Bible Course for the Laity - 2004, DVK, Bangalore

Full Reports on the Bible Course - 2004

6.3   The Gospel According to Matthew

This Gospel is often referred to as a faithful transmitter and creative shaper of traditions. The following are the purposes of writing this Gospel:

• To instruct and exhort members of the community
• To provide liturgical reading and sermon material
• To offer a missionary address to those of goodwill
• Apologetics and polemics directed to hostile critics
  *apologetics = a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity
  *polemics = the art or practice of disputation or controversy
    (Definitions: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary >> www.m-w.com)

To achieve these objectives, Matthew employs two broad categories of material, namely narrative and discourse.

Five great discourses into which Matthew has gathered so much teaching material are the following:

1. The Sermon on the Mount (Mt chapters 5, 6, 7)
2. The Missionary Discourse (Mt chapter 10): Selecting and sending disciples
3. The Parable Discourse (Mt chapter 13)
4. The Community Discourse (Mt chapter 18)
5. The Apocalyptic Judgment Discourses (Mt chapters 23, 24, 25)

These discourses are the masterpieces of the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew's primary intent was to write a handbook for church leaders to assist them in preaching, teaching, worship, mission, and polemic. Matthew has inserted this into the story of a living person -- Jesus Christ -- and His kingdom as the good news of salvation.

6.3.1 Matthean Theology

Matthew's Gospel has two focuses: Jesus as the Christ, and the near approach of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus proclaims. The two themes are close together both at the beginning of the Gospel, where Jesus is set forth as Son of God and Immanuel, God with us, and at the end where Jesus is given all divine authority as Son of Man over the kingdom of God, in heaven and on earth.

Note: Matthew refers to the Kingdom of Heaven, not Kingdom of God. This is because Matthew wrote for the Jews who were skeptical of God.

The title Son of God occurs at crucial moments in the story and is especially important. Examples: the baptism (Mt 3:17), Peter's confession (Mt 16:16, representing the confession or faith of the church), the transfiguration (17:5), and the trial and the cross (Mt 26:63, 27:40, 27:43, 27:54). Matching this role is the title Son of David, which appears 10 times in Matthew (Eg: Mt 9:27). In this title, Jesus is seen as a new Solomon, with connotations as healer and wise man. Jesus speaks as the wisdom incarnate in Mt 11:25-30 and in Mt 23:37-39. The title of Jesus as Son of Man runs through the Gospel, culminating in the grand finale in Mt 28:18-20. This title is based on the mysterious figure of Dan 7:13-14, where it is also connected with the kingdom theme. The kingdom of God (or Heaven) is the object of great hope, prayer (Mt 6:10), and proclamation (Mt 3:2, 417), which unifies the entire Gospel, especially the five great discourses, and provides its eschatological (= concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment) horizon and goal.

The Gospel contains God's definitive and ultimate promise of salvation to redeem humanity. It entails justice (Mt 6:33), peace (Mt 5:9), and joy (Mt 13:44). The law or Mosaic Torah is affirmed as a whole as of abiding significance (Mt 5:17-20). In fact, Jesus speaks mainly about ethical precepts, the Ten Commandments, and the great commandments of love of God and neighbour, and about other matters (Eg: Divorce - Mt 5:31-32 & Mt 19:1-10) provided they have an ethical aspect.

More on Matthean Theology

Two other characteristic features of Matthew are: (1) the explicit concern for the church, mentioned in Mt 16:18, Mt 18:18 (twice), but nowhere in the other Gospels (2) the special use of the Old Testament.

As a representative of second or third generation Christians, Matthew presupposes faith in Christ and tires to provide the community of believers with guidelines and authoritative leaders. The guidelines are contained in the great discourses, especially in Chapter 18, where authorization for decision-making and procedure for conflict resolution are provided. Concern for the straying sheep, for the little ones, for forgiveness and humility are other central guidelines therein. Matthew does not have the three-fold ministry (or hierarchy) of bishop, priest, deacon, but does mention educated leaders or scribes. There are apostles with Peter as their head (Mt 10:2), who share the authority of Christ himself (Mt 10:40, 9:8). After them come prophets, scribes, and sages (Mt 10:41, 13:52, 23:34). As a court of final appeal, there is Peter (Mt 16:19).

Matthew also suggests humility for leaders (Mt 18:1-9). Matthew has no illusions about the church. He indicates that nobody is infallible (not even Peter - Mt 26:69-75); prophets can also go wrong (Mt 7:15). The church is a mixture of saint and sinner till the final cleansing (Mt 13:36-43, 22:11-12, chapter 25). Nevertheless, the church is called to a worldwide mission (Mt 28:18-20). The style of apostolic or missionary life is described in Mt 9:36 - 11:1. The whole Gospel is framed by a covenant principle in which God is united with His people through Jesus Christ (Mt 1:23 and 28:18-20). The outcasts of old Israel (Mt 21:31-32) together with the Gentile converts become the new people of God (Mt 21:43).

The covenant framework naturally leads to a consideration of Matthew's use of the Old Testament. Besides the OT structure, and many references and quotations of the OT, Matthew has added a series of OT quotations so as to imply "This happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet." These are called "fulfillment citations". Eg: Mt 1:23, 2:6, 2:15, 2:18, 2:23, 4:15-16, 8:17, 12:18-21, 13:35, 21:5, 26:56, 27:9-10

6.3.2 Three-fold Salvation Plan

A three-fold scheme of salvation history is present in Matthew's Gospel:

1. A period of Israel stretching from Abraham to John the Baptist
2. The time of Jesus' own life
3. The time of the church -- from the resurrection of Jesus until the end of the world

Matthew hints that the ongoing life of the church would resolve some of the tensions, but some tensions would remain "until the close of the age (Mt 28:20)."

"... And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt 28:20)

The fourth part of Module-6 discusses the Gospel According to Luke.

Bible Course for the Laity

Bible Course Index   Module 1, Part 1   Module 1, Part 2   Module 2

Module 3, Part 1   Module 3, Part 2   Module 3, Part 3

Module 4, Part 1   Module 4, Part 2   Module 5, Part 1   Module 5, Part 2

Module 6, Part 1   Module 6, Part 2   Module 6, Part 3

Module 6, Part 4   Module 6, Part 5