Matthew

Matthew writes for readers familiar with the Jewish Scriptures and spends the whole book showing connections: it opens with a genealogy linking Jesus to Abraham and David and repeats the formula "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet". It organizes Jesus' teaching into five great blocks, the first being the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 to 7), with the beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer and the golden rule. It is also the Gospel that speaks most of the "Kingdom of Heaven" and offers the most parables about it. It ends on a mountain in Galilee with the Great Commission and the promise that closes the book: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age".