Christian Salvation: Jesus & The Gospel of Matthew

Christian Salvation:

Jesus & The Gospel of Matthew

Question: Does the Gospel of Matthew identify Jesus as Saviour?

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Overview

The identity of Jesus as Saviour in the New Testament is linked to what the Old Testament says about priests and sacrifices. According to the Law of Moses, a priest was a divinely appointed individual responsible (among other things) for offering blood sacrifices to God for the atonement of sin. Jesus, in the New Testament, fulfils the roles of priest and sacrifice as Jesus officiates before God in making atonement for the universal sin of humanity. It is in this sense that Jesus is Priest, Sacrifice and Saviour.

The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus spoke about his future arrest by the Jewish religious leaders and his subsequent death and resurrection throughout the Gospel of Matthew (9:14-15, 12:38-40, 16:21-23, 17:9-13, 17:22-23, 20:17-19, 21:33-46, 26:1-5, 26:6-13 & 26:31-32). Jesus also said - as did an angelic messenger (1:18-25) - that his death will be sacrificial and will atone for human sin (20:20-28 & 26:26-29). In addition, the enemies of Jesus acknowledged that Jesus had taught that he would rise from the dead on the third day (27:62-66). These events were fulfilled as Jesus predicted, and the resurrection of Jesus was confirmed by an angelic messenger (28:1-7) and by several post-resurrection appearances of Jesus (28:8-10 & 28:16-20).

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Bible Passages

Matthew 1:18-25

(18) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. (19) Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

(20) But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (21) She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

(22) All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: (23) “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

(24) When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (25) But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 9:14-15

(14) Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

(15) Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Matthew 12:38-41

(38) Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

(39) He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (41) The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.

See Matthew 16:1-4

(1) The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

(2) He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ (3) and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (4) A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Matthew 16:21-23

(21) From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

(22) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

(23) Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Matthew 17:9-13

(9) As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

(10) The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

(11) Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. (12) But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” (13) Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

See Matthew 14:1-12

(1) At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, (2) and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

(3) Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, (4) for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” (5) Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

(6) On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much (7) that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. (8) Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” (9) The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted (10) and had John beheaded in the prison. (11) His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. (12) John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Matthew 17:22-23

(22) When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. (23) They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

Matthew 20:17-19

(17) Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, (18) “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death (19) and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Matthew 20:20-28

(20) Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favour of him.

(21) “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

(22) “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

(23) Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

(24) When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. (25) Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. (26) Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, (27) and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 21:33-46

(33) “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. (34) When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

(35) “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. (36) Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. (37) Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

(38) “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ (39) So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

(40) “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

(41) “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

(42) Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’? (43) Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (44) Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

(45) When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. (46) They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Matthew 26:1-5

(1) When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, (2) “As you know, the Passover is two days away - and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

(3) Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, (4) and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. (5) “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

Matthew 26:6-13

(6) While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, (7) a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

(8) When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. (9) “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

(10) Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. (11) The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. (12) When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. (13) Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Matthew 26:26-29

(26) While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

(27) Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. (28) This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (29) I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

See Matthew 26:36-46

(36) Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (37) He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. (38) Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

(39) Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

(40) Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. (41) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

(42) He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

(43) When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. (44) So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

(45) Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. (46) Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

See Matthew 27:45-53

(45) From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. (46) About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

(47) When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

(48) Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. (49) The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

(50) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

(51) At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split (52) and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. (53) They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

Matthew 26:31-32

(31) Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (32) But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Matthew 27:62-66

(62) The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. (63) “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ (64) So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

(65) “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” (66) So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 28:1-7

(1) After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

(2) There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. (3) His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. (4) The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

(5) The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. (6) He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (7) Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Matthew 28:8-10

(8) So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (9) Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. (10) Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Matthew 28:16-20

(16) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. (17) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”