The All-inclusive Christ in the Gospel of Matthew

There are four crucial elements in the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, life and the church. To properly develop any Biblical truth, we should do it according to these crucial elements.

For example, in order to dig out the inner kernel from the Gospel of Matthew, we need to extract the elements of Christ, the Spirit, life and the church from every chapter.

Concerning the first crucial element, Christ, Matthew reveals more than twenty life-giving items. In this post we’ll consider some of these rich detailed items of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew.

Coming to Christ to Receive Life

But before I get into the details, I’d like to mention a point for our practice, that is, coming to Christ in the Scriptures to get life.

In John 5:39-40, the Lord told the opposing religionists, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” May we learn from the Lord Jesus to match our coming to the Scriptures with our coming to Him, so that we may have life.

Actually, the entire Bible is such a revelation of Christ. In Luke 24:27, the Lord appeared in resurrection to two backsliding disciples and strengthened their faith by presenting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Similarly, by finding Christ in Matthew, we’ll extract the life-giving kernel of this book. Such a way of studying the Bible will be both enlightening and nourishing and will strengthen us to live the Christian life.

So, in this post and the following posts this week, I will survey some of the more than twenty precious items of the all-inclusive Christ revealed in Matthew.

The Son of David, the Son of Abraham

The first two items of Christ in Matthew, are the Son of David and the Son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1).

The Son of David—Typified by Solomon

The first title of Jesus Christ in Matthew is the Son of David. Solomon as the kingly son of David typified Christ in three aspects: first, he inherited the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12, 13; Luke 1:32-33); second, he spoke the word of wisdom (Matt. 12:42); and third, he built the temple of God (2 Sam. 7:13a). Christ as the fulfillment of this type came to inherit the kingdom, spoke the word of wisdom, and is building the church as God’s temple.

The Son of Abraham—Typified by Isaac

The son of Abraham, Isaac, typified Christ also in three aspects: first, he brought the blessing to all the nations (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:14); second, he offered himself up to death and was resurrected (Gen. 22:1-12; Heb. 11:17-19); third, he received the bride (Gen. 24:67). Christ, in fulfilling the type of Isaac, offered Himself up to the death of the cross and was raised from the dead (Acts 13:30). He brought the blessing of Abraham to all the nations that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14). Finally, at the end of this age, Christ will receive His bride (Rev. 19:7).

The joining of these two titles, “the son of David and the son of Abraham” give us a marvelous view of what Christ is and  what He has done, is doing and will do, from His first coming to the end of this age. In His incarnation, He came to inherit the kingdom, spoke the word of wisdom and offered Himself up on the cross. In His resurrection, He is blessing to all the nations with the promise of the Spirit through the gospel and is building the temple of God, the church. In His second coming, He will receive the bride. What an introduction to this Gospel!

The Heavenly King

Christ is also the King of the heavenly kingdom, the kingdom of the heavens. We can see that He fulfilled the prophecies concerning the Messiah in a very detailed way. For example, He came in a meek and lowly way riding, not on majestic horse, but on a donkey and the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5). His lowly appearance stumbled some who were expecting a great ruler. However, if He had not come in such a meek way, He could not have been put to death for us. He could not have redeemed us and released His kingdom life to make us His kingdom in the way of life.

The Christ, the Son of the Living God

Finally, I enjoyed the revelation of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). Such a revelation received by Peter was not of any person’s teaching, but was revealed to him by the Father in the heavens (v. 17). We also need to receive the revelation of Christ today in our spirit (Eph. 1:17; 3:5; Gal. 1:16).

As the Christ, the Lord Jesus as God’s anointed and appointed One, carries out God’s eternal purpose through His incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming (Acts 2:36). This is a matter of His commission.

As the Son of living God, Christ embodies God (Col. 2:9) and issues in the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17) so that the Triune God might be fully expressed. This is a matter of His person.

It is by believing in such a Christ, the Son of the living God that we are saved and have life in His name (John 20:31). Also, it by receiving such a revelation of Him that we are made “Peters,” living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5).

“Lord Jesus, praise you that You are such a rich Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. Lord reveal Yourself to us, as the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, the heavenly King, and the Christ, the Son of the living God. May these rich aspects of Yourself enlighten us and nourish us to live because of You such a life for the fulfillment of Your purpose.”

This post was inspired from my digestion of The Holy Word for Morning Revival, The Crucial Elements of the Bible, Week 2 – Day 1, pp. 21, 26-27. For more enjoyment of these truths you may read the Life-Study of Matthew, Messages 1-2, 47 & 56.

For more appreciation of the topic of this post, you may like to read a similar post at agodman.com.