Gospel of Matthew Analysis Essay

The Gospel of Matthew is where Jesus’ core teachings are appropriately found as the word gospel means good news, therefore the kingdom of God is good news. Jesus’ ministry provides the layout for how to use this good news to become a kingdom citizen. To fully embrace becoming a kingdom citizen, one must repent and be open-minded, not set in their ways. This is the theme of Jesus’ ministry, which he shares with his cousin John the Baptist.

Jesus’ ministry’s theme of repentance strongly relates to the first beatitude as they both relate to change. When it comes to repenting for the kingdom of God is at hand, one must open their heart and mind up to change. They must then accept this change if it moves them closer towards becoming a kingdom citizen. As for the first beatitude, it teaches poverty of spirit, which is changing yourself so that your ego is not centric, therefore emptying yourself so that you are open. The beatitude and Jesus’ ministry’s theme correlate to one another as they both involve changing oneself to become the best version of themselves. This includes being open-minded when it comes to different ideas or viewpoints, and changing oneself in a way that prevents egocentrism, allowing one to live life as a kingdom citizen would. The key point in both areas is that one must be open and that they must welcome change, even if this change is in opposition to their prior beliefs. Jesus gave his followers the keys to the kingdom of God through his teachings, so it was up to those listening to either be accepting and change for the better or let his teachings go in one ear and out the other.

One of Jesus’ teachings that embodies the theme of repentance is his Teachings About Prayer. Within this teaching, Jesus directly calls out those who pray publicly to draw attention to themselves, and he warns these public prayers to cease being public. Jesus teaches that prayer should be done privately and not performed for show in public. This exemplifies the theme of repentance because Jesus is teaching those listening to change the way they pray. Before Jesus began his ministry, people lacked guidance on how to pray to God, and if they were trying to become kingdom citizens, then they had no problems adjusting to praying in private. Kingdom citizens are always prepared for whatever the future may hold, consequently, they were quick to repent and shape themselves around Jesus’ teaching about prayer. On a personal note, my family has never been big churchgoers, instead, I was taught to pray privately as in Jesus’ teachings. My friends are usually surprised to find out that I am religious since my family does not attend church regularly, yet we practice our faith discreetly. 

Another teaching of Jesus’ ministry that promotes repentance for the kingdom of God is at hand is Dependence on God. In this teaching, Jesus challenges the worries that many of his followers have, from worrying about materialistic items to worrying about tomorrow. Jesus tells his followers that as long as they listen to him and become poor in spirit, or repent, they will not have to worry about such mortal dilemmas. By allowing themselves to live in the present, they will find the kingdom of God and soon become kingdom citizens. Repentance is at the center of this teaching because if his followers cannot change and transform the way that they think about almost everything, then they will be stuck in a cycle that they cannot break. A kingdom citizen is not risk-averse, therefore a kingdom citizen would welcome the change in mindset. Repenting and having this mindset would only be beneficial in the long run as it eliminates the stress and worry of the future and allows one to live through the narrow gate, the present.

An important teaching of Jesus’ message to repent occurs in Teaching About Retaliation. In this teaching, Jesus upends most people’s ideas about what is right when it comes to retaliation. Jesus goes against the grain, in many people’s minds, and teaches that it should be approached nonviolently and that such evil should be overcome with goodness. Before Jesus’ ministry, his followers were accustomed to sayings like ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ (Matt. 5:38). Now Jesus is teaching them that such retaliation is wrong and that when they are wronged, they should live above their self-serving instincts. As a kingdom citizen, it is not surprising that one must have higher standards than those who are not. A kingdom citizen should be prepared to resist retaliation and to act selflessly. I can relate to this teaching because I believe that it would take some time to learn how to not retaliate against someone who has wronged me. For instance, when my little sister would sneak up on me and scare me, the first thought that came to my mind was how I was going to get her back, tenfold. 

Although Jesus taught his followers all of the lessons needed to become kingdom citizens, after 3 and ½ years, only 120 people truly believed in the gospel and were gifted with the Holy Spirit. I find this hard to believe that so few of Jesus’ followers became kingdom citizens since Jesus’ teachings were clear and simple. The only factor that could possibly hold someone back from becoming a kingdom citizen would be their lack of faith in God. Without any faith in God, it is impossible to repent and become a better person as there would be no way to live in the present, since you would always be worried about the future. The one teaching that I believe I would struggle with the most is his Teaching About Retaliation because I always have the urge to get even with someone who has wronged me. What teaching would the majority of people struggle most with? My best guess would be that they would struggle to find it within themselves to depend on God for all of their worries and problems as it is hard for them to admit that they do not have everything under control.