Being a gospel, the book of Matthew tells the story of the life and teachings of [Jesus]. Given how frequently he alludes to the Old Testament, Matthew most likely wrote for Jewish readers. Jews anticipated that God would send the Messiah, the Anointed One, to whom numerous promises and prophecies appear in the Old Testament. According to Matthew, Jesus is this Messiah, the one who established God’s Kingdom on earth, and the one who would ultimately bring about true peace and freedom for both Jews and non-Jews.
Jesus is the Messiah, but He is rejected
The book opens with a genealogy of Jesus that establishes his birthplace of Bethlehem and his ancestry as a member of David’s royal dynasty. Although He is born into a human household, the gospel makes it clear that He is not your typical human. The Holy Spirit is the source of his birth (Matthew 1:20). According to Matthew, Jesus was challenged by the devil after being baptized when He was approximately thirty years old, but He refused to give in to the temptation. After that, Jesus started preaching and teaching throughout Israel.
Because Jesus’ teachings were sometimes difficult to accept, many Jews wavered between accepting Him as their Messiah and rejecting Him. At the end of the book, when Matthew describes Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, we witness the religious leaders’ overt hatred and rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. The religious elite rejected Jesus from the start.
Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of heaven
The kingdom of heaven is heavily emphasized in Matthew’s gospel. He gives a detailed account of Jesus’ teachings on this topic, some of which are presented as parables. Additionally, Matthew details the miracles performed by Jesus. Jesus drives out demons and cures a variety of illnesses. By walking on water and feeding thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish, he defies the laws of nature (see Matthew 14:13-21 and 25:32-39). In addition to demonstrating God’s might and authority, these miracles provide a preview of what the Kingdom of God would be like. Jesus dispatches his followers to perform comparable miracles and proclaim the same message—”The kingdom of heaven is at hand”—in chapter 10.
Jesus is crucified, and rises from the death
The final section of Matthew’s gospel describes how Jesus prophesies His crucifixion, agony, death, and resurrection. The disciples found it difficult to comprehend this since they believed that the Messiah would not perish. More information is provided about Jesus’ last week, starting with His triumphant arrival into Jerusalem, when He was portrayed as the Jewish monarch. Then, we read about how Jesus took His disciples to a region known as Gethsemane and celebrated the Passover meal with them. There, a Jewish leader betrayed Jesus, leading to His arrest and trial by them after they could find no proof against Him.
The story comes to a climax when the high priests asks Jesus: “I adjure You by the living God, tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, you have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:63-64). This utterance is considered blasphemy, and the religious leaders condemn Jesus to death. They have Him taken to the Roman official Pilate, who issues the decree to have Jesus crucified. Jesus dies and is buried, but on the third day He rises from the dead as He had prophesied. Thereby He proved that He really does have power over sin, death and the devil. The disciples finally believe this too, and Jesus gives them the command to go out and share the good news of who Jesus really is. They had to teach everyone to obey Jesus and to live as people of the Kingdom of heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lessons for us
The central thesis of Matthew’s gospel is that the long-awaited Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth. For those who trust in Him, He paved the path to genuine freedom and peace by establishing God’s Kingdom on earth.
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