Introduction to Mathew

I.                   Introduction

a.      Matthew is the opening book of the 4 Gospels

b.      Offers the most systemic arrangement of Jesus’ teaching (Attachment 1)

c.       Central message: 1.Jesus is the messianic king.2. the kingdom of God (heaven). With His appearance among us, the kingdom of God has been delivered for salvation. The conflict with Satan, however, is woven into the structure throughout.

II.                Authorship

a.      Traditionally, the author of Matthew was attributed to Matthew, the apostle and former tax collector (9:9; 10:3).

b.      The actual author is unknown, but most likely in a Christian Jew who used Gospel of Mark, plus a collection of Jesus’ sayings by Matthew the Apostle and wrote this Gospel in Greek.

III.             Historical Background

a.      This Gospel is full of clues that it was written to convince Jewish readers that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.

b.      Its narrative also brings the reader the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish authority( Pharisees & scribes) and acceptance of Him by the Gentiles.

c.       This group of Jewish Christians probably lived around present day Turkey/Syria.

IV.              Structure of the Gospel: 6 major sections, each ending with the sentence of: “now when Jesus had finished saying these things……” as a concluding refrain.

a.      1---7    ( 7:28)  Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation, beginning of His ministry and Sermon on the Mount

b.      8---10  (11:1)   miracles, teachings regarding mission and suffering

c.       11---13 (13:53) parables and narratives concerning conflict between the ways of His kingdom and this world

d.      14---18 (19:1)   miracles, debates and more conflicts from His ministry

e.      19---25 (26:1)   set in Jerusalem, final conflicts, teaching regarding the end times and judgment

f.        26---28  betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and resurrection

Attachment 1:

A   1-4   Birth and beginnings                                                                            Narrative

    B   5-7   Blessings, entering the kingdom                                                       Discourse

       C   8-9   Authority and invitation                                                                Narrative

           D   10    Mission discourse                                                                    Discourse

               E  11-12   Rejection by this generation                                               Narrative

                   F   13   Parables of the kingdom                                                    Discourse

               E’  14-17   Acknowledgement by disciples                                        Narrative

            D’  18   Community discourse                                                   Discourse

        C’   19-22   Authority and invitation                                                          Narrative

     B’   23-25   Woes, coming of the kingdom                                       Discourse

A’   26-28   Death and rebirth                                                                          Narrative