Matthew 1
Matthew 1
The gospel begins with a genealogy from Abraham to Jesus and closes with Joseph's dream: the son of David is named God-with-us.
Matthew — chapter by chapter
All 28 chapters — from the genealogy of Abraham to the Great Commission on the mountain in Galilee.
Matthew is structured around five great discourses and the narrative that connects them. Chapters 1–2 are the infancy narratives. Chapters 3–9 are the Galilean ministry, culminating in the Sermon on the Mount (5–7). Chapters 10–12 are the missionary discourse and the first controversies. Chapter 13 is the parables of the kingdom. Chapters 14–17 are the Galilean withdrawal and the feeding miracles. Chapter 16 is Peter’s confession and the rock saying. Chapters 18–20 are the community discourse and the journey to Jerusalem. Chapters 21–25 are Jerusalem: the entry, the temple, the seven woes (23), and the eschatological discourse (24–25). Chapters 26–27 are the Passion. Chapter 28 is the resurrection and the Great Commission.
Infancy narratives
The genealogy, the birth, the Magi, and the flight to Egypt.
Matthew 2
Matthew 2
The Magi's visit, Herod's massacre, the flight to Egypt, and the return to Nazareth compose a typological replay of Israel's own story.
Galilean ministry and the Sermon on the Mount
John the Baptist, the baptism, the temptation, the calling of the disciples, and the five chapters at the heart of the gospel.
Matthew 3
Matthew 3
John preaches repentance in the wilderness; Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized, and a voice from heaven declares him the beloved Son.
Matthew 4
Matthew 4
Three temptations in the wilderness, three citations of Deuteronomy; then Jesus calls his first disciples and launches the Galilean ministry.
Matthew 5
Matthew 5
The Beatitudes name the blessed conditions the world does not name; six antitheses intensify the Torah's commands from external act to interior motive.
Matthew 6
Matthew 6
Three practices redirected from public display to the hidden Father; the Lord's Prayer; the counsel against anxiety, citing birds and lilies.
Matthew 7
Matthew 7
Do not judge, ask and it will be given, the golden rule, the narrow gate, the false prophets, and the house built on rock that stands — the Sermon's closing.
Matthew 8
Matthew 8
A cycle of healings — leper, centurion's servant, Peter's mother-in-law, the storm — showing the authority of deed that matches the authority of word.
Matthew 9
Matthew 9
Forgiveness before healing, eating with sinners, raising the dead, and restoring sight: the authority that has been demonstrated extends even to sin and death.
Mission, controversy, and the parables of the kingdom
The missionary discourse, the Sabbath controversies, John’s question from prison, and the seven parables of chapter 13.
Matthew 10
Matthew 10
The twelve are sent to Israel with authority to heal and proclaim, armed with warnings of persecution and the promise that losing life for his sake finds it.
Matthew 11
Matthew 11
John's question answered with Isaiah's deeds; John identified as Elijah; warnings to unrepentant cities; the great invitation to the weary.
Matthew 12
Matthew 12
Two Sabbath controversies; the Pharisees' conspiracy; the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit; the sign of Jonah; and the redefinition of family.
Matthew 13
Matthew 13
Seven kingdom parables — sower, weeds, mustard seed, leaven, treasure, pearl, dragnet — each refusing to define the kingdom in the abstract, insisting on the particular.
Withdrawal, feeding, and Peter’s confession
Herod kills John; the feeding of the five thousand; Peter walks on water; Peter’s confession and the rock saying; the transfiguration.
Matthew 14
Matthew 14
John's martyrdom; five thousand fed in the wilderness; Peter walks on water and sinks; the boat-community worships: truly you are the Son of God.
Matthew 15
Matthew 15
Defilement from the heart, not the hand; a Canaanite woman wins the crumbs; four thousand fed; the logic of the inclusive mission beginning to open.
Matthew 16
Matthew 16
Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi; the rock saying and the keys; the first passion prediction; Peter rebuked as Satan; the logic of losing and finding life.
Matthew 17
Matthew 17
The transfiguration — the baptism declaration repeated with Moses and Elijah — followed by the disciples' failure to heal, faith like a mustard seed, and the second passion prediction.
The community discourse and the journey to Jerusalem
Greatness, forgiveness, divorce, the rich young man, the workers in the vineyard, and the entry into Jerusalem.
Matthew 18
Matthew 18
Greatness as the child's humility; the lost sheep; the community procedure for sin; forgiveness seventy-seven times; the unforgiving servant who forgets what was forgiven him.
Matthew 19
Matthew 19
Divorce by appeal to creation's original design; children belonging to the kingdom; a rich young man sorrowful; a camel and the eye of a needle.
Matthew 20
Matthew 20
The generosity of the vineyard owner; the most detailed passion prediction; James and John's misplaced request; the Son of Man who came to serve and give his life as a ransom.
Matthew 21
Matthew 21
The Jerusalem entry on a donkey; the temple cleansed; the fig tree cursed; authority challenged and the baptism counter-question; the wicked tenants and the rejected cornerstone.
Matthew 22
Matthew 22
The wedding banquet parable; Caesar's coin; the resurrection with no marriage; the two great commandments; and David's son who is also David's Lord.
The seven woes and the eschatological discourse
The seven woes against the Pharisees; the signs of the end; the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats.
Matthew 23
Matthew 23
Seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees — blind guides, whitewashed tombs, serpents — and the lament over Jerusalem, the city that kills its prophets.
Matthew 24
Matthew 24
The temple's coming destruction; wars and tribulation; the abomination of desolation; the Son of Man coming in clouds; the hour unknown; watchfulness commanded.
Matthew 25
Matthew 25
Three parables of readiness: the virgins and the oil, the talents used or buried, and the final criterion — mercy shown to the least is mercy shown to Christ himself.
Passion and resurrection
The anointing, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trial, the crucifixion, the empty tomb, and the Great Commission.
Matthew 26
Matthew 26
Judas's agreement; the Last Supper's eucharistic words; Gethsemane's three prayers; the arrest; Peter's three denials and bitter weeping.
Matthew 27
Matthew 27
Judas's remorse; Pilate's trial; the mocking; darkness at midday; the cry of dereliction from Psalm 22; the curtain torn; the centurion's confession; the sealed tomb.
Matthew 28
Matthew 28
The empty tomb; the risen Jesus met by the women; the Great Commission on the mountain in Galilee — all authority, all nations, always — the gospel's closing word.