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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll see that the Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the promised King of Israel and discover how this truth transforms our understanding of His ministry and our response to His reign.

Key Verse

Matthew 4:23: Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Introduction

Why are there four different Gospels in the New Testament? This question has puzzled many readers of Scripture, but the answer reveals the beautiful wisdom of God’s plan. Each of the four Gospels shows us Jesus Christ from a different perspective, like four artists painting the same mountain from different vantage points. Each writer emphasizes different aspects of our Savior’s character and ministry, giving us a complete picture of who Jesus truly is.

• Matthew shows us Christ as King—the long-awaited Messiah who came to establish God’s righteous reign on earth.
• Mark presents Christ as the perfect Servant who came not to be served but to serve.
• Luke reveals Christ as the ideal Man who understands our human struggles and needs.
• John declares Christ as God in human flesh, the eternal Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

Just as each Gospel presents a unique portrait of Christ, each was also written for a different audience with specific needs and backgrounds. Matthew wrote primarily for Jewish readers who were searching for their promised Messiah. Mark wrote for Roman readers who valued action and service. Luke wrote for Greek readers who appreciated careful historical investigation. John wrote for all people everywhere, offering the universal message of God’s love for the world.

The Gospels agree perfectly with one another about who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Many events and teachings appear in multiple Gospels, but there are also many differences in emphasis and detail. As we study Matthew’s Gospel, we’ll focus on the unique contributions this book makes to our understanding of Jesus Christ.

Though Matthew was probably not the first Gospel to be written—most scholars believe Mark was written first—Matthew appears first in our New Testament because it serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. No other Gospel connects Jesus so clearly and extensively with the promises and prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures.

In this lesson, we’ll explore three essential questions about this remarkable Gospel:

• Who was the author of Matthew?
• What is the structure of Matthew?
• What is the central message of Matthew?

The Author of Matthew

Early church tradition unanimously tells us that Matthew the apostle wrote the Gospel that bears his name. Matthew was one of the twelve disciples whom Jesus personally chose to follow Him, but his background was quite different from most of the other apostles. While many of the disciples were fishermen or craftsmen, Matthew was a tax collector—one of the most despised professions in first-century Jewish society.

Matthew 9:9-13: 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. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were viewed as traitors to their own people. They worked for the occupying Roman government, collecting taxes from their fellow Jews. Many tax collectors were known to be dishonest, taking bribes and overcharging people to line their own pockets. They were considered ceremonially unclean and were excluded from worship in the synagogue. Yet Jesus chose Matthew—a man whom society had written off as hopeless.

This choice reveals something beautiful about God’s grace. (Notebook Moment: How does Jesus’ calling of Matthew encourage you about God’s ability to use people whom others might overlook or despise? What does this teach us about our own prejudices and assumptions about whom God can use?)

Matthew’s background as a tax collector actually equipped him perfectly for writing his Gospel. Tax collectors needed to be literate and skilled at keeping detailed written records. They had to be precise with numbers and careful with documentation. We can imagine that Matthew brought these same skills to recording Jesus’ teachings and ministry. His attention to detail and organized approach shine through every chapter of his Gospel.

The transformation in Matthew’s life demonstrates the power of Jesus’ call. When Jesus said “Follow me,” Matthew immediately left his lucrative tax collection business behind. He gave up financial security to follow an itinerant preacher with no earthly possessions. This decision shows us that when Jesus calls, no sacrifice is too great and no background disqualifies us from serving Him.

The Structure of Matthew

Matthew’s Gospel is carefully organized around two major sections that correspond to the two main periods of Jesus’ earthly ministry. These two sections are marked by an important phrase that appears twice in the Gospel: “From that time on.”

The first occurrence appears in Matthew 4:17, marking the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. This section tells us about Jesus healing the sick, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and drawing large crowds who marveled at His teaching and miracles.

Matthew 4:17: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The second occurrence appears in Matthew 16:21, marking a dramatic shift in Jesus’ ministry. From this point forward, Jesus begins moving deliberately toward the cross. The crowds that once followed Him eagerly begin to fall away as His teachings become more challenging and His destination becomes clearer.

Matthew 16:21: 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.

The great turning point between these two sections comes with Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi. This pivotal moment marks a fundamental change in Jesus’ ministry strategy and focus.

Matthew 16:13-20: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-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 overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

This confession represents the climax of Jesus’ public ministry. Once the disciples recognized Him as the Messiah, Jesus could begin preparing them for the shocking reality that the Messiah must suffer and die before He could reign in glory.

Matthew also organizes his material in other significant ways. In our next lesson, we’ll discover that he structures his Gospel around five major teaching sections, each concluding with a similar phrase. This pattern may reflect Matthew’s intention to present Jesus as a new Moses, giving a new law to God’s people.

The Message of Matthew

The central theme that runs throughout Matthew’s Gospel is “the kingdom of heaven.” This distinctive phrase appears thirty-two times in Matthew and nowhere else in the entire New Testament. When Jesus began His public ministry, His first recorded message focused on this kingdom.

Matthew 4:17: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The kingdom of heaven refers to God’s righteous reign breaking into human history. Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the King who came to establish God’s authority on earth and invite people to live under His perfect rule. This kingdom is both a present reality and a future hope—Jesus reigns in the hearts of believers today, but He will one day return to establish His kingdom visibly on earth.

Matthew wrote his Gospel specifically for a Jewish audience who had been waiting centuries for their promised Messiah. The Jewish people expected God to send a king from David’s line who would restore Israel’s glory and establish God’s reign on earth. Matthew wanted to demonstrate conclusively that Jesus of Nazareth is that promised King.

How does Matthew present Jesus as the King? He begins with royal credentials, tracing Jesus’ genealogy back through King David to Abraham himself. This genealogy establishes Jesus’ legal right to David’s throne and proves His qualification to be Israel’s Messiah.

Matthew 1:1: This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew quotes extensively from the Old Testament—more than any other Gospel writer—to show that Jesus fulfilled the prophetic requirements for the Messiah. The Hebrew prophets had given detailed descriptions of how the Messiah would be born, where He would come from, what He would accomplish, and how He would suffer. Matthew carefully demonstrates that Jesus met every specification.

Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:22-23: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Even Jesus Himself appealed to Old Testament prophecy to establish His identity as David’s greater Son. In a masterful exchange with the religious leaders, Jesus quoted Psalm 110 to show that the Messiah must be both David’s descendant and David’s Lord.

Matthew 22:41-45: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

(Notebook Moment: The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had extensive knowledge of Scripture but failed to recognize Him as their Messiah. What does this teach us about the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge? How can we make sure we truly know Jesus, not just know about Him?)

The kingdom of heaven that Jesus proclaimed has both present and future dimensions. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus describes what life looks like when God reigns in our hearts. These principles give us a preview of what the world will be like during the future Millennium when Christ sits on David’s throne in Jerusalem. But these same principles should characterize our lives right now as we submit to Christ’s reign in our hearts.

Unfortunately, the Jewish people as a nation rejected their King. Instead of accepting His righteous reign, they crucified Him on a Roman cross. But Jesus taught that this rejection was not the end of the story. He will return someday to judge the earth and establish His kingdom in power and glory.

Matthew 25:31-34: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’

Conclusion

Matthew’s Gospel presents us with the most important question any human being can face: Will we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our King? The Jewish people of Jesus’ day saw His miracles, heard His teachings, and witnessed His perfect life, yet they rejected Him because His kingdom didn’t match their expectations. They wanted a political Messiah who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel’s earthly glory. Instead, God sent them a spiritual King who came to overthrow sin and establish a kingdom of righteousness in human hearts.

(Notebook Moment: In what ways might our own expectations about what God should do in our lives prevent us from recognizing what He is actually doing? How can we surrender our agenda to embrace His perfect plan?)

The tragedy of Matthew’s Gospel is not just that Jesus was rejected by His own people—it’s that this same rejection continues today. But Matthew’s Gospel also reveals incredible hope for anyone who will receive Jesus as King. Just as Matthew left his tax collector’s booth to follow Christ, anyone can leave their old life behind and enter God’s kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven that Jesus proclaimed is not primarily about political power or earthly success—it’s about the transformation that occurs when God’s righteous reign is established in human hearts. When Christ becomes our King, we discover what it means to live under perfect leadership. We experience the peace that comes from knowing our lives have eternal significance.

The question Matthew’s Gospel poses to each of us remains urgent and personal: Is Jesus Christ reigning as King in your heart today? This is the message we must bring to a world that desperately needs to know their true King has come, has conquered, and will return in glory.

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