1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, 2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. 4For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. 5But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the fringes of their garments, 6and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi by men. 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. 9Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. 10Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. 11But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
14“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
16“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’ 19You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 21He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living in it. 22He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 24You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!
25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. 26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.
27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. 28Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, 30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna? 34Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. 36Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! 38Behold, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
The gospel according to Matthew has often been considered as a work that was written from a Jewish perspective and addressed to a Jewish audience, which is largely true. The initial verse connects Jesus as the son of David and Abraham, and the following genealogy that connects Jesus to these patriarchs gives us the first clue.
The listing of the genealogies, reference to fulfillments of Old Testament passages, and the mission of the disciples to the house of Israel in Matt 10, lends support to this thesis. Other tell-tale signs such as the use of the term "kingdom of heaven," rather than "kingdom of God," and the lone statement of Jesus, among the four gospels, which says "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" adds additional support. One finds in the Gospel more uses of "son of David" than the combined usage of the designation in the other gospels. Unlike Mark's gospel, which explains Jewish customs (e.g. Mark 7:2-4), Matthew gives various customs without any explanation (such as references to phylacteries and tassels (Matt 23:5), or the temple tax (Matt 17:24-27)).
It is like the primary focus of Matthew to explain to His Jewish readers, probably at Antioch, why the earthly Davidic reign did not begin with the coming of Jesus the Messiah, as the Jews had anticipated from Old Testament prophecies.
Yet, in spite of this obvious Jewish emphasis, Matthew also has an unusual Gentile focus. This is not unexpected since 1:1 introduces David the King and the patriarch Abraham, reflecting Yahweh's covenant with Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant is made up of three parts. First, it unconditionally guarantees that the land given to Abraham is conveyed to his physical descendants through Isaac and Jacob (Israel). Second, the kingdom rule of David and his posterity is confirmed, ultimately to be realized with the coming of Messiah Jesus, who will reign after His return to earth. Last of all is the promise that through this covenant the Gentiles would be blessed, what is often called the New Covenant.
After the introduction of the connection of Jesus the Messiah with King David and the patriarch Abraham, Matthew provides a genealogy from these two important ancestors of the Messiah Yeshua, which includes several Gentile women, namely Tamar, Ruth, and Bathsheba.
The introduction of several Gentile women into the genealogy is totally unexpected. The woman Tamar, in the story of Judah, is given first in 1:3. The woman of Jericho who protected the spies Joshua and Caleb was Rahab (1:5), who married Salmon; they were the parents of Boaz, who in turn was the man who married the Moabite woman, Ruth. They became the great-grandparents of David the King of Israel. Last of all is Bathsheba, married to Uriah the Hittite, and eventually became the mother of King Solomon, and finally ancestor of Mary the mother of Jesus, through Nathan son of David.
Another indication of his emphasis on the Gentile world is the coming of the Magi from Persia, found in chapter two of Matthew. It is uncertain what caused the Magi to pay attention to this mysterious star that led them to Jerusalem to worship the Jewish King of Kings.
Another example is that in Matthew's gospel (15:21-28) Jesus is approached by a Syro-Phoenician woman that asked for Him to heal her daughter who is demon-possessed. Due to her great faith (v 28), though she was not a Jew, to whom he said He was sent (v. 24), nonetheless He answered her prayer.
An important feature that is unique to Matthew is the statement by Jesus at Caesarea Philippi (Panias), in a Gentile area, that He was going to build His church (ἐκκλησία, ekklesia), a word that is never found in the other gospels. The reference to the church is found in Matthew 16 (founding of the new assembly of believers) and Matthew 18 (discipline of church members). This new body of believers began with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, which anticipates the growth of the new fellowship of believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit and what becomes known as the body of Christ. This was a clear departure from the synagogue in Israel, as the believers in Jesus spread throughout the world.
Last of all is the Great Commission to the Gentile world in Matthew 28. Early in the book Jesus gives His disciples a commission to the house of Israel (Matthew 10, especially vv 5-6), specifically telling them not to go to the Gentiles, yet in Matthew 28:19-20 He commands them to go to the nations (ἔθνη), a common designation for the non-Jewish world. This may also help us to understand why the command to baptize these nations in the name of the Trinity, since the Gentiles had not been instructed regarding true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the places that baptism is mentioned in the Acts it is always in the name of Jesus, since the Jews or Jewish proselytes were already instructed regarding the Father and the Spirit from the Father. Identification with Jesus the Messiah was the focus.