by Dennis Rokser
The book of Matthew does not begin in a historical vacuum but in a clearly defined Old Testament Jewish context.1 If you started reading a book in its middle, you would undoubtedly be confused. In the same way, the average reader of the New Testament will be confused when reading Matthew without grasping the historical flow of the Old Testament, which leads up to the New Testament.
God made several promises in the Old Testament to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their physical descendants in what is theologically called the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen.12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-8, 15-21; 26:2-4; 28:1-4, 13-15; 35:9-12; 48:3-4; 50:24). This unconditional covenant included the promise of the coming Messiah who would set up a literal Kingdom on earth in which Israel was promised a physical land, a physical seed, and spiritual blessings. The Abrahamic Covenant was later bolstered and reinforced by other Old Testament covenants that God made with Israel, such as the Land Covenant (Deut. 29‒30), the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:12-16), and the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-37). God’s fulfillment of these unconditional promises in His time was the hope of the faithful in Israel who eagerly anticipated God keeping His Word and ushering in the Kingdom on earth with the coming messianic King.
Prior to these unconditional promises being made to ethnic Israel, God had also promised to Adam and Eve after the Fall that one day He would send the Redeemer (Gen. 3:15). This Savior of the world would strike a death-blow to Satan in providing salvation for fallen man, as well as reversing the curses upon the earth resulting from Adam’s sin. Like God’s later promises to Israel, this wonderful promise for the whole world was predicted but had not yet been fulfilled in the Old Testament.
When one begins reading the New Testament book of Matthew, it is imperative that the reader keeps in mind these two distinct but related purposes for Jesus Christ’s first coming—to be Israel’s King and the Savior of the world. Thus, the Old Testament prophesied that one day the Redeemer would come to provide salvation from sin for the entire world and that God’s promises to ethnic Israel of a seed, land, and blessings would literally be fulfilled.
With this understanding of the Old Testament in hand, immediately the inquiring Jewish reader will ask, “So what went wrong with God’s promise? As I look out over Brooklyn with its large Jewish population, it sure doesn’t look like the messianic Kingdom on earth to me!” This very question and dilemma is what Matthew seeks to answer and explain by his theme of Jesus being the King of the Jews.
Thus, understanding the historical context and flow of Matthew’s Gospel is imperative for us to exegetically interpret in the next chapter the various Matthean passages that refer to “wailing and gnashing of teeth” and “outer darkness.” So let’s walk our way through the book of Matthew.
It should not surprise us that Matthew’s Gospel begins with these words concerning the genealogy of Jesus Christ:
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. (Matt. 1:1)
“The Son of David, the Son of Abraham” would remind the Jewish reader of the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants, and the required and predicted bloodlines of Israel’s Messiah. It is interesting to note that Matthew does not trace Jesus Christ’s lineage back to Adam (like Luke 3:38 does), for its purpose and audience is strongly Jewish. In addition, Matthew records for his readers how Jesus Christ fulfilled several Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah, such as being “the seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15; Matt. 1:16), being conceived of a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:20-23), and being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:5-6). It is also significant that the magi who came from the east asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:1-2).
THE PREPARATION OF THE KING (Matthew 3–4)
Later in Matthew 3, we read of the message and ministry of the predicted forerunner of Israel’s Messiah,
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:1-2)
John was calling ethnic Israel to personal and national repentance in needed preparation to receive Jesus as its rightful Messiah. Why? It was because “the kingdom of heaven was at hand” or imminent. What “kingdom of heaven” was John the Baptist referring to? Of course, it was the literal, earthly, political Kingdom on earth that was predicted throughout the Old Testament to the Jewish nation (2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Isa. 9:6-7; Zech. 14:9). In fact, the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is derived from the book of Daniel (2:44; 4:26; 7:27)2 to set forth the divine promise that one day the God of Heaven would destroy all the prior kingdoms of the earth and set up His eternal, earthly Kingdom in their place. Thus, the phrase “kingdom of heaven” does not mean the “kingdom which is in heaven” but the “kingdom which comes from heaven” on the earth. It is God’s Kingdom on earth established by the Messiah. Regarding the phrase “kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 3:2, Charles Ryrie explains,
This is the rule of heaven over the earth. The Jewish people of Christ’s day were looking for this messianic or Davidic kingdom to be established on this earth, and this is what John proclaimed as being “at hand.” The requirement that the people must repent in order for the kingdom to be established was new and became a stumbling block to them. The rejection of Christ by the people delayed its establishment until the second coming of Christ (25:31).3
Charles Feinberg agrees with Ryrie and offers further clarification,
When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, he said: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:1-2). No explanation is offered as to the meaning of the “kingdom” in his message, for the people knew what was implied by his words. After a study of the Old Testament prophetic Scriptures, what else could one expect him to say? There was no need to describe the conditions and characteristics of the kingdom, for that had been done so repeatedly and minutely. Nor was it necessary to inform them that the kingdom could not and would not be established without the rightful King. John’s words implied that the very kingdom that had been promised to Israel was now at hand in the person of the King whose forerunner and herald he was.4
Later in Matthew 3, we read of Jesus Christ’s water baptism to “fulfill all righteousness” and inaugurate His public ministry. What message do you think Jesus Christ initially preached when He began His earthly ministry to Israel?
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)
Close observation of the text indicates that these are the identical words and message that John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3:2. This harmonizes well with the parallel passage in Mark 1:14-15, which states, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” Both John and Jesus were stating in essence, “Israel, your long-awaited Messiah is here with His offer to set up God’s earthly Kingdom, which has been promised to you. Repent (change your mind) and believe in Him!” Listen to how the apostle John described John the Baptist’s mission and message years later:
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (John 1:7)
The apostle Paul also described John the Baptist’s message as one of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” (Acts 19:4)
Why was it necessary to “believe . . . on Christ Jesus?” It was because faith in Christ for imputed righteousness or justification before God by His grace was the sole requirement necessary to “enter the kingdom of heaven.” This good news was preached to Israel by both John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matt. 4:23)
THE PREACHING OF THE KING (Matthew 5–7)
In the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus Christ teaching a mixed multitude of believers (Matt. 5:1) and unbelievers (Matt. 7:28) a number of truths consistent with His Kingdom message, offer, and purpose. It is important to recognize that the word “disciple” at this point in Christ’s ministry does not require the technical meaning of being a believer. Here it simply means a “student” or “learner,” whether a believer or not, as demonstrated by the example of Judas Iscariot (John 6:64-71). In keeping with the unfulfilled Old Testament promises made to Israel, Jesus Christ begins His “sermon” by declaring,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matt. 5:3-5)
Note how each of these “beatitudes” is consistent with Old Testament promises regarding the future Messianic Kingdom on earth.
THE BEATITUDES
(Matthew 5:3‒10)
But keep in mind that all Jews will not automatically enter Christ’s Kingdom on earth. While Jesus Christ and John the Baptist had already stated the sole requirement to repent/believe (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:14-15; John 1:7; Acts 19:4-5), now in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ presents the condition to “enter the kingdom of heaven” from the perspective of its required righteousness:
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:20)
Was this a practical “righteousness” or an imputed “righteousness”? Was this “righteousness” an issue of having a godly lifestyle (i.e., by good works) to make one deserving of entrance into God’s earthly Kingdom, or was this righteousness a gift from God (i.e., by God’s grace) for unworthy sinners, which should (but may not) result in a godly lifestyle? Listen to what Jesus said later in Matthew in the parable of the two sons:
“Which of the two did the will of his father?” [This is the same language we shall observe in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:21]. They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.” (Matt. 21:31)
Notice the issue again is not rewards for believers in the Kingdom based on faithful service but who will “enter the kingdom of God.” Certainly a tax collector’s or harlot’s practical righteousness paled in comparison to that of the chief priests and elders in Israel (though they were corrupt internally). But they could be justified, or declared righteous, before God through simple faith in Jesus Christ alone. And why would these individuals from the lower crust of Jewish society enter into the Kingdom on earth “before” the Jewish chief priests and elders? It is because they would recognize their spiritual bankruptcy and need for God’s mercy and grace before the religious rulers of their day would. Isn’t that the point of Christ’s parable in Luke 18:9-14?
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
The need for simple faith in Christ and an imputed righteousness from God (i.e., justification) to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is further underscored when Jesus Christ announced to His disciples with a little child in hand,
Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 18:3)
Jesus Christ makes it clear that “unless” sinners “are converted” and “become like little children” (with child-like faith) “they will by no means [Greek, ou mē – “never”] enter the kingdom of heaven.”
This explains why Jesus Christ, even prior to the Sermon on the Mount, unequivocally emphasized to a religious but unregenerate Pharisee named Nicodemus,
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
Blinded by his own works-righteousness and natural thinking (1 Cor. 2:14), Nicodemus failed to understand the necessity and nature of this new birth, for he then replied to Jesus Christ,
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4)
Nicodemus apparently was thinking of a second PHYSICAL birth from God, as he knew that one’s first birth is a divine gift and miracle. Furthermore, to be born physically as a Jew and descendant of Israel was certainly a privileged birth from God which Jews repeatedly gloried in (John 8:33, 37, 39). In fact, they were self-deceived into thinking that because they were Abraham’s children or descendants, they would automatically enter the Kingdom one day whether repentant or not (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8). By thinking this way, Nicodemus totally missed the point. In John 3, Jesus Christ is emphasizing Nicodemus’s need for a SPIRITUAL birth from God, not a second PHYSICAL birth. Thus, the Lord Jesus expands upon His prior statement in verse 3 by clarifying in verses 5-7 the nature of this birth from God:
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of [ek – out from] water [physical birth] and the Spirit [out from the Holy Spirit in a spiritual birth], he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of [ek – out from] the flesh is flesh [physical], and that which is born of [ek – out from] the Spirit is spirit [spiritual]. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Note the word “enter” in verse 5. The careful student of the Scripture must recognize that, chronologically, Jesus Christ engaged in this conversation with Nicodemus BEFORE He ever preached the Sermon on the Mount. This gives us a snapshot of what Jesus was evangelistically teaching others while preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. We see from John 3 that Jesus Christ underscored that to “see” and “enter” the “kingdom of God” (earthly, messianic Kingdom on earth) a sinner must be “born again” by believing in Him. At a later time and a later date when preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Christ would simply state this same required condition to “enter” His messianic Kingdom in another way:
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:20)
But how could this spiritual birth from God be possible and the righteousness of God obtained in order to “enter the kingdom of God”? Our Lord goes on to explain to Nicodemus:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross – John 12:32-33], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:14-16)
This unsaved but popular teacher in Israel (3:10) was originally clueless about such basic truths as the necessity, nature, and sole condition for spiritual birth from God, along with the righteousness of God, the receiving of eternal life, and entrance into the Kingdom of God. Even to this day religion is still used by Satan to blind lost sinners (2 Cor. 4:3-5; 11:13-15)! But Jesus Christ lovingly and patiently defogs Nicodemus’s religious confusion so that he could understand how to be born again and obtain the righteousness from God that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. This alone would allow him to “enter the kingdom of God.” This required righteousness was not an external self-righteousness by works and rituals, nor an internal righteousness in striving for holiness, for “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6)—whether externally or internally. The righteousness that God requires is an imputed righteousness that is a gift from God by faith alone in Christ alone (Phil. 3:9). And who better to demonstrate this than the father of the Jewish nation—Abraham! He received the righteousness of God when he believed in the Lord for it apart from works, law, and ritual.
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:1-3)
For He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)
God, through Paul in Romans 4, sets forth Abraham and his justification by faith alone as the prototype of how a hopeless, helpless, Hell-bound sinner can be declared righteous before a holy God during any age—whether it is today in order to one day go to Heaven, or whether it be in the past or future to “enter the kingdom of heaven” as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount.
Thomas Figart strikes gold when he writes, “The same righteousness which saved Abraham (the righteousness of God by faith, Genesis 15:6) has always been the way of salvation, and so it will be required for entrance into Christ’s earthly kingdom.”5
Regarding this imputed righteousness found only in the Messiah, J. Dwight Pentecost summarizes the matter well when he writes about the Sermon on the Mount,
Christ said only the righteous could enter Messiah’s kingdom. This concept was never challenged by the Pharisees, with their emphasis upon the traditions of the law; by the Sadducees, who were concerned with the observances of the ceremonies of the law; or by the people themselves. The only question that arose was that of what kind of righteousness was necessary for entrance into Messiah’s kingdom. As a result of the preaching of Christ, the nation was faced with two differing concepts of righteousness. One was the righteousness of organized Judaism, which taught that a man was righteous if he attended the feasts, observed the rituals of sacrifice, and observed the traditions of the Pharisees. On the other hand, Christ preached a righteousness which came as a result of faith in His own person. Righteousness could not be earned by the works of people but had to be received as a gift from God.6
The theme of this discourse is found in Matthew 5:20: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Christ in this sermon repudiated Pharisaic righteousness as providing a basis for acceptance by Messiah into His kingdom. He offered Himself as the only basis for righteousness that would admit one into His kingdom.7
1. This article is excerpted from the book Should Christians Fear Outer Darkness? (Duluth, MN: Grace Gospel Press, 2015).
2. Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold the King: A Study of Matthew (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1981), 67.
3. Charles C. Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible, English Standard Version (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011), 1158.
4. Charles L. Feinberg, Millennialism: The Two Major Views (Winona Lake, IN: BMH, 1985), 131.
5. Thomas O. Figart, The King of the Kingdom of Heaven: A Verse by Verse Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Lancaster, PA: Eden Press, 1999), 95.
6 . J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 171-72.
7 . Ibid., 172. Even Hodges interpreted Matthew 5:20 as a reference to the imputed righteousness received at justification rather than the relative practical righteousness of the Christian life (Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards [Dallas: Redención Viva, 1987], 19-23). This was also Dillow’s original interpretation of this verse (Reign of the Servant Kings, 78, 147-49), but he now teaches that this refers to practical righteousness in a faithful believer’s life. He reasons that if Matthew 5:20 is about the need to be justified in God’s sight, then Jesus surely would have mentioned somewhere in the Sermon on the Mount the “way of escape” or the way to obtain eternal salvation by faith alone (Final Destiny, 232). However, leading up to the Sermon on the Mount Jesus (and John the Baptist) clearly preached the condition of belief in Him as explained earlier in this chapter. Other Bible teachers claim that Matthew 5:20 must refer to practical righteousness based on the presence of the conjunction gar (“For”) at the start of verse 20. This supposedly shows that verse 20 must be a further explanation of the same thought in verse 19 about commandment keeping and levels of reward in the Kingdom for those who are already saved. But this overlooks the fact that, even though gar often does restate, explain, or expand a previous thought, gar may also provide a sort of segue to new or additional information that goes beyond a preceding thought. This occurs several other places in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:8, 21, 32; 7:12; Luke 6:43).