Matthew's Gospel

Introduction

Summarize:

This past Christmas fell on Sunday and we were blessed to consider our savior, the promised messiah, and how He was born in humility.

We saw the genealogy of Christ, the birth of Christ, the seeking of Christ by the wise men, and the rejection and persecution of Christ by Herod. We effectively reviewed Matthew 1:1 through Matthew 2:15.

We’re going to spend some time together in Matthew’s Gospel, but instead of reviewing something that is still relatively fresh in our minds, it is best for us to lay a foundation of context that we can better understand this Gospel and its message to us.

This morning we will seek to better understand:

The authorship of the Gospel

The source of the Gospel

The focus of the Gospel

The application of the Gospel

The Authorship of Matthew’s Gospel

Authorship by Name

Matthew 9:9–13 ESV

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This account is also given in Mark:

Mark 2:14 ESV

14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

and in Luke:

Luke 5:27–28 ESV

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

yet look at the listing of the 12 apostles in Mark 3:13-19 “13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

and in Luke 6:12-16 “12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

Why Levi?

Either identifying tribe of Levi, and as a Levite, Matthew’s betrayal is all the more heinous, or

A renaming of Levi to Matthew after coming to Christ

A cultural renaming of Levi to Matthew when distributing the Gospel in the Greek

Ultimately, the plain reading of these scriptures, together with the listing of the apostles, gives us confidence that this is the same man.

Authorship by Content

With Matthew as a tax-collector, or someone who must keep fastidious records of finances, it is unsurprising that this book has more references to exact amounts of money than any other Gospel. It is a striking detail that shows some of the personality and expertise of the apostle.

Matt 17:24 “24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?””

Matt 17:27 “27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.””

Matt 18:24 “24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.”

Additional absence of the conversions of other tax collectors

Luke 18:9-14 “9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Luke 19:1-2 “1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.”

Likely indicators of shame and the resulting humility. (What Matthew refers to as a “dinner,” Luke calls a “great banquet.”)

Authorship by Tradition

Many early church fathers cite the Apostle Matthew as the author, including: Pseudo Barnabas, an early, non-canon epistle stating, “He chose His own apostles who were to proclaim His Gospel, who that He might show that He came not to call the righteous but sinners...” As well as Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and many others.

Those who undercut authorship are doing nothing more than trying to tear down the authority of scripture as a whole.

The Authorship of Matthew’s Gospel

The Source of Matthew’s Gospel

If Matthew is entering the picture here, how have we received all this teaching?

Primarily a logical grouping, not a chronological

Many shared accounts, sometimes with word-for-word similarity in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

See what resources Matthew had available:

Matthew 9:10 ESV

10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.

The Synoptic Source

The other disciples shared their stories of Jesus, and as these stories of Jesus are told and retold, there is a pattern that forms what we call an oral tradition.

Oral tradition (or oral testimony) follows this basic process:

An event occurs and is witnessed.

The witness or witnesses tell and retell the story of the event

The event reaches a point where it is repeated so frequently that it is told with exact, specific details

The event is recorded for posterity

Some people just can’t seem to believe this, but it’s obvious if you consider how we tell stories.

Three little pigs - what were their houses made out of?

The tortoise and the hare - what’s the moral?

Stories are regularly told and retold with exactness, and just as some would question authorship, others would bring the accuracy of the account into question.

The Eyewitness Source

Matthew 10:1–4 ESV

1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

What is important to remember is that Matthew gives an eyewitness perspective to the oral tradition and synoptic accounts that make up so much of the first three Gospels.

Here we have the tax collector who no longer keeps accounts of what he is owed, instead he gives an accounting of Jesus

According to common, accepted teaching

According to personal experience

The Authorship of Matthew’s Gospel

The Source of Matthew’s Gospel

The Focus of Matthew’s Gospel

Illustration: My first Bible and the pages of red letters.

The ministry and message of Jesus is in focus:

Matthew 9:11–12 ESV

11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

The Teaching Ministry of Jesus

(And what Jesus taught)

Matthew 4:17 ESV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And at the end of the sermon on the mount

Matthew 7:28 ESV

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

Five major discourses (or teachings) we will see:

Matt 5-7 - Jesus teaching what the disciples lives ought to look like

Matt 10 - Jesus teaching how to conduct oneself on missionary journeys

Matt 13 - Jesus teaching in parables

Matt 18-20 - Jesus teaching about humility, forgiveness, and the Kingdom of Heaven

Matt 24-25 - Jesus teaching about the things to come (Eschatology)

The Messianic Identification of Jesus

The first four chapters of this book are dripping with references to old testament prophecy that Jesus fulfils.

Matthew 1:1 “1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Matthew 1:17 “17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”

Matthew 1:22-23 “22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Matthew 2:1-6, Specifically in Matthew 2:4-5 “4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:”

Matthew 2:14-15 “14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.””

Matthew 2:17-18 “17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.””

Matthew 2:23 “23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

This continues through Matthew 3 and 4!

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus

We see this in Matt 26-28. This is a break from the logical groupings of the teachings of Jesus to a narrative retelling of the sacrifice Jesus and his demonstration of His power over death.

Ultimately, this will highlight the worthiness and capability of Jesus to be our one acceptable sacrifice. We are shown here that our salvation must be in Christ alone.

The Authorship of Matthew’s Gospel

The Source of Matthew’s Gospel

The Focus of Matthew’s Gospel

The Application of Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew 9:13 ESV

13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Personal Calling to Follow Christ

Matthew 9:9 ESV

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

The Evangelistic Calling to Lead Others to Christ

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”