What is the purpose of Matthew’s Gospel in the New Testament of the bible?
Based on the characteristics of Matthew’s gospel, we are able to identify the purpose of Matthew’s gospel. Find below the major objectives of the gospel according to Matthew.
1. Gospel of fulfillment
The writer of the gospel of Matthew wanted to show that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had been expecting and that his coming fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Thus, the Christian faith came directly from Judaism.
This is why there are many references to old testament prophesies and passages in Matthew. And also to terms found in Judaism
Here are some examples that show evidence of this purpose of Matthew’s gospel.
- In Matthew, the writer is often heard making such statements as:
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet…”
“In order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet…”
- Matthew alone cites the old Testament 41 times.
- The flight of Joseph and Mary to Egypt with the baby Jesus – “Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Hosea 2: 15).
- Constant references to Jesus as “son of David” ( An example is Matthew 12: 23.)
- Jesus quoted the old law 5 times in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5: 12-48)
- In Matthew,“Righteousness”, a term at the root of Judaism is used by Jesus frequently.
2. Jesus as a miracle-working Messiah
Another purpose of Matthew’s gospel is to convince his readers that Jesus was truly the Messiah . Matthew has gone to great lengths to emphasize this aspect of Jesus’ work on earth. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples below.
- Matthew’s gospel speaks of Jesus’ healing of 2 Gerasene madmen while Mark records an account involving Jesus’ healing of a single Gerasene Demoniac.
- The gospel of Matthew states that when Jesus cursed the fig tree it withered “immediately”. This is unlike the same narrative in Mark where the disciples found that the fig tree had withered upon their return the next day.
- In the resurrection narratives, Matthew’s gospel goes a step further to introduce miraculous signs such as an earthquake and the resurrection of an angel to roll away the stone on Jesus’ tomb.
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3. The Suffering Messiah
However, Matthew also wanted to show that rather than being a Messiah of earthly glory and fanfare, Jesus was a suffering Messiah.
His suffering and death on the cross, as found in Matthew’s elaborate passion narratives, were meant to accomplish his mission of salvation for mankind.
4. Jesus’ message was for the Jews.
Thirdly, by portraying the Gospel as being first and foremost for the Jews (particularism), Matthew aimed to show that Jesus’ ministry was primarily meant for the Jews.
- An example is Matthew’s account of The Great Commission when Jesus warned his disciples not to visit the Gentile town of Samaria.
- Again, Matthew made a Greek woman cross the border at Phoenicia to meet Jesus. This is unlike Mark’s narrative of the same incident where Jesus went out of his way to meet the Greek woman, a Gentile, in Phoenicia.
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5. Gospel for church discipline, worship and missionary work.
Finally, it is the purpose of Matthew’s gospel to portray Jesus as the originator of the Christian church. That Jesus was interested in establishing the church and determining how it would operate.
Here are some illustrations of this purpose of Matthew’s gospel.
- It is only in Matthew that the term “ecclesia” (meaning “church”) appears 2 times.
- During Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus announced that Peter was the rock upon which he would build his “church”. (Matthew 16: 18)
- While teaching about the settlement of disputes, Jesus used the word “church”. Here, Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, where two or three are gathered in his name, there he is in their midst. The church is the true and new Israel.
- The Great Commission. It underlines the crucial role of missionary work or evangelism as part of the Christian movement.
- Matthew’s gospel is meant to cater for the needs of the early church in matters of discipline and morality. This explains why there are many attacks by Jesus on the religious leaders of his day in this gospel
- , Jesus frequently clashed with the self righteous Pharisees whom he called hypocrites.
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Ralph Nyadzi is the Director of Studies at Cegast Academy. He is a qualified English tutor with decades of experience behind him. Since 2001, he has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature and related subjects. He combines his expertise with a passion for lifelong learning to guide learners from varying backgrounds to achieve their educational goals. Ralph shares lessons from his blogging journey on BloggingtotheMax. He lives with River, his pet cat, in the Central Region of Ghana.
