Religion and Theology

Of the four authors of the Gospels, Mathew has often been regarded as an evangelist to the Jews. When one studies this particular gospel it is evident that the author was mostly addressing the Jews. He depicts Jesus of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah who had been prophesied in the Old Testament by several prophets. In fact Mathew shows Jesus as God sent savior who had Jewish heritage.

Felix Just outlines some texts from the bible to show how the author of Mathew depicted Jesus ministry as directed only to the Jews and not to the gentiles. He quotes the instance where Jesus was sending his disciples for a gospel mission. In Mathew 10 5-6 (NAB), Jesus specifically instructs his disciples to Go nowhere among the gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans. They were however to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Just shows that the author of Mathew only mentions the ministry of Jesus to the entire globe at the end of the book where in the so called great commission Jesus gives his disciples All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 2818-19, NAB).

Felix Just is also quick to point out that Mathew uses several Jewish titles to show that in deed Jesus was a Jew. In addition to the use of the titles such as Messiah, Son of Man and Son of God, Mathew also uses Son of David and Son of Abraham to refer to Jesus. The author wanted to show that Jesus had a Jewish (Abrahamic) and royal (Davidic) heritage. Though not mentioned directly in the gospel, Jesus has been equated with Moses. He has also been presented as the king of the Jews, a teacher and a prophet.

The book of Mathew (1 1-2 NAB) starts with the genealogy of Jesus whereby he is referred to as the the Messiah, the son of David and the son of Abraham. Mathew does not fail to show that Joseph the father of Jesus was from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David all who were very important figures in the Jewish religion. He summarizes the genealogy of Jesus with the verse So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations (Matt 117, NAB).

The book of Mathew has severally presented Jesus as the king of the Jews. The Jews were expecting a king who would establish an earthly kingdom and rescue them from the oppression of the Romans. This is the reason why the author of Mathew is quick to show that Jesus is the king that the Jews have been waiting for. Mathew introduces the term in the second chapter when the wise men from the east came to Bethlehem searching for the king of the Jews (Just). He has for countless terms used the phrase the kingdom of heaven as well the term king in various parables. He quotes Jesus preaching that people should repent as the kingdom of God is near (Matt 417 NAB). This is due to the fact that the Jews were waiting for the kingdom of heaven to be established. Moreover, in order not to offend the Jews and not to portray Jesus as anti Jewish religion, the author of Mathew makes it clear that Jesus had not come to do away with the law and the prophets but instead to fulfill them. Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or title shall pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Matt 5 17-18 NAB).

Mathew also shows that the Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied Messiah by the Old Testament prophets. Several scriptures in this book directly quote what the prophets had spoken regarding the Messiah. In Mathew 1  23 (NAB), Mathew quotes prophet Isaiah prophesy that Emanuel will be born by a virgin (Isaiah 714 NAB). He also quotes Micahs prophesy regarding the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 52 NAB). Other prophesies that Mathew indicates include the messiah would hail from Nazareth (Matt 223), the return of Jesus from Egypt (Matt 214-15), the massacre of the children by Herod (Jer 3115) among many other scriptures (New American Bible).

According to Kevin Knight, the author of Mathew did not have the intentions of writing Jesus biography but instead to show his deeds and words and that he was the expected Messiah, the founder as well as the head of Gods kingdom and one who had come to fulfill the laws and the prophets (Knight).