Matthew Intro

Welcome to our first day on the study through the book of Matthew.

Today, we are going to focus in on who the author of the book of Matthew is, who he is writing this book to, and the first verse of the book of Matthew. And I think after looking at these three aspects of the Book of Matthew, we will see not only who Jesus is and what he is doing, but who we are and what we are supposed to be doing.

First, Matthew is introduced to us in Matthew chapter 9. You can read his story in Matthew 9.9-13. Matthew was a Jew and he was a tax collector for the Roman Government. Now because the Roman Government had conquered the Jews, they were ruling over and oppressing them in a number of ways. One of these ways that the Romans were oppressing the Jews was through heavy taxes. And these taxes were collected by Jews that were willing to betray their own race and work for the enemy. This was who Matthew was. So Matthew was a Jew, who was hated by his own people, and the people he worked for didn't like him either. He also was a tax collector, so he was very concerned with calculations and numbers, one of those left brain kind of guys.

Second, the book of Matthew is written also to Jews. The Gospel of Mark was written to Jews in Rome, Luke was written to Gentiles as well as John. So Matthew is probably the Gospel that is the most Jewish in nature. This will be seen throughout the book, how he arranges it and specific things he says.

Lastly, because Matthew was a Jew and he was writing this book to Jews, he begins his gospel in a very Jewish way, with a genealogy. Now to us, genealogies and family trees are not very important. But to a Jew who is waiting for the Messiah, it is HUGE!!! Because there are two promises to two guys that must be fulfilled in the Messiah. And Matthew's purpose is to show in this first verse that Jesus is the fulfillment of these two promises.

The first person that Matthew mentions is David. In 2 Samuel 7.16, the Lord says concerning David:

"Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."

This is one of the promises that the Jews were waiting to be fulfilled. The Messiah must be a descendant of David and his kingdom must endure forever. So at the beginning of the book of Matthew, we see Matthew connect Jesus to the line of David. Matthew is very concerned with showing his Jewish audience that Jesus is the King that they have been waiting for and that he is going to establish a kingdom that will last forever. This is one of the two HUGE pillars in the book of Matthew. The emphasis on the Kingdom of Christ. And it is fulfilled at the end of the book. Look at Matthew 28.18:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'"

Here we have a picture of the risen Jesus, saying that he is now the reigning king of the entire universe. This connection with David shows the Jews that Jesus is the king they have been waiting for and it shows us who Jesus is and what he is doing. He is king, and he is reigning over his kingdom, now.

The second person that Matthew is very concerned to connect Jesus to is Abraham. Look at Matthew 1.1

"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David the Son of Abraham:"

As we saw who Jesus is and what he is doing now through the promise made to David, so now we will see who we are and what we are to be doing through the line of Abraham.

In Genesis 12.1-3, God makes a covenant, or a deal with Abraham. He says this:

"¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you...
and all peoples on earth
   will be blessed through you.”


God says to Abraham, "follow me and all nations will be blessed through you." This is the second promise that the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to fulfill. And Matthew connects it to Jesus here in Matthew 1.1. He is showing the Jews that not only is Jesus the King in the line of David, but he is the blessing to the nations in the line of Abraham. And because the Gospel of Matthew is a manual on discipleship, this is the task that Jesus left us with at the end of the book. Look at Matthew 28.19-20:


^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”


This promise made to Abraham is initially fulfilled in Jesus but is carried out through us. We are now the blessing to the nations. And the way we bless the nations, is by baptizing them and teaching them to obey, by evangelizing the lost and then discipling them to follow Jesus. 


After looking at the first verse, we find out who Jesus is, King, and what he is doing, reigning. And we also find out who we are, the blessing to the nations, and what we are supposed to be doing, evangelizing the lost and then showing them how to follow Jesus. 


I pray that God will use this verse to help you remember what your purpose in life is today and that he will call you to bless the nations in some very concrete ways today. God bless. 


Sy Huffer