The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew presents the Lord Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and King, as well as the One who shall save His people from their sins. The opening sentence gives the key to the book—“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Seven times the Lord Jesus is addressed as “Son of David” in the Gospel, and ten times, altogether, is this title found there. “Son of David” connects the Saviour with Israel’s throne, “Son of Abraham” linking Him with Israel’s land—Abraham being the one to whom Jehovah first gave the land. But nowhere after the opening verse is this title “Son of Abraham” applied to Christ, for the restoration of the land to Israel is consequent upon their acceptance of Him as their Saviour—King, and that which is made prominent in this first Gospel is the presentation of Christ as King—twelve times over is this title here applied to Christ.

Matthew is essentially the dispensational Gospel and it is impossible to over-estimate its importance and value. Matthew shows us Christ offered to the Jews, and the consequences of their rejection of Him, namely, the setting aside of Israel, and God turning in grace to the Gentiles. Rom 15:8, 9 summarizes the scope of Matthew’s Gospel—“Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.” Christ was not only born of the Jews, but He was born, first, to the Jews, so that in the language of their prophet they could exclaim, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isa 9:6). Matthew’s Gospel explains why Israel, in their later books of the New Testament, is seen temporally cast off by God, and why He is now taking out from the Gentiles a people for His name; in other words, it makes known why, in the present dispensation, the Church has superseded the Jewish theocracy. It supplies the key to God’s dealings with the earth in this Age: without a workable knowledge of this first Gospel it is well-nigh impossible to understand the remaining portions of the New Testament. We turn now to consider some of the outstanding features and peculiar characteristics of Matthew’s Gospel.

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