The Gospel according to Matthew:
Literary Features & Theological Emphases by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.
[Still Under Construction]
I) Structure and Sources of Matthew's Gospel
Outline and Structure:
Most scholars
agree that aside from the introduction (Ch. 1–2: Narrative
of Jesus' Birth) and conclusion (Ch. 26–28: Narrative of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection), the body of
Matthew's Gospel
is structured around five major discourses, long sermons that Jesus gives to his disciples or to the broader public.
This structure was not invented by modern scholars, but is indicated by the Evangelist himself, who at the end of each of these five discourses writes:
"Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching..." (7:28)
"Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities." (11:1)
"When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place." (13:53)
"When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan." (19:1)
"When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples..."(26:1)
The rest of Matthew's Gospel (Ch. 3–4, 8–9, 11–12, 14–17, 19–23) consists mostly of narrative materials (Jesus' travels, miracles, healings, exorcisms, disputes with opponents, etc.), although also containing many shorter sayings and teachings.
Most scholars today believe that Mark is the oldest surviving Gospel, and that the author of Matthew used Mark's text as one of his written sources (see the Synoptic Problem).
Matthew incorporated almost all of the content of Mark's Gospel, omitting only very few Markan stories.
Matthew often summarizes and condenses the materials found in Mark, esp. if the older Markan story is long and/or repetitive.
Matthew supplemented the Markan material with many more stories and teachings of Jesus from another written source, which scholars call the Q Document.
Matthew also incorporated much material from other written and/or oral sources. For more details, see my page on The Synoptic Problem.
Ancient Christian sources tell us that the tax collector named Matthew, of Jesus' core twelve apostles, wrote down a collection of the "Sayings of the Lord" in Hebrew, a document which later may also have served as a source for the full Greek text that came to be called the Gospel according to Matthew [see Eusebius on the Four Gospels].
Fulfillment of Hebrew Scriptures:
Matthew's Gospel contains over sixty direct quotations of (or strong allusions to) texts from the Hebrew Bible, and frequently mentions that the words or actions of Jesus or other Gospel characters are "in fulfillment" of the scriptures.
Jesus calls two pairs of brothers to be his first disciples (4:18-22; a story taken over from Mark 1:16-20)
Jesus declares, "No one care serve two masters... You cannot serve God and mammon" (6:24; parallel to Luke 16:13)
Jesus exorcizes two demoniacs in the region of Gadara (8:28-34; the parallel stories in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39 each involve only one demoniac)
Jesus gives sight to two blind men in Galilee (9:27-31; a story found only in Matthew)
Two tunics (10:10)
Two sparrows sold for a penny (10:29; parallel in Luke 12:6 has five sparrows sold for two pennies)
Evidence of two or three witnesses (18:16-20)
The two shall become one flesh (19:5-6)
Zebedee's wife asks a favor for her two sons; the other disciples are angry with the two brothers (20:21, 24)
Jesus gives sight to two blind men outside of Jericho (20:29-34; the parallel stories in Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 each involve only one blind man)
Entry intro Jerusalem: sends two disciples to get the colt (21:1; as in Mark and Luke)
Jesus tells a parable about two sons (21:28-32; a story found only in Matthew)
Two main commandments (21:40)
Two men; two women (24:40-41)
Parable of the Pounds: five, two, and one (25:14-30; Luke has ten each)
Two days before Passover (26:2)
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee at Gethsemane (26:37)
Two witnesses at Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin (26:60)
Pilate asks, "Which of the two do you want released? (27:21)
Jesus is crucified between two robbers (27:38)
Two women named Mary go to Jesus' tomb (28:1)
Grouping of Similar Materials:
Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7)
Ten Miracles (Matt 8–9), but also including various dialogues & teachings
Many parables, mostly about the "Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt 13)
A series of "Woes" against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23)
Another collection of parables (Matt 24--25)
Improved Portrait of Jesus' Disciples:
Esp. the "Confession of Peter" at Caesarea Philippi (Matt 16:16-20; contrast Mark 8:29-30)
Worse portrayals of Jesus' Opponents:
Esp. the many harsh "Woes" against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:1-39)
Themes of Forgiveness and Judgment:
Willingness to forgive others is required from receiving forgiveness oneself (Matt 6:12, 14-15; 18:21-35)
Ministry only to Jews, not Gentiles nor Samaritans:
Jesus sends the apostles out on a mission only to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," explicitly telling them "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans" (Matt 10:5b-6)
Only at the end of the Gospel, in the "Great Commission," does the risen Jesus tell his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. / Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt 28:18-19)
III) Christology: Matthew's Portrait of Jesus
The Gospel according to Matthew accepts and uses the main Christological titles found already in his main narrative source (Mark's Gospel), including Christ/Messiah, Son of God, and Son of Man. But in contrast to Mark, Matthew adds several new titles and emphasizes certain aspects of Jesus' identity differently from Mark. Matthew's Gospel begins by identifying Jesus as "the son of David, the son of Abraham" (1:1), thus indicating Jesus' Davidic/royal and Abrahamic/Jewish heritage, respectively. Throughout Matthew's Gospel,
Jesus is also presented as "the New Moses" for the people of Israel, and is given a variety of other titles, including Emmanuel, Savior, Prophet, Teacher, King of the Jews.
Jesus as the Son of Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob)
- stresses Jesus' Jewish heritage
much more directly than Mark's Gospel did
At the very beginning of the Gospel: "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. / Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers..." (Matt 1:1-2)
In summarizing Jesus' genealogy: "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations." (Matt 1:17)
In John the Baptist's preaching to the scribes and Pharisees: "Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." (Matt 3:9)
When Jesus complements a Roman centurion's faith: "I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, / while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt 8:11-12)
When Jesus argues with the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead: "And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, / 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is God not of the dead, but of the living." (Matt 22:31-32; citing Exod 3:6; par. Mark 12:26)
Jesus as the Son of David and King of the Jews (and King of Israel)
Matthew's version of Jesus' genealogy also stresses that he is the royal "Son of David": "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham... / ...and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah... / So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations." (Matt 1:1, 6, 17; cf. 1:20)
More subtle references to King David in this genealogy are three mentions of the number fourteen (the number of the name "David" in Hebrew gematria, since D=4, V=6, and only consonants are counted; thus D+V+D=4+6+4=14). Moreover, the deportation to Babylon is also a subtle reference to the royal line of David, since it was at that time when the descendents of David ceased to rule as Kings of Judea (in contrast to the promises made in 2 Sam 7:11b-13).
Matthew later frequently stresses thatJesus is the royal "Son of David" (Matt 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:1-9; 21:15; 22:42-45).
In Mark, the title "King of the Jews" is only used near the end of the Gospel: during the trial of Jesus before Pilate (Mark 15:2, 9, 12; cf. Matt 27:11), when the soldiers mock the condemned Jesus (Mark 15:18; cf. Matt 27:29), and on the titulus on the cross stating the reason why Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:26; cf. Matt 27:37). Before Jesus dies on the cross, some bystanders also mockingly call him "the King of Israel" (Mark 15:32; cf. Matt 27:42).
Already at the beginning of Matthew, the Magi from the East come in search of the newborn "King of the Jews" (Matt 2:2).
Note that kings also appear as characters in various parablesof Matthew's Gospel (Matt 18:23; 22:2-10; 22:11-13; 25:34-40), much more frequently that in Mark or Luke.
Jesus as a great Prophet and Teacher, like a new Moses
The name "Moses" is not directly used in a Christological
Title, nor can Jesus be called the "Son of Moses," since Jesus belongs to the Tribe of Judah, while Moses belongs to the Tribe of Levi (see a chart of Abraham's Descendants). However, Jesus is portrayed as being very similar to Moses in several interesting and significant ways:
Just as Pharaoh ( King of Egypt ca. 1300 BC) killed all the baby boys of the Hebrews, and only Moses is saved (Exod 1:22–2:10),
so also Herod (King of Israel at that time) kills all the male babies in Bethlehem, and only Jesus is saved (Matt 2:13-18).
When Moses' life is in danger, he flees from Egypt to Israel, but returns to Egypt after many years (Exod 2:15; 7:6-7);
when Jesus' life is in danger, he takes the reverse itinerary: from Israel to Egypt and later back to Israel (Matt 2:13-21).
Just as Moses goes up to a mountain to receive the Law (incl. the Ten Commandments) from God (Exod 19:3),
so also Jesus goes up to a mountain to give a new Law (incl. the Nine Beatitudes) to the people (Matt 5:1).
Just as Moses does not eat or drink for forty days and forty nights while on the mountain, recording God's Law (Exod 34:28),
so also Jesus fasts for forty days and forty nights in the desert, being tempted by Satan (Matt 4:2).
Just as Moses was thought to have written the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Gen, Exod, Lev, Num, Deut),
so also the teaching of Jesus is contained in five speeches or extended "discourses" in Matthew (ch. 5–7, 10, 13, 18, 22–25).
Overall, Moses was considered the greatest teacher, prophet and lawgiver in the Hebrew Bible (and throughout the NT);
so also Jesus is portrayed in Matthew's Gospel as a great teacher, prophet and lawgiver, equal to or even greater than Moses.
Moses is explicitly mentioned seven times in Matthew (8:4; 17:3-4; 19:7-8; 22:24; 23:2), most of which have parallels in Mark;
the Matthean Jesus also explicitly upholds the law of Moses, rather than abolishing it (5:17-20; 22:35-40; etc.)
For many more parallels between Moses and Matthew's Jesus, see Dale C. Allison, The New Moses (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1993).
Jesus as Emmanuel ("God with Us") and Savior
In Matthew's infancy narrative, an angel tells Joseph in a dream: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. / She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." / All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: / "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us" (Matt 1:20-23; citing Isaiah 7:14).
During a storm at sea, Jesus' disciples cry out, "Lord, save us" (Matt 8:25); and when Peter attempts to walk on water, but begins sinking, he similarly cries, "Lord, save me" (Matt 14:30).
Jesus several times teaches, "Whoever endures to the end will be saved" (Matt 10:22; 24:13; cf. 24:22).
When Jesus tell his disciples how hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven, they ask, "Then who can be saved?" (Matt 19:25; cf. 16:25)
While dying on the cross, Jesus is taunted by various groups of people: "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." (Matt 27:40; cf. 27:42, 49).
When the risen Jesus speaks to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee, his very last words are, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt 28:20; cf. 26:29)
IV) Discipleship: Matthew's Description of Christian Life
The ideal disciple is a good student, who learns from the Teacher and understands what is taught:
Jesus' disciples understand his parables (Matt 13:51; contrast Mark 4:13)
They eventually understand when he tells them to beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Herodians (Matt 16:12; contrast Mark 8:17-21)
When Jesus speaks about Elijah, his disciples understand that he means John the Baptist (Matt 17:13)
Authentic discipleship necessitates putting faith into action:
John the Baptist preaches, "...every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt 3:10)
Jesus teaches, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Matt 5:16)
Jesus uses analogies of trees and other plants producing good or bad fruit (Matt 7:15-20; cf. 12:33-37)
Jesus teaches, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matt 7:21-23)
The parable of houses built on rock or on sand (Matt 7:24-27)
The parable of the sower and the seed, only some of which produces a great yield (Matt 13:8, 23)
The parable of the weeds among the wheat (Matt 13:24-30; explained in 13:36-43)
