The Gospel of Matthew was addressed to Jews as evidenced by the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter. This was to show the Jews that Jesus was descended from the royal line of King David (on his mother’s side), which fulfilled prophecy. In the early chapters of Matthew, Jesus was baptized and called some of His Disciples.

This early part of Matthew contains many public discourses of Jesus. The most famous is probably the Sermon on the Mount, found in chapters five through seven. In chapter ten Jesus gives the Twelve instructions and sends them out to preach and teach. There were also many healings in these beginning chapters of Matthew.

Chapter twelve marks a dividing point in the Gospel of Matthew. Several events are recorded as having occurred at this time. One was the complaining of the Pharisees about the Disciples gathering a bite to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of David and his men eating the consecrated bread in the Temple. He stated, “One greater than the Temple is here.” (verse 6) The Pharisees were not looking for the Messiah, but rather a messiah who fit their definition.

In response to a presumptuous request by the Pharisees for a sign, Jesus gave them the “Sign of Jonah” and stated that the son of man would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. (verse 40) This very specific statement makes it impossible for the Crucifixion to have taken place on Friday (but that is another subject).

Another possible Sign of Jonah is the fact that Jonah was a prophet to the Gentiles, (the people of Nineveh) just as Jesus brought we Gentiles under the umbrella of salvation. And Jonah was the only prophet to achieve repentance among those who heard him. The king of Nineveh and the people repented. (Jonah 3:6) Likewise, Jesus brought repentance to the Gentile world.

In Matthew 12:22 Jesus healed a demon-possessed man and the Pharisees claimed that He did it by the power of Satan. (Matthew 12:24) This marks the division of the Gospel of Matthew.

From this time forward in Matthew, Jesus spoke in parables while in public. In fact the next chapter, thirteen, contains the seven Kingdom parables. Jesus would answer questios, frequently with another question, but in public discourses He spoke in parables.

The Disciples saw this and asked why. Jesus told them in Matthew 13:11, “knowledge is given to you, but not to them” (the Pharisees) *. In Matthew twenty-one Jesus told the Parable of the Tenants, which foretold the workers in the vineyard killing the son of the owner. Even the Pharisees could see that Jesus was directing that parable toward them and they looked for a way to arrest him. (Matthew 21:45)

During the last week of the life of Jesus, He gave His last public discourse, and He did not speak in parables. This time in chapter twenty-three He pronounced seven woes against the Pharisees. He did not use parables. He wanted to be very clear. He wanted the Pharisees to understand exactly what He said.

How blessed we are to have the knowledge of the Kingdom. We understand the parables, and instead of woes, we have received promises of blessing. Praise the Name of Jesus! Praise Him always!

* This is the basis of the name of this website (Luke810.Com), which is the same account from the Gospel of Luke.