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Matthew’s Life and Gospel

What is involved in telling the greatest story ever told? The unity and beauty of the Holy Scriptures reflect one divine Author, God Himself. God inspired all Scripture through more than 40 human writers to fully magnify Jesus Christ’s glory. From the earliest times, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew has been believed to be the Jewish disciple of Jesus, also called Levi. (1)

Before Matthew met Jesus, he was a tax collector. This work required education and skill. He was probably trilingual, knowing Hebrew, Aramaic (the popular language of Jesus’ day), and Greek. Matthew worked for Israel’s occupying enemy, Rome. He enforced their taxing laws on his own people. Since most tax collectors committed extortion and fraud, it’s unsurprising that Israel’s citizens hated Jewish tax collectors. But Jesus came in love to save!

Matthew, along with Mark and Luke, records Jesus making Matthew His disciple. (2) Matthew begins the account of his salvation in 9:9-10: “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” And, just as God had sovereignly created Matthew’s life and guided the development of his personality, experience, and skills, he became one of the people God ideally prepared and called to record Jesus’ teachings for the world.

Matthew’s Emphasis

Moses wrote the Bible’s first genealogy, located in Genesis 5. Its repeated refrain, “and he died,” highlights death as the wages of sin that entered through Adam and Eve. In contrast, Matthew exalts Jesus—He came to “save his people from their sins.” Only Jesus Christ, the second Adam, could reverse the curse brought by the first Adam.

Matthew’s panoramic portrait of Jesus’ family tree spans verses 1 to 16: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: … and Joseph, the husband of Mary.” His record validates Jesus Christ’s:

• human credentials – Jesus was born into Abraham’s family as the rightful heir to David’s throne through Joseph.
• divine credentials – Jesus’ birth fulfills prophetic signs, most notably being born of the virgin Mary by the supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew’s Gospel gives indisputable evidence that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the legitimate heir to David’s throne. For example, on the day Christians now commemorate Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem in a royal procession. (3) People welcomed Him with shouts of, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” If Jesus had not been David’s son, His enemies would have denounced this claim by disputing His genealogy. Instead, the validity of this claim contributed to their desire to crucify Him.

Comparing Gospel Genealogies

Matthew and Luke both selectively record Christ’s ancestors to emphasize specific points. Matthew's genealogy emphasizes the placement of Christ's ancestors at the beginning, the primary audience as being Jewish, and the sequence as being from Abraham forward. In contrast, Luke's genealogy focuses on the placement of Christ's ancestors after Jesus' birth and early ministry, with its primary audience being Gentile (non-Jewish), in a sequence from Joseph backward to Adam.

Matthew’s Message

God keeps His promises. Throughout the Old Testament, God called a people to Himself and promised a deliverer. Then, the deliverer arrived. At the right time and place in human history, the Son of God became a man. Understanding that Jesus is both fully God and fully human provides a necessary foundation to all the essential teaching about God’s plan to save sinners. Do you stand on this solid ground?

Questions

1. Almost everyone agrees the author of this Gospel is Jesus’ disciple Matthew (also called Levi). Read about their relationship in Mark 2:13-17. From Matthew’s personal experiences, who is Jesus, and why did He come?
2. Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy. What facts do we learn about Jesus from 1:1? (Use your Bible’s cross-references and footnotes for this verse to help form your response.)
3. When Matthew calls Jesus “the Messiah,” what does the term mean (1:1)? Who has helped you understand its meaning, and why does every generation share and celebrate this name?

Related verses:

1. Matthew called Levi: Mark 2:14
2. Matthew’s call: Mark 2:14-17; Luke 5:27-32
3. Jesus’ triumphal entry: Matt 2:1-11