One of the most surprising things first-time readers of the New Testament discover is that the story of Jesus is told not once, but four times: The “Gospels” according to Matthew… Mark… Luke… and John. So why are there four Gospels in the New Testament? Why not just tell the whole story once? Throughout the centuries there have been numerous attempts to “harmonize” the Gospels into a single story.
One of the earliest of these was done by the early church father Tatian in the second century AD. His work was called the Diatessaron, meaning “through the four,” and it sought to weave the four accounts into a single narrative. Tatian’s work gained great popularity and was used for centuries as the main lectionary on the Gospels in some Christian communities.
So should we have just one Gospel? For those who believe the Bible is God’s Word, the answer should be a resounding “No!” After all, it was the Holy Spirit who gave us four Gospels, each divinely-inspired by God himself. If we cut and paste them into the single gospel, we take four Spirit-inspired masterpieces and turn them into one un-inspired human work. Ironically, it is often the more conservative Christian churches, schools, and colleges that teach the Gospels as a harmonized “life of Christ,” rather than listening to each Gospel on its own terms. Their goals are noble: to tell the whole story of Jesus—but the result is flawed. This is because each Gospel represents a unique portrait of Jesus. Each Gospel writer has a particular story to tell and certain theological themes to emphasize. Merging them together into a single story risks missing each Gospel’s unique perspective. Worse, we risk missing the Holy Spirit’s message to us through the text. In this series of four short articles, we will look at the distinctive themes and theology of each of the four Gospels.
The Gospel of the Messiah
Though probably not the first gospel to be written (Mark likely has that distinction), the Gospel according to Matthew comes first in our New Testament. This is appropriate since Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels and also the one most closely linked to the Old Testament and to the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. Matthew’s central theme is promise and fulfillment: God’s promises in the Hebrew Scriptures to bring salvation to his people Israel and to the whole world are being fulfilled with the coming of Jesus the Messiah. The Church’s response to this joyful news should be to go into all the world and make disciples (followers) of Jesus the Messiah (Matt 28:18–20).
The Genealogy
Every page of Matthew’s Gospel is steeped in this theme of promise and fulfillment. The Gospel begins with the announcement that, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” followed by a detailed genealogy of 41 generations! While Western cultures tend to have little interest in genealogies, viewing them as tedious curiosities, Matthew and his readers would have considered this announcement to be the most exciting news of all time. The genealogy introduces Jesus as the “son of Abraham” and the “son of David,” meaning he is in the lineage of two of the most significant figures in biblical history.
God called Abraham to leave his homeland in Ur of Mesopotamia and to go to a place he would show him. God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to create from him a great nation (Israel), to give him the Promised Land (Canaan) and through his descendants to bless all nations of the earth (Gen 12:1–3). It is through the salvation available through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that all nations would be blessed.
Jesus is also introduced as the “son of David” (Matt 1:1). Twelve hundred years after Abraham, when Israel was established in the Land, God made a covenant with King David, promising him that his dynasty would be established forever and that one of his descendants would reign on his throne forever (2 Sam 7:11-16). This prophecy for the “Messiah"—the anointed king and Savior—was picked up and expanded by the later prophets (Isa 9:1–7, 11:1–16). The portrait they presented was not just a return to the glory days of Israel’s monarchy under David and Solomon. It was a promise for the restoration and renewal of all of creation, when “the wolf will live with the lamb… They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:6, 11:9). When Matthew presents a genealogy tracing Jesus’ lineage through David and Abraham, he is affirming that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world, the focal point, and destination of human history.
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The Fulfillment Formulas
In addition to providing a genealogy confirming Jesus’ legitimate credentials as the Messiah, Matthew develops his promise-fulfillment theme through a series of “fulfillment formulas,” quotations from the Old Testament demonstrating Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy. The formula, which Matthew uses ten times, reads something like, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet… .” For example, Jesus’ birth to a virgin fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 (Matt 1:22-23), his family’s escape to Egypt fulfills Hosea 11:1 (Matt 2:15), his ministry in Galilee fulfills Isaiah 9:2 (Matt 4:14–16), and so on.
In addition to these ten fulfillment formulas, Matthew cites or alludes to Scripture a dozen or more times without a formula, but in a way that indicates Jesus’ fulfillment of it. For example, when King Herod asks the chief priests and teachers of the law where the Messiah was to be born, they quote Micah 5:2 and 5:4 to confirm his Bethlehem birth. Similarly, Matthew identifies John the Baptist as “the one about whom it is written,” and then cites Malachi 3:1, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
Some have claimed that Matthew’s quotations of the Old Testament are often taken out of context, misrepresenting the original meaning of the text. For example, in its original context, Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” was not a prophecy about the Messiah escaping to Egypt and then returning to Israel. In fact, it wasn’t a prophecy at all, but rather a statement by God concerning his deliverance of Israel in the exodus from Egypt. The full sentence in Hosea 11:1 reads, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Israel, created as a nation by God, is described metaphorically as his “son.” So how can Matthew apply the passage to Jesus? Does he distort the meaning of the text to fit his agenda? Is he ignoring the most fundamental principles of biblical interpretation: context, context, context?
Typology: Jesus As the New Israel
In fact, a closer reading of Matthew’s Gospel provides a better solution. Christians in the West tend to look to prophecy for its apologetic value. Knowing something ahead of time is proof of the message’s divine origin. Yet for Matthew, the fulfillment of Scripture is less about apologetics and more about God’s sovereign purposes. The establishment of patterns of “fulfillment” confirms that all of human history is heading toward its goal and culmination in Christ.
Seen from this perspective, Hosea 11:1 is part of a larger Israel-Jesus typology that Matthew develops throughout his Gospel. Just as God brought his “son” Israel out of Egypt, so Jesus, the true Son of God, comes out of Egypt (Hos 11:1; Matt 2:15). Just as Israel was tested for 40 years in the wilderness, so Jesus is tested by Satan for 40 days in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11). While Israel repeatedly failed to obey God, Jesus remains faithful and obedient. Confirmation of this typology is that the three Old Testament passages that Jesus cites in response to the three temptations are all taken from Israel’s exodus account. (1) Israel failed to trust God when tested with hunger. Jesus depends completely on God, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man shall not live by bread alone.” (2) Israel put God to the test at Meribah. Jesus refuses to test God by throwing himself from the pinnacle of the temple, citing Deuteronomy 6:16: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (3) Finally, Israel turned to idolatry, breaking the command to worship God alone (Deut 9:12; Judg 3:5-7). Jesus refuses to worship Satan in exchange for the kingdoms of the world, citing Deuteronomy 6:13: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
A Jesus-Israel typology is also evident in Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus as the “Servant of the Lord.” The term “Servant” appears repeatedly in Isaiah 40-55. Sometimes the Servant is identified with the nation Israel (Isa 41:8, 44:1, 44:21, 45:4 Isaiah 41:8, Isaiah 44:1, Isaiah 44:21, Isaiah 45:4) and sometimes as an individual who brings salvation to the nation (Isa 42:1, 49:5–7, 50:10, 52:13, 53:11). As God’s Servant, Israel was meant to be a light of revelation to the nations, revealing God’s glory (Isa 42:6, 49:6). But Israel turned inward and failed to fulfill their calling. Jesus, by contrast, remains faithful to his mission and shows himself to be the true Servant of the Lord. Matthew’s summary of Jesus’ ministry in 12:15-21 cites Isaiah 42:1-4, “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him… In his name the nations will put their hope.” In the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus fulfills the role of eschatological Israel.
We see then, that Matthew’s use of Hosea 11:1 is not a misapplication of an Old Testament text, but rather part of a profound typological presentation of Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel. As the Servant-Messiah and Son of God, Jesus represents the nation of Israel and succeeds where they failed. He will now fulfill Israel’s Old Testament mandate, to reveal God’s glory and take the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.
More typology may be seen in Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus as a new Moses. As Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive Israel’s first covenant, written on tablets of stone, so Jesus delivers his Sermon on the “Mount” to inaugurate the new covenant, which will be written on human hearts (see Jer 31:31–34). As Moses’ face was glowing when he came down from his encounter with God on Mount Sinai (Exod 34:29–33), so Jesus’ face shines with the sun’s brightness at his transfiguration (Matt 17:2). The structure of Matthew’s Gospel may also point in this direction. Just as Moses wrote five books of the Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy), so Matthew presents five major discourses by Jesus: Sermon on the Mount (ch. 5-7), Commissioning the Twelve (ch. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (ch. 13), Church Life and Discipline (ch. 18), and Olivet Discourse (ch. 23-25). Jesus is a new Moses, inaugurating the new covenant and bringing the law given at Mount Sinai to its fulfillment.
These examples reveal that Matthew uses many titles for Jesus in his Gospel, including Messiah, King, Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, Immanuel, etc. All of these have their roots in the Old Testament and point in one way or another to the theme of fulfillment and the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew’s Identity, Audience, and Purpose in Writing
So who was Matthew and why did he write this Gospel? Strictly speaking, all four Gospels are anonymous, meaning that the authors do not name themselves. Church tradition, however, tells us that the author of the first gospel was Matthew, a tax collector Jesus called to be his disciple (Matt 9:9-13, 12:3). Mark and Luke call him “Levi” (Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27–32), perhaps indicating that he was a Levite (from the tribe of Levi). Little else is known about Matthew.
For whom did Matthew write? While Mark tends to explain Jewish customs for his readers (Mark 7:2–4, 15:42), suggesting a predominantly Gentile audience, Matthew often presents them without explanation (ceremonial washings, Matthew 15:2; the temple tax, Matthew 17:24-27; phylacteries and tassels, Matthew 23:5; whitewashed tombs, Matthew 23:27). This suggests that Matthew’s audience is predominantly Jewish. Matthew also commonly uses the designation “kingdom of heaven” instead of “kingdom of God.” “Heaven” is a common Jewish circumlocution for “God,” used out of reverence for the divine Name. While these points would suggest a Jewish audience, Matthew also has some of the strongest indictments against the Jewish religious leaders. For example, what in Mark is a brief warning against the scribes (Mark 14:38-40) becomes in Matthew an extended tirade against the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (Matt 23:1–38). Jesus castigates them as hypocrites, blind guides, fools, greedy, self-indulgent, murderers, even sons of snakes. Strong language indeed!
So is Matthew pro-Jewish or anti-Jewish? His strong Jewish perspective and equally strong polemic against the Jewish leaders suggest that Matthew’s primary audience is a Jewish-Christian community in conflict and debate with the larger (unbelieving) Jewish community. Both sides, the church and the synagogue, are claiming to be the true people of God. Both claim Israel’s Scriptures as their legacy. For Matthew’s Jewish opponents, this fledgling movement represents heresy, followers of a false messiah. But for Matthew’s community, the prophecies have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus the Messiah. The church represents the true people of God, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, who have embraced Jesus as the Messiah and accepted his message of the kingdom of God. In this context, Matthew’s promise-fulfillment theme serves as confirmation of the truth of the Gospel message and the authority of the Gospel messengers.
FAQs
What is unique about the Gospel of Matthew? ›
The Gospel According to Matthew consequently emphasizes Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (5:17) and his role as a new lawgiver whose divine mission was confirmed by repeated miracles.
How did Matthew show that Jesus is the promised Messiah? ›Matthew uses "fulfillment citations" to prove that Jesus was the Jewish messiah. Matthew further emphasizes Jesus' importance to Judaism by modeling his birth and ministry on Moses' birth and mission: Jesus is the new Moses who has been appointed by God to free his people from bondage and to give the (new) law.
What is the main point of Matthew's Gospel? ›The Genealogy
Every page of Matthew's Gospel is steeped in this theme of promise and fulfillment. The Gospel begins with the announcement that, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” followed by a detailed genealogy of 41 generations!
Matthew has created the genealogy so that it links Jesus to David both explicitly and in the very literary design of the list. In fact, Matthew wants to highlight this “14=David” idea so much that he's intentionally left out multiple generations of the line of David (three, to be exact) to make the numbers work.
What makes Matthew different than the other gospels? ›Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels. It seeks to tell the story of Jesus Christ to a distinctively Jewish audience. Matthew's purpose in writing the Gospel is convince devote and dedicated First Century Palestinian Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah of God.
What are Matthew's 3 key themes? ›What are Matthew's 3 key themes? The three key themes of Matthew is that Jesus is the Messiah from the line of David, Jesus is the new Moses, and that God is always with us. Matthew introduces Jesus by connecting him to David and Abraham, explaining that he will bring God's blessing.
Where did the idea of Messiah come from? ›messiah, (from Hebrew mashiaḥ, “anointed”), in Judaism, the expected king of the Davidic line who would deliver Israel from foreign bondage and restore the glories of its golden age.
What is the thesis of the Gospel of Matthew? ›The thesis suggests that through the use of Matt 27:51b-53 Matthew was perhaps trying to reconcile two contradictory positions: (i) a Jewish belief that the Messiah's coming would initiate the final End, and (ii) the Christian belief that Jesus the Messiah's advent initiated the age of salvation but not the final End.
How did the Gospel of Matthew present Jesus's genealogy quizlet? ›The genealogy in Matthew gives Jesus a Jewish pedigree that goes all the way to Abraham himself. It also traces Jesus' lineage through the kings of Israel. In this way, Jesus stands in the royal line and is so qualified to be the messianic king who inherits King David's throne.
Why is the genealogy of Jesus different in Luke and Matthew? ›One common explanation for the divergence is that Matthew is recording the actual legal genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, according to Jewish custom, whereas Luke, writing for a Gentile audience, gives the actual biological genealogy of Jesus through Mary.
What is the difference between Matthew and Luke Nativity story? ›
In Matthew's Nativity, the angelic Annunciation is made to Joseph while Luke's is to Mary. Matthew's offers wise men and a star and puts the baby Jesus in a house; Luke's prefers shepherds and a manger. Both place the birth in Bethlehem, but they disagree totally about how it came to be there.
What does the book of Matthew teach us about God? ›Matthew reveals Jesus as Israel's promised Messiah
The Gospel of Matthew was written to prove that Jesus Christ is Israel's long-awaited, promised Messiah, the King of all the earth, and to make plain the Kingdom of God. The expression "kingdom of heaven" is used 32 times in Matthew.
In the New Testament
Among the early followers and apostles of Jesus, Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3 as a publican (KJV) or tax collector (NIV) who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus.
Scholars since the 19th century have regarded Mark as the first of the gospels (called the theory of Markan priority). Markan priority led to the belief that Mark must be the most reliable of the gospels, but today there is a large consensus that the author of Mark was not intending to write history.
How did Matthew structure his gospel? ›The five discourses are listed as the following: the Sermon on the Mount, the Mission Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church, and the Discourse on End Times.
What is the key verse in Matthew 3? ›"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
What have you learned about Jesus in Matthew 3? ›The Trinity was together at Jesus' coming out of the water—the Holy Spirit came upon Him as a dove, and the voice of the Father from heaven giving approval of His Son. Hence we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus.
What is the concept of Messiah? ›mes·si·ah mə-ˈsī-ə capitalized. : the expected king and deliverer of the Jews. : jesus sense 1. : a professed or accepted leader of some hope or cause.
What does Messiah literally mean? ›mean “anointed one”. So Jesus Christ, means “Jesus the anointed One”. Let's turn to the word Messiah… “anointed one”.
Who has claimed to be the Messiah? ›As of 2015, it is estimated that there are 2.3 billion Christians in the world, making Jesus of Nazareth the most widely followed and most famous Messiah claimant. Muslims also believe that Jesus was the Messiah but not the Son of God.
What is the Gospel of Matthew about quizlet? ›
What is the purpose of the Gospel of Matthew? The purpose of the Book of Matthew is to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19, 20, NIV).
What was one of Jesus miracles? ›Some of Jesus' most astonishing miracles included raising people from the dead, restoring sight to the blind, casting out demons, healing the sick, and walking on water. All of Christ's miracles provided dramatic and clear evidence that he is the Son of God, validating his claim to the world.
What three themes relating to Jesus's identity are introduced in the genealogy of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Matthew Mark all three that apply? ›What three themes relating to Jesus's identity are introduced in the genealogy of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Matthew? Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus fulfills the Abrahamic covenant. Jesus is adopted into the line of Davidic kings.
What is the significance of 14 generations in Matthew? ›Reasons for the summary
The numbers may be linked to Daniel 9:24–27, which states that seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, would pass between the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the messiah. Since generations were commonly placed at 35 years, this means exactly 14 generations.
There is no evidence that these beliefs derived from the much earlier Gnostic traditions of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but the Cathar traditions did find their way into many of the 20th-century popular writings claiming the existence of a Jesus bloodline.
How old was Mary when Jesus was born? ›From the age at which Jewish maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity.
What are some differences between Luke's and Matthew's versions? ›The main difference between Luke and Matthew's birth accounts is that Luke's birth account is depicted through Mary's eyes, and Matthew's account gives details of Joseph. As visitors, Luke's account shows shepherds, and Matthew's account shows the Wise Men.
How are Matthew and Luke similar? ›Both Special Matthew and Special Luke include distinct opening infancy narratives and post-resurrection conclusions (with Luke continuing the story in his second book Acts). In between, Special Matthew includes mostly parables, while Special Luke includes both parables and healings.
What is the difference in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew and Luke? ›Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer appears to be simple because it is shorter than Matthew's version and it is shorter than the version that most people are familiar with. In general, prayer is not simple and Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is not simple either.
What does the Gospel of Matthew say about Jesus? ›He traces Jesus' lineage all the way back to Abraham. In the words of Helmut Koester, "It is very important for Matthew that Jesus is the son of Abraham." In short, Jesus is a Jew.
How does Matthew's Gospel sum up the importance of Jesus? ›
Matthew became the most important of all Gospel texts for first- and second-century Christians because it contains all the elements important to the early church: the story about Jesus's miraculous conception; an explanation of the importance of liturgy, law, discipleship, and teaching; and an account of Jesus's life ...
How does Matthew connect Jesus to the Old Testament? ›The context of Matthew 2:13-15 is the correlation of Jesus with significant OT scriptures that address God's redemptive activity toward Israel and toward Gentiles - scriptures that identify Jesus as messiah and the fulfillment of the covenants of Abraham and David.
What is Matthew Chapter 1 all about? ›Matthew gave a genealogy of Jesus Christ, showing His descent from Abraham and David. Joseph learned from an angel that his espoused wife, Mary, was to bring forth a son, who would be the Savior.
What is the thesis of the Gospel of Matthew? ›The thesis suggests that through the use of Matt 27:51b-53 Matthew was perhaps trying to reconcile two contradictory positions: (i) a Jewish belief that the Messiah's coming would initiate the final End, and (ii) the Christian belief that Jesus the Messiah's advent initiated the age of salvation but not the final End.
Who is Matthew in the Bible summary? ›According to the Bible, Saint Matthew was one of Jesus's 12 apostles and the first author of the New Testament. According to the Bible, Saint Matthew was one of Jesus's 12 apostles and the first author of the New Testament.
What is the meaning of Matthew? ›The name Matthew stems originally from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, which means "gift of Yahweh," or "gift of God." Matthew itself simply means "gift," though there are those who say it still means "gift of God," or even "gift from God."
What does the book of Matthew teach us about God? ›Matthew reveals Jesus as Israel's promised Messiah
The Gospel of Matthew was written to prove that Jesus Christ is Israel's long-awaited, promised Messiah, the King of all the earth, and to make plain the Kingdom of God. The expression "kingdom of heaven" is used 32 times in Matthew.
These books are called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because they were traditionally thought to have been written by Matthew, a disciple who was a tax collector; John, the "Beloved Disciple" mentioned in the Fourth Gospel; Mark, the secretary of the disciple Peter; and Luke, the traveling companion of Paul.
What are the 5 teaching blocks in Matthew's gospel? ›The five discourses are listed as the following: the Sermon on the Mount, the Mission Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church, and the Discourse on End Times.
What is the meaning of Matthew 2 1 12? ›Matthew is highlighting that all do not come to Jesus by the same way. God uses unexpected means. This sets up what recurs in Matthew — Jesus, Israel's King, is recognised and welcomed by the least expected people.