Matthew Chapter 1 Essay

The Gospel according to Matthew, presents Jesus as the Messiah and portrays him as King of the Jews. This Gospel was written to the Jewish people whose great hope was for the soon coming messianic King, and was written by a Jew. Their hope for the Messiah, would be that he would restore all the former glories of the kingdom and elevate the nation Israel to the head of all nations. Its rule would be “from the river and to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:8). The nation of Israel has served many nations and they were looking for the Messiah to restore them to there for former world power under King David and King Solomon. Their belief was that this kingdom will be set up with its capital in Jerusalem, and it would be the center of the global
Matthew’s gospel is unique in that within its pages, the gospel is used as an evangelistic tool aimed at not only Jews, but Gentiles as well (28:19-20). Matthew writes with great compassion, trying to convince the Jewish nation, to accept Jesus as their Messiah and their Christ.
Much of Matthew’s Gospel includes the discourses of Jesus. However, as with any narrative on a person’s life, he includes the birth of Jesus, his calling of the twelve, miracles, parables, prophecies concerning the end times, and his death and resurrection.
The Major Theological Theme Emphases of the Gospel of Matthew can be summarized as follows:
• Matthew’s detailed genealogy of Jesus. He is in the line of David and Abraham
• Matthew’s widespread use of the Hebrew text, especially the prophetic announcements
• Matthew’s use of the prophetic announcements in relation to the being fulfilled in Jesus.
• Matthew calls Jesus the Messiah (1:16-17), Immanuel (1:23)
• Matthew’s central message is the Kingdom of Heaven (32 times)
• Matthew is the only Gospel writer to use the term “church.” (16:18;