The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Five Special Considerations

 

TEXT: Matthew 16:16-19 – “Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

We are going to look at five special considerations in our interpreting this Redemptive Biography about the King and His Kingdom. As we study this marvelous book about Jesus, we must view it through the following five lenses:

• 1.     Matthew sought to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah (1:17)
• 2.     Matthew had a special interest in the Church.  This is the only biography to include the word “Church” (16:18)
• 3.     Matthew had a strong interest in Eschatology (24)
• 4.     Matthew had a great interest in the teachings of the Kingdom (4:23; 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47)
• 5.     Matthew wrote to show Jesus as the King (27:37)

The most striking emphasis is its Jewish emphasis. He traces the ancestry to Abraham and calls Him the Son of David. He emphasizes the Jewish prophetic fulfillment in the life of Christ. He develops the message of the Kingdom, because the Jew would want to know why He did not establish the Kingdom at that time if He was the Messiah.

It also goes beyond the Jewish world to the Gentile world. We see Gentile women are found in His genealogy. We also see that Gentiles worshipped Him at His birth (Magi).

In his biography, we see that 60% of the 1,071 verses contain the spoken words of Jesus. Matthew tended to write in a broad-brush approach – not fine detail.

The Old Testament prophets predicted and longed for the coming of the Anointed One – the Messiah to bring redemption and deliverance. So, Matthew builds on this to introduce Jesus as Messiah and King.

One survey paints the book this way:

• ·      The Presentation of the King – 1:1 – 4:11
• ·      The Proclamation of the King – 4:12 – 7:29
• ·      The Power of the King – 8:1 – 11:1
• ·      The Progressive Rejection of the King – 11:2 – 16:12
• ·      The Preparation of the King’s Disciples – 16:13 – 20:28
• ·      The Presentation and Rejection of the King – 20:29 – 27:66
• ·      The Proof of the King – 28

Our next study will start with verse 1 and we will look at the Record of the Messiah.

We have studied the “What” here. Then we need to ask – “So What?” If He is the Anointed One, the Messiah, and the King – then we need to respond accordingly. He deserves the worship, homage, and obedience as our King.

Then let’s answer the “Now What?” in our next study.