The New Testament is primarily a legal witness against the rulers of Jerusalem. Matthew hammers this home by structuring his Gospel after patterns in the Torah.
It is almost five years since I first worked through the structure of Matthew. Looking back on it, there is much that I got right, but also much that I got wrong. The text was rightly divided into five sections but Ethics seemed overly long, Oath/Sanctions too short, and Succession little more than a postscript. So, here is my second attempt, and it seems to work a lot better.
Future posts in this series will analyse each of the five covenant-literary sections in more detail. This overview is based on that analysis.
Matthew 1-9: TRANSCENDENCE
Matthew 1 – Jesus’ genealogy and birth (Genesis)
Matthew 2 – Jerusalem as Egypt (Exodus)
Matthew 3 – Jesus’ investiture (Leviticus)
Matthew 4 – Jesus in the wilderness (Numbers)
Matthew 5-7 – New covenant laws (Deuteronomy)
Matthew 8 – Jesus’ ministry begins (Joshua)
Matthew 9 – Master of the house (Judges)
Matthew 10-14: HIERARCHY
Matthew 10 – Delegation of the apostles
Matthew 11 – Teaching and preaching in the cities
Matthew 12 – The Law and the Synagogue
Matthew 13 – Kingdom parables
Matthew 14 – Jesus succeeds John
Matthew 15-20: ETHICS
Matthew 15 – Faithless Jews and faithful Gentiles
Matthew 16 – True priesthood defined
Matthew 17 – Transfiguration on the mountain
Matthew 17-18 – Lessons on mediation
Matthew 19-20 – Teachings in Judea
Matthew 21-25: OATH/SANCTIONS
Matthew 21 – Jesus in Jerusalem (Genesis)
Matthew 22 – Plots of the rulers (Exodus)
Matthew 23 – Seven woes (Leviticus)
Matthew 24-25 – End of the age (Numbers)
— (Deuteronomy)
Matthew 26-28: SUCCESSION
Matthew 26 – Jesus among the disciples (Garden)
Matthew 26 – Jesus condemned by the Jews (Land)
Matthew 27 – Jesus condemned by the Gentiles (World)
Matthew 27 – Jesus crucified by the Jews and Gentiles
Matthew 27-28 – Burial, resurrection and commission
If these patterns are new to you, familiarising yourself with the structures and sequences of the Torah is a must. They really open up the whole Bible to you. Here is a good place to start.
If you are new to this method of interpretation, please visit the Welcome page for some help to get you up to speed.
