Introduction to Matthew's Gospel

This introduction to the book of Matthew will launch our cruise ship on an EIGHT YEAR JOURNEY through the Bible as we visit all of the lands and sights recorded in the Holy Scripture. My commentary will follow a plan that is presented by Life Way Publishers using the “Explore the Bible Series.” The most, if not all, Southern Baptist churches use the Life Way materials, so if you are a teacher I suggest you choose the Explore the Bible Series and use this commentary as a supplement. These materials are available to anyone of any denomination therefore I invite all of my extended Sunday School Class to obtain a copy at a cost of approximately $2.00 per quarter and study along with us. If you prefer, you can use your Bible along with my commentary. I sincerely pray that we will be able to open new doors, gain greater insights and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Word of God.

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Starting in fall of 2007 through the summer of 2015 study in order.

2007- 8 Matthew gospel; Genesis law; Acts history
2008- 9 1-2 Samuel, Chronicles history; 1-2 Thessalonians letters; Isaiah, Micah prophesy; Galatians, James letters.
2009-2010 Psalms poetry; Mark gospel; Exodus, Leviticus law; 1-2 Corinthians let
10-11 Ephesians letter; 1-2 Kings history; Philippians, Colossians, Philemon let; Jeremiah, Lamentations prophesy
11-12 Romans let; Numbers, Deuteronomy law, Luke gospel; Joshua, Judges,Ruth his
12-13 1-2 Peter, Jude letters; Amos, Hosea, Jonah prophesy; 1-2 Timothy, Titus, letters; Job, Ecclesiastes poetry
13- 14 John gospel; Ezekiel, Daniel prophesy; Proverbs, Song poetry
14-15 Hebrews. 1-3 John letters; Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther history; Minor Prophets—Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi prophesy;
Revelation prophesy.
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Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels. The word Synoptic comes from two Greek words that mean “to see together.” These three gospels give an account of the same events in the life of Christ. In many ways their material is the same and the arrangement is the same. Therefore, one can place them side by side and compare the same story told by three different persons in their own words. When this is done, it is evident that there is a close relationship between them. Some verses are word for word the same; while others have the same meaning told in different words.

Bible scholars believe that Mark was the first to write his gospel, and that Matthew and Luke used it as a basis for their version. Theologians have divided the gospel of Mark into 105 sections. Of these 93 occur in Matthew and 81 in Luke. There are only 4 sections of Mark that do not appear in the other two. Matthew and Luke generally follow the order of events that Mark gives. In a few places they differ, but they never both differ in the same place—at least one of them always follow his order.

In so far as I know there is no existing biography on the life of Matthew, therefore there is very little known about his family, education, or early life. We can assume that he had some education or experience in the business world because the Roman authorities chose him as one of their money collectors. He probably had some advantage over the fishermen disciples in being able to read, write and cipher before he was called to be a disciple.

He, like all Jewish tax collectors, was hated by his own people. The method of collecting taxes was crude, to say the least, and it was possible for the collector to meet his quota of taxes submitted to the Roman Government and keep a commission that was sometimes equal to one half of the money collected. Matthew was one of the wealthiest of all the disciples…if not the most wealthy. Matthew may have given up more in wealth than any of the other disciples when he followed the call to be a disciple. There must have been a certain amount of guilt in Matthews’s heart that resulted from the fact that he had collected excess taxes from many of his fellow Jews. When he gave up all to follow Christ, he must have determined to favor his people at any time and in any way he possibly could. His book is directed toward his people with zeal in his heart to have them accept Jesus as their Messiah.

I hope I can succeed here in making a point that everyone that reads the Bible must realize. Matthew wrote to the Jews. Other writers like Paul wrote letters to different churches and to some individuals…not directly to you and me. For us, it is like reading another person’s mail. Therefore, we must be able to roll play…we must put ourselves in the position of those to whom the message was written in order to fully understand the total meaning the writer has in mind.

We have just finished studying about the last two hundred years of Israel’s life just before God disappeared from the scene for about four hundred years. In those last days when they returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the city and temple, they had great difficulty in fully believing that they would soon receive a new King that would protect them from their many enemies. Four hundred years went by with no evidence that the Messiah had or would ever appear. When he did appear in Bethlehem the nation was under the harsh rule of the Roman Empire. They had lost their identity—they were heavily taxed and still being persecuted and had give up on God.

It was about thirty years after Christ was crucified, about 60 to 65 AD, that Matthew wrote this gospel to his people with the sole purpose of convincing them that all of the prophecies had pointed them to Jesus as their Messiah. Rolls play and put yourself in their position and you can better understand why they were hard to convince. As I have said, when we read Matthew we are reading their mail. Matthew wrote with one purpose in mind; he wanted to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the promised Messiah-King and through him God’s kingdom [lost for four hundred years] was now restored to its rightful position in their lives.

The following sets a time line for the happenings that took place and are recorded by Matthew.

Herod the Great became ruler in 37 BC. Jesus was born in 6 BC. He escaped to Egypt in 5 BC. Herod died in 4 BC. Jesus returned to Nazareth in 3 BC. Judea became a Roman province in AD 6. Jesus visits the temple in AD 6. Tiberius Caesar became emperor in AD 14. Pontius Pilate was appointed governor in AD 26. Jesus began his ministry in AD 27. Jesus chose his disciples in AD 28. He fed the 5000 in 29 and was crucified, arose and ascended in AD 30. About 30 years later, AD 60 to 65, Matthew wrote his gospel.

Please do not become discouraged when you find that the first chapter is a hard to read and even more difficult to understand—genealogy to prove that Jesus is the descendant of both King David and Abraham, just as the OT had predicted. He felt that this was absolutely necessary to establish his argument that Jesus was their Messiah. They had failed to recognize him, and their mistake had to be corrected.