The Gospel According to Matthew THE REAL TRUTH by JACOB GEORGE (robert munsch read aloud TXT) 📕

Matthew, whose name means “gift of the Lord,” was a tax collector who left his work to follow Jesus (9:9–13). In Mark and Luke he is called by his other name, Levi.

Date and Place of Writing

Some have argued on the basis of its Jewish characteristics that Matthew’s Gospel was written in the early church period, possibly the early part of a.d. 50, when the church was largely Jewish and the gospel was preached to Jews only (Ac 11:19). However, those who have concluded that both Matthew and Luke drew extensively from Mark’s Gospel date it later—after the Gospel of Mark had been in circulation for a period of time. See essay and chart, p. 1943. Accordingly, some feel that Matthew would have been written in the late 50s or in the 60s. Others, who assume that Mark was written between 65 and 70, place Matthew in the 70s or even later. However, there is insufficient evidence to be dogmatic about either view.

The Jewish nature of Matthew’s Gospel may suggest that it was written in the Holy Land, though many think it may have originated in Syrian Antioch.

Theme

Recipients

Since his Gospel was written in Greek, Matthew’s readers were obviously Greek-speaking. They also seem to have been Jews. Many elements point to Jewish readership: Matthew’s concern with fulfillment of the OT (he has more quotations from and allusions to the OT than any other NT author); his tracing of Jesus’ descent from Abraham (1:1–17); his lack of explanation of Jewish customs (especially in contrast to Mark); his use of Jewish terminology (e.g., “kingdom of heaven,” where “heaven” reveals the Jewish reverential reluctance to use the name of God; see note on 3:2); his emphasis on Jesus’ role as “Son of David” (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30–31; 21:9,15; 22:41–45). This does not mean, however, that Matthew restricts his Gospel to Jews. He records the coming of the Magi (non-Jews) to worship the infant Jesus (2:1–12), as well as Jesus’ statement that the “field is the world” (13:38). He also gives a full statement of the Great Commission (28:18–20). These passages show that, although Matthew’s Gospel is Jewish, it has a universal outlook.

Purpose

Matthew’s main purpose is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus is their Messiah. He does this primarily by showing how Jesus in his life and ministry fulfilled the OT Scriptures. Although all the Gospel writers quote the OT, Matthew includes nine proof texts unique to his Gospel (1:22–23; 2:15; 2:17–18; 2:23; 4:14–16; 8:17; 12:17–21; 13:35; 27:9–10) to drive home his basic theme: Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT predictions of the Messiah. Matthew even finds the history of God’s people in the OT recapitulated in some aspects of Jesus’ life (see, e.g., his quotation of Hos 11:1 in 2:15). To accomplish his purpose Matthew also emphasizes Jesus’ Davidic lineage.

Theme

Structure

The way the material is arranged reveals an artistic touch. The whole Gospel is woven around five great discourses: (1) chs. 5–7; (2) ch. 10; (3) ch. 13; (4) ch. 18; (5) chs. 24–25. That this is deliberate is clear from the refrain that concludes each discourse: “When Jesus had finished saying these things,” or similar words (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). The narrative sections, in each case, appropriately lead up to the discourses. The Gospel has a fitting prologue (chs. 1–2) and a challenging epilogue (28:16–20).

The fivefold division may suggest that Matthew has modeled his book on the structure of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT). He may also be presenting the gospel as a new Torah and Jesus as a new and greater Moses.

Outline

The Birth and Early Years of Jesus (chs. 1–2)

His Genealogy (1:1–17)

His Birth (1:18—2:12)

His Sojourn in Egypt (2:13–23)

The Beginnings of Jesus’ Ministry (3:1—4:11)

His Forerunner (3:1–12)

His Baptism (3:13–17)

His Temptation (4:1–11)

Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee (4:12—14:12)

The Beginning of the Galilean Campaign (4:12–25)

The Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5–7)

A Collection of Miracles (chs. 8–9)

The Commissioning of the 12 Apostles (ch. 10)

Ministry throughout Galilee (chs. 11–12)

The Parables of the Kingdom (ch. 13)

Herod’s Reaction to Jesus’ Ministry (14:1–12)

Theme

Jesus’ Withdrawals from Galilee (14:13—17:20)

To the Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee (14:13—15:20)

To Phoenicia (15:21–28)

To the Decapolis (15:29—16:12)

To Caesarea Philippi (16:13—17:20)

Jesus’ Last Ministry in Galilee (17:22—18:35)

Prediction of Jesus’ Death (17:22–23)

Temple Tax (17:24–27)

Discourse on Life in the Kingdom (ch. 18)

Jesus’ Ministry in Judea and Perea (chs. 19–20)

Teaching concerning Divorce (19:1–12)

Teaching concerning Little Children (19:13–15)

The Rich Young Man (19:16–30)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (20:1–16)

Prediction of Jesus’ Death (20:17–19)

A Mother’s Request (20:20–28)

Restoration of Sight at Jericho (20:29–34)

Passion Week (chs. 21–27)

The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as King (21:1–11)

The Cleansing of the Temple (21:12–17)

The Last Controversies with the Jewish Leaders (21:18—23:39)

The Olivet Discourse (chs. 24–25)

The Anointing of Jesus’ Feet (26:1–13)

The Arrest, Trials and Death of Jesus (26:14—27:66)

The Resurrection (ch. 28)

The Earthquake and the Angel’s Announcement (28:1–7)

Jesus’ Encounter with the Women (28:8–10)

The Guards’ Report and the Jewish Elders’ Bribe (28:11–15)

The Great Commission (28:16–20)

Focus

Matthew traces Jesus’s ancestors back to the biblical patriarch Abraham, the founding father of the Israelite people. Matthew describes Jesus’s conception, when his mother, Mary, was “found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (1:18). Matthew focuses very little on Mary herself, and praises Joseph for not abandoning his fiancée.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem, where he and his parents are visited by wise men from the East bearing gifts. The wise men follow a star to Bethlehem. Their king, Herod the Great, hears the rumor that a baby named Jesus is the “king of the Jews” (2:2). Herod orders all young children in Bethlehem to be killed. To escape the king’s wrath, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus flee to Egypt. Joseph and his family return to Israel after Herod’s death, but then move to Nazareth, a town in the northern district known as Galilee.

Years pass, and Jesus grows up. A man in a loincloth, who lives by eating wild honey and locusts, begins to prophesy throughout Judea, foretelling of Jesus as the one who will come to “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:11). This prophet, John the Baptist, who is likely a member of the ascetic Jewish Essene community, eventually meets Jesus. John baptizes Jesus, and Jesus receives the blessing of God, who says, “This is my Son, the Beloved” (3:17). Jesus is led into the wilderness for forty days without food or water to be tested by Satan. Jesus emerges unscathed and triumphant, and begins to preach his central, most often repeated proclamation: “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17). His ministry begins.

Matthew mentions Jesus’s earliest followers: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Once Jesus accumulates this small group of Jewish followers, he begins to preach. His early ministry reaches a peak when he gives a sermon famously known as the Sermon on the Mount, which deeply impresses his increasingly large group of followers (5:1–7:29). The sermon emphasizes humility, obedience, love of one’s neighbor, the proper method of prayer, and trust in God. Jesus says that the poor, meek, and hungry are blessed.

As he travels through Galilee, Jesus continues to attract crowds. Matthew relates ten of Jesus’s miracles, which are also described in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus cures a leper, a paralytic, a hemorrhaging woman, a centurion’s servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law. He also calms a storm, exorcizes demons, gives eyesight to the blind, and brings a dead girl back to life. Jesus resolves to “send out laborers” to minister to the Gentiles, to whom he refers as lost sheep (9:38). Jesus

Focus

appoints twelve disciples, telling them that they will be persecuted but they should not be afraid. Jesus instructs the apostles to preach that the “kingdom of heaven has come near,” and to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons, all without payment (10:7).

In Chapter 11, Matthew interrupts his account of Jesus and his disciples’ mission to focus on Jesus himself. He gives an account of the opposition Jesus faces. Some people disapprove of his association with sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes. They call him a glutton and a drunkard. In the face of such rejection, Jesus does not apologize, but, rather, admonishes those who reject him.

Jesus responds to his challengers with a collection of parables. Matthew describes several of the parables—the parables of the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, and the leaven—that Jesus tells to the crowds that gather to listen to him (13:1–33). Jesus then explains that his disciples are part of his family.

Jesus’s ministry of healing, cleansing, and raising the dead continues as he travels throughout Galilee. But he is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, where his friends and neighbors deride him. He continues to perform miracles, but the people become increasingly resistant and disbelieving. Jesus multiplies loaves and fish, feeding thousands on very little food. He heals the sick and continues to preach the message of spiritual righteousness. Yet Jesus repeatedly finds that his disciples still lack faith in him. When he miraculously walks across the water to them, they assume he must be a ghost. Even after he multiplies the loaves, they fear hunger. Only Simon properly professes his faith, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16). Jesus renames Simon “Peter,” a name whose Greek form is identical to the Greek word “rock.” Jesus announces, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (16:18). Jesus then lays out the rules for communal relations among Christians, emphasizing forgiveness, humility, and obedience to his teachings.

Jesus continues to preach. He forbids divorce and advocates chastity, while expounding the virtues of asceticism. He warns against the pitfalls of wealth, teaches forgiveness, and welcomes children. In Jerusalem, cheering crowds await him. People “spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (21:8). Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus expels money changers from the Jewish temple and defies the chief

Focus

priests and elders, saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (21:13). Jesus’s action earns him the support of the crowds. He chastises Jewish leaders, telling them they have been poor caretakers of the temple and that the people have been hypocritical, focusing on technical legal issues rather than “justice and mercy and faith” (23:23). Seeing the wickedness of Jerusalem, and foreseeing God’s punishment of the wicked, Jesus warns his disciples to be prepared for the end of the world. He says that tribulations will precede the final judgment, but that the Son of man—Jesus himself—will come, and that the righteous will be saved.

In Chapter 26, Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with the disciples. Jesus indicates that Judas, one of his disciples, will betray him. Jesus predicts that after his death, the other disciples will flee, and Peter will also betray him. When he breaks bread and drinks wine with the disciples, Jesus initiates a ritual that later becomes known as the Eucharist, the consumption of bread and wine symbolizing Jesus’s body and blood. After dining with the apostles, Jesus goes into a garden called Gethsemane. There he prays, asking God if it is possible to escape the impending suffering. As Jesus is leaving the garden, Judas approaches, accompanied by a mob and a great number of Roman soldiers. Judas kisses Jesus in order to show the angry mob which man claims to be the Son of God.

Jesus is arrested and brought before the Jewish court, where he is convicted of blasphemy. Caiaphas, the high priest, sends him to Pontius Pilate, the governor of Rome, for a final verdict. Pilate looks surprisingly weak and undecided. He turns to the crowd for the judgment and they all chant, “Let him be crucified!” (27:22). Pilate concedes. Jesus is led out, crowned with thorns, mocked, and crucified. On the cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and then dies (27:46). Matthew notes the presence of “many women” at the execution, including