In reading the book of Matthew two things become apparent, first, that it is very “Jewish” in its structure and prose, and second, that it is not an apologetic or defense of the Gospel, it is a statement of historical fact with a much larger purpose than a simple history lesson.

Compare, for instance, the book of Matthew with the books of the Chronicles (1 & 2 Chronicles originally being one book called “the words of the days”.) Jewish tradition holds that Chronicles was written by Ezra as an encouragement to Israel upon their return from Babylonian captivity, reminding them that obedience to God will provide blessings while disobedience will cost them their spiritual privileges.

Chronicles opens with extensive genealogies, tracing lineages back to forefathers critical to God’s promises of blessings and then moves onto an enumeration of preceding events with a special emphasis on David, Solomon and the kings of the southern kingdom (Judah).

Likewise, Matthew opens with Jesus’ genealogy, albeit a far less extensive one, that shows His direct lineage to the promises of God. The book then moves onto an enumeration of events such as His birth and earthly ministry and is heavy in quotes from the Old Testament, stressing passages that show that Jesus is the Christ. There are very severe warnings and condemnations recounted for those that are hardened of heart and self-righteous, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, as well as rich blessings promised for the faithful and humble of heart.

As to the second observation mentioned in the opening of this post, Matthew is no more a defense of Jesus as Christ or of the Gospel message of salvation any more than Chronicles is a defense for either David’s or Solomon’s right to rule over Israel. The book is written to encourage believers and warn unbelievers. Christ had just come, assumed His rightful place as King after a long exile (if you will) of divinely appointed rule, provided the perfect and final sacrifice for sin as The Great High Priest, and rose from the dead to ascend to Heaven as our sanctified advocate at the right hand of God.

Understanding these things and keeping in mind the comparison provided in my last post on this subject between the entrance of the Ark of the Covenant (unconditional promises) and of The promised Messiah into Jerusalem will help substantially in a proper study of Matthew as well as in developing our understanding of how we should respond and the consequences of not responding properly.