his opponents so well that we
read these words in Matthew 22:46:

No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask
him any more questions (Matthew 22:46).

Having surveyed Matthew’s narrative on the intensifying opposition to the

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

kingdom of heaven, we should now look at the discourse that accompanies it. This section
extends from Matthew 23:1–25:46. In this discourse, Jesus described the future victory of
the kingdom of heaven.

Future Victory (23:1–25:46)

This section begins with announcements of seven woes against Jesus’ opponents in
Matthew 23:1-38. This discourse focuses especially on the Pharisees, their false teachings,
their abuse of God’s people, and their hypocrisies. Near the end of this discourse, Jesus
summed up his feelings about Jerusalem in this way in Matthew 23:37-38:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look your
house is left to you desolate (Matthew 23:37-38).

The next section of Jesus’ discourse is often called the Olivet Discourse and it
appears in Matthew 24:1–25:46. It’s often called the Olivet Discourse, because Jesus spoke
these words to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. The Olivet Discourse can be divided
into three primary sections: In 24:4-28, Jesus described the birth pangs of this strange age
in which the kingdom of heaven had come to earth but had not yet been manifested in the
fullness of its glory and power. In 24:29-31, he spoke of the fullness of the kingdom,
foretelling the day when the Son of Man would come on the clouds, and the kingdom of
heaven would arrive in all of its power and glory. Then in 24:32–25:46, Jesus exhorted his
people to watch carefully for the coming day of glory because no one knows when it will
be.

Well, as far as when Jesus is going to return, he was very intentional to

make sure that we didn’t try to pinpoint that in some point in time any
more than we should. He said no one knows the day or the hour of his
return. Even he in his human nature didn’t know the time of his return.
So, for us to then speculate and think we can narrow it down is just
disobeying Jesus. But that’s not to say we shouldn’t anticipate, look
forward to, and even look for signs that his return is near. The main
purpose of teaching on the second coming of Christ in the New
Testament is primarily to sober us, to give us encouragement, to give
us hope, to lead us to holy living, and expectant return of Christ. And
so even though we don’t know the exact time, we should be ready, at
any moment for him to return, so that we can greet him eagerly and
joyfully.

— Dr. K. Erik Thoennes

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

We should have full confidence that he will be returning. We should

have full confidence that he is coming again, and he will culminate all
that he has begun. We should also be faithful. We should not be sort of
looking at, say, Acts 1 as Jesus departed, and they looked up into the
sky and the angel says, “What are you looking up in the sky for? You
should be about the business of taking the gospel to the nations.” He
will come back, but we should be busy carrying out the Great
Commission. We should be busy in the service of our King by taking to
the nations the announcement that the King has come. He is coming
again. Repent and believe the gospel. We should be discipling those who
enter into that kingdom who profess faith in Jesus Christ, growing
them up so they live to the glory of God, or conform to him. We should
be living for God's glory in every aspect of our lives with our constant
looking to his coming and saying with the church, in every age, “Come,
Lord Jesus.”

— Dr. Stephen J. Wellum

In this fifth major division of his gospel, Matthew reported that the Jewish leaders
rejected Jesus, and even planned to kill him. But Jesus made it clear that all the planning
in the world couldn’t stop the future triumph of the kingdom. And history proves that he
was right. The Jewish leaders did kill him. But his kingdom has continued to grow
throughout the ages. And one day, history will prove the last part right, too. Jesus will come
again, with power and great glory, to bring his kingdom in all its fullness, and to reward
his faithful people with the kingdom’s ultimate blessings.
The narrative conclusion to Matthew’s gospel runs from Matthew 26:1–28:20.
Here, Matthew describes the culmination of Jesus’ ministry as the messianic King in his
arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

CULMINATION OF JESUS’ MINISTRY (26:1–28:20)

As we explore the conclusion to Matthew’s gospel, we’ll focus on three themes that
involve Matthew’s kingdom focus: the themes of conflict, discipleship, and victory. Let’s
turn first to the theme of conflict.

Conflict

The kingdom that Jesus actually brought was very different from the kingdom that
the Jews expected the Messiah to bring, and this brought them into direct conflict with
Jesus and his kingdom. As we have seen, this conflict intensifies throughout Matthew’s
gospel, but it culminates in the narrative conclusion. For example, we see it in the Jews’
plot against Jesus in 26:3-4; in their engineering of his arrest and trial in 26:14-16, verse
47, and verses 57-68; and in their crying out for his crucifixion in 27:20-25. And it comes
to a head when the Jews themselves accept responsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion. Listen to
Matthew’s report in Matthew 27:25:

All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
(Matthew 27:25).

Then while Jesus suffered on the cross, the Jews mocked him, ridiculing his claim
to be the messianic King of Israel. As we read in Matthew 27:41-42:

The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He
saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel!”
(Matthew 27:41-42).

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Ironically, the Jews opposed Jesus on the grounds that he was an offense to God
and an imposter to the throne, while in reality they were rejecting the only king that had
the power to save them.
Besides the theme of conflict, the theme of discipleship also highlights the kingdom
emphasis of Matthew’s conclusion.

Discipleship

In particular, Matthew emphasized how difficult it was to follow a suffering

Messiah. He stressed this by reporting the failures of Jesus’ disciples at this crucial moment
of Jesus’ ministry. Judas betrayed him in Matthew 26:14-16 and verses 47-50, and he
committed suicide over this failure in 27:3-10. Peter, James, and John failed to keep watch
with him in Gethsemane in 26:36-46. And Peter repeatedly denied that he even knew Jesus
in 26:69-75. Finally, all of Jesus’ disciples deserted him in 26:56. The fact is that following
Jesus can be very difficult. We believe in a messianic King that suffered, and who has
called us to suffer as well. If we are faithful to him, the likelihood is that we will experience
hardship and suffering, too, and that we will be tempted to fall away. The kingdom of
heaven has not yet come in all of its fullness. And because of this, there are many aspects
of the Christian life that are not yet as they should be.
Having considered the themes of conflict and discipleship, we are ready to turn to
the theme of the victory of the kingdom.

Victory

The theme of victory appears clearly in Jesus’ resurrection, which was the proof
that the messianic King had conquered all of the enemies of his people, even death itself.
And we also see the theme of victory in Jesus’ last words before his ascension. Jesus’ final
words recorded in Matthew’s gospel are found in Matthew 28:18-20, and they are usually
called the Great Commission. They are the Lord’s final instructions to his disciples,
commissioning them to ministry in his absence. And it is noteworthy that these instructions
begin with Christ boldly claiming all kingdom authority. Listen to Jesus’ proclamation in
Matthew 28:18.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Mathew 28:18).

Now, Jesus is the only one who can claim all dominion, all power, with
legitimacy. And, by the way, his power is not destructive because it is
power and love. Power motivated by love. Power moderated by love.
See, if you have love alone, you have a nice sentiment, but maybe you
are helpless because you don’t have power to change anything. If you

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

have power alone without love you destroy, you kill, you hate. It’s the
divine genius that brings love and power together. “God so loved the
world that he sent his Son” … He is the only one that can legitimately
claim all power because he is the only one that walked on this planet
earth and never sinned, never lied, never deceived. He’s also the only
one who, after he was killed, dead, buried, came back. So, he’s the risen
Lord. It is the inauguration of a new era of human history. He’s
bringing hope to the nations. And so, the kingdom of God is at work in
very powerful ways, and that’s where world evangelization and
discipling the nations then is based on this, what I call, “the great
foundation.” You don’t have a great commission without the great
foundation. And then he caps it with a great promise, “And I will be
with you to the very end of the ages.” So, Jesus the Lord, Jesus the King,
is the ruler who has all power, and so we go, we disciple, we teach, we
proclaim his rule in his power.

— Dr. Peter Kuzmič

All authority belonged to the king who conquered. The Jews rejected him; the
Romans crucified him; and they all mocked him. But the grave could not hold him, and the
resurrection was the great victory of the messianic King. Through him, the kingdom of
heaven had come to earth. And that is the good news of the Gospel According to Matthew.
Now that we’ve explored the background of the Gospel According to Matthew, as
well as its structure and content, we’re ready to consider some major themes that Matthew
emphasized.

MAJOR THEMES
In this section of our lesson, we’ll turn our attention to two prominent themes that
Matthew emphasized throughout his gospel: the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom
and gospel, and the people of God for whom Jesus was bringing the kingdom. Let’s start
with Matthew’s emphasis on the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom and gospel.

OLD TESTAMENT HERITAGE

Matthew’s gospel is actually a fascinating account of how significant it
is that the Old Testament anticipated the coming of Jesus Christ…
Jesus comes onto the scene, and he is Israel incarnate. He goes down to
Egypt. He is forced out into the wilderness where he’s tempted. He goes
onto a mountain and he begins to deliver the Law again. All of these

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

images of the new Moses, or Israel incarnate, find their source and their
scope back in the Old Testament. Because when Israel was called, when
Israel was elected by God, her election was never just a privilege to be
enjoyed. It was a responsibility to be performed, to be a blessing to the
nations. And yet, because of Israel’s long and rather dramatic history
of sin, she could never be for herself or for the nations what she was
called to be. And so, here you have Jesus as the Son of God, as Israel
incarnate, who shows up onto the scene, and he is for Israel what Israel
couldn’t be for herself or for the nations… And I think that gives us a
more textured, a deeper reading, on how the Old Testament anticipates
Jesus, rather than finding him in a verse here or there. It’s the whole
history of Israel. It’s the election of Israel. It’s the whole failure of Israel
that anticipates the coming of Jesus, and Matthew picks up on that,
especially in his first five or six chapters.

— Dr. Mark Gignilliat

Above all else, the story of the Bible is about God binding himself to his people
with unbreakable cords of love. It’s the story of his faithfulness in keeping his promise to
be with them in blessing. This is why Matthew told his generation of God’s people that
they could still trust the ancient promises and that they could still believe that God was
working in their own day in the person of Jesus. And it’s why Matthew felt so confident
continually drawing on the Old Testament in
order to support the claims and ministry of the
messianic King, Jesus Christ
We’ll briefly survey five ways that
Matthew demonstrates the Old Testament
heritage of Jesus’ kingdom and gospel:
Matthew’s Old Testament quotations and
allusions, his emphasis on the kingdom of
heaven, his description of Jesus as the
messianic King, Jesus’ conflict with
unbelieving Jewish leaders, and Jesus’
humility and gentleness. Let’s begin with
Matthew drew on the Old Testament Matthew’s Old Testament quotations and
to support Jesus’ claims and ministry. allusions.

Quotations and Allusions

Matthew quoted the Old Testament far more often than any other gospel writer.
Scholars debate the exact number of times Matthew quoted the Old Testament, but
certainly he did so at least 40 times, and he alluded to it many other times. One strategy
Matthew commonly used employed the phrase, “in order that it might be fulfilled.”
Matthew used this phrase to make explicit connections between the Old Testament and

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

events in Jesus’ life. For example, listen to what Matthew wrote in Matthew 8:17:

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up
our infirmities and carried our diseases” (Matthew 8:17).

Immediately before this Old Testament quotation, Matthew had reported many of
Jesus’ healings. But he didn’t just want his readers to see Jesus as a healer. Rather, he
wanted them to know that Jesus healed people in fulfillment of Old Testament promises.

What was important from Matthew’s point of view, and I would say
should be from our point of view, is that in Jesus was the manifestation
of the coming kingdom of God that people had been longing for, had
been waiting for. So, they weren’t necessarily looking for a Messiah to
fulfill a pinpoint prediction on a historical map, but they were longing
for freedom, for release, for restoration, for salvation. And the Old
Testament taught them that when the kingdom of God came, it would
be announced by a particular person, the Messiah, and that at that
announcement, God’s reign would begin, and all the restoration and
salvation and the blessings that the Old Testament promised would
begin to come into fruition. And so, the apostles in general, and
Matthew in particular, didn’t simply sit with a chart on their lap
waiting to see who fulfilled all of these predictions, but they saw a
person in whose works and in whose teaching, and whose character,
and everything about him, manifested the kingdom of God. In fact, the
kingdom of God was in Jesus, not just announced by him, and he
brought that kingdom. And so, out of that experience of the power and
the teaching and the working of Jesus, the apostles — Matthew
included — went back to their Old Testaments to see how Jesus had
been anticipated by the Old Testament. And when they read their Old
Testaments from the standpoint of experiencing Jesus, they found that
the Old Testament Scriptures had, in fact, witnessed to him and him
specifically… So, as we read the Old Testament, we don’t just read it
with a jeweler’s magnifying glass on our eye, but we read it looking for
an encounter with Christ himself, who is the chief subject of the Gospels
as he comes as the witness and as the embodiment of the kingdom of
God.

— Rev. Michael J. Glodo

The second way Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus’ Old Testament heritage can be seen
is in his emphasis on the kingdom of heaven.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Kingdom of Heaven

In the Old Testament, God had promised that he would bless his people; and that
his blessing would come through a royal Son of David. Matthew announced that God’s
kingdom blessing in Jesus was the fulfillment of those ancient promises. And in Matthew’s
gospel, Jesus himself commonly reminds people of this fact. He regularly teaches that God
is faithful to his Old Testament kingdom promises. This is how Jesus was able to present
his kingdom as good news, even though it entailed suffering, and even though he didn’t do
everything the Old Testament prophesied. Jesus insisted that his people trust God’s Word
in the Old Testament enough to believe that Jesus would eventually return to finish
everything he had started — that he would eventually return to fulfill everything that God
had promised.
In fact, this confidence in the Old Testament picture of the kingdom of heaven is
the basis on which Jesus regularly called his followers to submit to and trust the Old
Testament. It is the basis on which he instructed them to love and serve one another, as
fellow citizens of God’s kingdom. The knowledge that the God of heaven and earth is in
control of all history and is faithful to his promises should motivate his people in every age
— including ours — to trust that his promises in Christ are still good. They should inspire
us to believe that one day God really will make everything new and right. And they should
give us strength and endurance as we wait patiently for God to bring his kingdom in all its
fullness.
A third way Matthew emphasized the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom
and gospel was by insisting that Jesus was the expected messianic King.

Messianic King
We mentioned this idea earlier in this lesson when we discussed the genealogy of
Jesus. It’s also seen in the fact that Matthew called Jesus “Son of David” more frequently
than all the other gospel writers combined. Matthew also used many other royal titles for
Jesus, including King of the Jews, King of Israel, your King, and simply King. Moreover,
some of the verses in which Matthew uses royal titles for Jesus don’t appear in any other
gospel. For example, in Matthew 2:2, Matthew reported this question from the wise men:

Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2).

No other gospel includes this verse, or this great an emphasis on Jesus’ messianic
kingship.
The fourth emphasis on the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom and gospel
that we will mention is Jesus’ conflict with unbelieving Jewish leaders.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Unbelieving Jewish Leaders

Matthew’s early readers might have been tempted to think that Jesus’ conflict with
many of the leaders in Israel proved that Jesus wasn’t the messiah. To make sure they didn’t
get this impression, Matthew made it clear that God was keeping his promises through
Jesus despite the faithlessness of the Jewish leaders. Time after time, Jesus rejected the
teachings of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. He corrected their views on fasting
in Matthew 9:14-17, on the Sabbath in 12:1-13, and on hand washing in 15:1-20. And most
of the Sermon on the Mount — especially 5:17-48 — contrasts the Jewish view of the law
of God with Jesus’ fulfillment of that law.

Well, sometimes people have wondered when Jesus said the words,
“You have heard it was said … but I say to you…” in the Sermon on
the Mount, to be Jesus actually contradicting what was said in the Old
Testament. But I think what’s the most obvious way of reading that is
that Jesus was refuting some of the ways in which the Old Testament
Law — that God did say — had been interpreted by various scribes
and teachers down the ages. And what Jesus is doing is setting himself
up as the one who is rightly able to interpret God’s law and to take what
was written in God’s law and apply it to his hearers in that day.

— Rev. Dr. Simon Vibert

When Jesus speaks in the Sermon on the Mount using this phrase, “You
have heard it said … but I say to you…” he was not saying that the Old
Testament Law is now being nullified. In fact, he says quite the opposite
very explicitly, that “I have come to fulfill the Law.” But what Jesus is
doing is he is using a well-known rabbinic technique that teachers of
the Law would use to talk about their own teaching authority. “You’ve
heard different people in the tradition say these things about the
teachings of the Law, but I say to you…” And that comes with a present
authority, with an additional authority. And so, Jesus is establishing his
teaching authority with this well-known teaching technique. Not to
discount the Old Testament Law, but to say something very important
theologically and Christologically, that “it’s important to interpret the
Old Testament Law in relation to me and to my teaching of the Law.”

— Dr. Gregory R. Perry

No, Jesus was not contradicting the Old Testament. But one of the
themes we see in the Gospel of Matthew is that Jesus is the new Moses,

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

and that he is superior to Moses. So, we have the Old Testament

revelation given through Moses, which is the authoritative word of
God, but Jesus stands as the sovereign interpreter of the Law. So much
of what we see in the Sermon on the Mount represents an accurate
interpretation of what Moses meant. So, Jesus has not abolished the
command, “Do not murder.” He simply explains to us that murder
begins in the heart with anger. Remember how that section begins,
Jesus says, “I did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it,” which I
think means to rightly interpret the Law… But I think what Jesus is
arguing there is, he actually fulfills the true intention of the Law. The
Law must be interpreted in light of Jesus Christ’s coming and his death
and resurrection and his ministry. But when we understand him in that
way, Jesus does not abolish the Old Testament Law, but he fulfills it.

— Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner

Jesus really did fulfill the Old Testament’s messianic expectations. But many Jews
rejected him because their own expectations were not fully in line with the Old Testament.
And their misunderstandings are a caution to everyone who tries to follow Jesus. They
warn us that it’s easy to let our own ideas of what God’s work looks like cloud our vision.
They warn us not to place artificial limits on what God can do, but to let him define our
hopes and expectations.
The fifth way Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus’ Old Testament heritage is evident is
in his description of Jesus’ humility and gentleness.

Humility and Gentleness

The Jews of Jesus’ day correctly understood that, according to the Old Testament,
God would send his mighty warrior to deliver his people. But Matthew stressed that the
mighty deliverance of God was rooted in his gentle compassion for his people. And he
made this point by drawing on the Old Testament. For instance, in Matthew 11:29, Jesus
invited the heavily burdened with these words:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29).

Here, Jesus quoted Jeremiah 6:16 to prove that the Messiah would provide rest for
his people. Similarly, in Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew reported Jesus’ compassionate
healing ministry, and quoted Isaiah 42:1-4 to explain what Jesus was doing. Listen to the
description of Jesus in Matthew 12:19-20:

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A
bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out
(Matthew 12:19-20).

Jesus was not the harsh militaristic king many Jews were looking for to lead them
in battle against Rome. Instead, he was gentle and compassionate.
In keeping with the Old Testament, Matthew portrayed Jesus as the conquering
King and the authoritative teacher of God’s people. At the same time, Matthew stressed
that Jesus was the humble, compassionate King. The call to follow Jesus in our own lives
and ministries challenges us to speak the truth with the same kind of compassion that Jesus
modeled.
Matthew stressed the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom and gospel in many
different ways. At the same time, he made it clear that Jesus fulfilled all the ancient
expectations in a way that transcended average expectations. But the good news — the
gospel — was that he did fulfill them. The kingdom, the Law, and especially the King
himself were all fulfilled as Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven to earth.
Having looked at the Old Testament heritage of Jesus’ kingdom and gospel, we’re
ready to consider the theme of the people of God.

PEOPLE OF GOD

In the Gospel of Matthew, just as in the rest of the Bible, the people of God are the
ones that belong to God, the ones that he keeps as a prized possession, and the special
nation that he rules over as king. And they are not just in relationship directly with God;
they are also in a close relationship with everyone else that belongs to him.
We’ll explore the theme of the people of God in three parts. First, we’ll see that
Matthew identifies the people of God as the church. Second, we’ll see that he also calls
them the “family of God.” And third, we’ll consider the calling the people of God have
received from Jesus. Let’s begin with the idea that the church is the people of God.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Church

In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s people. But in the New Testament, God’s
people are most commonly called “the church.” Our modern term for “church” translates
the Greek word ekklesia in Matthew. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old
Testament, ekklesia is a translation of the Hebrew word qahal, which the Hebrew Old
Testament typically used to refer to the “assembly” or congregation of the people of Israel.

assembly church

Both Jesus and Matthew saw the Christian church as

the continuation of the assembly of Israel.
This shift in vocabulary — from the “assembly” of Israel to the Christian “church” —
demonstrates that both Jesus and Matthew saw the Christian church as the continuation of
the assembly of Israel.
Consider the use of the Hebrew word qahal, or “assembly,” in the Old Testament.
The people of Israel are identified as the “assembly” in Leviticus 16:33; Numbers 16:47;
Judges 20:2; and Psalm 22:22. In fact, the assembly of God’s people was so important in
the Old Testament that it was one of the names the prophet Joel used to identify Israel when
he foretold that God’s people would be restored in the last days. In Joel 2:16, he
proclaimed:

Gather the people, consecrate the assembly (Joel 2:16).

In the Hebrew original of this verse, the word translated “assembly” is qahal. But

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, the word is ekklesia — the word commonly
translated “church” in the New Testament. Matthew used this same language when he
reported these words from Jesus in Matthew 16:18:

I will build my church (Matthew 16:18).

Here Jesus echoed Joel’s prophecy when he said that he would build his church,
meaning his qahal or his messianic assembly of the last days.

Jesus does say in Matthew’s gospel that he will build his church. I think
a good starting point is remembering that the word for church in the
Greek New Testament, ekklesia, is really the Greek term used to convey
the Old Testament idea of the assembly of God’s people, the qahal, so
that the New Testament church is in continuity with the Old Testament
assembly, the assembly of God’s people.
— Rev. Michael J. Glodo

We’ve already seen that the events of Matthew 16 took place at a time of growing
resistance to Jesus’ claim to be the messianic King. And this resistance is one of the reasons
Jesus encouraged his disciples with a reference to the assembly of Israel — he wanted them
to have confidence in his plan to build his messianic assembly, or church.
Jesus’ words also made it clear that the church belonged to him. It didn’t belong to
Peter. It didn’t belong to Israel. It wasn’t a democratic institution owned by its members.
It was the Messiah’s church — a point Matthew had already made in the introduction to
his gospel when he reported the angel’s words to Joseph. Listen to Matthew’s record
in 1:21:
You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from
their sins (Matthew 1:21).

In this verse, before Jesus was even born, the angel assured Joseph that the child in
Mary’s womb was the Messiah to whom the entire people of God belonged. He was their
king, and they were his people.

So we’re not just followers of Jesus individually, but we are the

embodiment of this new creation that Jesus has brought in by his
resurrection from the dead and by his giving of the Spirit to us as his
new temple, so that we are the presence of the kingdom of God in the
church where people can find mercy and forgiveness, and they can find
provision when they lack, and they can find companionship when they
are lonely. So, the church really is a foretaste of the new heavens and
earth, which will one day be visible throughout the whole creation.

— Rev. Michael J. Glodo

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

When God’s people are under pressure, when the events of life threaten to drag
them down, when the darkness hanging around them can almost be felt, Jesus says, “I will
build my church. I will build my messianic assembly.” He assures us that he is our king,
that he has our best interests in mind, and that he will certainly rescue and bless us in the
end. It may not happen in this life. But it will happen. Of that we can be certain.
In addition to describing the people of God as the church, Matthew also identified
them as the family of God.

Family of God

The Gospel of Matthew uses familial language like “father,” “son,” and “brother”
over 150 times to describe the relationship of God’s people to himself and to each other.
The only other gospel writer to use familial language so frequently was John. But when
John used it, he was typically talking about the relationship between Jesus and his heavenly
Father.
In contrast, when Matthew used it he was talking about the relationship between
God and his people — he was talking about the family of God. And primarily, Matthew
used this vocabulary to emphasize the care and protection that God shows for his children.
For example, in Matthew 6:4, Jesus spoke of God’s care for his people in this way:

Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:4).

And he used this same language again in verse 6, and yet again in verse 18. His
point was that God was concerned with his children and intent on encouraging and
providing for them. And when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he prefaced his
instructions in Matthew 6:8 by telling them:

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him (Matthew 6:8).

We can be confident that God will bless us, and that he will hear our prayers,
because we know that he is our loving Father.

My teaching area is spiritual formation, and one of the things I say

about the Lord’s Prayer is that we start prayer by the recognition that
at any given moment there could be millions of other people who are
praying at the same time. One of the reasons we call God “God,” is that
God can take each one of those prayers and can deal with them as if
they were the only one that was vying for his attention in that moment.
But that brings us into a holy fellowship, part of that kingdom of heaven
personnel. Then right after that, of course, is the word “Father.” So
that no matter who I am or where I am in that prayer, I’m moving

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

toward God as Abba, moving toward God as Father. And if a person in

Poland is calling God “Father” and I’m calling God “Father” in the
United States, then that means we’re brothers and sisters. If we have
the same father, then we’re members of the same family. So, I think
Matthew gets at this in a powerful way with the concept of the kingdom
of heaven, which he uses over and over again. But it’s the life of prayer
that draws us into the realization that in the moment that I’m praying,
I’m praying with other people who are saying the same thing that I am,
but when they’re saying what I’m saying, it means we’re family.

— Dr. Steve Harper

There is nothing more encouraging than to think about the fact that
God has adopted us into his family. It’s a great thing to be forgiven, but
as J. I. Packer says in his book Knowing God, it is also a great thing to
be justified, but it is an even greater thing to be adopted into God’s
family. To have God as our father, really, is the pinnacle of God’s work
in our lives. We’re not just forgiven by the judge, we’re adopted into
God’s family, and he’s our Father, and we’re his children. And, so then,
we are co-heirs with Christ. Everything that’s coming to Jesus, which
is all things, becomes ours. That’s our inheritance as well. There was a
time when we were just children of wrath, when our inheritance was
the wrath of God. And rather than wrath, we now are co-heirs with
Christ. We are partakers of the divine nature and we are actually called
brothers with Christ because we have sonship in him. We’ve traded in
our filthy rags of unrighteousness for Christ’s righteousness. But in
that we then become children of God, invited into his family. And that
is the greatest blessing we could ever imagine.

— Dr. K. Erik Thoennes

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus used two different examples to assure God’s children of
his care. He talked about the “birds of the air” and “the lilies of the field,” pointing out that
God cares for the needs of the smallest members of his creation. And his point was that if
God cares even for these small things, then he will certainly care far more for his people.
Our heavenly Father will provide even better food, clothing and protection for us.
Jesus also emphasized God’s fatherly care and protection when he warned his
disciples of the great difficulties of ministry. For instance, in 10:19-20, Jesus told them that
they would be arrested. But he also told them that the Father’s Spirit would be with them.
And he reminded them that when their lives were in danger because of their ministry, their
Father would protect them. Listen to Jesus’ encouraging words in Matthew 10:29-31:

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from the will of your Father... So don’t be afraid; you are worth
more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31).

For many believers, life is very difficult being a Christian. Many parts
of the world are under persecution. And the great joy of their life is that
they are part of the body, and they can identify themselves as the people
of God. The Scripture tells us that God is our Father. We have the
tremendous privilege, as Romans 8 tells us, of being able to call upon
God as Abba… We also have the fact that God is constantly caring for
us … and we also see that God gives the members of his family a love…
And so, for the believer, the heart of his life is this encouragement that
comes through Christ because God is now our Father.

— Dr. Jeff Lowman

Having considered the people of God as both the church and the family of God, we
are ready to consider the calling of the people of God.

Calling

The people of God are greatly privileged to be his church and his family. But our
calling as his people also includes hardship, danger, and suffering. Jesus himself is our
suffering messianic King. And as we follow him, we suffer too. For instance, in
Matthew 10:34-36, Jesus said that our calling is characterized by strife. Listen to what he
said there:

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come
to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-
in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household”
(Matthew 10:34-36).

And in Matthew 16:24-25, he put it this way:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for me will find it (Matthew 16:24-25).

Jesus knew that his people would be rejected just like he was rejected. For our King,
suffering is the path to glory. And the same is true for us.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

On the cross people may have thought that he was losing a battle, and
even in the grave they thought that he was counted out, but they forgot
about the third day morning. Jesus said that “you tear this body down,
in three days I’ll rise again.” And so, when we think about how the
church has been ostracized, criticized, maligned on every corner, we do
understand that this same church that Jesus put forth into action is the
same church that is working today. Look how much it has sustained
and how much it has gone through, yet it is still there. And let me go a
little step further. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word that became
flesh — they couldn’t kill him then, they can’t kill him now. So, we are
part of… we are the church that is his church, and he will not allow
anything, not even the very gates of hell to prevail and stop his mission.
This church has a mission, and it is to go into all the world to bring and
make disciples of those that are lost. And what a joy that is, and you
and I can have a great security and have a really resurrected moment
even now, knowing that the church will be sustained.

— Dr. Willie Wells, Jr.

Jesus promises to end the suffering of his people, to give us rest from our hardship,
to establish peace for us, and to bless us immeasurably — but not yet. Until he returns to
make all things new, our calling is to follow in the footsteps of our suffering King.

Jesus told us that he came in order that we might have life and have it
more abundantly. But, you know, in this life, after we come to know the
Lord Jesus Christ, we still experience suffering, pain, illness; we still
die. We still have frustrations and ambitions. We still experience
irritations and, for that matter, griefs. You know, a part of what we
need to recognize here is that evidently a part of what it means to
receive this abundant life is to have Christ in the midst of these things.
We will come to know things in our Christian life we would not know
if we were never irritated or frustrated. We would never know if we did
not experience grief as well as exhilaration and joy. I think there’s
something more here that’s really important. Jesus said, “I came that
you might have life, and that you might have life that is abundant.” But,
you know, we are yearning for something. A part of what it means to
be “in Christ” is to yearn for the fullness that he’s going to bring.
There’s a day coming when Christ is coming for his church. There’s a
day coming when Christ will reign over all things in a way that is visible
to all. There’s coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
There’s coming a day when every eye will be dry, and every tear will
be wiped away. A part of what it means right now, for us to have the

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

abundant life in Christ is for us to rest in Christ, experiencing all the

joys and travails that come into a life in this fallen world while yearning
for that which we know is coming. The abundant life means trusting
Christ until he comes.

— Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

CONCLUSION
In this study of the Gospel According to Matthew, we have explored its background
in terms of its authorship, original audience and occasion; we have surveyed its structure
and content, and we have considered the major themes of its Old Testament heritage and
its emphasis on the people of God.
Matthew’s gospel proclaims the good news that the Old Testament promises of the
kingdom of heaven have been fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus the messianic King.
And the good news is that Jesus established and continues to build his kingdom for us and
through us. But this good news is not always easy. As we have seen, Matthew described
our calling to follow the suffering messianic King in radical terms. But he also described
the blessings of the heavenly Father in radical terms — blessings that enable us to follow
our King faithfully, and to persevere through our own suffering, until the kingdom of
heaven comes to earth in its full glory.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Pete Alwinson (Host) is the Executive Director of FORGE: City Wide Ministry to
Men with Man in the Mirror. He is also the founding pastor of Willow Creek Presbyterian
Church (PCA) in Winter Springs, FL, where he served as Senior Pastor for 26 years.
Dr. Alwinson received his [Link]. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and his
[Link]. from Reformed Theological Seminary. He is an Adjunct Professor at Reformed
Theological Seminary, a Board Member of Key Life Network, and the author of Like
Father, Like Son: How Knowing God as Father Changes Men.

Dr. David R. Bauer is Dean of the School of Biblical Interpretation and the Ralph Waldo
Beeson Professor of Inductive Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Dr. Stephen Chan is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle
University.

Dr. Steven Cowan is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lincoln Memorial

University and is on staff with the Apologetics Resource Center, having served previously
as Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Birmingham Theological
Seminary.

Dr. Mark Gignilliat is Associate Professor of Divinity in Old Testament at Beeson

Divinity School.

Rev. Michael J. Glodo is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Reformed

Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. James M. Hamilton is Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern

Baptist Theological Seminary and Preaching Pastor of Kenwood Baptist Church.

Dr. Steve Harper is the founding Vice President of the Florida-Dunnam campus of Asbury
Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL, and retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and
Wesley Studies.

Dr. Peter Kuzmič is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of World
Missions and European Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the co-
founder and director of Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.

Dr. Jeff Lowman is Senior Pastor at Evangel Church PCA in Alabaster, Alabama and
Professor of Homiletics and Systematic Theology at Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Dr. Jim Maples is Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Leadership program at
Birmingham Theological Seminary.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Dr. John E. McKinley is Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Talbot
School of Theology.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Jonathan T. Pennington is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation and

the Director of Research Doctoral Studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Gregory R. Perry is Vice President for Strategic Projects at Third Millennium
Ministries and President of Thirdmill Seminary. He served previously as Associate
Professor of New Testament and the Director of City Ministry Initiative at Covenant
Theological Seminary.

Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament
Interpretation and Associate Dean of Scripture and Interpretation at The Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary.

Dr. Mark L. Strauss is Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, San Diego.

Dr. K. Erik Thoennes is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Biola

University’s Talbot School of Theology.

Rev. Dr. Simon Vibert is Vicar of Christ Church Virginia Water in Surrey, England, and
the former Vice Principal and Director of the School of Preaching at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

Dr. Peter Walker has served as Professor of Biblical Studies at Trinity School for Ministry
and as Associate Vice-Principal at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is currently an instructor with
Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies.

Dr. Willie Wells, Jr. is Pastor at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Fairfield, Alabama and
a professor at Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Dr. Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist

Theological Seminary.

Dr. Ben Witherington III is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at
Asbury Theological Seminary.

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

GLOSSARY
Beelzebub – Also known as Beelzebul; “the Luke – Author of the third gospel and the
prince of demons”; another name for Satan book of Acts; a Gentile convert to
Christianity and one of Paul's co-workers;
ecclesia/ekklesia – Greek term (transliteration) believed to have been a physician
for "assembly," "people of God," "church"
Mark – Also known as John Mark; author of
Eusebius – (A.D. 263-340) Early Christian the Gospel of Mark and cousin of Barnabas;
historian who wrote Ecclesiastical History accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first
missionary journey
Ignatius – (ca. A.D. 50-108) Church father
and third Bishop of Antioch who wrote a Matthew – One of the twelve apostles and
series of letters to early Christians addressing author of the Gospel of Matthew; a tax
a number of important theological topics collector when Jesus called him; also known
as Levi
Irenaeus – (ca. A.D. 130-202) Second-
century bishop and early Christian writer Messiah – Hebrew word meaning "anointed
who wrote Against Heresies in which he one"; the great King from David’s royal line
refuted Gnosticism and affirmed the validity who would bring about the transition from
of the four gospels this age to the age to come; translated
"Christos" in Greek
John – Son of Zebedee and brother of James;
one of the twelve apostles; author of the Papias – (ca. A.D. 70-163) Early Christian
gospel of John; 1, 2, 3 John; and the book of writer and Bishop of Hierapolis; quoted by
Revelation; sometimes called "the disciple Eusebius in regard to who wrote the Gospels
Jesus loved"
parable – A short allegorical story used to
John the Baptist – New Testament prophet teach a moral or spiritual lesson
who called for true repentance and
proclaimed that the arrival of God's kingdom Pharisees – Jewish religious sect from the
was near; identified Jesus as the Messiah and first century known for their strict observance
prepared the way for Jesus’ public ministry of the Law; believed in the future
resurrection, but also believed that God
Joseph (the carpenter) – Husband of Mary would not intervene until Israel became
(the mother of Jesus) and a descendant of obedient to the Law
King David
qahal – Hebrew term (transliteration)
kingdom of heaven – Phrase used only by meaning "assembly" or "congregation"
Matthew to refer to the kingdom of God
Sadducees – Jewish sect at the time of Christ
Levi – The apostle Matthew's other name; tax that only adhered to the five books written by
collector who became an apostle; also, a tribe Moses (Genesis–Deuteronomy) and did not
of Israel that served as priests believe in angels, spirits, or the resurrection
of the dead

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The Gospels Lesson 2: The Gospel According to Matthew

Son of David – Messianic title that referred Syrian Antioch – Capital of the Roman
to David’s long-awaited, righteous province of Syria located in what is now
descendant who would save God’s people; modern-day Turkey; Paul’s starting point for
frequently applied to Jesus in the New his missionary journeys; city where Jesus’
Testament (especially in Matthew) followers were first called Christians

synoptic – Term meaning "seen together"; Tertullian – (ca. A.D. 155-230) Early
used when referring to the gospels of Christian writer and church father from
Matthew, Mark and Luke because of their Carthage who wrote Against Marcion and
similarities popularized the Latin terminology used to
discuss the Trinity

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 New Testament Foundations – Module Two – The Gospel of Matthew
Discussion Questions

1. What was the most significant thing you learned in the lesson or something in the lesson you
didn’t quite understand?

2. According to Matthew, how do we know that Jesus is the messianic King?

3. What was the good news that Jesus preached about the kingdom?

4. How did Jesus spread the kingdom?

5. What were some specific signs Jesus performed, and what were the reactions to these signs?

6. According to Matthew, what does it mean to be a faithful disciple?

7. Why did Matthew emphasize that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament messianic prophecies and
expectations?

8. What are some specific ways you can demonstrate humility in your present circumstances?

9. How can you demonstrate heartfelt obedience to Jesus in your life today?

10. What benefits have you seen and experienced from your practice of regularly repenting of
and confessing your sins?

11. What are some specific ways you can demonstrate love to Christians and non-Christians?

12. How should it make us feel, knowing that the church belongs to Jesus?

13. What encouragement should we gain from the fact that we are part of the family of God?
REVIEW STATEMENT on MAJOR THEMES – OLD TESTAMENT HERITAGE –
UNBELIEVING JEWISH LEADERS: Many Jewish leaders rejected Jesus because he didn't
fit their expectation, which had drifted from those of the Old Testament. This misunderstanding
provides a caution to everyone who tries to follow Jesus. Their experience warns us that it's easy
to let our own ideas of what God's work looks like cloud our vision. It warns us not to place
artificial limits on what God can do, but to let him define our hopes and expectations. Jesus knew
that his people would be rejected just like he was rejected. For our King, suffering is the path to
glory. And the same is true for us.

CASE STUDY: In 1967 Joni Eareckson Tada was in a diving accident that left her a
quadriplegic at the age of 17. She struggled with finding meaning in her life. Her hopes and
dreams had been dashed. But the Lord was faithful to her. He has given her an amazing
worldwide ministry and someday she will also have a new body.

Reflection Questions
1. Have you ever had your hopes and dreams dashed? If so, elaborate. How did you react?
2. Do you know of someone else whose hopes and dreams have been dashed? If so, how did
they react?

Action Assignments
 When things don't go your way, don't insist that God must do things according to your
assumptions of what is good and right and helpful. Don't become discouraged and turn away
in bitterness or anger or hopelessness. Trust him, not primarily because of the good things he
gives you (because we do suffer) but because of who he is, what he has done by rescuing you
through Jesus' death and resurrection, and what he promises to do.
 Keep a journal for two weeks. Write down your disappointments, how you reacted to them,
and how (hopefully) you put your faith to work to press on as God's kingdom agent.