The Gospel of Matthew was clearly written to a Jewish audience.  Some of the sure signs of this Jewish emphasis are the following:  Chapter one has a genealogy which begins (Matthew 1:1) “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.  He is the King who comes offering the Kingdom of God.  The phrase “The king of heaven” occurs some thirty-two times in this Gospel.  Further, to show that this Jesus fulfills expectations of the Old Testament, ten times he specifically stresses that what happened in the life of Jesus fulfills the Old Testament.  Also, he uses more Old Testament quotations and allusions than any other book of the New Testament, some 130 times.

One simple outline of Matthew distinguishes nine sections:

I.                     The Person and Presentation of the King (1:1-4.25)

II.                  The Proclamation or Preaching of the King (5:1-7:29)

III.                The Power of the King (8:1-11:1)

IV.                The Program and Progressive Rejection of the King (11:2-16:12)

V.                  The Pedagogy and Preparation of the King’s Disciples (16:13-20:28)

VI.                The Predictions or Prophecies of the King (24:1-25:46)

VII.              The Proof of the King (28:1-20)