Introduction

The central personality of Old Testament prophecy is the coming great King who will rule in God’s promised kingdom. Over and over we are told of a special individual who has the righteousness, the wisdom, the power, the authority, and the right to reign not only over Israel but over the entire earth.

This coming great King will have the power to bruise Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15), take back man’s dominion that was lost through sin, and establish at last a kingdom on earth that will extend into eternity. From Him the “scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Gen. 49:10). That could not be said of any Old Testament king, and could only apply to the coming great King. The host of other predictions that refer to a reign described by such terms as everlasting, eternal, and forever obviously could not apply to a merely human king.

The words of the Lord spoken to David through Nathan had to refer to other than David himself: “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). David’s kingdom was shattered and divided as soon as his successor, Solomon, died—and as yet has never been reestablished.

Yet in Psalm 2 God tells us, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession’“ (vv. 6-8). David calls the coming One “the King of glory” and “the Lord of hosts” (Ps. 24:10). The coming King is spoken of in similar ways in Psalms 45, 72, 110, and others.

The prophets speak of the great King as both human and divine. Isaiah tells us that He would be born of a virgin (7:14) and that He would be despised, forsaken, stricken, pierced through, crushed, chastened, scourged, oppressed, and afflicted (53:3-7). Daniel speaks of Him as “One like a Son of Man” (7:13). Yet Isaiah also tells us that “the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace” (9:6-7) and that He will be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). Through Micah, the Lord promised Bethlehem: “From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (5:2). Zephaniah tells his people that when this King comes He will be “the King of Israel, the Lord” in their midst (3:15). Zechariah tells us that He will “be just and endowed with salvation” (9:9) and that when He reigns, every family on earth will be able to “go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts” (14:17). The coming great King would be the Man-God.

None of those ancient writers comprehended the full nature of the One of whom they prophesied. “As to this salvation,” Peter tells us, “the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ [that is, Messiah] within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet. 1:10-11).

The full identity and nature of the predicted King are initially presented and explained in the gospels, of which Matthew is the first. Like a divine spotlight they focus on Jesus and, through one event after another, show Him to be the only One who fulfills all the requirements of those prophesies. By the same token all impostors are unmasked by their inability to fit the predictions.

The whole New Testament acknowledges Jesus as the promised great King. In its twenty-seven books the term basileia (kingdom) is used one hundred forty-four times in referring to the reign of Jesus Christ; basileus (king) is used directly of Jesus at least thirty-five times; and basileu (to reign) is used of Him some ten times.

AUTHORSHIP

At the time Christ was born, Israel had been under Roman domination for some sixty years. One of the worst aspects of Roman oppression was the system of taxation, which was methodical, relentless, and ruthless. Two basic taxes were levied—the toll tax, which was comparable to the modern income tax, and the ground tax, a property and land tax.

Roman senators and various other high-ranking officials would buy from the central government at public auction the right of collecting the toll taxes in a given country, province, or region at a fixed rate for a period of five years. Whatever was collected above that amount was kept as profit. Those who held such taxing rights were called publicani. The publicani would hire others, usually citizens of the country being taxed, to do the actual collecting.

Those collectors had somewhat the same arrangement with the publicani that the publicani had with Rome. Whatever they managed to collect above the amount demanded by the publicani they kept as their own profit. Both the publicani and the tax-gatherers, therefore, had strong motivation to exact and collect as much tax as possible—knowing they were backed by the full authority, including the military authority, of Rome.

The tax-gatherers (Greek telones) quite naturally were hated by their own people, not only as extortioners but as traitors. In Israel they were ranked with the lowest of human society—sinners, prostitutes, and Gentiles (Matt. 9:10-11; 18:17; 21:31-32; Mark 2:15-16; Luke 5:30; etc.).

Matthew, who was also called Levi, was a tax-gatherer when Jesus called him to be one of the twelve disciples (Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14). We have little idea as to what sort of person Matthew was before Jesus called him. It is doubtful that he was very religious, because tax-gatherers were ostracized, practically if not officially, from many synagogues and sometimes even from the Temple. It was no doubt partly for that reason that Matthew so quickly responded to Jesus’ invitation and that so many other tax-gatherers were attracted to Him (Matt. 9:9-10; 11:19; Luke 15:1). It was rare that they were accepted and befriended by a fellow Jew, especially by a rabbi, or teacher, such as Jesus.

Matthew was particularly modest in writing his gospel account. He always refers to himself in the third person and nowhere speaks of himself as the author. We know of his authorship because his name is attached to all early copies of the manuscripts and because the early church Fathers unanimously attest him to be the book’s author.

It is obvious from the text itself that Matthew wrote this gospel before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. Apart from that general dating, it is impossible to be dogmatic as to a specific year.

MESSAGE

The first four books of the New Testament report the same gospel account, but from four distinct perspectives. They give the same message with differing but perfectly harmonious emphases. Matthew presents Jesus as the sovereign, whereas Mark presents Him in the extreme opposite role as servant. Luke presents Him as the Son of Man, whereas John presents Him as the Son of God. The same Jesus is shown to be both sovereign God and servant Man.

In presenting the sovereignty of Jesus, Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of the Lord—going back to Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, through King David, Israel’s model king. In presenting Jesus’ servanthood, Mark gives no genealogy at all, because a servant’s lineage is irrelevant. In presenting Jesus as the Son of Man, Luke traces His genealogy back to the first man, Adam. In presenting Jesus as the divine Son of God, John gives no human genealogy or birth and childhood narratives. He opens his gospel by giving, as it were, Jesus’ divine genealogy: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

The message of the book of Matthew centers on the theme of Jesus’ kingship. Just as virtually every paragraph of the gospel of John points to something of Christ’s deity, so virtually every paragraph of Matthew points to something of His kingship.

Matthew presents the Messiah King who is revealed, the King who is rejected, and the King who will return. Jesus is painted in royal colors in this gospel as in none of the others. His ancestry is traced from the royal line of Israel; his birth is dreaded by a jealous earthly king; the magi bring the infant Jesus royal gifts from the east; and John the Baptist heralds the King and proclaims that His kingdom is at hand. Even the temptations in the wilderness climax with Satan offering Jesus the kingdoms of this world. The Sermon on the Mount is the manifesto of the King, the miracles are His royal credentials, and many of the parables portray the mysteries of His kingdom. Jesus identifies Himself with the king’s son in a parable and makes a royal entry into Jerusalem. While facing the cross He predicts His future reign, and He claims dominion over the angels in heaven. His last words are that all authority has been given to Him in both heaven and earth (28:18).

Yet Matthew also focuses most uniquely on the rejection of Jesus as King. In no other gospel are the attacks against Jesus’ character and Jesus’ claims so bitter and vile as those reported in Matthew. The shadow of rejection is never lifted from Matthew’s story. Before Jesus was born, His mother, Mary, was in danger of being rejected by Joseph. Soon after He was born, Herod threatened His life, and His parents had to flee with Him to Egypt. His herald, John the Baptist, was put in a dungeon and eventually beheaded. During His earthly ministry Jesus had no place to lay His head, no place to call home. In Matthew’s gospel no penitent thief acknowledges Jesus’ Lordship, and no friend or loved one is seen at the foot of the cross—only the mockers and scorners. Even the women are pictured at a distance (27:55-56), and in His death Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (27:46). Only a Gentile centurion speaks a favorable word about the crucified One: “Truly this was the Son of God!” (27:54). When some of the soldiers who had stood guard over the tomb reported its being empty, the Jewish authorities paid them to say that Jesus’ body was stolen by His disciples (28:11-15).

Yet Jesus is also shown as the King who ultimately will return to judge and to rule. All the earth one day “will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (24:30), His coming will be “at an hour when you do not think He will” (v. 44), and He will come in glory and in judgment (25:31-33).

No reader can fully immerse himself in this gospel without emerging with a compelling sense of both the eternal majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ and the strong power that sin and Satan held over the apostate Israel that rejected Christ.

No gospel is more instructive to those who are the Lord’s disciples and who are called to represent Him in the world. The lessons on discipleship are life-changing for the committed reader, as they were for the eleven who were Jesus’ first followers. Thus, with all its great themes of majesty and glory, rejection and apostasy, the book of Matthew lacks no practicality. Woven through all that is the constant thread of revealed instruction for those who are His representatives among men.

OUTLINE

The King’s ancestry—His genealogy (1:1-17)

The King’s arrival—His virgin birth (1:18-25)

The King’s adoration—the worship of the magi (2:1-12)

The King’s anticipation—the fulfilled prophecies of His coming (2:13-23)

The King’s announcer—John the Baptist (3:1-12)

The King’s affirmation—His baptism; His sonship affirmed by the Father (3:13-17)

The King’s advantage—His defeat of Satan (4:1-11)

The King’s activity—His ministry and miracles (4:12-25)

The King’s address—His manifesto: The Sermon on the Mount (5-7)

Righteousness and happiness (5:1-12)

Righteousness and discipleship (5:13-16)

Righteousness and the Scriptures (5:17-20)

Righteousness and morality (5:21-48)

Righteousness and practical religion (6:1-18)

Righteousness and mundane things (6:19-34)

Righteousness and human relations (7:1-12)

Righteousness and salvation (7:13-29)