How to Understand and Teach the Gospel of Matthew
Christianity is blessed with 4 different gospel accounts. Each one has a unique presentation of Jesus’s teachings, activities, and relationships that highlight truths about who He is and what He came to the earth to do. In this series, we seek to draw out the unique qualities of each gospel account in the hopes of helping youth leaders teach them with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose, starting with Matthew.
Genre and Structure: A Jewish Gospel in a Greco-Roman Form
Matthew fits within the Greco-Roman genre of biography but has a distinctly Jewish feel. It is steeped in Old Testament (OT) themes and verses, directly quoting the OT 60 times and alluding to it at least 100 times. Matthew doesn’t just tell the story of Jesus; He tells the story of Israel being fulfilled in Jesus. One of the more unique elements of Matthew is its fivefold structure. Each major teaching section ends with the phrase, “When Jesus had finished…” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1), creating five narrative-discourse blocks.
Many scholars believe this mirrors the Pentateuch, subtly presenting Jesus as a greater Moses, as well as a common focus on the “Kingdom of Heaven.”
These five teaching sections are:
1. Sermon on the Mount (5–7) – Life in the Kingdom
2. Mission of the Messiah (10) – Instructions for Kingdom Ministry
3. Kingdom Parables (13) – The Revealing of the Kingdom
4. Community Instructions (18) – The Church as the Kingdom Community
5. Olivet Discourse (24–25) – The Kingdom’s Full Arrival and Final Judgment
Key Themes and “Look-For’s”
When reading Matthew, the structure is undeniably important, but there are also major themes and concepts to be on the lookout for. These help us understand and teach Matthew’s unique Christ-revealing purposes well:
1. Mountains Matter
In Matthew, mountains are not just scenery. They are theological “high points” (sorry). Jesus teaches on a mountain (5:1), is transfigured on a mountain (17:1), and gives the Great Commission from a mountain (28:16). These mountaintop moments aren’t just visually striking; they reveal Jesus’ identity, authority, and mission in powerful ways.
2. Jesus as the New Moses
From his flight to Egypt (2:13-15) to teaching from the mountain (5:1), Matthew intentionally casts Jesus in a Mosaic mold. Just as Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive and deliver God’s law to Israel, Jesus ascends a mountain to proclaim the ethic of God’s kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. But Jesus is not merely another Moses; he is the greater one foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. He fulfills the Old Testament, interprets it with divine authority, and his miracles testify to his unique role in redemptive history.
3. Other Old Testament Fulfillments
As previously mentioned, Matthew frequently alludes to the OT to highlight the themes of fulfillment. When teaching Matthew, we would do well to pay special attention to the way he uses the OT text and stories. For example:
The Genealogy from Abraham to David (1:1)
“Fulfillment Formulas” (“This was to fulfill…”), pointing to how Jesus’ life and ministry fulfill Old Testament prophecy
Jesus as fulfillment of law and prophecy (5:17)
4. Church and Mission
Matthew is often called “The Church’s Gospel” because it is placed first and is most frequently quoted by Church Fathers, which may be due to the fact that it was directly connected to an apostle (unlike Mark and Luke), and predated the gospel of John. But what sets Matthew apart is the fact that it is the only Gospel that explicitly uses the word “church” (ekklesia) (16:16-20; 18:15-20). It also includes:
The clearest instructions for church discipline (18:15-20).
The call to make disciples of all nations (28:18-20).
While Jesus focused his teaching and healing ministry on “lost sheep of Israel” (15:24), this Gospel has a surprising missional edge and portrays Gentiles with unexpected faith and favor (8:5-13; 15:21-28).
5. Money
Given that this Gospel is attributed to Matthew, the tax collector, it’s fitting that it includes unique financial parables and episodes (17:24-27; 20:1-16; 26:15; 27:3-5). These financial stories and parables provide a great opportunity to disciple students in generosity, stewardship, and the dangers of greed.
Matthew’s Passion Week: Fulfillment and Climax
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ death is not depicted as a tragic end but as the climax of Israel’s story by being:
The sacrificial shedding of innocent blood (27:4, 24)
The end of the temple era (27:51)
The beginning of resurrection hope (27:52-53)
Matthew portrays the final days of Jesus with rich detail and powerful signs of God’s presence. At the moment of Jesus' death, Matthew records: the temple curtain is torn, the earth shakes, rocks split, and tombs are opened (27:51-54). Each event reflects common apocalyptic motifs from the OT associated with “the day of the Lord,” revealing that a new age of salvation has dawned. The torn curtain signals the end of the old temple system and new access to God. The earthquake and the opened tombs point to the arrival of a new creation. The resurrection account emphasizes Jesus’ authority and the continuation of his mission through the Church, culminating in the Great Commission (28:18-20).
Why Matthew Matters for Youth Ministry
Matthew’s Gospel calls students into:
A deep reverence for Scripture (OT and NT)
A lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus
A missional identity as members of the Church
A Gospel-shaped ethic for living in the world
In a generation longing for clarity, identity, and purpose, Matthew offers all three in the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. He is the true Son of David, the Son of God, and the Lord of all.
Teaching Matthew to Students: A Practical Example
The first step in teaching Matthew’s gospel is to lean into the form and structure of his account by paying attention to how he arranges his material, especially the five major teaching discourses. As noted earlier, he does this to emphasize Jesus’ teachings in deliberate, thematic groupings, so it’s a disservice to both the text and our students if we separate Jesus’ words from their literary and theological context.
Second, when teaching Matthew, we should help students understand how Jesus’ words are meant to shape the church (ekklesia) as God’s redeemed community. One example is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matt. 18:21-35). This parable on forgiveness does not appear in isolation. It concludes Matthew 18, thematically and theologically focusing on life within the church. Peter’s question, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” (18:21), comes directly after Jesus’ teaching on church discipline (18:15-20). While Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness certainly extend to those outside the church (6:12), Peter is particularly concerned with how often he is expected to forgive a fellow disciple (a brother, 18:15, 21). While not changing the basic meaning of the parable, reading it in the context of Jesus’ teachings on church discipline gives it an added dimension.
Finally, it is helpful to show how Jesus ties His parables and teachings together. In this example, He teaches that members of the church must extend unlimited forgiveness to other believers who have repented and ask for mercy. This kind of contextual, holistic reading can help us disciple students well, in this case, by modeling forgiveness that they can practice in real time with one another in the church, to guide students through moments of growth, grace, and reconciliation.
Summary: What’s so different about Matthew?
Matthew offers a portrait of the ministry and teachings of Jesus that is deeply theological and incredibly practical for shaping the life of the church. Matthew’s aim in his Gospel is to present Jesus as the long-awaited Davidic Messiah (1:1), the one who proclaims and teaches the kingdom of God. This messianic mission is vindicated by his resurrection, where he declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18). This makes Matthew not just a record of Jesus’ life but a manual for life in the kingdom. When we attend carefully to how Matthew presents Jesus, we don’t just pass along information; we help students embody the way of Jesus. We should take great care to teach this gospel faithfully, because in this way we play our part in fulfilling the great mission Christ has given to us: to make disciples and teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded until He returns.