Matthew: The King and His kingdom

Where Matthew sits

In the story

Act V, Christ

In the Bible

New Testament · Gospels · book 40 of 66

Before it in the story

Malachi, 2 Chronicles

After it in the story

Mark

The first Gospel and the door of the New Testament: its genealogy ties Jesus to Abraham, David and the exile, its fulfillment formulas show the Old Testament kept in Him, and its Great Commission opens onto the mission of Acts.

Matthew summary

Matthew presents Jesus as the Christ in whom the Old Testament comes true. He opens with “the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1), then tells of His conception by the Holy Spirit as Immanuel, His flight to Egypt and return, His baptism and His forty days of testing (1:1–4:16). “From that time on Jesus began to preach” (4:17): in Galilee He proclaims the kingdom of heaven in the Sermon on the Mount, shows His authority in mighty works, sends out the Twelve, meets growing unbelief, and teaches the kingdom in parables, until Peter confesses Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God (4:17–16:20). “From that time on” (16:21) He shows His disciples that He must suffer: He is transfigured, teaches humility and forgiveness, goes up to Jerusalem, enters as the gentle King, confounds the leaders in the temple, and foretells the temple's fall and His own coming in glory to judge (16:21–25:46). At the Passover He gives the cup of His covenant blood; He is betrayed, condemned and crucified as King of the Jews, and rises on the first day of the week. With all authority in heaven and on earth He sends His disciples to make disciples of all nations, promising to be with them always (26–28). Five great discourses, each closed by the same formula, carry His teaching (5–7; 10; 13; 18; 24–25).

Matthew in context

Written by

The apostle Matthew, also called Levi, the tax collector Jesus called from the tax booth (9:9; 10:3; Mark 2:14). The book does not name its writer, but the oldest titles and the earliest writers who mention it (Papias, Irenaeus) give it to him, and a tax collector's eye shows in its care over taxes and money (17:24–27; 22:19)

Written to

Believers of Jewish background first, probably in a church of Jews and Gentiles, who needed to see that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets and that His kingdom is for all nations (1:1; 10:5–6; 28:19); Jewish customs are left unexplained (15:2)

Setting

Judea and Galilee under Herod the Great, his sons and the Roman governor Pilate, from Jesus' birth in Bethlehem to His resurrection; most of the ministry is in Galilee around Capernaum (4:12–16), with journeys north (15:21; 16:13), the road through Judea beyond Jordan (19:1), the last week in Jerusalem (21–28), and a final meeting on a mountain in Galilee (28:16)

When

Events c. 5 BC – AD 30. Written before the temple fell in AD 70, which Jesus foretells rather than looks back on (24:1–2), while the temple tax and the Sadducees were still current (17:24–27; 22:23); probably in the 50s or 60s. Irenaeus places it while Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome. Many critical scholars date it c. AD 80–90.

Why

To show that Jesus is the Christ promised in the Old Testament, the son of David and son of Abraham, Immanuel, who saves His people from their sins by His death and resurrection; to set out the kingdom He brings, the righteousness it requires and the life of its people; to warn of the judgment He will bring; and to send His disciples to make disciples of all nations under His authority and with His presence.

Themes of Matthew

• Fulfillment
• The son of David
• The son of Abraham and all nations
• The kingdom of heaven
• God with us
• Righteousness and the law
• The true Israel and the greater Moses
• The Servant and the Son of Man
• The church
• Judgment and readiness

Key verses in Matthew

• Matthew 1:21

  She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

• Matthew 1:23

  “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

• Matthew 5:17

  Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

• Matthew 11:28

  Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

• Matthew 16:16–18

  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

• Matthew 20:28

  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

• Matthew 26:28

  This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

• Matthew 28:18–20

  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew chapter by chapter

Part 1 · The King revealed: His origin and preparation 1:1–4:16

1. 1
   Matthew 1: The son of David, the son of Abraham

   Jesus is the promised son of David and Abraham, conceived by the Holy Spirit: the Savior who is God with us.

2. 2
   Matthew 2: Out of Egypt I called My Son

   Magi worship the newborn King, Herod tries to kill Him, and God guards His Son, fulfilling Scripture at each step.

3. 3
   Matthew 3: Prepare the way for the Lord

   John calls Israel to repent; Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends, and the Father names Him His beloved Son.

4. 4
   Matthew 4: Tested in the wilderness, light in Galilee

   Jesus overcomes the devil with God's word, then begins to preach the kingdom, call disciples and heal in Galilee.

Part 2 · The kingdom proclaimed in Galilee 4:17–16:20

1. 5
   Matthew 5: The blessed, and the law fulfilled

   On the mountain the King blesses the poor in spirit and fulfills the law, revealing all that it truly requires.

2. 6
   Matthew 6: Your Father, who sees what is done in secret

   Give, pray and fast for the Father who sees in secret; lay up treasure in heaven and seek His kingdom first.

3. 7
   Matthew 7: Built on the rock

   Jesus ends the Sermon: judge rightly, ask the Father, enter the narrow gate, and build your house on His words.

4. 8
   Matthew 8: What kind of man is this?

   Jesus cleanses, heals and drives out demons by His word, stills the storm, and shows what following Him costs.

5. 9
   Matthew 9: Authority on earth to forgive sins

   Jesus forgives and heals, calls sinners like Matthew, raises the dead, and pities the shepherdless crowds.

6. 10
   Matthew 10: Sheep among wolves

   Jesus sends the Twelve to Israel with His authority, warns of persecution, and calls them to take up the cross.

7. 11
   Matthew 11: Come to Me, and find rest

   Jesus answers John, rebukes the unrepentant cities, reveals the Father to little children, and offers rest to the weary.

8. 12
   Matthew 12: Lord of the Sabbath, and the sign of Jonah

   The Lord of the Sabbath, the gentle Servant, is called Beelzebul's agent; He warns His foes and gives only Jonah's sign.

9. 13
   Matthew 13: The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

   In parables the kingdom is sown and grows amid evil until the harvest, revealed to disciples, hidden from others.

10. 14
    Matthew 14: It is I. Do not be afraid

    Herod beheads John; Jesus feeds five thousand, walks on the sea, saves sinking Peter, and is worshiped as God's Son.

11. 15
    Matthew 15: O woman, your faith is great!

    Jesus exposes tradition that voids God's command, shows defilement comes from the heart, and grants a Gentile's faith.

12. 16
    Matthew 16: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God

    Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ; He will build His church, and from then He shows that He must die and rise.

Part 3 · The way to the cross and the coming judgment 16:21–25:46

1. 17
   Matthew 17: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!

   Transfigured, Jesus is the Son all must hear; He heals, foretells His death, and pays the temple tax as a free Son.

2. 18
   Matthew 18: Where two or three gather together

   Greatness is humility: guard the little ones, seek the straying, correct a brother through the church, and forgive.

3. 19
   Matthew 19: What God has joined together

   Jesus upholds marriage as God made it, blesses the children, and shows a rich man that salvation is God's work.

4. 20
   Matthew 20: A ransom for many

   Grace in the vineyard is free; Jesus foretells His cross, gives His life as a ransom for many, and opens blind eyes.

5. 21
   Matthew 21: See, your King comes to you

   The gentle King enters Jerusalem, cleanses the temple, curses a fruitless fig tree, and warns the leaders of judgment.

6. 22
   Matthew 22: David's son and David's Lord

   Jesus tells of the refused wedding feast, answers every trap, and silences His foes: David's son is David's Lord.

7. 23
   Matthew 23: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees

   Jesus exposes the scribes' and Pharisees' hypocrisy in woe after woe and mourns Jerusalem, whose house is left desolate.

8. 24
   Matthew 24: The sign of Your coming

   Jesus foretells the temple's fall within that generation, a preview of His visible coming at an hour no one knows.

9. 25
   Matthew 25: Come, you who are blessed by My Father

   Be ready and faithful till the Bridegroom comes: the Son of Man will sit on His throne and judge all nations.

Part 4 · The King's death and resurrection 26:1–28:20

1. 26
   Matthew 26: My blood of the covenant

   Anointed and betrayed, Jesus gives the cup of His covenant blood, yields to the Father in Gethsemane, and is condemned.

2. 27
   Matthew 27: Truly this was the Son of God

   Condemned though innocent, Jesus is mocked as King, crucified and forsaken; the veil tears, and He is buried.

3. 28
   Matthew 28: He has risen, just as He said

   Risen on the first day, Jesus sends His disciples with all authority to disciple the nations, and is with them always.

See the outline of Matthew