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by Michael J. Tiry (Author)
The Gospel of Matthew presents the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah and King of the nation of Israel. The overall theme of the Gospel is the call to Israel to "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand." The Gospel is in four sections: the first section is in the first ten chapters in which the Lord carries on a broad based ministry to the nation at large. In these chapters, He demonstrates to the nation His credentials as the one who will reign over Israel and the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Then in chapters 10 and 11, He is rejected by the leaders of the nation and is in fact blasphemed. In Chapter 12 Christ introduces the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. The third section is in Chapters 13 through 20 in which He confines His ministry to the 12 apostles to prepare them to be able to carry on the ministry of the gospel of the kingdom to the nation in His absence. During this time, Christ prepares His disciples for the coming events that will leave them confused and bewildered. What the disciples faced did indeed test their faith. Yet the Lord fortified their resolve to go through those very trying times and remain faithful to Him as Messiah. The fourth section consists of Chapters 21 through 28 covering His death, burial, and resurrection. The author of this study traces the human interest as the disciples are discouraged by their Messiah appearing to just give up and allow Himself to be crucified. He is going to the cross to accomplish redemption for the nation and the entire world, but He cannot tell them yet why that is happening. Christ is preparing these men for their apostleship and also giving them enough evidence of His position as Messiah that they will get through those traumatic days of severe testing of their faith.
The Book of Matthew closes with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We see the apostles as they go through this time of testing of their faith. Will they hold to their commission to proclaim the Kingdom to the nation and call the nation to repent of having crucified their Messiah? The Gospel of Matthew ends abruptly in Chapter 28 in what seems to be almost anticlimactic in that the promised kingdom that the twelve were commissioned to preach and proclaim has not yet been established.
Today, now that we are some 2,000 years past the apostle's commissioning to proclaim the kingdom, we still don't see the kingdom being established. We ask why hasn't the kingdom been established yet? In the conclusion of this study guide, the author connects the Gospel of Matthew with the rest of the Prophetic Books concerning Israel's Kingdom--notably the books of Hebrews through the Revelation. What fills the gap between the books of Matthew and Hebrews? That interruption concerns a temporary setting aside of the nation of Israel as a result of the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit as spoken of in Matthew 12 and occurring in the Book of Acts. So from the middle of the Book of Acts until Philemon, God is calling out from the lost masses of humanity a new elect agency--the Church the Body of Christ. Even though God is currently working with the Gentiles, He will one day pick up His dealings with the nation of Israel. This will happen after He catches the Church the Boy of Christ to its eternal home in the heavens. The Conclusion then puts the information in this study of Matthew's Gospel in perspective for the present dispensation of the grace of God and the ultimate continuing of Bible Prophecy that will follow.
