Christ in Gospel of Matthew

Christology in the Gospel of Matthew

Christology is the study of Jesus Christ. This paper will discuss the issue of Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. From reading this paper, one will essentially grasp better understanding of how Matthew explains Jesus’ divinity and his message. The relationship between Judaism and Christ will also be discussed. In the Gospel of Matthew there are many important aspects of his Gospel that point out to us, the crowd Matthews was trying to reach. From the characters, concepts, and quotes Matthew uses, one can understand that he was trying to reach a Jewish crowd. Matthew stresses throughout the Gospel that Jesus is the Son Of God. He stresses this for his Jewish audience. Jesus’ role as the Messiah and Son of God is stressed because of the “Jewishness of the gospel which is especially prevalent in its depiction of Jesus’ role as the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s messianic hope” (1). The fulfillment of the Judaic tradition is key in his gospel. In the Old Testament they tell of revelation and hope that Matthew builds upon. We see this right from the beginning when the Angel was speaking to Joseph, as the angel said “he will save his people from their sins” (1:21). A few other aspects of Matthew’s Christology are Jesus’ spiritual presence with his disciples and the fact most main characters are Jewish. We realize this because the main character Jesus is a Jew, along with his twelve disciples. Jesus assured his disciples that he would always be with him when he said “I will always be with you” (28:20). This is also seen when Matthew says “they shall name him Emmanuel which means “God is with us” (1:23). Matthew wanted his crowd to know that Jesus’ was spiritually present among his disciples and perhaps if the crowd had faith as well, he would be present within them. What Jesus taught his disciples would likely be good lessons to the people that would read his Gospel. The topic of faith is seen because if people can relate to what Jesus taught and Jesus was with his disciples spiritually, then people could believe without seeing. Matthew had many stories and similar concepts in a good portion of his gospel. These stories told his disciples of a strict discipline, which was necessary for the Jewish community to understand and help carry out his word. Matthew let us know of Jesus’ teaching methods by saying “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (28:20). We see also in chapter 4 of this strict sense of discipline when Matthew says “’One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”(1). Therefore the disciples must carry out his word and obey without doubt. Jesus had a do not worry concept in his teachings as well. Matthew says in Chapter 6 “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat? Or what will we drink?, or What we will we wear?” (6:31) but “strive first for the kingdom of God”(6:32). This is a big concept in Matthews teachings. He tells us to strive for the kingdom of heaven and not worry about material things which I believe may have been an issue in Jewish communities. This no worry concept ties along with Matthew’s concept of “righteousness, to be obedient to God” (1). The concept of faith was also an important aspect of Matthew’s Christology. Matthew stressed the fact in certain points of his gospel that his disciples sometimes doubted Jesus. We see one example after the resurrection when Jesus meets the disciples on the mountain. Matthew says “when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted” (28:17) We also see another aspect of doubt in Matthew 6:30 when he points out the disciples “little faith”. Matthew letting his readers know this had an impact on the beliefs of his readers. When the Jewish crowd read this, it let them know that if something bad occurs in their lives one may doubt, but through prayer one must always have faith. The last aspect of Matthew’s Christology in his gospel is the reality that Jesus suffered for us. Through his death we were forgiven for our sins. The fact that Matthew had this in his gospel was important because, like Jesus, the Jews may have suffered as well. As a Jewish reader of his Gospel one may be able to better relate to the Gospel. In the last two chapters of Matthew he paints a vivid portrayal of what happened and how Jesus suffered and did not complain. They offered him wine and he refused, they mocked him and he was quiet. The Jewish crowd which this gospel was intended can learn and share in his suffering from Matthew’s account. This is what is most important when it comes to the Christology of Matthews gospel. We learn the crowd he intended to reach, the concepts and key words he used to reach the Jews and how Matthews and Jews back then may have looked at Jesus. A Jesus that was a Jew himself, that suffered and died, while leaving a message that is still clear today.

Bibliography

Lowery D.K, Theology of Matthew 09/02/2007 Visited 10/05/07 http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txw/matttheo.htm

Multiple Authors, Holy Bible Hendrickson Publishers, Inc Peabody MA 01961

Carson, Matthew, Biblical Studies 08/10/ 2004
Visited 10/05/07
www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/matthew_carson.pdf

Bibliography: Lowery D.K, Theology of Matthew 09/02/2007 Visited 10/05/07 http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txw/matttheo.htm Multiple Authors, Holy Bible Hendrickson Publishers, Inc Peabody MA 01961 Carson, Matthew, Biblical Studies 08/10/ 2004 Visited 10/05/07 www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/matthew_carson.pdf