Our aim in surveying the books of the New Testament is not to dwell on the details, but to deal with the main facts that need to be known about each book.
I. AUTHORSHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING, AND AUDIENCE
1. Author
The first Gospel has traditionally been attributed to Matthew — Levi, the tax collector, whom Jesus called to be one of His twelve apostles (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27):
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)
Practically nothing more is known about him beyond his name and his profession. After the list of the apostles in Acts 1:13 he is never mentioned again in Scripture or in the history of the church. The time and manner of his death are unknown. Nowhere in the Gospel is Matthew named as its author, but the early church writers who discussed the authorship of the Gospel attributed it to Matthew. According to them, the apostle Matthew is the undisputed author of this Gospel.
2. Date of Writing
The date of the Gospel’s writing is not known. But it can hardly have been written before the first persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 8:4), since the local church there would scarcely have needed a written Gospel while the apostles were still among them, able to teach them fully and to answer their questions. It is also doubtful that the Gospel was written after A.D. 70, since the prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem contains no hint that this had already taken place (Matthew 24:1-3):
1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:1-3)
So the Gospel was most likely written between A.D. 50 and 70. Moreover, if we accept that it was written after the Gospel of Mark and before the Gospel of Luke, then this period can be narrowed to the years between A.D. 55 and 60.
3. Place of Writing
The Gospel suits a church that is still bound up with Judaism but at the same time is gradually separating from it. The place where it could have been written is Antioch. There is no proof that it was written there specifically, but no more fitting place than this exists.
4. Audience
The Gospel was written most broadly to all of humanity, but in particular to Jewish readers. The facts that support this view are as follows:
1) The large number of Old Testament quotations — more than 60. When someone preaches to Jews, he is bound to prove his doctrines from the ancient Scriptures. Matthew makes these quotations the foundation of his Gospel.
2) There is a complete absence of any explanations of Jewish customs — something that shows the Gospel is addressed to people who are entirely familiar with them.
II. MAIN DIVISIONS
1. Biographical Outline
The structure of the Gospel of Matthew is built around two parallel schematic lines. The first of them is biographical and is quite close to the biographies of Jesus handed down by Mark and Luke. The two dividing points are marked by the words “from that time on” and are found in Matthew 4:17:
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
And in Matthew 16:21:
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)
According to this schematic line:
1) 1:1-4:16 is an introduction that presents Jesus as the promised Messiah.
2) In 4:17-16:20 Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah. This part traces the rising course of Jesus’ evangelistic ministry, which made Him popular among the people.
3) In 16:21-28:19 Jesus carries out His redemptive mission. This part traces the decline of Jesus’ popularity and points to the cross as the climax of Christ’s work.
2. Thematic Outline
The other schematic line is unique to this Gospel. While the previous outline is biographical, this one is thematic. The material is divided into five blocks, each part grouped around one dominant theme, and each of the blocks ends with a phrase declaring that Jesus had finished some portion of His ministry.
7:28-29
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (Matthew 7:28-29)
11:1
1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. (Matthew 11:1)
13:53
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. (Matthew 13:53)
19:1
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. (Matthew 19:1)
26:1
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, (Matthew 26:1)
Together with the opening narrative and the closing account of Passion Week, the divisions come to seven in all, rounded off by an epilogue that sets the reader before the dilemma of whether to side with the murderers of Jesus or simply to become a Christian.
1) The prophecies of the Messiah are fulfilled in His coming (Matthew 1:1-4:11).
Here the reader is introduced to the Messiah’s background. First His descent is set out and then traced — from Abraham, the first recipient of God’s promise, and from David, God’s chosen founder of the royal dynasty of Judah. Then follows the account of the virgin birth, the baptism, and the temptation, through which Jesus is prepared for His public ministry. In this part, made up of three and a half chapters, the phrase “so that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled” stands out (1:22; 2:15; 4:14). In this way the coming of Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of God’s purpose, revealed in the Old Testament and gradually worked out in the historical process leading up to His coming. Notable in this part is the account of the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12).
2) The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (Matthew 4:12-7:29).
The second part begins with Jesus’ appearance in Galilee after the imprisonment of John the Baptist. In it the explanation of the spiritual and ethical principles of the messianic kingdom predominates. Jesus calls people to repentance and faith in Him and explains to them what the standards of His kingdom are and how one enters it. The Sermon on the Mount clarifies Jesus’ attitude toward the law. He demands a righteousness that surpasses the norms of Judaism, because it is inward and not outward, spontaneous and not legalistic. The dominant theme in this part is the principles of the kingdom, and the central passage is the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29).
3) Jesus reveals His messianic power over sickness, demons, the forces of nature, and death (8:1-11:1).
The dominant theme is Jesus’ instructions to His apostles (10:1-42). The preaching of the Messiah is not only the proclamation of some new ideal, but the demonstration of a new power — a concept that the Acts of the Apostles reveals as a reality in the later life of the church.
4) Jesus explains the principles of His kingdom (11:1-13:53).
The central place in this block is held by the parables of Jesus (Matthew 13:1-53). Not all the parables belong to this part of the Gospel, but most of them are found in chapter 13. Through pictures from everyday life Jesus describes the nature and program of the kingdom of heaven, and in particular its relation to the future.
5) Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah (Matthew 13:54-19:2).
This part sets out the crisis in the mission of Jesus. His rejection by His own townspeople (13:54-58), the threat from Herod through the death of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12), the dullness of the disciples (Matthew 15:1-16; 16:5-12) — all this reveals the tension around Him, which He met with a declaration to His disciples about the inevitability of the cross (Matthew 16:21) and with the revealing of Himself on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 16:23-17:9). From this moment on, the cross rises ever more clearly before Jesus and becomes the immediate goal of His earthly life. Notable in this block is Jesus’ teaching on humility and forgiveness (18:1-35).
6) The conflicts of the Messiah (Matthew 19:3-26:2).
This part gives the beginning of Passion Week. The disclosure of Jesus’ messianic aims and claims leads to a conflict that is seen in Jesus’ debates with the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 22:15-46). Out of this conflict is born the rebuke of the hypocrites (Matthew 21:1-33) and the prophecy of the desolation of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-2). The key moments in this part are:
- The parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16);
- The triumphal entry into Jerusalem (21:1-11);
- The rebuke of the hypocrites (Matthew 23:1-33);
- Jesus’ prophecy of the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming (Matthew 24:1-25:46).
7) The condemnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Messiah (Matthew 26:1-28:10).
Every conflict must come to its decisive moment and resolution, and in the life of Jesus that resolution is the cross. Matthew shows the messianic character of Jesus’ death by emphasizing its relation to the prophecies.
Matthew 26:31
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (Matthew 26:31)
Matthew 26:51-56
51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” 55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:51-56)
Matthew 27:9
9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” (Matthew 27:9-10)
In answer to Caiaphas’ questions Jesus uses of Himself the title “Son of Man” (Matthew 26:64), which in Daniel 7:13-14 refers to a heavenly being.
63 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:63-64)
8) Epilogue (Matthew 28:11-20).
The epilogue is a summing up of the whole Gospel, closing its teaching by illustrating two contrasting attitudes toward Jesus — rejection out of unbelief, or worship out of acceptance.
III. SPECIAL AND DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
1. Special Features
The following events are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew:
- The dream of Joseph (Matthew 1:20-24);
- The visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12);
- The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15);
- The killing of the infants of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18);
- The death of Judas (Matthew 27:3-10);
- The dream of Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19);
- The resurrection of holy people during the crucifixion (Matthew 27:52-53);
- The bribing of the guard (Matthew 28:12-15);
- The command for water baptism (Matthew 28:19-20).
The following parables are found only in the Gospel of Matthew:
- The parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43);
- The parable of the hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44);
- The parable of the precious pearl (Matthew 13:45-46);
- The parable of the net (Matthew 13:47-50);
- The parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35);
- The parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16);
- The parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32);
- The parable of those invited to the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1-14);
- The parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13);
- The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
The following miracles are peculiar to the Gospel of Matthew alone:
- The healing of the two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31);
- The deliverance of the man possessed by a mute spirit (Matthew 9:31-34);
- The miracle of the coin in the fish’s mouth (Matthew 17:24-27).
Another special feature of the Gospel of Matthew is the great abundance of Old Testament quotations — there are at least 60 of them. Most of them are from Isaiah and the Psalms, and yet it can be said that the whole Old Testament is represented. Matthew uses them to demonstrate the thesis that the life of Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
2. Distinctive Features
1) The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the discourses.
The Gospel of Matthew is didactic in character — its basic function is to teach. It contains the most extensive body of discourses among all the Gospels (Matthew chapters 5-7), as well as a number of other long passages (10; 13; 18; 23-25) that reproduce the teaching of Jesus. These make up about 60% of the whole Gospel.
2) The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the Church.
The Gospel of Matthew is the only one in which the word “church” is found (Matthew 16:18; 18:17). Both passages are spoken by Jesus — something that marks the fact that He had a clearly defined idea of the church as a future institution. The very fact that these passages are included by Matthew in his Gospel shows that it was written for a young and struggling church that was in need of encouragement and discipline.
3) The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the King.
Not only is the doctrine of the kingdom emphasized by Matthew, but Christ’s kingship is seen everywhere in the Gospel. The genealogy of the first chapter follows the royal line of Judah. Herod was troubled because in the birth of Jesus he saw the appearance of a political rival. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem shows Jesus as king. In His eschatological prophecies He predicts that He “will sit on his glorious throne” (19:28; 25:31), an expression found only in Matthew. The inscription over the cross, placed there by Pilate, read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37).