Year A: Gospel according to Matthew – Message and Purpose
Matthew longs to have his readers be maturing disciples of Jesus, who is the promised Servant Christ, so that they may enjoy life in His kingdom together forever. The Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour of all.
God’s Son, Jesus, is the “Servant Christ”. Christ or Messiah (1:1, 16:16). Servant (12:17-21 cf. 3:16-17).
As Jesus, comes near, so does God’s kingdom (4:17), which is God’s unopposed, sovereign, saving rule in the world. It may be described as ‘God’s people in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing’.
To be a disciple is summed up in four commands of Christ = turn, trust, travel and tell.
1. Turn to Christ from sin, realign yourself with God’s rule, 4:17b
2. Trust in Jesus, the Son of God, the Servant Christ, 11:28
3. ‘Travel’ with Jesus Christ along the way of the cross, 16:24
4. Tell others the good news about the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, 28:19a
Only Jesus can make discipleship possible. He must serve us before we can serve him.
“He will save his people from their sins’ (1:21 cf. 9:18, 20:28, 26:28).
Matthew re-presents Mark. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of David, the Servant of God.
At the heart of Jesus’ ministry and teaching lie three key concepts:
Fulfilment of Scripture; God as Father; the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew is a book for the not-yet-Christian. For the Christian,the way forward is to learn to obey all
Jesus’ commands and teach others to do the same (28:19-20a).
In Matthew, the disciple is called to share the worldview of Jesus; to live a relationship of faith with someone who is more than a teacher; to community; to mission.
Disciples make up the community called church. Only Matthew, of the four Evangelists, uses the word church, which is used for the assembly of the children of Israel in the OT. In Matthew, the community of the disciples represents the renewed, restored people of God sharing in his mission.
Matthew and faith into the future:
-Focus is on the person of Jesus as the presence of God.
-Focus is on the Kingdom as an expression of God’s will.
-Focus is on community built on reconciliation and mercy.
-Focus is on the connection between faith and life.
Moving from simply believing in Jesus to believing as Jesus believed.
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