Cold War

The Teachings of Matthew

The Gospel according to Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, and also serves as a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The gospel tells us of Jesus and his teachings. It is believed that the Gospel originated with Matthew, one of Jesus' disciples, and it circulated anonymously (Harris 149). The message in this gospel was compiled to minister to a Jewish and Jewish-Christian community when tensions between early Christians and postwar Jewish leaders aggravated bitter controversy. The Gospel of Matthew was written as an encouragement to the Greek-speaking Jewish Christians and Gentiles who were, at least partly, Torah observant during the 80s C.E. probably at Antioch in Syria (Harris 148). The teachings of Matthew gave special attention to presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, in whom the writers of the Old Testament prophesied would come true (Matthew 1:21-22).

From the onset, Matthew established Jesus' messianic credentials by listing a record of his genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17. Matthew wanted to present Jesus' life in the context of Biblical Law and prophecy (Harris 149). Throughout the entire Gospel, Matthew highlights Jesus' execution of ancient predictions, frequently emphasizing the connection between Jesus and the assurances made to Israel, for instance, the royal dynasty of David. Matthew quoted from, paraphrased, or alluded to the Hebrew Bible to demonstrate that Jesus' entire career, from conception to resurrection, was predicted centuries earlier by biblical writers from Moses to Malachi (Harris 149). Matthew used a literary formula in his teachings that made the connection between prophecy and specific events in Jesus' life. For example, Matthew used biblical passages from the Hebrew Bible to identify Jesus as the promised Messiah:

Matthew Hebrew Bible Source

And he drove the spirits out with a word and healed all who were sick, to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: "He took away our illnesses and lifted our diseases from us."

(Mathew 8:16-17) Yet on himself he bore our sufferings, our torments he endured,

while we counted him smitten by God, struck down by disease and misery. (Isaiah 53:4)

In all his teaching to the crowds Jesus spoke in parables; in fact he never spoke to them without a parable. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter things kept secret since the world

was made.

(Matthew 13:34-34) Mark my teaching, O my people,

listen to the words I am to speak.

I will tell you a story with a meaning,

I will expound the riddle of things past,

things that we have heard and know,

And our fathers have repeated to us.

(Psalms 78:2)

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel", which means −− "God with us".

(Matthew 1:22-23) "Therefore, the lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

(Isaiah 7:14)

(Harris 149 and 150)

Matthew's teachings in the scripture insisted that Christians were to fast, pray regularly, give charitable, and practice formal sacrifices (Matthew 6:16-18, 6:5-6, 6:2, and 5:23). Equally as important, he also would forbid certain foods to be eaten in his community. Matthew depicts Jesus' personal religion as Torah Judaism. Matthew interprets the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible as applying exclusively to his group of believers, who he regards as the true Israel. He also commonly presents Jesus' teaching as a kind of midrash on the Torah. At various points in his Gospel, Matthew shows Jesus providing halakic interpretations of the Torah (Matthew 5:17-48) particularly on such legal matters as Sabbath observance and divorce (Matthew 12:1-21 and 19:3-12). Matthew blended Jesus' action and teaching so readers could understand his distinctive purpose. He collected Jesus' sayings in five main places. He speaks of the famous Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5-7. Chapter 10 records Jesus' instructions to his disciples about their mission; chapter 13, a series of parables on the kingdom; chapter 18, Christ's words on the church as a community; and chapters 23-25, Jesus' thoughts on religious hypocrisy and his predictions of the future.

As an evangelist, Matthew discovered the need to explain the person of Jesus in order to encourage the development of Christian awareness (Albright LIV). Matthew lectured on the Lord's attitude toward the Old Law. This is apparent in the Sermon on the Mount where Christ, the new Lawgiver, proclaimed his law for the new people of God. Christ perfected the law instead of abolishing it. He broadened the Old Law by incorporating love to include the love of one's enemy, as the fulfillment of God's will (Matthew 5:44). In the same

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