Key word: Kingdom
Of the four Gospels, only Matthew and John were written by apostles, who were eye-witnesses of the life and teachings of Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector before his conversion and we hear little of him in the Gospels, but then the Holy Spirit uses him to be the human author of this important book of Scripture.
Matthew was a Jew, writing primarily to Jews. His task was to demonstrate clearly that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the King of the Jews. To that end, he quotes the Old Testament about 130 times and uses the word “fulfill(ed)” 17 times, 4:14-16 is a good example. At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee, we find it was a fulfillment of a prophesy by Isaiah.
Jesus’ initial ministry as recorded in Matthew is two-fold (4:17). First, “repent.” This is consistent with the Old Testament, which constantly told the people to repent in order to be right with God and receive His blessings. Even the Pharisees caught this message and knew the kingdom would not come until the nation repented. The “kingdom of heaven” is a central message in Matthew with the phrase found 32 times. Many view the Sermon on the Mount (5-7) as containing the laws/principles, which govern Christ’s kingdom. The Jews eventually rejected Christ as their king, and the kingdom of righteousness He offered, by chapter 13. There Jesus withdraws the immediate establishment of His kingdom and, in 7 parables, outlines a mystery form of the kingdom that would exist until Christ would return and finally establish His kingdom. That return and kingdom is detailed in the Olivet Discourse (24-25) (see 25:1).
But before Jesus can sit on His throne, He must first be nailed to a cross. Before the kingdom can be established, sin would have to be atoned. The subjects of the eternal kingdom would have to have their sins forgiven and be given the righteousness of God. It would take the substitutionary death and resurrection of the God/Man to accomplish this, and prepare a people fit for the kingdom (27-28). Until that time, He sends us forth to make disciples of all nations (28:19-20).
Key verse: Matthew 28:19-20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
