Say Hello To Matthew

By the early second century, the four Gospel’s that we have in scripture were widely used and available in the early church. To differentiate between them in their reading and as they were passed around, they became known simply as “according to” or “from” their human author. The four Gospel Writers, or “evangelists” as they are commonly known, did not have as their intention to write four different messages. They didn’t intend to tell four different stories about Jesus of Nazareth. They also didn’t intend to give carbon-copies of each other. Rather, by Divine Inspiration the Lord ordained that these four Gospel Records would have different themes, different emphases, different highlights and different amounts of information.

Mark, the shortest and most likely the first written, gives the most succinct and “to the point” record of Jesus life and ministry. Mark focuses on Jesus as the humble Servant, who, of course, became the suffering servant predicted in the Old Testament. Luke, the Gentile Doctor, gives a narrative that seems to focus on the unique but true humanity of Jesus Christ, beginning with the most detailed account of Jesus’ birth. John, the final and perhaps most theologically profound Gospel record portrays Jesus as the Son of God, the Word of God, God in flesh who came to give eternal life.

Matthew, whose Gospel winds up first in all the lists and compilations of the New Testament, has his own theme, his own emphasis like the rest. Matthew Presents Jesus as the Promised Coming Messiah and Redeemer of His People. Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfilment of a multitude of Prophesies from the Old Testament. Matthew presents Jesus, perhaps most pointedly and strikingly, as the promised King of Israel, the King of Kings, really, who would bring the promised Messianic Kingdom to life on earth.

Today I want to take a flyover, a 20,000 foot view of Matthew as the author, the background of his Gospel record, the structure of how the book fits together as Bible literature, and then the big picture and theme of Matthew. Beginning next week, we will fly down from 20,000 feet and get a little closer to the housetops. Many weeks we will land the plane, get out, and walk around in the text where the emphasis demands. I’m not going to give a prediction on how many weeks we will be in Matthew for two reasons: 1, I’m not a prophet and can’t say exactly what the Lord will lead us to focus on. 2, I don’t want to get in trouble for going slower than I intended. But without further adieu, let’s take a look at some big picture items.

1. Matthew - The Author

While there is nothing in the text of Matthew itself that gives us the name of the author, like the other 3 Gospel records, the copies of the document were circulated with the inscription “According to” at the beginning of the text. That is why in your bible, at the beginning of the book it says “The Gospel According To Matthew.” It is not a Gospel about Matthew, it is not a Gospel that originates with Matthew, rather it is a Divinely inspired recording of Matthew’s retelling of the Story of Jesus.

At the onset, I have to say that there are some who don’t believe that Matthew the Apostle actually wrote this Gospel Record. And while that’s not necessarily a hill to die on, and if you meet someone who believes that, you don’t need to get into a fistfight over it, you should know at the very least that it was almost unanimously believed that Matthew was the author from the beginning of the second century all the way to the 18th century.

Matthew as a person, a Disciple, an Apostle, is an interesting character. In fact, so interesting that if the book wasn’t written by him, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for someone to falsely attribute the authorship to him. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention a man named “Matthew” in their lists of Jesus 12 disciples. This, of

course, is the Matthew that became identified as the Author of this book. There is some confusion about his name itself, however.

Mark 2:14 ESV

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.

Luke 5:27 ESV

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

So both Luke and Mark record Jesus as calling a man named “Levi” as a disciple, a man who was a tax-gatherer, sitting at the tax booth. Interestingly enough, however, when Mark and Luke get to their list of disciples, the name “Levi” is missing.

Luke 6:13–16 ESV

And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

So where is Levi, the tax collector? Did he disappear, abrogate the call of Jesus and go back to the tax booth?

Matthew 10:2–4 ESV

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; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Now Matthew’s list is very close in structure, all the names are the same. But there is one piece of information that Matthew’s gospel includes that Luke and Mark do not - it identifies Matthew as a tax collector.

So the Levi who Jesus called as recorded in Luke and Mark becomes Matthew as listed in the roll of the disciples. There are lots of speculative reasons as to why that might be. Some say its an error or a proof that the NT record is inaccurate. Some say Matthew wrote his Gospel and tried to insert himself into the historical record where he didn’t actually belong, and then copies of the other Gospel’s followed his lead.

One explanation I think is plausible and very interesting is this. There is reason to believe that the reason why “Matthew” is also known as “Levi” is because he comes from the tribe of Levi. So Matthew the Levite may have been known to some by the nickname “Levi” while his real name was Matthew. This is not scriptural information, but it would explain why Matthew had such a commanding and profound knowledge of the Old Testament, as we will see in His Gospel record.

We will cover this text in detail as we study through the book, but Let’s look at Matthew’s record of his own call by Jesus in Matthew 9:9-13

Matthew 9:9 ESV

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.

As Matthew recounts his own call to follow Jesus, he recounts it in the most humble of ways - because the profession he was called out of was questionable at best and despised by the Jewish culture of that day. The Publicans or Tax Collectors basically had two major rolls. To collect taxes on goods that were moving from place to place, like tariffs, and to collect taxes on land. Taxation in the Roman-controlled regions was a lucrative business and the epitome of a top-down, oppressive institution.

It was so lucrative that wealthy individuals and officials would actually purchase the right to be named a “Publican.” A Publican was charged with levying a fixed tax rate on all of a certain region for a period of 5 years. The catch, however, was that whatever amount they could collect from the public above that tax rate could be kept for profit. They also had the Roman government and army at their behest in collecting these taxes, so as long as everyone was in on the scheme, they could essentially charge as much as possible.

These Publicans would hire out the actual tasks of collecting the taxes. That is what Matthew is named as - a tax collector. These tax collectors, because of the corruption of the publicans and the tax system in general, were seen as traitors and thieves. It didn’t help their case that the tax collectors could play the same inflation game as the publicans, only in smaller quantities.

So for Matthew to identify himself as one sitting at the tax booth, he was identifying himself as one who would have been despised and considered an outsider by his fellow Israelites. Yet, here is Jesus, calling him to be a follower. And he follows. The Traitor becomes a follower. He strengthens the testimony of his own self-deprecation by following the account of his call with this story.

Matthew 9:10–13 ESV

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Pharisees, as we will see, were well-adept at picking out all the ways Jesus broke their tradition and expectations. Here was a major taboo - not only was Jesus seen with these sinners, these tax collectors, he was reclined at a table with them! Fellowship with these, the scum of society?

Of course, Jesus goes on to teach exactly why he was doing this - and we will study that story some time from now. But What does this say about Matthew? What does this say about his position as a disciple, his view of his call? He views it as a call of grace - not something he had earned. Not something he should have been chosen for. He views his own call and discipleship as a anecdote of the entire ministry of Jesus who came to save. Like a doctor who does not heal the sick, so Jesus came to save not the righteous, but sinners. Matthew identifies himself with that group - the group needing saving.

2. Matthew - The Background

I don’t want to bore you with these details, but they are interesting and important.

There is a major disagreement on When the Gospel of Matthew was written. Now, there are several reasons for that disagreement, but they boil down to one major issue - one major event in History.

Matthew 24:1–2 ESV

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Now, this begins a discourse in Matthew that is both fascinating and daunting - a discourse which deals with eschatology and the second coming of christ - it is a section which I’m glad is toward the end of the book, because it gives me that much longer to prepare for. But nevertheless, at the beginning, Jesus makes this claim. As he and his discipled walk out of the Temple and are a distance away, his disciples turn around and say, “Jesus, do you see how majestic this place is?” And it was majestic - Herod’s temple was a marvel of building and engineering, and would be considered such today. The temple complex took up 35 acres of land! The stones used in construction would be weighed in the millions of pounds! And Jesus looks at this grand structure and says, “you see this? Not one of these million pound stones will be left upon another. They’re all going to be torn down.”

So Jesus makes a prediction - that temple is going to be destroyed.

So interestingly enough, it was destroyed. In 70 AD, ad the end of the Jewish Revolt, under the leadership of the Emperor Vespasian, Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, including Herod’s Remarkable Temple complex.

And that is at the crux of the issue of when Matthew was Written. If it was written after 70 AD, then, as some argue, Matthew simply took that historical event and worked it into Jesus’ teachings to make him a prophet in the truest sense.

However, if it was written before 70 AD, and Matthew, as well as Mark who records the same prediction, were actually recording the words of Jesus, then that is a remarkable testimony to who Jesus is. For that, and several other reasons that we won’t get into this morning, I believe Matthew wrote his Gospel shortly after Mark’s Gospel, sometime in the mid 60’s AD.

During that period and the years to follow, tensions between Jews and Christians were high. The Jewish leadership despised this upstart sect known as the Christians. They would even go so far as to come up with synagogue liturgy denouncing Christians as heretics and that they were to be done away with. That is important to know, because Matthew’s Gospel is the most “Jewish” Gospel record. And even though it is written in Greek originally, there are many “Hebraisms” or Hebrew idioms that He uses. He also uses Hebrew and Aramaic terms in his Gospel and leaves them untranslated. He gives very respectful treatment of the Old Covenant, but shows Jesus as the fulfilment of it.

Most people believe Matthew wrote the book in Syrian Antioch, which was a place full of both Jews and Gentiles - which makes sense of Matthew’s writing to a very Jewish audience in his book, while including hints and teachings that show that the Gospel of the Kingdom is not just for ethnic Jews, but for all who believe.

3. Matthew - The Structure

There are many ways to divide this book up, but I think the one that makes the most sense is to divide it up into 7 sections.

The first 2 chapters serve as a prologue, an introduction to this Messianic King. Then, there are five major teaching discourses or sermons. These will probably be the places that we spend most of our time.

Each of these five discourses has a section of narrative that goes with it, a section of narrative that lays the foundation for why Jesus might have chosen to teach on particular subjects that he did. Each one of these sections ends with a phrase like this.

Matthew 7:28 ESV

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

Matthew 11:1 ESV

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Matthew 13:53 ESV

And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,

Matthew 19:1 ESV

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 26:1 ESV

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,

The last chapters, 26-28, serve not as an epilogue or a conclusion, but really as a climax. As Jesus unfolds his teaching, he is moving toward his crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Many believe that the 5 discourses are meant to hint at the 5 books of Moses, and then the grand finale of Jesus Death and Resurrection put a stamp on the New Covenant that is bought by Christ.

4. Matthew - The Theme

The major Theme of Matthew’s Gospel is the theme of Fulfillment. Fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture in the life and ministry of Jesus, and specifically that Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Promise of a Messianic King. In Matthew’s Gospel Record there are no less than 23 instances where Jesus directly fulfils these kinds of Old Testament Prophecies.

Matthew is also known for his very specific references to fulfillment, which he introduces with the phrase “this took place to fulfil...” Just a few examples

Matthew 1:22 ESV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

Matthew 2:15 ESV

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 ESV

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

Matthew 4:14 ESV

so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

Matthew 12:17 ESV

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

These are examples without context, I know, and we will see them in depth in the days to come. But Matthew cannot help but to stress just how pointed and obvious it is that Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Its as if he is writing to His Jewish brothers and saying, “how can you not see this?”

And perhaps most pointedly is the way that Matthew opens up the Gospel Record, which finally brings us to the place where we can read Matthew 1:1

Matthew 1:1 ESV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

There is so much packed into that verse, and in a few minutes time, I am going to try to bring out the significance. Lets go in order.

First, “the book of the genealogy.” At first glance, it seems Like Matthew is just introducing the genealogy that he is about to record in the next 16 verses. But that title, “book of the genealogy” is a special title. In Greek, the word is “genesis.” Sound familiar? That’s right, its the same word that became the title of the first book of Moses. The book of Genesis. Genesis means, “what has come into being.” Furthermore, in both Genesis 2:4 and 5:1 we have the same phrase “book of the generations” or “book of the genealogy” used.

Many, myself included, believe that by beginning his writing in this way, very Jewish Matthew was directly connecting the story of Jesus with the story of the Old Testament. If genesis is a book of beginnings, then the Gospel is a story of a new Beginning. If Genesis started the Old Covenant which was until this point, then the Gospel is the beginning of the New and Better covenant proclaimed, inaugurated, and purchased by the main character of this book - Jesus Christ.

There is even a connection in the structure of Matthew to the Books of Moses - There are 5 books of Moses, and in Matthew, there are 5 teaching Discourses of Jesus Christ. I don’t think that is a coincidence - as Matthew really sets Jesus forth, with the rest of the New Testament, as a new and better Moses.

We go on in the verse, however, and see that Matthew records Jesus as The Son of David, and the Son of Abraham.

In Luke’s Genealogy, he goes all the way back to Adam - again, showing that Jesus is the son of Man. John has no Genealogy, simply stating that Jesus was from the beginning - the true God. Mark also has no genealogy, because its not important to know the lineage of a servant. But Matthew makes these two highlights, Son of David, and Son of Abraham. What is the significance there?

David, of course, is the pinnacle and poster-child for the kings of Israel’s history. David’s reign was one of primarily peace and prosperity. David was seen as a man after God’s own heart. More importantly, however, is that God made a covenant with David that would establish his throne forever. His descendents would be the rulers of God’s people forever.

And what about Abraham? God also made a covenant with Abraham, didn’t he? A covenant that in Abraham’s family, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Now, had these things been fulfilled? Consider God’s people at this time - The King over Israel was a puppet King, a half-jew who was appointed by Rome to keep the peace in this conquered land. And what of Abraham’s covenant? Had all the nations of the earth been blessed? Well, really Israel’s history had fallen short in that regard also - while they had periods of peace and fame, there were more lows than highs. They had been captives, slaves, their cities burned, and now, while they were in the land, they were conquered yet again.

Do you see what Matthew is doing? He is saying to his people, his family, his Jewish audience - do you remember the promise to David? Do you remember the promise to Abraham? Here is the one who fulfills that! Jesus Christ - that is, Jesus Messiah - he is the son of David, the son of Abraham. He is the Messianic King of God’s people who ushers in the kingdom, and he is the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations will be blessed.

And while Matthew’s Gospel focuses a lot on God’s promise to Israel, all through it there are hints of Abraham’s promise - the “all nations” view of the covenant. This is most remarkable noted in the end of the book where Jesus calls his followers to make disciples of all nations. So Matthew presents Jesus, King of Israel as the son of David, but as the son of Abraham, his Kingdom extends to all who will follow in all the nations. Matthew is consumed with the glory of This King and His Kingdom, and I hope that Ira Baptist Church will catch the same passion and vision as we study this book in the days to come.