Matthew's Messiah
- week 1 -
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With the Season of Advent unfolding, we also celebrate the beginning of a new Church Year, with a new selection of Reading from Holy Scripture. This is ‘Year A" is the Revised Common Lectionary and so begins a year of reflecting on Matthew’s Gospel, which is the frist book of the New Testament.
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Although the first Gospel is anonymous, the early church fathers were unanimous in holding that Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, was its author. However, the results of modern critical studies - in particular those that stress Matthew’s alleged dependence of Mark for a substantial part of his Gospel - have caused some Biblical scholars to abandon Matthean authorship. Why, they ask, would Matthew, an eyewitness to the events of our Lord’s life, depend so heavenly on Mark’s Gospel account? The best answer seems to be that he simply agreed with it and wanted to show that the apostolic testimony to Christ was not divided.
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Matthew, whose name means "gift of the Lord" was a tax-collector who left his work to follow Jesus. In Mark and Luke’s Gospel Matthew is called by another name "Levi". (from the NIV Bible - introductory notes on Matthew’s Gospel.}
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Matthew gathered not only taxes but the teachings and events of Jesus’ life. We remember that Matthew was the organizer, the systematizer, the arranger of the stories about the life of Jesus. The way Matthew arranges his material reveals a system, which is both organized and artistic. The whole Gospel is built around five great pillars often referred to as "the discourses of Jesus" which are Matthew’s arranged versions of the speeches of Jesus. Chapters 5-7 contain the Sermon on the Mount.
With the Season of Advent unfolding, we also celebrate the beginning of a new Church Year, with a new selection of Reading from Holy Scripture. This is ‘Year A" is the Revised Common Lectionary and so begins a year of reflecting on Matthew’s Gospel, which is the frist book of the New Testament.
.
Although the first Gospel is anonymous, the early church fathers were unanimous in holding that Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, was its author. However, the results of modern critical studies - in particular those that stress Matthew’s alleged dependence of Mark for a substantial part of his Gospel - have caused some Biblical scholars to abandon Matthean authorship. Why, they ask, would Matthew, an eyewitness to the events of our Lord’s life, depend so heavenly on Mark’s Gospel account? The best answer seems to be that he simply agreed with it and wanted to show that the apostolic testimony to Christ was not divided.
.
Matthew, whose name means "gift of the Lord" was a tax-collector who left his work to follow Jesus. In Mark and Luke’s Gospel Matthew is called by another name "Levi". (from the NIV Bible - introductory notes on Matthew’s Gospel.}
.
Matthew gathered not only taxes but the teachings and events of Jesus’ life. We remember that Matthew was the organizer, the systematizer, the arranger of the stories about the life of Jesus. The way Matthew arranges his material reveals a system, which is both organized and artistic. The whole Gospel is built around five great pillars often referred to as "the discourses of Jesus" which are Matthew’s arranged versions of the speeches of Jesus. Chapters 5-7 contain the Sermon on the Mount.
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Chapters 8-9 contain the miracles of Jesus. Chapters 10-12 contain "teaching’ on discipleship, John the Baptist, and against the Pharisees. Chapter 13 contains Parables of Jesus. Chapters 24-25 gathers material about the End of the World. Each of this "discourses" conclude with ‘When Jesus had finished saying these things ....." or very similar words.
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Matthew’s main purpose is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus was their Messiah. He does this primarily by showing how Jesus in his life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. In the very first verse of chapter one, Matthew attaches to Jesus the Messianic title. Jesus not only fulfills this title of Messiah, but he is also the fulfillment of the covenant between Abraham and God, found in the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis.
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The five fold division of Matthew’s Gospel may suggest that the author has modelled his book on the structure of the Pentateuch - which contain the first five books of the Old Testament. Matthew may even be presenting the Gospel as a new Torah and Jesus as a new and greater Moses.
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M. MATTHEW 5-7 - THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
T. MATTHEW 8-9 - MIRACLES OF JESUS
W. MATTHEW 10-12 - TEACHINGS OF JESUS
T. MATTHEW 13 - PARABLES OF JESUS
F. MATTHEW 24-25 - THE END TIMES.
.
Matthew’s main purpose is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus was their Messiah. He does this primarily by showing how Jesus in his life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. In the very first verse of chapter one, Matthew attaches to Jesus the Messianic title. Jesus not only fulfills this title of Messiah, but he is also the fulfillment of the covenant between Abraham and God, found in the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis.
.
The five fold division of Matthew’s Gospel may suggest that the author has modelled his book on the structure of the Pentateuch - which contain the first five books of the Old Testament. Matthew may even be presenting the Gospel as a new Torah and Jesus as a new and greater Moses.
.
M. MATTHEW 5-7 - THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
T. MATTHEW 8-9 - MIRACLES OF JESUS
W. MATTHEW 10-12 - TEACHINGS OF JESUS
T. MATTHEW 13 - PARABLES OF JESUS
F. MATTHEW 24-25 - THE END TIMES.