Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ kingship as a sign to the Jews that He is the promised messiah. Mark emphasizes Jesus as an obedient servant. Luke is written for the benefit of non-Jews. John writes to emphasize that Jesus is the everlasting Son of God and, at the same time, God the Son.

In our weekly theology breakfast, we are continuing our biblical theology track. We have completed our Old Testament history timeline, worked through the prophets and where they sit on the timeline, and thought through how to read the wisdom literature. This Sunday just gone, we reached the gospels.

One of the key points we were considering was this: why are there four gospels? There are various answers we might give, all of which may be true. But one of them is simply this: each writer has different audiences in mind and different emphases he wants to bring out about the person of Jesus. So, what are those different audiences and emphases?

Matthew

Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. He begins at Abraham (the first Jew) and follows down the royal line of David. Unlike Mark, Matthew rarely explains Jewish traditions or customs and assumes his readers will be aware of their significance.

The themes of king and kingdom are central to Matthew’s gospel. Between them, the phrases Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God appear 37 times. Matthew emphasises the restoration of the glories of David’s kingdom and clearly identifies Jesus with this through reference to him as the ‘Son of David’. Matthew also focuses his attention on fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. The reader is frequently pointed to the Old Testament and, on thirteen occasions, expressly told how it is fulfilled in Christ. Matthew makes 53 Old Testament citations and more than 70 allusions to Hebrew Scripture.

Matthew emphases Jesus’ kingship as a sign to the Jews that He is the promised messiah, the obedient King needed to fulfil OT covenants. The focus on Jesus’ kingship emphasises his authority. Matthew focuses on Jesus teaching and words, specifically recording miracles that highlight Jesus authority over sin (the first, the cleansing of a leper; the last, Jesus’ resurrection).

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