What does the Book of Matthew talk about?

Because MATTHEW presents Him to us as the Messiah promised to Israel, to set up His kingdom on earth, as predicted by prophets, He is at once introduced as "the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." His genealogy is traced, not on Mary's side, but in connection with Joseph, as legal Heir to the throne. In the first chapter He is called Jesus, meaning Jehovah our Saviour; and though born of Mary, is really surnamed ― God with us. In the second chapter He is said to be "born King of the Jews," and the prophet Micah is referred to as to Bethlehem being the place of His birth into this world; and there it is added, to show the infinite glory of His Person, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." In the third chapter, John, His forerunner according to Isaiah and Malachi, called on the nation to "repent," because the King was there, and ready to set up the kingdom of heaven. It was therefore "at hand." In Matthew only we have the expression, "kingdom of heaven," for this the Jewish people were taught to expect by the prophets; and Moses especially spoke of "the days of heaven upon earth." (Deut. 11:21.) The expression, "kingdom of heaven," occurs about twenty-eight times in this Gospel. John the Baptist had to seal his testimony of "the gospel of the kingdom," first by imprisonment, and then by death. Jesus, however, takes up the same testimony, and adds to it the signs of His being the Messiah, by miraculous power, and gives in the sermon on the mount, the principles on which the kingdom must be set up, then touches a leper and by His word heals him, and also a palsied man. The healing of the one showed, that however degraded and unclean the nation might be, there was grace and power in Him beyond all ordinances, however good, for healing; and on the other hand, however helpless the people, He could not only heal the body but forgive sins. In the tenth chapter, He gives power to His apostles also to work miracles, and preach the glad tidings of the kingdom, which was a further testimony of His Messiahship. Afterward we find Him feeding thousands once and again on a few loaves and fishes, and baskets of fragments remaining after every one was filled. Now why was this? It was a further testimony to His being the Messiah, because it had been written in Psalm 132, "I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread." So we might go through the Gospel if our space permitted, only we cannot fail to see that it sets before us a line of instruction found nowhere else in scripture, and yet in perfect keeping with all that had gone before or came after. It is well to notice, that in the twelfth chapter the Messiah is so entirely rejected by the Jews, that they take counsel to destroy Him (ver. 14); in the last chapter of Matthew He is seen risen from the dead, but not ascended, a risen Man on the earth. And why is this? Because the Messiah's sphere as such is not ascension glory as His church will have with Him as Bridegroom, Head of His body, and Lord of all; but His earthly people, while they will know Him as having died for that nation, and therefore risen, will know Him as reigning here on earth, before His ancients gloriously, and sitting in David's throne; thus fulfilling all the prophecies of Him, and all the promises to Abraham and his seed. Then of the Jewish people it will be truly said, "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." This they will know and rejoice in, when they sing, "Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name Who forgives all thine iniquities, who heals all thy diseases." (Isa. 33:24; Ps. 103:1, 3.) Such a truly Jewish character has this Gospel, that here only the expression of the wicked people, "His blood be on us, and on our children," is recorded; and in neither of the other Gospels have we such particular and prophetic instruction as to the great tribulation, the coming of the Lord to Israel, and His judging the nations.

In Matthew we have Christ as Messiah, son of Abraham and son of David, according to the promise - Jehovah Emmanuel - bringing in the testimony of the kingdom and its healing power, laying down the principles on which men could enter into it (that is, the character of the remnant); and then displaying the various power which characterized and verified His coming. Passing on, though with enduring patience - patience which endures till He comes again - to His rejection by the nation, and the setting up of the kingdom in a mysterious way in the absence of the King, He still continues for the present His ministrations till His hour was come, but reveals the substitution of the church, and the kingdom in glory, for its present setting up by His presence. He then goes up to Jerusalem, arraigns the nation as a whole and in its various classes, and then subjects Himself to the whole distress and power of evil and of Satan which reigned in Israel, and to the smiting of the Lord of Hosts in the cup which He had to drink. He is raised from the dead, meets His disciples on the old prophetic ground of the remnant in Galilee, and commands them to disciple all nations in the new name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but we have no ascension to heaven.

The Gospel of Matthew presents the Lord Jesus as the object of prophecy, the King and Messiah of Israel, the Promised One. A recurring phrase in Matthew's Gospel is "and it came to pass" or "as the prophet said" or "as it was written". Matthew alludes to prophecy and shows how prophecy was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus.

The phrase, kingdom of the heavens, is mentioned thirty-two times in the Gospel of Matthew. Here it is for the first time. The strangest meaning has been put upon this term. Christendom at large is all at sea about the meaning of it. Heaven or the church are the general interpretations which are given. Both are wrong, and because the meaning of this term is so grossly misunderstood, there is no conception whatever of the thoughts and purposes of God. The kingdom of the heavens is an Old Testament term. It is to be in the earth and not in heaven. It is a kingdom in which the heavens rule (Daniel 4:26). The setting up of that kingdom is spoken of in Daniel 2:44, and in the seventh chapter, verse 14. It is in the hands of One who is the Son of Man, Messiah, the Son of David, who is to rule in righteousness. In that kingdom there will be universal peace, and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the deep. His own people, the house of Judah and the house of Israel , will all be regathered into the land, Jerusalem built again and become the great center of blessing for the nations of the earth. In one word, the kingdom of the heavens is the literal fulfilment of all the prophecies and promises contained in the Old Testament, which the Lord gave to the seed of Abraham, and the blessings of the nations of the earth to come after this kingdom is set up. The Church is not known in the Old Testament, nor is it seen in the opening chapters of Matthew. This kingdom, the forerunner declares, now has drawn nigh, it is at hand. The King is in the earth, Emanuel, He whose name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and concerning whom it is said, "that of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever." Not alone did John preach this kingdom to its Jewish, earthly form, but the Lord Himself declared that it had drawn nigh, and when the King sent out His disciples He told them to preach, "The kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh," the special Messianic kingdom power was put upon them to heal the sick, to raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (Matthew 10).

The Old Testament is full of promises which speak of the coming, not alone of a deliverer, a sinbearer, but of the coming of a King, King Messiah as He is still called by orthodox Jews. This King was eagerly expected, hoped for and prayed for by the pious in Israel . It is still so with many Jews in our days. The Gospel of Matthew proves that our Lord Jesus Christ is truly the promised King Messiah. In it we see Him as King of the Jews, everything shows that He is in truth the royal person, of whom Seers and Prophets, as well as inspired Psalmists, wrote and sang. First it would be necessary to prove that He is legally the King. This is seen in the first chapter, where a genealogy is given which proves His royal descent. The beginning is, "Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham."* It goes back to Abraham and there it stops, while in Luke the genealogy reaches up to Adam. In the Gospel of Matthew He is seen as Son of David, His royal descent; Son of Abraham, according to the flesh from the seed of Abraham.

As every attentive reader will confirm, the Lord Jesus is presented in Matthew's Gospel as the King who comes to His people Israel in order to set up His Kingdom. In the genealogical table His descent from King David is emphasized, and in chapter two we find the homage which the wise men of the East pay to Him as King.

The particular aspect in which the Lord is presented in Matthew's gospel is, as the Messiah, the King. Matthew writes specially for Jews, to testify that Jesus was really the Messiah, though rejected. In the first chapter we get His genealogy on Joseph's side of the house; of course really He was not Joseph's Son. Had he been Joseph's Son really, He could not have been our Saviour; but in order that He should by right succeed to the throne, He must be proved to be legally Joseph's Son.

We have three together, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the lion, the ox, and the man. Matthew presents to us the Messiah, the King of Israel. You cannot read the first verse of Matthew without seeing that as the subject of the whole book. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ Son of David, Son of Abraham." We have His two-fold title. "Son of Abraham" links him with the whole household of faith; shows, as it were, how the vine runs over the walls to the Gentiles.

Matthew presents the Lord as Son of David and of Abraham: the MESSIAH OF ISRAEL. His Gospel may be called the Gospel of the kingdom, but the King is not merely Son of David and Son of Abraham, but JESUS — Jehovah the Saviour: EMMANUEL — God with us (chap. 1:21, 23).

This brings us to notice what is a marked characteristic of Matthew. He presents our Lord so frequently as the Fulfiller of the words of the prophet. We find thus a characteristic expression, as will be noticed later, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet."