Matthew

Matthew is among the most familiar books of the Bible—and among the most frequently misapplied. We know the Beatitudes, the Lord’s prayer, and the Sermon on the Mount. Yet how often do we ask who Jesus was addressing? Matthew begins with “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). The King comes to Israel, proclaiming “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). When He sends the twelve, He commands them to avoid the Gentiles and go to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5–6). Those instructions alone should challenge the assumption that everything Jesus taught in Matthew was addressed doctrinally to the church.

The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7) is the clearest test. The Beatitudes promise “the kingdom of heaven” (5:3, 10), the meek are promised the earth (5:5), and the disciples pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth” (6:10). In these studies, the sermon is examined as kingdom doctrine with prophetic application to Israel’s faithful remnant during the Tribulation. It also contains valuable lessons for Christians today, but its direct doctrinal setting must come first.

Matthew is a book of transition. Its opening events precede Calvary, and its kingdom promises concern Israel. To read it rightly, we must distinguish those promises from the doctrine later revealed for the body of Christ through Paul’s epistles. Before we claim a passage as our instruction, we should ask: Who is speaking? To whom? About which kingdom? And when will these words be fulfilled?