Matthew: Part 1
Fulfilling the OT
The first gospel that we will be diving into today will be the gospel of Matthew. Now as stated briefly in our previous post, Matthew’s gospel is intended for a Jewish audience in order to persuade them that Jesus really is the savior that they have been waiting for. Therefore, we can expect to see many references to the Old Testament Law being fulfilled in this gospel for Jesus to show everyone that He really is the Christ. As Bible Study Tools plainly puts it, “Matthew's main purpose is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus is their Messiah. He does this primarily by showing how Jesus in his life and ministry fulfilled the OT Scriptures.” Matthew’s gospel is made up of 28 chapters so we will be going through the first 14 in this post since this is part one of our 2-part series. We will see many teachings from Christ in this first half that many people at the time would consider to be crazy or even blasphemous because of the authority that Jesus claimed to have. However, it is important that we remember that the reason for this type of teaching is not intending to offend, but with the goal to have eyes opened to who Jesus really is. What better way to communicate to a group of Jews that you really are the coming Messiah than to put yourself on the same playing field as Yahweh Himself? To do this, one would have to imply that they are equal to God themselves! And only the coming Messiah could make such a claim. Which is exactly why Jesus makes it in so many of these passages. With this in mind, let’s dive into the first half of Matthew’s gospel.
The Sermon On The Mount
To begin, you can’t read the first half of this gospel without talking about The Sermon on the Mount. The first four chapters of this book discuss Jesus’ lineage, birth, baptism, and the beginning of His ministry, and then we go into one of the most famous teachings of Jesus ever recorded. The Sermon on the Mount covers three full chapters from 5-8 and discusses a plethora of issues. Jesus discusses the Beatitudes, Christian living, relationships, giving, judgment, salvation, and many other topics in these three chapters alone. And many times during this teaching, we see Jesus use the phrase, ‘You have heard it said’. When He says this, He is referring to an OT Law that He is about to bring up and shed new light on. This is that Jewish connection that Matthew noticed. Jesus is speaking as one who is fulfilling the law on behalf of the Jews and not as someone who is simply ignoring it like it doesn’t matter. A great example of this is seen in Matthew 5:43-45 where Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Jesus is showing His audience here that He not only understands the Law that these people are under, but that He is in fact over the Law and able to fulfill it. This is why the reaction to this teaching at the end is so vital to see. Look at how the end of The Sermon on the Mount concludes in chapter 7. Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” This teaching that these people had heard was unlike any teaching that they had ever experienced before. And why is that? Because this wasn’t a teaching from a scribe or a prophet where someone was simply delivering a word from God, this was a teaching that someone was delivering as if they were God Himself. And that is exactly what Jesus wanted to communicate.
Miracles & Parables
Furthermore, we see this teaching followed up with many miracles and parables to further Jesus’ authority and teaching. A great miracle that Jesus performs shortly after The Sermon on the Mount is the healing of the paralyzed man in chapter nine. Look at what Jesus says here in Mattew 9:5-8 “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” This is an amazing story, not just because of the miracle that is performed but why it was performed. Not only does Jesus remind the crowd that forgiving sins is a bigger task than healing a paralyzed man, but He goes even further to show that He Himself has the authority to forgive these sins like God can by performing a miracle that no one but God could do. Miracles weren’t just used for Jesus to showboat His power but rather to verify who He said He was.
Lastly, we come across the parables that Jesus taught in chapters 13 and 14. There are many parables taught in these two chapters but there is one section in particular that highlights what the purpose of these parables is. In Matthew 13:13, Jesus shares His answer as to why He speaks in parables. He notes “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Many people did not understand what Jesus was teaching when He spoke to them plainly, so in order to get the point across, Jesus would use parables in order to communicate the same principle. Jesus was sent on a mission by His Father to reach the lost of this world and He made sure to do so by fulfilling the OT Law, proving His divine authority, and teaching His people in ways that they could truly understand. I hope and pray that as you go through the gospel of Matthew with us this week, your eyes will be opened to how Jesus didn’t tear down the old structure that God had in place in the OT, but rather He fulfilled it and made a way for those who couldn’t fulfill it to achieve salvation and come to God anyway. This isn’t just a powerful message for the Jews, this is a powerful message for any person who understands what their position before God looks like without a mediator. May this study give you a deep love and appreciation for Christ this day.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] BibleStudyTools Staff. (n.d.). Book of Matthew. Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/
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