One of the major themes that jumped out to me was God’s design and divine control over the life and ministry of Christ in order to fulfill the plan of the Father. Throughout the book, Jesus constantly withdraws to pray. In the account in Gethsemane just prior to Jesus being brought into custody, Jesus asked specifically that the plan be changed, so that he would not have to die (Matt. 26.36-46). Obviously, this was a time when the request was not granted, and Jesus knew that it wouldn’t. Nonetheless he had multiple opportunities to escape the crucifixion, but he would not without it being the will of the Father. His will be done.

Fulfillment of prophesy is made very aware specifically in the Gospel of Matthew (ex. Matt 12.17-21 and Matt 21.4,5). This is probably because Matthew, being a Jew, was versed in prophesy of the coming messiah and was therefore able to easily extract the accounts as they were fulfilled and make note of them. It is an essential element to the ministry of Christ that all prophesy would be fulfilled, otherwise he would not have been the messiah that they were waiting for.

Jesus is portrayed not just as the teacher, but as wise, even by those who would not follow him. I noticed as I read through the book that he was always held in supreme authority by his disciples. This is not to say that they never misunderstood or disagreed; rather they recognized his authority over wisdom and would agree to it. In the times between the crucifixion and Pentecost, this would prove to be a valuable quality, especially for the chosen apostles (ex. Matt. 28.16).

On a personal note: I have heard many people suggest that many are not saved if they believe in a different version of Jesus; “What Jesus do you follow?” Not that there is more than one Jesus, just that we worship Jesus based on our understanding of Him. Typically this argument is in light of the divinity of Christ, but it is also accurate to the history of Christ. We should only follow Christ if he fulfilled the work of the Father, only if he fulfilled all prophesy (same thing really) and only if we have faith that he is the supreme authority over our lives. Otherwise, we worship a different Jesus that did not die in order to pay the penalty for our sins, spiritual death.

A Quick Read through the Gospel of Matthew