Matthew—the Gospel of the King
01.04.23
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2; 4:17).
The focus of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ! The OT writers said: “He is coming.” The Gospel writers say: “He is come.” The rest of the NT says: “He is coming again!” Thus we begin our look at each of the books of the New Testament.
Each of the four Gospels gets its name from the man who wrote it. Though his name is not mentioned as the author, it has been known since early times that Matthew wrote this book.
Matthew was one of the original disciples of Jesus. He was a Jew who wrote to Jews about the One who claimed to be their Messiah.
His original name was Levi, the son of Alphaeus. He worked in Capernaum as a collector of taxes for the Romans on the road that lay between Egypt and Syria. He and all who had his occupation were utterly despised by the Jews. He served in this occupation until he was called by the Lord to follow Him (Matthew 9:9, 10). He quickly responded to the Lord, indicating that the Lord had already been working in his heart. .
Though we do not have an exact date for its writing, Matthew must have been written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem [AD 70] as it is viewed as a future event.
Matthew wrote to the Jews to answer the questions about Jesus of Nazareth. Was he really the OT Messiah predicted by the prophets? If He is the Messiah, will he establish His Kingdom, and if so, when?
The words and phrases ‘fulfilled,’ ‘kingdom,’ ‘kingdom of heaven,’ ‘Father in heaven,’ and ‘that it might be fulfilled’ are found throughout the book. Matthew makes twenty specific references to the fulfillment of OT prophecies.
The long genealogy in the first chapter is so very important. It traces Jesus’ royal line from David through Solomon, proving that he is the rightful heir to the throne of David.
The outline of the book is as follows: The King is revealed in chapters 1-11. The King is resisted and rejected in chapters 12-27, culminating in His crucifixion. In the final chapter, 28, the King is raised!
Although Matthew follows a general chronological order of the life of Christ, within each section he chooses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, events and teachings that make his point—Jesus is indeed the Christ.
There are four divine presentations of the life of Christ and each one is unique. Among other things, Matthew includes some ten parables not found in the other Gospels. Further, His presentations of the Sermon on the Mount [chapters 5-7] and the Olivet Discourse [24, 25] are the most complete.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven? While John the Baptist and our Lord began their ministry by proclaiming that it is coming, yet neither of them explained what that kingdom was. Why? Because their hearers knew. It is the Messianic kingdom long-promised through the OT prophets. It is a visible kingdom with Messiah reigning on the throne of David. He reigns over a reunited Israel and the nations—a world empire. It is not the church and has nothing to do with the church. It is not a spiritual kingdom—it is visible, historical and future.
Jesus is coming again. Are you ready for His coming? It could be today!