The 5 Discourses of the Gospel of Matthew

We will continue studying the life of Jesus today by looking at the outline of the Gospel of Matthew. As we approach the Easter season, I hope you will take the time to study one of the Gospels. I do not plan on doing an in depth study on any of them, but hope to do some highlights on the life of Jesus over the next few weeks.

When studying any book of the Bible, it always helps to know who wrote it, to whom the book was written (audience) and some background information.When studying the four Gospels, it also helps to know the theme of each Gospel. According to Dr. Henrietta C. Mears in her book What the Bible is all About, “the book of Matthew presents Jesus as King. . ., the book of Mark depicts Jesus as Servant. . ., the book of Luke sets forth Jesus as the perfect Man. . . and the book of John portrays Jesus as the Son of God (p. 365-366)”.

The book of Matthew was written by Jesus’ disciple Matthew or also known as Levi. He had a Jewish audience so he wanted to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah in this book. The book can be divided into 5 discourses or sermons preached or taught by Jesus. Each of the discourses is followed by a narrative.  I will show you the outline of the discourses below:

5 Discourses of Matthew

1. Sermon on the Mount – Matt. 5-7
   Narrative
2. Instructions to the Disciples – Matt. 10:1-11:1
   Narrative
3. Parables – Matt. 13:1-53
   Narrative
4. Discourse about Children, Forgiveness, Church Discipline Matt. 18:1-19:1
   Narrative
5. Olivet Discourse (End Times) Matt. 24:1-26:1
   Narrative

I hope this helps you study the book of Matthew. Mark these in your Bible even if you plan to study another Gospel this month.

Mears, Dr. Henrietta C. What the Bible is all About. Gospel Light Publications, 1998.