Matthew Meaning: Jesus’ Authority, Teaching, and Mission to the Nations
1. Authorship and Setting
Author: The early church consistently attributes the Gospel to Matthew, the tax collector and apostle. While modern discussions sometimes explore sources and redaction, the voice, structure, and Jewish-Christian orientation cohere with apostolic origin.
Setting and date: A plausible context is Syria-Phoenicia (often associated with Antioch) due to Gentile awareness, Syrian references, and coinage terminology (Matt 4:24; 17:24, 27). Proposed dates range from AD 60–95.
Audience: A mixed body of Jewish and Gentile believers. The Gospel’s careful use of fulfillment quotations and repeated attention to Gentile inclusion (Magi; Magadan; Galilee of the Gentiles; Roman centurions; the climactic all nations of 28:19) fit this audience.
2. Purpose and Thesis
Matthew meaning comes into sharp focus when read from the ending back to the beginning. The conclusion (28:18–20) supplies the thesis:
Universal authority: “All authority… in heaven and on earth” (28:18).
Universal mission: “Make disciples of all nations” (28:19).
Transmittable teaching: “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (28:20).
Perpetual presence: “I am with you always” (28:20).
Matthew arranges the narrative so readers recognize this authority in Jesus’ lineage, birth, teaching, miracles, passion, and resurrection—and so they receive the Great Commission as the natural outcome of who Jesus is and what he taught.
3. Structure and Design
A helpful way to see Matthew meaning is to note its seven-part design: an opening narrative (1–4), a conclusion (26–28), and five major teaching blocks in between—often understood as echoing a new Torah pattern.
Teaching blocks (with narrative lead-ups and responses):
Teaching from the Mount (5–7): kingdom ethics, Beatitudes, surpassing righteousness.
Mission Discourse (10): authority delegated; opposition expected; endurance commanded.
Parables of the Kingdom (13): secrets of the kingdom; seed and soils; judgment and joy.
Community Discourse (18): humility, care for little ones, discipline, forgiveness.
Olivet Discourse (24–25): temple judgment, watchfulness, final separation.
Narrative arcs (8–9; 11–12; 13:53–18; 19–23; 26–28) display authority in action, varied responses, and the road to the cross and resurrection.
4. Royal Lineage and Divine Identity
Genealogy and birth (1–2):
Davidic kingship: Jesus is “son of David, son of Abraham” (1:1); royal credentials root Matthew meaning in messianic promise.
Divine sonship: Virgin conception fulfills Isaiah 7:14; the name Immanuel signals God’s presence (1:23).
Gentile foreshadowing: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and “the wife of Uriah” appear in the genealogy; Magi worship the king (2:1–12).
Heavenly affirmation:
Baptism: “This is my beloved Son” (3:17).
Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son… listen to him” (17:5).
Confession: Peter declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16).
Centurion: At the cross, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (27:54).
5. Authority in Word and Deed
Matthew meaning revolves around Jesus’ authoritative voice and powerful works.
Authoritative word (5–7):
Refrain “But I say to you” (5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) signals more than rabbinic citation—Jesus speaks with divine prerogative.
The crowd response: “He taught… as one who had authority” (7:29).
Authoritative deeds (8–9):
Ten miracles demonstrate mastery over disease, nature, demons, death; even “the winds and the sea obey him” (8:27).
Authority to forgive sins (9:6–8) links miracle power with divine prerogative.
Authority delegated (10:1):
The Twelve receive authority to heal and exorcise; this anticipates the global commission (28:18–20).
6. Kingdom Teaching and Parables
Matthew’s Jesus teaches the kingdom—its ethics, growth, judgment, and joy.
Ethics and wholeness: Beatitudes bless the lowly; the greater righteousness (5:20) penetrates heart and practice (anger, lust, oath, retaliation, love of enemies).
Piety in secret: Prayer, fasting, almsgiving oriented to the Father who sees (6:1–18).
Trust and priorities: Seek first the kingdom; anxiety yields to the Father’s care (6:25–34).
Parables (13): Seeds, weeds, mustard, leaven, treasure, pearl, net—revealing a kingdom present yet contested, hidden yet unstoppable, culminating in final sorting.
7. Conflict, Rejection, and Gentile Inclusion
Mixed responses (11–12):
John the Baptist’s question, cities’ hardness, leaders’ opposition; yet little ones receive rest (11:25–30).
Isaiah 42 applied to Jesus (12:18–21) signals justice to the nations and Gentile hope.
Foreshadowed inclusion:
Centurion’s faith (8:5–13) exceeds Israel’s;
Canaanite woman (15:21–28) receives mercy;
Galilee of the Gentiles becomes the ministry base (4:15–16);
The Great Commission universalizes the mission (28:19).
8. Cross, Resurrection, and Commission
Jerusalem climax (19–25):
Royal entry (21:1–11), temple cleansing (21:12–17), authority disputes (21:23), woes upon false shepherds (23), and eschatological teaching (24–25).
Passion and resurrection (26–28):
Betrayal, trial, and cross unfold as Scripture fulfilled (26:54, 56).
King of the Jews placard (27:37) and Gentile confession (27:54) mirror birth-narrative themes.
The empty tomb and the Galilean rendezvous lead to the programmatic commission (28:16–20).
Commission logic (28:18–20):
Christ’s authority grounds the mission.
Disciple-making shapes its goal: going, baptizing into the Triune Name, teaching to obey all Jesus commanded.
Christ’s presence ensures endurance “to the end of the age.”
9. Discipleship and Church Life
Matthew meaning is ecclesial: Jesus forms a community of obedient learners.
Confession and keys: Peter’s confession (16:16–19) and the promise of church (ekklesia) signal a people ordered under heaven’s rule.
Restorative discipline: Matthew 18 outlines humility, pursuit of the straying, two or three witnesses, and forgiveness without tallying (18:15–35).
Table and cross: The new covenant in Jesus’ blood is “for many for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28), rooting discipleship in atonement and hope.
10. Matthew Meaning for Today
Identity: Jesus is Davidic king and beloved Son, fully authoritative in word and deed.
Ethic: Kingdom righteousness shapes inner life, relationships, and public witness.
Mission: The church is a teaching movement—baptizing and transmitting Jesus’ instruction to the nations.
Hope: The crucified and risen Lord remains with his people, advancing the kingdom until the final harvest.
Bible Verses about Matthew’s Message
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19–20)
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
“You have heard that it was said… But I say to you.” (Matthew 5:21–22)
“For he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:29)
“Who then is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27)
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me… and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)
“This is my beloved Son… listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)
