22/02/2016
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
The Book of Matthew is the first Book of the four Gospel writing in the New Testament or the Bible, yet there is only one Gospel about JESUS CHRIST and there are four different writers; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news and the good news is about JESUS CHRIST dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel. The name of Matthew or Matthai, signifies a gift or a thing given and this was not an unsuitable name for this Evangelist, for he might be truly said to be given to CHRIST and thus the LORD JESUS speaks of HIS people, to whom HE manifested HIS FATHER'S Name, that they were the men whom HE had given HIM out of the world. Of such, JESUS said, that all whom the FATHER had given HIM, must come to HIM and him that came, HE would in no wise cast out, John 17:6; John 17:9, John 6:37. However, in the second century A.D., the Gospel of Matthew was placed at the very beginning of the New Testament. It was believed to be the first Gospel written, though we now know that the Gospel of Mark dates earlier, because it is the Gospel most intensely concerned with issues related to Judaism, it provides an appropriate transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament in the Christian Bible. Matthew became the most important of all Gospel texts for first-and second-century Christians, because it contains all the elements important to the early Church; the story about CHRIST'S miraculous conception; an explanation of the importance of liturgy, law, discipleship; teaching and an account of CHRIST'S life and death. The Gospel of Matthew has long been considered the most important of the four Gospels. Concerning authorship, early Christian writings and traditions have attributed the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew to the Apostle Matthew. Many scholars question whether or not Matthew was the true author of the first Gospel, but there is no way at this current time to be absolutely positive based on historical evidence. Most agree that Matthew was the author; the Bible reveals that Matthew or Levi, as he was sometimes called by Mark and Luke, collected taxes for the Romans. One day JESUS passed by and called Matthew to come and follow HIM; and Matthew did so. The Bible also records that Matthew held a banquet at his house with several of his tax collector friends and JESUS being invited to the banquet was the guest of honour, Mark 2:14-15. The Bible also provides a list of the 12 Apostles and Matthew was named among them.
Thus this Book is known as the Gospel of Matthew, because it was written by the apostle of the same name. The style of the Book is exactly what would be expected of a man who was once a tax collector, Matthew has a keen interest in accounting, Matt.18:23-24; Matt.25:14-15. The Gospel of Matthew is very orderly and concise, rather than write in chronological order, Matthew arranges this Gospel through six discussions. As a tax collector, Matthew possessed a skill that makes his writing all the more exciting for Christians. Tax collectors were expected to be able to write in a form of shorthand, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person's words as they spoke, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew are not only inspired by the HOLY SPIRIT, but should represent an actual transcript of some of CHRIST'S sermons. For example, the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Chapters 5 to 7, is almost certainly a perfect recording of that great message. Concerning the date of writing the Book, there is no way to determine with absolute certainty the date that the Book of Matthew was written. Most scholars agree that the Book of Matthew was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., this is because JESUS spoke of many events as though they had not happened yet. A large number of scholars do not believe in the miracle of prophecy and therefore insist that the Gospel of Matthew was written after the fall of Jerusalem because of the accuracy of the predicted events. Therefore as an apostle, Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew in the early period of the Church, probably in A.D. 55-65. This was a time when most Christians were Jewish converts, so Matthew's focus on Jewish perspective in this Gospel is understandable.
When reading the book of Matthew it becomes clear that the writer was speaking to a Jewish audience. One of the obvious reasons is that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is mentioned over 30 times and never the Kingdom of GOD. This is because the Jews do not speak the name of GOD and this could be the very reason that Matthew used this phrase. There are many times while reading the Book that an event happens and a prophecy is cited. The event is mentioned as the direct fulfillment of a promise made to the Jews by one of their Jewish prophets and the fulfillment of the prophecy was happening before their very eyes. It is clear that the audience of people are the Jews, they were awaiting their King and Matthew records that the King had come and they rejected their King. Nevertheless, there are many references among the Books in the history of the early Church that state that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written by Matthew in the biblical Hebrew language and he was writing to an audience of Jews throughout the world who had become followers of JESUS CHRIST. Unfortunately there is no evidence whatsoever of a Hebrew or Aramaic manuscript, so many scholars have agreed that the Gospel of Matthew is not actually a translation from Hebrew into Greek, but was actually written in Greek. The whole subject of the Gospel of Matthew being written in Hebrew must remain speculation rather than fact. The Name JESUS is "Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text, in Hebrew alphabet, there is no "J" and this is how the Name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents; the four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Thus JESUS is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or YAHWEH is Salvation". There are some important notes to take note of in the Book of Matthew, Matthew mentions four women in his genealogy which is not typical for Jewish genealogical records; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheeba who were all associated with some sort of immorality. Tamar (in**st), Rahab (harlotry), Ruth (a descendant of Moab who committed in**st) and Bathsheba (adultery). CHRIST'S greatness was in Himself not HIS genealogy. Also there are many intimations for the word "King" in Matthew if one takes the time to look; for example in Chapter one there is a royal genealogy mentioning king David at the start. Chapter two reveals the kingly gifts of the Magi; Chapter three calls John the Baptist a "herald" which is a cultural term that represents a herald for a king. Etc. We also notice that, there are similarities with the number four, the four colors in the veil of the Temple were purple, scarlet, white and blue. The four faces of the cherubim are the lion, ox, man, eagle and the four Gospel accounts are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
However the purpose of writing the Book of Matthew is to tells the early and today's Christians how CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save mankind from sin. Matthew intends to prove to the Jews that JESUS CHRIST is the promised MESSIAH, the Gospel of Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than any other three Gospel writers, to show how JESUS fulfilled the words of the Jewish prophets. Matthew describes in detail the lineage of JESUS from David and uses many forms of speech that Jews would have been comfortable with. Matthew's love and concern for his people is apparent through his meticulous approach to telling the gospel story. Thus it is very obvious that the Gospel of Matthew was written for the purpose of revealing that the man JESUS of Nazareth was actually the KING of the Jews, the long awaited MESSIAH, the Sovereign LORD JEHOVAH Who came from heaven to this world revealing to mankind the "kingdom of heaven". The King of the Jews, the MESSIAH JESUS fulfilled every prophecy that was spoken about HIM in the ancient Jewish Scriptures, in the Old Testament. The prophecies that spoke of the "Kingdom" that the MESSIAH would bring would be a spiritual Kingdom that would never be destroyed. However, because Matthew's purpose is to present CHRIST JESUS as the KING and MESSIAH of Israel, Matthew quotes more than 60 times from prophetic passages of the Old Testament, demonstrating how JESUS fulfilled them. HE begins his Gospel with the genealogy of JESUS, tracing HIM back to Abraham, the progenitor of the Jews. From there, Matthew quotes extensively from the Prophets, frequently using the phrase "as was spoken through the prophet(s)" Matt.1:22-23, Matt.2:5-6, 15, Matt.4:13-16, Matt.8:16-17, Matt.13:35, Matt.21:4-5. These verses refer to the Old Testament prophecies of HIS virgin birth Isaiah 7:14 in Bethlehem, Micah 5:2 HIS return from Egypt after the death of Herod, Hosea 11:1 HIS ministry to the Gentiles; Isaiah 9:1-2; Isaiah 60:1-3 HIS miraculous healings of both body and soul; Isaiah 53:4 HIS speaking in parables; Ps.78:2 and HIS triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Zech.9:9.
Nevertheless a brief Summary of the Gospel of Matthew discusses the lineage, birth and early life of CHRIST in the first two Chapters. From there, the Book discusses the ministry of JESUS. The descriptions of CHRIST'S Teachings are arranged around "discourses" such as (1) the Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5 through 7. (2) Chapter 10 involves the mission and purpose of the disciples; (3) Chapter 13 is a collection of parables; (4) Chapter 18 discusses the Church; (5) Chapter 23 begins a discourse about hypocrisy and the future. (6) Chapters 21 through 27 discuss the arrest, torture and ex*****on of JESUS. (7) The final Chapter describes the Resurrection and the Great Commission. Therefore JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth is indeed the long awaited MESSIAH KING of the Jews as foretold by the ancient Jewish prophets. HE came to reveal how to enter the "Kingdom of Heaven." Thus Matthew wrote his account of JESUS' ministry to show that JESUS was and is indeed the KING, Israel's long-awaited MESSIAH. HE reflected this concern in his opening line, "The record of the genealogy of JESUS the MESSIAH, the son of David, the son of Abraham" Matt.1:1. From there, Matthew consistently took his readers back to the Old Testament, providing Old Testament testimony regarding the birth of JESUS, Bethlehem as the location of JESUS' birth, the flight to Egypt, Herod's slaughter of the infants and the beginning of JESUS' ministry. In a world where many in the Jewish community had claimed the role of the Messiah for themselves, Matthew's commitment to grounding the life of JESUS in the Old Testament raised CHRIST JESUS above the multitude of these false messiahs. The apostle painted a portrait of Our LORD that highlights HIS uniqueness among all others to ever walk this earth. The Book of Matthew is outline as follows, (1) the King Comes and HIS Kingdom is Rejected ; Matthew Chapters 1 to 12. (2) The Rejection of the King's Teaching and Ministry, Matthew Chapters 13 to 25, (3) The King's Trial and Crucifixion Matthew Chapters 26 to 27, (4) The King's Victory and Resurrection, Matthew Chapter 28 and (5) the King's Commissioning of HIS Apostles, Matthew Chapter 28
The Book of Matthew teaches us to obey CHRIST JESUS, in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel of Matthew is an excellent introduction to the core teachings of Christianity, the logical outline style makes it easy to locate discussions of various topics. Matthew is especially useful for understanding how the life of CHRIST was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Matthew's intended audience was his fellow Jews, many of whom; especially the Pharisees and Sadducees stubbornly refused to accept JESUS as their MESSIAH. In spite of centuries of reading and studying the Old Testament, their eyes were blinded to the truth of Who CHRIST JESUS Was. CHRIST rebuked them for their hard hearts and their refusal to recognize the One they had supposedly been waiting for, John 5:38-40. They wanted a Messiah on their own terms, one Who would fulfill their own desires and do what they wanted HIM to do. How often do we seek GOD on our own terms? Don't we reject HIM by ascribing to HIM only those attributes we find acceptable, the ones that make us feel good; HIS love, mercy, grace, while rejecting those we find objectionable; HIS wrath, justice and holy anger? We dare not make the mistake of the Pharisees, creating GOD in our own image and then expecting HIM to live up to our standards. Such a god is nothing more than an idol, the Bible gives us more than enough information about the true nature and identity of GOD and JESUS CHRIST to warrant our worship and our obedience. Therefore the apostle Matthew, a Jew himself, offered a decidedly Jewish perspective on the ministry of JESUS, he included more than fifty direct citations and even more indirect allusions from the Old Testament. This exceeds any of the other gospels and indicates that Matthew had the Jewish population in mind when he sat down to write. Matthew's extensive connections between JESUS and the Old Testament provide ample prophetic evidence for JESUS' ministry but also give contemporary readers a glimpse into how first-century readers approached the Old Testament with a CHRIST-centered mind-set.
In addition, Matthew's gospel answers the question on the mind of every Jewish reader; "If JEUS is the KING of the Jews, then where is GOD'S promised kingdom?" Matthew reveals that JESUS did offer the kingdom to Israel, but the offer was rejected, Matt.4:17; Matt.16:13-28; Matt.21:42–43. GOD'S primary work in the world is now accomplished through the building of CHRIST'S Church, after which JESUS will come again to earth and establish HIS kingdom and ruling the world from Israel. So after enduring four hundred years of prophetic silence, GOD'S people must have wondered whether or not HE had deserted them. After centuries of regular communication from GOD, the people found themselves without a genuine prophet or spokesman for GOD. However, the ministries of John and JESUS reminded GOD'S people that HE had not forgotten them. GOD'S silence during that period was merely a precursor to pulling the linchpin of HIS redemptive plan; GOD hadn't forgotten, HE remembered HIS people and Matthew made that clear. It was true then and it is certainly true today to Christians that GOD seems to have forgotten them. Do we ever feel as though GOD has deserted us or that HE sits in silence in the face of our requests? As we read through the pages of Matthew, not only do we see JESUS CHRIST revealed as Israel's King and MESSIAH, but HIS coming to earth as GOD in the flesh reminds us of HIS deep love for us. Now resurrected and ascended, the LORD JESUS will always be with us, even to the end of time, Matt.28:20. So CHRIST'S commission to HIS followers is still HIS mandate to us today, "Make disciples of all the nations", Matt.28:19. CHRIST'S work of building HIS church is the work HE does through each of us. The question is are we ready to build CHRIST'S Church? Let us therefore repent from sin and return to the LORD, the MESSIAH is coming and we have to prepare the way for HIM in complete holiness and righteousness.
Shalom and free to share.
