Relationship to the other Gospels

A. Matthew is Jewish and presents Christ as the King (1:1 “the son of David”)
B. Mark is Roman and presents Christ as the Servant.
C. Luke is Greek and presents Christ as the Perfect Son of Man.
D. John Presents Christ as the eternal Son of God.

Character of Matthews Gospel

The book of Matthew was written by a Jewish tax collector (Mt. 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32 and Mark 2:13-17).
It is the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament because of it's position.
Christ is often spoken of as the Son of David.

The Basic Theme of Matthew

Matthew has selected material from Christ’s life and arranged it to convey one specific truth: Christ is the King of the Jews, rejected by His people, crucified for the whole world, and now alive in Heaven.

In chapters 1-10 Christ reveals Himself as the long awaited King of the Jews.  He was born as the Old Testament predicted, announced by the messengers God promised, and proved His messiahship by doing the very works the prophets said He would do.

In chapters 11-13 the Jewish leaders rebel against Him. His messenger (John the Baptist) is arrested. They claim Christ’s works are of the devil. They insist on their man-made traditions instead of His principles. Though He did many mighty works, the cities rejected Him! The result is that Jesus turns to the Gentiles (“Come unto me, ALL that labor…”11:28) and gives the parable of the Kingdom(13)

In 14-20 Christ retires with His disciples to prepare them for the events of the cross. Yet, He is still carrying on a public ministry, but during this time He is specifically teaching His disciples. Here we have Peter’s great confession of faith and the first mention of the church.

In 21-27, the King is openly rejected. What began as a rebellion now becomes open hostility and leads to His crucifixion. During this time He is in open conflict with the religious leaders. He teaches His disciples what the future will be like (24-25) and willingly dies on the cross as “the King of the Jews”.

The final chapter gives His resurrection and ascension as a King of with all authority.