Gospel of Matthew - Themes in Matthew

Themes in Matthew

Matthew's gospel tells how Israel's Messiah is rejected by Israel, withdraws into the circle of his disciples, passes judgment on those who have rejected him so that "Israel" becomes the non-believing "Jews", and sends the disciples instead to the gentiles. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles, and the Jewish messiah is sent to Israel alone); as Son of Man he will return to judge the world (a fact his disciples recognise but of which his enemies are unaware); and as Son of God he has a unique relationship with God, God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example. Prior to the Crucifixion the Jews are called Israelites, the honorific title of God's chosen people; after it, they are called "Ioudaioi", Jews, a sign that through their rejection of the Christ the "kingdom of Heaven" has been taken away from them and given instead to the church. The gospel has been interpreted as reflecting the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees.

The roots of the gospel in the Matthew-community of the late 1st century give rise to another important title bestowed on Jesus by Matthew, Emmanuel, "God is With Us"—meaning that through Jesus, God is with the ecclesia (literally "assembly", but translated as "church"). Theologically, Matthew's prime concern was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church increasingly becoming gentile. This concern lies behind the frequent citations of Jewish scripture, the evocation of Jesus and the new Moses along with other events from Jewish history, and the concern to present Jesus as fulfilling, not destroying, the Law.

The Jewish theme in the Gospel of Matthew is apparent in other ways as well. First, nearly every important person in the Gospel of Matthew is Jewish. For example, Jesus, the twelve apostles, and the crowds are Jewish. They never deny their Jewish faith in the gospel. Next, Israel is a common theme in the Gospel of Matthew. For instance, in Matthew 15:31, after a story of the healings of Jesus, the text reads that the crowds ‘praised the God of Israel.’

Matthew may have been influenced by Jewish Christianity, a movement in the first few centuries CE which saw Jesus as the Messiah, but continued to practice Jewish customs and traditions. The Gospel of the Nazarenes, a Jewish Christian text, possesses similar themes to the Gospel of Matthew. These themes include many Jewish related elements.