Matthew 16, Seeking a Sign

Jesus's conflict with the religious leaders escalates.

Matt 16:1-4
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, "When evening comes, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, `Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."  Jesus then left them and went away.

Jesus's rebuke is based on the religious leaders' abilities to predict the things that are important to them (like the weather) but then ignore the realities of the things they find unimportant.  They suddenly ask for a sign because they have not been paying attention!

NIV Footnotes: "Some early [Greek] manuscripts [of the Gospel of Matthew] do not have the rest of verse 2 and all of verse 3."

Matt 16:5-12
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread."

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Some have suggested that the "feeding of the 5000" and the "feeding of the 4000" are duplicate stories of the same event.  But both large feedings are mentioned here.

Matt 16:13-20
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

In verse 18:  "Peter" (Greek: petros) means "rock."  So Simon now has a Greek nickname, that of Peter.

From the NIV footnotes: the phrase "will be bound in heaven" could also be interpreted "have been bound in heaven."  It need not be future tense.  (I'm not sure how important this comment is; it probably relates to one's Catholic vs. Protestant view of the role of Peter?)

Once again we see Jesus trying to keep the publicity down.  He is not trying to "go viral".  But despite his best attempts, large crowds continue to follow him.

Matt 16:21-23
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Poor Peter.  One moment he makes the right statement and in another moment he does not. Meanwhile Jesus knows that his current popularity will lead to the cross.

Matt 16:24-28
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Jesus's statement has some connection with what will happen next, in chapter 17.

Matthew 15, A Canaanite woman and 4000 Gentiles

The religious leaders never liked Jesus.  The feeling is mutual, for Jesus preaches a message of reformation, a "completion" of Judaism, a true consecration of the heart.

Matt 15:1-9
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, `Honor your father and mother' and  `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to  death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, `Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to `honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

Notice that Jesus doesn't answer their questions but uses it to ask one of his own.

The first quotes in verse 4 are from the ten commandments, Exodus 20:12 and Deut. 5:16. The second set of quotes in verse 4 are from Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9.  The quote in verse 9 is from Isaiah 29:13.

Matt 15:10-14
Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him `unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him `unclean.'"

Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

Jesus is unconcerned about the Pharisees and associates them with the "tares" or weeds of an earlier parable.  But he has to explain that parable to the disciples, along with his emphasis on speech (or thought) over mere dietary practices.

Matt 15:15-9
Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man `unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him `unclean.'"

This seems to be one of the simpler parables (not even a real parable?) but the disciples are unsure. Notice that Jesus is willing to be rather abrupt with his disciples.  Presumably when he says, "Are you so dull?" he is trying to get their attention?

Matt 15:21-28
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

I find this a beautiful passage.  Jesus appears unmoved by the woman.  But her stubbornness unleashes his compassion and care.

Jesus has a plan for the Gentiles and this woman's faith and determination (indeed desperation!) allow him to implement it.  The woman's "faith" could also be described as stubbornness and determination. It is not meek.  It is not intellectual.  It is an act of the will and, in its simplest form, pure persistence. Maybe there is hope for my stubbornness?!

Matt 15:29-31
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing.  And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus continues to heal and most people recognize his authority.

Matt 15:32-39
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. 

"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children.

After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

In this miracles it is clearly stated that these Gentiles have nothing to eat.  The "four thousand" presumably counts just the men; it does not include the women and children who accompanied them.

Matthew 14, the Death of John & Feeding of the 5000

Jesus has just finished his collections of parables on living as a member of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now we have a number of incidents and events that describe the climax of Jesus's ministry.

Matt 14:1-11
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him." Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."

The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Herod is trapped by his promises and his decadence.  And, of course, John pays the price for being the prophet who denounced Herod.

Matt 14:12-14
John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

The death of John distresses Jesus.  He withdraws from the populous but continues to minister.

Matt 14:15-21
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said,  "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.

"Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This is a strange miracle.  It reflects the manna that the Israelites got in the wilderness.
(The feeding of 4000, not 5000, occurs in the next chapter, Matthew 15:32-38.)

Matt 14:22-33
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 

Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying,  "Truly you are the Son of God."

A strange incident.  Why did Jesus allow Peter to step out of the boat?  What is the point?  Of all the miracles in Matthew, this one sounds the most mythical to me; unlike other miracles it does not seem to have a particular purpose.

From the NIV footnotes, the phrase in verse 24 translated "considerable distance" is literally, in Greek, "many stadia".  (A stadia was apparently 600 foot lengths, under 200 yards, probably about an tenth of a mile?)

Matt 14:34-36
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Wherever he lands, people are ready to come out and greet Jesus.  At this stage in his ministry, Jesus is "viral"; he is popular and wields considerable influence with his teachings.  But the death of John the Baptist signals a change; soon Jesus will have numerous political opponents, the religious teachers who will be out to destroy him.

Matthew 13: 24-58, More Parables for the Disciples

Here Matthew collects a series of parables, like the previous one on "the sower", all related to the kingdom of heaven. (This passage continues the "Parabolic Discourse".)

Matt 13:24-30
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, `Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come  from?'

"`An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him,  `Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

"`No,' he answered, `because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

So we will not easily see the kingdom of heaven before the harvest.  Maybe embedded in this parable is a statement about making premature religious judgments?

Matt 13:31-33
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a  tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

In each of these the kingdom of heaven is small and unnoticed, at least at the beginning.

According to the footnotes to the New International Version (NIV) the Greek translated "large amount" was, in Greek, three satas which was "probably about 1/2 bushel or 22  liters".

Matt 13:34-35
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.  So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."

Jesus had a reason for speaking in parables; he was not trying to be easy to understand and follow, but demanding commitment and thought.  (Not a bad idea for us educators today....)

The quote in verse 35 is from Psalm 78:2.

Jesus's parable on the "sower" (recorded at the beginning of chapter 13) has disturbed his followers.

Matt 13:36-43
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do  evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

"He who has ears, let him hear."

Part of the parable has a direct analogue in the world around Jesus and Jesus lays out those analogies.

The kingdom of God is serious, with serious consequences and choices.  (Not something I am particularly eager to hear!)

Matt 13:44-50
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore.  Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The kingdom of God is precious, valuable, worth more than anything we can offer in the short term.  Most of my life some aspect of this has sunk in ... and I am grateful for this lesson.

There is going to be an "end" (of this age) possibly far down the road....  and apparently a final separation and destruction?!

Matt 13:51-52
"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. 

"Yes,"  they replied.

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

I think the disciples are lying when they say, "Yes"!

Matt 13:53-58

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they took offense at him. 

But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Jesus's hometown is unwilling to believe the Messiah could be the boy they knew as a child.  What does this say about Jesus's childhood?  Or the hometown's worldview?

Isaiah 53 might be relevant here, as it gives an (unattractive) picture of the suffering Messiah.

Matthew 13: 1-23, Third Discourse (Parable of the Sower)

The third discourse of Jesus begins with a major parable and its explanation.

Matt 13:1-2
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

Jesus has enough followers that he has to preach from a boat out in the lake.

13:3-9

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a  crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

He who has ears, let him hear."

This is a fundamental parable in the teachings of Jesus.  To understand the ministry of Jesus, want needs to grapple with several questions:  Why does Jesus speak in parables?  And what is he saying with this one?

What does this story tell us about the lifestyle of the speaker and listeners?  (What is their experience; what do they do for a living?)

So … what is this story really about?

13:10-15

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"  He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing,  they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or  understand.  In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "`You will be  ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever  seeing but never perceiving.  For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly  hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their  ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would  heal them.'

Note that Jesus does not really answer the disciples question....  (Certainly not to my satisfaction!)

The quote in verse 15 is from Isaiah 6:9-10.

13:16-17

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.  For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

An alert to his listeners -- people in the past longed for this day. (And those of us in the future would like to be able to return to the past and partake in it!)

13:18-22
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly  falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

This parable is explained!  (Many parables are not!  Jesus will follow this teaching with a number of shorter parables that will not be explained.)

Jesus has a reason for teaching in parables.  What is it?

The next passage will includes some more parables, in response to questions from the disciples.

Matthew 12:30-50, Sharp Conflict with the Pharisees

Jesus has met increasing hostility from the Pharisees.  He responds. These words are harsh. There is indeed a conflict here, for Jesus is a reformer and the Pharisees are resistant.

Matt 12:30-37
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 

"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven  men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be  forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by  its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

The followers of Jesus do indeed need to make a decision.  Will they stay with Jesus?  Will they press on in the upcoming conflict?  Or be intimidated by the religious leaders?

Matt 12:38-45
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the  preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

"The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.' When it  arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the  final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

The Pharisees and teachers of the Law have been seeing Jesus's works yet challenge Him to do a miracle in their presence.  He refuses, saying that only one miracle is necessary, that of three days of burial and then a resurrection.

From the NIV footnotes: in verses 41 and 42, it is not clear whether "one greater than Jonah/Solomon" is a person or a concept.  Apparently the Greek would allow either interpretation. Presumably since the contrast is with a person (Jonah in one verse, Solomon in another), the translaters use "one" instead of "thing".

Matt 12:30-37
While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.  Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my  brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and  my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

In the confrontations, Jesus points out the importance of deliberately, consciously, deciding to follow Him.

NIV footnotes: some ancient manuscripts do not have the sentence (verse 47) about Jesus's mother and brothers standing outside but give Jesus's question, "Who is my mother...?" without context or transition.  Regardless of Matthew's original text, that context is given in Mark 3:31-35 and in Luke 8: 20-21.

In the next chapter, Jesus begins a third set of teachings, parables about the kingdom of heaven.

The Five Discourses of Matthew

On Sundays we will "rest" from our reading of New Testament chapters and maybe catch up on past readings or take a moment to summarize some topics we are reading at this time.  Since we are currently in The Gospel of Matthew, it might be good to look at the structure of the body of that book.

The Gospel of Matthew has five significant teaching passages, in which Jesus gives a series of talks on a particular theme.  These five passages are sometimes called the Five Discourses of Matthew.

Matthew makes no claim to put his recorded events in chronological order.  It is likely that Jesus spoke these teachings numerous times throughout his three year ministry, in various places and in different arrangements.

The most well-known and most significant discourse is the Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 5 to 7 of the gospel of Matthew. In this teaching passage, Jesus spells out citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.  Beginning with the Beatitudes, he inverts the standard understanding of power, emphasizing compassion, mercy, peacemaking and humility.  Part way through the sermon, he teaches the disciples to pray; that passage is now called The Lord's Prayer and now recited in thousands of churches every week.

In Matthew 10, Jesus gives instructions to his disciples on how they are to begin their ministry.  This is sometimes called the Missionary Discourse or the Little Commission (in contrast to the Great Commission.)

In Matthew 13, Jesus publicly teaches about the kingdom of heaven in a series of parables and then privately explains one of the parables to the disciples and presents several more.  These two sections, one public, one private, have been collectively called the Parabolic Discourse.  (As a mathematician I might think that a "parabolic discourse" has something to do with conic sections, but it does not ... sigh.)

In Matthew 18, Jesus gives several parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, sometimes called the Discourse on the Church.

In Matthew 23-25, beginning on the Mount of Olives at the very end of his ministry, Jesus gives several teachings on the "end times".  This is the Olivet Discourse.

Tomorrow we return to chapter 12 and Jesus's disputes with the Pharisees and religious teachers.