Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Matthew
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of the Jews, showing at every turn how He fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures. From the genealogy to the Sermon on the Mount to the Great Commission, it is the bridge from the Old Covenant to the New. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Gospel of Matthew, written by the apostle Matthew (also called Levi, a former tax collector), presents Jesus as the long-promised Messiah and King. Written especially for a Jewish audience, it quotes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel, repeatedly showing how Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets. It contains the great blocks of Jesus' teaching, including the Sermon on the Mount, and closes with the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.
This commentary covers Matthew verse by verse, with the Greek and Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Matthew opens by declaring the fullness of the gospel in two names: Jesus, 'Yahweh saves,' and Immanuel, 'God with us,' the one true God come in flesh to save His people from their sins. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 28 chapters of Matthew are now complete, from the genealogy and the birth of Immanuel to the cross and the resurrection, closing with the Great Commission and the promise, 'I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'
Author
The apostle Matthew (Levi), a former tax collector.
Setting
Written especially for a Jewish audience.
Key Themes
Jesus the Messiah and King, fulfilling the Scriptures.
Famous Passages
The Sermon on the Mount (5-7) and the Great Commission (28).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Matthew Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Matthew 1:1-25
They Shall Call His Name Immanuel
The genealogy proves Jesus is the promised Messiah, and an angel gives His names: JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins, and Immanuel, God with us.
Read Chapter 1 →Matthew 2:1-23
They Came to Worship Him
Wise men from the East follow a star to worship the newborn King while Herod plots murder, and God guards His Son through the flight to Egypt, fulfilling prophecy: 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'
Read Chapter 2 →Matthew 3:1-17
Prepare the Way
John the Baptist preaches repentance and the kingdom at hand, promises One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, and Jesus is baptized as heaven opens and the Father declares, 'This is My beloved Son.'
Read Chapter 3 →Matthew 4:1-25
It Is Written
Jesus overcomes the devil's three temptations in the wilderness with the written word, begins to preach repentance and the kingdom, and calls His first disciples to follow Him and become fishers of men.
Read Chapter 4 →Matthew 5:1-48
The Sermon on the Mount Begins
Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, calls His people salt and light, shows He came to fulfill the law and press it to the heart, and lifts the standard to its height: love your enemies.
Read Chapter 5 →Matthew 6:1-34
Seek First the Kingdom
Jesus teaches the hidden life of giving, prayer, and fasting for the Father's eyes, gives the Lord's Prayer, calls us to lay up treasure in heaven, and commands: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Read Chapter 6 →Matthew 7:1-29
Build on the Rock
Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount, warning against a judging spirit, inviting us to ask, seek, and knock, giving the Golden Rule and the narrow gate, and urging us to be the wise man who hears His words and does them, building on the rock.
Read Chapter 7 →Matthew 8:1-34
The Authority of the King
Jesus cleanses a leper with a touch, heals the centurion's servant with a word and marvels at his faith, and rises from sleep to still a raging storm, so the disciples ask, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'
Read Chapter 8 →Matthew 9:1-38
Friend of Sinners
Jesus forgives and heals the paralytic, calls Matthew the tax collector and eats with sinners, 'I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance,' and, moved with compassion, calls for laborers for the plentiful harvest.
Read Chapter 9 →Matthew 10:1-42
The Sending of the Twelve
Jesus names and empowers the twelve apostles and sends them out, 'freely ye have received, freely give,' foretelling persecution ('as sheep in the midst of wolves'), comforting with 'the very hairs of your head are all numbered,' and calling for a cross-bearing love that puts Him first.
Read Chapter 10 →Matthew 11:1-30
Come Unto Me, and I Will Give You Rest
John the Baptist's question 'Art thou he that should come?', Jesus' answer in the works of the Messiah, His witness that John is the promised Elijah, the woes on impenitent cities, and the great invitation, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'
Read Chapter 11 →Matthew 12:1-50
The Son of Man Is Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus, Lord of the sabbath, who desires 'mercy, and not sacrifice'; the healing of the withered hand; the gentle Servant of Isaiah who 'a bruised reed shall he not break'; the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; the sign of Jonah; and true kinship in doing the Father's will.
Read Chapter 12 →Matthew 13:1-58
The Parables of the Kingdom
Seven parables of the kingdom of heaven: the sower and the four soils, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed and the leaven, the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price, and the net, closing with Christ rejected in His own hometown for their unbelief.
Read Chapter 13 →Matthew 14:1-36
Of a Truth Thou Art the Son of God
The martyrdom of John the Baptist, Jesus moved with compassion to feed the five thousand from five loaves and two fishes, His walking on the sea with the words 'It is I; be not afraid,' Peter's cry 'Lord, save me,' and the worship of the disciples: 'Of a truth thou art the Son of God.'
Read Chapter 14 →Matthew 15:1-39
O Woman, Great Is Thy Faith
Jesus exposes how the tradition of the elders makes the commandment of God of none effect, teaches that defilement rises from the heart, honors the humble, persistent faith of the Canaanite woman, 'O woman, great is thy faith,' and feeds the four thousand from seven loaves and a few little fishes.
Read Chapter 15 →Matthew 16:1-28
Thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living God
The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Peter's great confession, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,' the church built upon the rock that hell cannot prevail against, the keys of the kingdom, the first prediction of the cross, and the call to deny self and take up the cross.
Read Chapter 16 →Matthew 17:1-27
This Is My Beloved Son; Hear Ye Him
The Transfiguration, His face shining as the sun, Moses and Elijah giving way to 'Jesus only,' the Father's voice, 'This is my beloved Son... hear ye him,' the healing of the lunatic son and faith as a grain of mustard seed, and the temple tribute drawn from the mouth of a fish.
Read Chapter 17 →Matthew 18:1-35
Except Ye Become as Little Children
Greatness through childlike humility, the fearful woe upon those who cause His little ones to stumble, the parable of the lost sheep and the seeking Father, the loving pattern for winning back an erring brother, 'where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I,' and the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Read Chapter 18 →Matthew 19:1-30
What God Hath Joined Together
God's design for marriage and the question of divorce, 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder,' Jesus blessing the little children, the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful, and the cost and hundredfold reward of following Christ.
Read Chapter 19 →Matthew 20:1-34
To Give His Life a Ransom for Many
The parable of the labourers in the vineyard and the grace of God, 'the last shall be first,' the third prediction of the cross, the request of the mother of Zebedee's sons, true greatness as servanthood, 'the Son of man came... to give his life a ransom for many,' and the healing of two blind men at Jericho.
Read Chapter 20 →Matthew 21:1-46
Blessed Is He That Cometh in the Name of the Lord
The Triumphal Entry and 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' the cleansing of the temple, 'My house shall be called the house of prayer,' the withered fig tree, the question of Jesus' authority, the parable of the two sons, and the parable of the wicked husbandmen and the rejected stone made 'the head of the corner.'
Read Chapter 21 →Matthew 22:1-46
What Think Ye of Christ?
The parable of the wedding feast and the wedding garment, 'many are called, but few are chosen,' the question of tribute to Caesar, the Sadducees and the resurrection of the living God, the great commandment of love, and Christ shown from Psalm 110 to be David's son and David's Lord.
Read Chapter 22 →Matthew 23:1-39
Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees
Jesus' warning against the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who 'say, and do not,' the eight woes upon them, the neglect of 'judgment, mercy, and faith,' the whited sepulchres, and His weeping lament over Jerusalem: 'how often would I have gathered thy children together... and ye would not!'
Read Chapter 23 →Matthew 24:1-51
They Shall See the Son of Man Coming in the Clouds
The Olivet Discourse: the foretold ruin of the temple, the signs of the end and 'the beginning of sorrows,' the great tribulation, the visible coming of the Son of man 'in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,' and the command to watch and be ready, for no one knows the day or hour.
Read Chapter 24 →Matthew 25:1-46
Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant
The parable of the ten virgins and being ready, the parable of the talents and faithful stewardship, 'enter thou into the joy of thy lord,' and the judgment of the sheep and the goats, where mercy to 'the least of these my brethren' is done unto Christ the King.
Read Chapter 25 →Matthew 26:1-75
Not as I Will, but as Thou Wilt
The plot against Jesus, the anointing at Bethany, Judas' bargain for thirty pieces of silver, the Last Supper and the new covenant in His blood 'shed for many for the remission of sins,' the agony of Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest, the trial before Caiaphas, and Peter's threefold denial.
Read Chapter 26 →Matthew 27:1-66
Truly This Was the Son of God
The trial before Pilate and the choice of Barabbas, the mocking crown of thorns, the crucifixion at Golgotha, the cry 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?', the death of Christ and the rending of the veil, the centurion's confession, and the burial in the new tomb.
Read Chapter 27 →Matthew 28:1-20
He Is Risen, as He Said
The resurrection of Jesus, 'He is not here: for he is risen,' the risen Lord meeting and receiving the worship of the women, the bribing of the guards to spread a lie, and the Great Commission: 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'
Read Chapter 28 →