Matthew's narrative, as a rule, is the least graphic. The great features of the history which bring into prom- inence our Lord's character as teacher and prophet, the substance of tyjje and prophecy, the Jlessianic king, are traced with broad outline, without minute or circumstan- tial details. "\Vc are conscious of a want of that pictu- resque power and vivid painting which delight us in the other Gospels, especially in that of Mark. This deficiency, however, is more than compensated for by the grand simplicity of the narrative, in which every- thing is secondary to the evangelist's great object. The facts which prove the Messianic dignity of his Lord are all in all with him, the circumstantials almost nothing, Avhile he portrays the earthly form and theocratic glory of the new dispensation, and unfolds the glorious con- summation of the " kingdom of heaven."
YII. Arrangement and Contents. — Matthew's order, we have already seen, is according to subject-matter rather than chronological sequence, which in the first half is completely disregarded. IMore attention is paid to order of time in the latter half, where the arrange- ment agrees with that of Mark. The main body of his Gospel divides itself into groups of discourses collected according to their leading tendency, and separated from each other by groups of anecdotes and miracles. We may distinguish seven such collections of discourses — (1.) The Sermon on the Mount, a specimen of our Lord's ordinary didactic instruction (ch. v-vii) ; divided by a group of works of healing, comprising no less than ten out of eigh- teen recorded miracles, from (2.) the commission of the twelve (ch. x). The following chapters (xi, xii) give the result of our Lord's own teaching, and, introducing a change of feeling towards him, jjrepare us for (3.) his first open denunciation of his enemies (xii, 25-45), and pave the way for (4.) the group of parables, including seven out of fifteen recorded by him (ch. xiii). The next four chapters, containing the culminating point of our Lord's history in Peter's confession (xvi, 13-20), and the transfiguration (ch. xvii), with the first glimpses of the cross (xvi, 21 ; xvii, 12), are bound together by his- torical sequence. In (5.), comprising ch. xviii, we have a complete treatise in itself, made up of fragments on humility and brotherly love.- The counsels of perfec- tion, in xix, 1-xx, 1(>, are followed by the disputes with the Scribes and Pharisees (xxi, 23-xxii,4G), which sup- ply the ground for ((>.) the solemn denunciations of the hypocrisies and sophisms bj' which they nullified the
spirit of the law (ch. xxiii), followed by (7.) the proph- ecy of the last things (ch. xxiv, xxv).
JMore particularly its principal divisions are— 1. The introduction to the ministiy (ch. i-iv). 2. The laymg down of the new law for the Church in the Sermon on the Mount (ch. v-vii). 3. Events in historical order, showing Jesus as the worker of miracles (ch. viii, ix). 4. The appointment of apostles to preach the kingdom (ch. x). 5. The doubts and opposition excited by his activity in divers minds — in John's disciples, in sundry cities, in the Pharisees (ch. xi, xii). 6. A series of par- ables on the nature of the kingdom (ch. xiii). 7. Sim- ilar to 5. The effects of his ministry on his countrj'- men, on Herod, the people of Gennesaret, Scribes and Pharisees, and on multitudes, whom he feeds (xiii, 53- xvi, 12). 8. Revelation to his disciples of his suiferings. His instructions to them thereupon (xvi, 13-xviii, 35). 9. Events of a journey to Jerusalem (ch. xix, xx). 10. Entrance into Jerusalem and resistance to him there, and denunciation of the Pharisees (ch. xxi-xxiii). 11. Last discourses; Jesus as lord and judge of Jerusalem, and also of the world (ch. xxiv, xxv). 12, Passion and resurrection (ch. xxvi-xxviii).
The view that MatthcAv's Gospel is arranged chrono- logically was revived by Eichhorn, who has been fol- lowed by Marsh, De Wette, and others. But it has been controverted by Hug, Olshausen, Greswell, Ellicott, and others, and is almost universally held to be untenable.
VHL Style and Diction. — The language of Matthew is less characteristic than that of the other evangelists. Of the three synoptical Gospels it is the most decidedly Hebraistic, both in diction and construction, but less so tliau that of John. Credner and others have remarked the following : (1.) r) [iaatXiia twv ovpavCov, which oc- curs thirty-two times in Matthew and not once in the other evangelists, who use instead i) fSacr. t. ^tov, em- ployed also by Matthew (vi, 33 ; xii, 28 ; xxi, 31, 43). (2.) 6 Tzariip 6 iv to7q oitpavolc (6 ovpcnnoq, four times), sixteen times, only twice in Mark, not at all in Luke. (3.) Y'lOQ AajSid, to designate Jesus as the Messiah, seven times, three times each in Mark and Luke. (4.) 'H a-yia noXig, and 6 nyiog TUTTog, for Jerusalem, three times; not in the other evangelists. (5.) t) avvreXiia Tov aiCJvog, "the consummation of the age"="the end of the world," is found five times in Matthew, nowhere else in the New Test, except Heb. ix, 26, in the plural, ahoinov. (6.) 'iva (on-mc) TrXrjpwSry to ptj^iv, eight times, nowhere else in the New Test. John uses 'iva TrX7]p. 6 Xoy., or >'/ ypuf.; Mark once (xiv, 49), 'Iva 7rXj;p. a'l ypa(p. (7.) to prjSriv (always used by Jlat- thew when quoting holy Scripture himself, i'^ other ci- tations yiypaTTTai, with the other evangelists), twelve times; o pijBeig, once (iii, 3). He never uses the sin- gular, ypacpt). Mark once uses to prjSriv (xiii, 14). (8.) iBviKog, twice; nowhere else in the New Test, (9.) dixvvnv tv, seven times; not elsewhere, save Rev. x, 6. (10.) Kal ISoi, in narrative, twenty-three times; iu Luke sixteen times; not in Jlark. idov, after a geni- tive absolute, nine times. (11.) Trpoa'Epxta^ai and tto- phvtu^at, continually used to give a pictorial coloring to the narrative (e. g. iv, 3; viii, 5, 19, 25; ix, 14, 20, etc.; ii, 8; ix, 13; xi, 4, etc.). (12.) Xfywv, absolutely, without the dative of the person (e, g. i, 20; iii, 2, 13, 20; iii, 2, 14, 17; v, 2; vi, 31, etc.). (13.) 'ItpoaoXvpa is the name of the holy city with Matthew always, ex- cept xxiii, 37. It is the same in Mark, with one (doubt- ful) exception (xi, 1). Luke uses this form rarely; 'it- povrraXt'ifi frcqucntlj%