Matthew: More than a storyteller

Clive Nash

Most of us like stories and Matthew was a great storyteller. Think, for example, of his account of Jesus' birth and the wise men; Satan tempting Jesus; calming the storm; the four miracles in Matthew 9-a haemorrhaging woman, the ruler's daughter resurrected, two blind men healed, and a mute demon-possessed man restored; the events of Chapter 14-the tragic beheading of John the Baptist, feeding the 5000, then Jesus walking on water, inspiring Peter to try it as well. There are many other stories but not least is the account of the final events in the earthly life of Jesus. All of these make the Gospel of Matthew memorable reading.

When we look a little closer, we see that Matthew was not just a good narrator but a craftsman, too. A few things stand out. First, he seems to have been writing to Jews to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. He has more Old Testament quotations than Mark, Luke or John. The Jews loved the Old Testament, especially the five books of Moses known as "the Torah."

Second, we notice that Matthew builds his gospel around five great talks of Jesus. We probably know the first of these best. It is Chapters 5 to 7 and we call it "The Sermon on the Mount." The other four "sermons" are Chapters 10, 13, 18, and 24 to 25. At the end of each of these talks, Matthew writes, "When Jesus had finished saying these things" (see, for example, Matthew 7:28). This gives us a clue as to how he is putting it all together. It seems Matthew was saying, in effect, to his Jewish readers, "Here is a new five section Torah to flesh out the old; here is a new Moses-one greater than Moses and it is Jesus, the long-promised Messiah."

Third, Matthew's Gospel seems to be written for everyone: we are his audience; the whole world is his target. It is Matthew, remember, who writes, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19*).

And it is interesting that this Jew-known in Mark's and Luke's Gospels as Levi-should distance himself from Judaism and the synagogue by saying, "And [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel" (4:23). He does not write "our synagogues" but "their," as if to say, "OK, I am a Jew but I am not like those Jews who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah. They have stayed in their synagogues with their old ideas. I am now a Christian."

The next time you read Matthew, enjoy its Jewishness but also say, "He wrote this for me." Especially claim the promise of the closing words, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

*All Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version.

This has been a feature from Record, February 21, 2009.