Matthew’s
Gospel and the Kingdom of
Heaven
David Burges
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It is well known that Matthew’s gospel record places
considerable emphasis upon the kingly nature and descent of
the Lord Jesus and upon the concept of his coming kingdom.
Thus it begins with the genealogy of the royal line of the
House of David:
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham…and Jesse begat David the
king…and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ [Messiah]”
(Mt.1:1,6,16).
Matthew continues his introduction to the life of Jesus
with reference to the prophecy of the virgin birth given in
Isaiah to King Ahaz (v.23; Isa.7:14) and then reports on the
visit of the Magi, to enquire about the birth of “the King of
the Jews” and to bring their royal gifts. At the other end of
his gospel, Matthew includes the parable of the king in glory
(25:31-46), Jesus’ trial and conviction as “King of the Jews”
and finally, at the ascension, Jesus’ assurance to his
disciples that all power had been delivered to him in heaven
and in earth, in fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy (Mt.28:18;
Dan.7:14).
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The preaching of the
Kingdom
In addition to the emphasis upon Jesus’ position as
king, Matthew’s record also stresses the central
importance of the kingdom in his teaching. This is
confirmed by comparing the total numbers of references to the
word “kingdom” in the four gospels, which are as
follows:
Matthew
56
Mark
21
Luke
46
John 5
Only Luke comes near to including the number of
occurrences in Matthew. However on further examination,
another striking difference appears. Of Luke’s 46 references
to the word “kingdom”, 33 are to “the kingdom of God”. In
contrast, Matthew refers only 5 times to “kingdom of God”, but
32 times to “kingdom of heaven”. Accordingly he introduces the
ministry of the Master with the words: “From that time Jesus
began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand” (4:17).
Mark,
reporting the same events, has this: “…Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel”
(1:14,15). So it is clear that the terms “kingdom of heaven”
and “kingdom of God” are equivalent, and it appears that Jesus
used both interchangeably on various
occasions.
In none of the gospels does Jesus explain to his
disciples, or do the gospel writers explain to us, what the
kingdom of God was. It must therefore be something already
well known from the existing scriptures, that is from the Old
Testament. It is Matthew who makes frequent use of the phrase:
“…that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the prophet”.
And indeed this is exactly how he introduces the
preaching of the kingdom by Jesus, with a quotation
from Isaiah: “The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim,
by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:
the people that sat in darkness have seen a great light…From
that time Jesus began to preach…” (4:15-17). Consequently all
of his hearers would have understood that the “kingdom” that
Jesus spoke of would be the kingdom of Israel restored (cf.
Acts 1:6), with the throne that had been promised to David and
his descendants. The Son of man had come to turn the nation
back to God and to declare that he was the one with the right
to the throne of David. After the healing of the centurion’s
servant, Jesus declared: “And I say unto you, That many shall
come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out…” (8:11,12). Already
it was anticipated that the nation would reject their
appointed king and that the kingdom would be opened to
Gentiles as well as Jews. |
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The kingdom of
heaven
So why is this distinctive appellation “kingdom of
heaven” used so extensively in Matthew’s gospel, one
which has undoubtedly contributed to the false doctrine that
the reward for Christians will be in heaven? Firstly we should
notice the overall importance of the words “heaven” and
“heavenly” in this gospel. Again, comparing the four gospel
records the number of occurrences is as
follows:
Matthew
82
(including 32 in the phrase “kingdom of
heaven”)
Mark
18
Luke
34
John
19
Thus, even excluding their use in the phrase “kingdom
of heaven”, there are still 50 occurrences of these words, far
more than in any other gospel.
This is demonstrated, for example, by the description
of God as “heavenly Father”, which occurs five times in
Matthew and is unique to his record. (The occurrence in Luke
11:13 AV has a different Greek construction, literally: “…the
Father out of heaven give the Holy Spirit…”; cf. NIV).
Furthermore, the phrase “Father, which is in heaven” occurs 14
times in Matthew, as against just twice in Mark and once in
Luke. So in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, we
are instructed:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven” (5:16);
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven…Thy will be done on earth, as it is in
heaven…For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you”
(6:9,10,14).
The use of the term “kingdom of heaven” in Matthew is
therefore seen to be part of a general emphasis upon heaven
and God’s place in it which runs through the gospel, and that
emphasis must lie in the Old Testament roots of the kingdom,
which we have already noted above.
The God of
heaven
In the blessing of Abraham by Melchizedek, God is
declared to be “the most high God, possessor of heaven
and earth” (Gen.14:19). And in the subsequent promise of a
multitude of descendants, God declares to Abraham: “Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to
number them…so shall thy seed be” (15:5). In this way the
promised seed, the Son of God, and all those who would be
saved by him through faith, are linked to the heavens. They
are likened to the stars of
heaven.
Now the promises that are the foundation of the gospel,
as preached before to Abraham (Gal.3:8), are concerned with
the blessing of the nations upon earth. But there is a
key statement in the book of the Law which links together the
heavens and the earth:
“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a
sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between
your eyes...that your days may be multiplied, and the days of
your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of
heaven upon the earth” (Deut.
11:18,21).
Here
one of the qualities of heaven, that is eternity and hence
eternal life, is being brought down to the earth, in the
kingdom promised to Abraham and his seed. And that is extended
by the Psalmist to the throne of the
kingdom:
“He
shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of
my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than
the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for
evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed
also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the
days of heaven...Once have I sworn by my holiness that I
will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and
his throne as the sun before me. It shall be
established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful
witness in heaven”
(Ps.89:26-29,35-37).
To
these passages can be added the testimony of Daniel that “in
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up
a kingdom that shall never be destroyed” and “…the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given unto the people of the saints of
the most High” (2:44; 7:27).
The heavenly
kingdom
It
is evident therefore that the many references in Matthew’s
gospel to the kingdom of heaven carry all of these allusions
to God’s promises, eternal life and the manifestation of God
in the multitude of His children upon the earth in the
glorious age to come. If the title “kingdom of God” emphasizes
the rulership of that age, then the title “kingdom of heaven”
emphasizes its nature and quality. When God, manifested in His
glorious Son, comes to reign upon the earth and dwell with men
(Rev.21:3), then truly will be seen “the days of heaven upon
the earth”.
Meanwhile, for each of us there
remains this time of probation, in which we must maintain our
faith in His promises and seek through faithful lives to
prepare for that which is soon to come. Then, by His grace,
each of us will be able to say with the Apostle Paul: : “…the Lord shall deliver me from
every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen" (2 Tim.
4:18).
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Christadelphians,
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