The Gospel of Matthew
Book Introduction
The Gospel of Matthew has traditionally been understood to be written by Matthew the Apostle (AKA Levi) and provides a solid account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It begins with Jesus' genealogy and contributions to the Nativity story (Luke provides other parts), showing the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, and ends with the death and resurrection of Christ, with the final words being the Great Commission.
Packed inside, we find many parts of Jesus' ministry. We have many preserved parables, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' baptism, the ministry of John the Baptist, miracles, evangelism, fulfilled prophecies, and more! The Gospel of Matthew has a particularly Jewish flavour and highlights Jesus as the Messiah, both the Son of David and the Son of God, who will bring salvation to the people.
The Gospel was composed in the later decades of the first century BC in a climate of tension, distress and uncertainty. New and older generations of believers needed guidance and records from the ministry of Christ to be preserved, as unity, wise leadership and discernment were crucial. Nero had ruled from 54-68 AD and developed into a grossly savage and fiscally irresponsible despot who blamed the Christians for his burning of sections of Rome.[1]
The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem in 70 AD, destroying much of the holy city, including the Second Temple. This devastated both the Jews and Christians, and they were left with the task of reflecting on who they were, what they believed, and why. The Scriptures and accounts from the ministry of Christ and the early church needed to be rearticulated and preserved. The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem was an event that spurred the need for Gospel accounts to be written. Saunders (2000) notes on the Gospel of Matthew specifically,
Regardless of where the Gospel was written (Syrian Antioch or one of the larger settlements in Galilee are the two settings most often proposed), the story of Jesus that Matthew tells seems well suited to clarify the identity, vocation, and practices of a community in transition and distress. Matthew uses tension and surprise, in both form and content, to address this situation, while affirming that Jesus Christ, “God with us,” is the defining figure around which the community’s self-understanding, imagination, and social relations are to be formed. (p. 871)
Below is a general narrative summary of the Gospel:
1:1–4:16 Establishing the identity and role of Jesus, the protagonist of the story.
4:17–11:1 Jesus embarks upon a ministry of teaching and healing to manifest God’s saving presence in Israel.
11:2–16:20 While faulty interpretations of Jesus’ ministry lead to misunderstanding and repudiation, the disciples, through divine revelation, are provided special insight into Jesus’ person and mission.
16:21–20:34 During Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem he engages his disciples in explicit discussion concerning the ultimate values, priorities, and intentions of his messianic mission.
21:1–25:46 Upon entering Jerusalem Jesus’ actions and teachings lead to conflict and rejection by the Jewish authorities.
26:1–27:50 While hostility and misunderstanding coalesce in betrayal, desertion, and death, Jesus is resolved to consciously and voluntarily fulfill the divine plan.
27:51–28:20 God ultimately vindicates his Son as evidenced by cosmic signs and by raising him from the dead and giving him authority to commission his disciples to a worldwide mission. (Chouinard, 1997)
[1] Nero had teams of arsonists burn down sections of Rome belonging to clear the way for his Domus Aurea (“Golden House”). The conflagration raged for six days and consumed many estates of former Roman heroes, as well as many temples and shrines (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars 6.38.2). When citizens began to question how so many fires could have started simultaneously and in so many different sections of Rome, Nero found his solution in the “nearly universal contempt for Christians.” As Tacitus records, “Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians … Vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: They were covered with wild beasts’ skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night” (Annals 15.44) Suetonius, states, “He likewise inflicted punishments on the Christians, a sort of people who held a new and impious547 superstition[1]”(Lives of the Caesars 6.16.2)
547 ““Superstitionis novae et maleficae,”” are the words of Suetonius; the latter conveying the idea of witchcraft or enchantment. Suidas relates that a certain martyr cried out from his dungeon “Ye have loaded me with fetters as a sorcerer and profane person.” Tacitus calls the Christian religion “a foreign and deadly [exitiabiis] superstition,” Annal. xiii. 32; Pliny, in his celebrated letter to Trajan, “a depraved, wicked (orprava), and outrageous superstition.” EPist. x. 97.
Tacitus also describes the excruciating torments inflicted on the Roman Christians by Nero. He says that they were subjected to the derision of the people; dressed in the skins of wild beasts, and exposed to be torn to pieces by dogs in the public games, that they were crucified, or condemned to be burnt; and at night-fall served in place of lamps to lighten the darkness, Nero’s own gardens being used for the spectacle. Annal. xv. 44.
Traditions of the church place the martyrdoms of SS Peter and Paul at Rome, under the reign of Nero. The legends are given by Ordericus Vitalis. See vol. i. of the edition in the Antiq. Lib. pp. 206, etc., with the notes and reference to the apocryphal works on which they are founded.
Reflective Questions
Did Jesus entirely replace the Jewish system and Law? Was it a case of replacement or fulfilment (key: see Matt. 5:17)?
What was the difference between fulfilling the law and abolishing it?
Do you see any connections between the Torah/Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and the Lord’s prayer (Matt. 6:9-13)?
Think of connections between the parables, your own life, the lives of others you know, the lives of those of the Old Testament, and those in history.
Did Jesus revere the Pharisees and how the Jews were practising their religion?
Was there a need in those times for a Messiah? Why?
What do Matthew’s genealogies tell us about Jesus?
Can you see Jesus using any hyperbole?
What does the Great Commission mean to you? Is it the same as door-knocking or preaching in the streets? What does it mean for us in our world today? What did it mean for Christians in the Early Church?
Summarise what you felt the purpose of Jesus’ ministry was.
Reference List
Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew. College Press.
Saunders, S. P. (2000). Matthew, Gospel of. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (p. 871-873). W.B. Eerdmans.
Simmons, W. (2016). Nero, Emperor, History of in the Primary Sources. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, L. Wentz, E. Ritzema, & W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.
Tranquillus, C. S. (1889). Suetonius: The Lives of the Twelve Caesars; An English Translation, Augmented with the Biographies of Contemporary Statesmen, Orators, Poets, and Other Associates (A. Thomson, Ed.). Gebbie & Co.
