04 — The Church and the Kingdom
Matthew is the only Gospel to use the word ekklēsia, “church” (Matt. 16:18; 18:17), and the Gospel in which the Kingdom of heaven is most fully proclaimed and most densely parabled. These files take up the two together: the “ecclesial” character of Matthew — the confession of Peter, the keys, and the rule for binding and loosing in the community — and the parables of the Kingdom gathered into the third discourse (Matt. 13).
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle and Evangelist)
If the Sermon on the Mount is the charter of the Kingdom’s righteousness, the parables of Matthew 13 are its mystery, and the “community discourse” of Matthew 18 is its order. This section examines why Matthew has been called the most ecclesial of the Gospels: it alone records the Lord’s words to Peter at Caesarea Philippi — “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) — and the keys and the power of binding and loosing; it alone gives the procedure for reconciling an offending brother that ends “tell it to the church” (Matt. 18:17); and it closes with the abiding presence, “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Alongside this ecclesial concern runs the Gospel’s sustained teaching on the Kingdom of heaven in parables — the sower, the wheat and tares, the mustard seed and leaven, the treasure and pearl, the net — read here with the Fathers and with attention to the Orthodox understanding of the Kingdom as both present and to come.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Ecclesial Gospel | The only Gospel to name the ekklēsia: “you are Peter” and the keys (Matt. 16:18–19); “tell it to the church” and binding and loosing (Matt. 18:15–20); the Great Commission and the abiding presence (Matt. 28:18–20); and the Orthodox reading against Roman and Reformed interpretations. |
| The Parables of the Kingdom | The third discourse (Matt. 13) and the Kingdom parables across the Gospel: the sower, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed and the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the dragnet; “the kingdom of heaven” and the patristic exegesis. |
See Also
- The Sermon on the Mount — the Kingdom’s righteousness
- The Gospel of Matthew — the discourse structure
- Ecclesiology — the Church Matthew alone names
- The Apostle Peter — the confessor of Caesarea Philippi and the keys
References
- The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 13, 16, 18, 28. Cited by chapter and verse.
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, esp. Homilies 44–47 (Matt. 13), 54 (Matt. 16), 59–61 (Matt. 18). NPNF I/10.
- Ante-Nicene Fathers and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers for the patristic exegesis of the parables.