Matthew, Part 1.

Hello again.

As you may know, I’m sitting down to read each of the gospels front to back. Last week, it was Mark, and this week, it’s Matthew. Why would I do this, you might ask? Well, the main reason is because it’s a class assignment. But you probably already knew that, because you’re probably in my class if you’re reading this. But for those of you who aren’t, I would actually really recommend doing the same. After my reading this week and last, I feel like I really do have a clearer portrait of who Jesus was and is, as well as just of the portrait that the writers of the gospels were trying to convey in their style.

Anyway.

I’m going to talk about the first thing I noticed about Matthew’s style and the story of Jesus found in his book now.
Then later I’ll think of something else I noticed to write another entry about.

The very first thing that stuck out to me when I sat down to read the gospel of Matthew yesterday was all the prophesies that were being fulfilled in, like, the first two pages.

Does anybody else get that impression?

Try reading through the first few chapters of Matthew. There are tons of footnotes with references to the Old Testament! From the naming of Jesus to the city where he’s born to the place where Mary and Joseph run to escape Herod, it seems like Jesus just can’t do anything without fulfilling some prophecy somewhere in Hosea or Jeremiah or Isaiah or something. And it doesn’t just stop in chapter 3. Jesus himself seems to quote the OT a lot more in this gospel than any other. Here he is giving his sermon on the mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth’. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person”. “You have heard that it was said, you have heard that it was said…” It’s all over.

Now, I’ve always known that Jesus was a kind of counter-cultural guy. He didn’t like to do what people expected him to, but rather he showed people what they should be expected to do. But what I didn’t really realize until this reading is that he didn’t just come to the earth, wipe away everything that everybody was doing, yell at a bunch of people and create a new way to live. Jesus doesn’t quote the OT to point out what people are doing wrong. He does it to INCORPORATE the things people already know about God into what he preaches. It’s kind of a wild concept, but Jesus was in fact sent here to FULFILL prophecies, to REALIZE God’s covenant with his people, and in the end to ESTABLISH a new covenant. A new covenant that we don’t have to work our way towards, we just have to accept him. That would have been pretty tough for the God-fearing Jews at the time to hear, and it’s still really tough for us to hear today. So I don’t think that Jesus gets up on top of that mountain and yells at people for how they’re living, telling them that they’re wrong to follow the law of God set out in the torah. I think he’s conveying a very loving message: “I know you’re afraid to follow me, but I promise my teaching is compatible with your way of life. Everyone has the same chance to turn their life around and enter the kingdom.”

This is Jesus’ new covenant.

“You are welcome into the kingdom.”

“I am not a stranger.”

“I come from the Father God who you worship and I am here to accept you.”

And so I think that’s the heart of Matthew’s gospel, and that’s what I’ve been reflecting on this week. I know I’m not a Jew, but Jesus comes the same way nonetheless. To tell me that I am welcome, and that his teachings may be a rigorous way of life but they aren’t incompatible with my heart. And leaving all you own to follow him doesn’t mean leaving all you are.
Jesus came to realize a covenant and to fulfill prophecies. He’s here for us, not to destroy who we are but to love and accept.