He organizes the Gospel into five discourses. Leithart writes:
"One of the most obvious things about Matthew is that it includes five large sections of teaching. Look at a red-letter copy of Matthew, and you'll see long sections where Jesus speaks without any, or much, interruption (chs. 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 23-25). Jesus' five discourses hint that He is a new Moses, since Moses also wrote five books. Each of these sections ends with basically the same words: "when Jesus finished these words" (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). This sentence reminds us of the conclusion of the creation story (Gen. 2:2: "God completed His work," work done by speaking). It also alludes to the end of Moses' building the tabernacle (Exod. 40:33). God spoke to create, and then finished; Jesus speaks to re-make, and then finishes His words. These five discourses are like five pillars that hold up the book of Matthew, set between the "book of Genesis" and the new "Decree of Cyrus." (121)
At the end of this quote, Leithart is referring to the way the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew echoes Genesis, and the way the end of Matthew echoes the end of 2 Chronicles. While Malachi would later conclude the Christian Bible, 2 Chronicles had concluded the Hebrew Bible with a passage very similar in structure to the "Great Commission" passage at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Thus, the Gospel of Matthew retells the whole story of Israel, from start to finish.
Along these lines, Leithart outlines the book of Matthew around these five major discourses, the five pillars, of Matthew:
Matthew Old Testament
1 Sermon on Mount, 5-7 Sinai revelation
2 Mission of Twelve, 10 Deuteronomy: preparation for conquest
3 Parables of Kingdom, 13 Wisdom of Solomon
4 Disciples as Church, 18 Forming a new Israel in the midst of Israel,
Elijah and Elisha
5 Eschatological Doom, 23-25 End of Judah; Babylonian exile
The first pillar is the Sermon on the Mount. Leithart writes: "The sermon presents Jesus as the new and true Moses, delivering the law to the people from a mountain. It also presents Him as Yahweh, the Lord of Israel, who does not receive the law from angels (Acts 7:53) but delivers the word of the Lord from His own mouth." (132) Thus, the Sermon places us thematically alongside Moses and the people at Mount Sinai when God made his covenant with liberated Israel.
Leithart notes that the first pillar is similar to the fifth pillar. Both cover three chapters. Both begin with a list of promises or threats. Jesus begins the Sermon with eight beatitudes or blessings, and he begins the Olivet Discourse in chapter 23 with eight woes or curses.
The second pillar is the Mission of the Twelve. Jesus sends the twelve disciples out in a quasi-military way, very much like the way the twelve tribes venture into the Promised Land in Joshua. Jesus is the true Joshua. This operation is different though. Leithart writes: Of course, this conquest is quite different from the original conquest. It is a conquest of liberation and life-giving - the sick healed, dead raised, lepers cleansed, demons conquered. If this is holy war, it is directed not against Canaanites, but against Satan and his demons. Like Moses, Jesus instructs and sends the Twelve into the land but does not accompany them." (125)
The third pillar constitutes the Parables of the Kingdom. Leithart writes: "The third discourse has multiple links to the wisdom literature and to Solomon in particular. Jesus begins to speak in "parables," a word first used in 13:3, and used twelve times in the chapter. The Septuagint employs parabole to translate the Hebrew mashal, a wisdom term that can be used both of pithy two-line proverbs and extended allegorical narratives. In this chapter above all Jesus uses a wisdom style associated with Solomon. Immediately after Jesus finishes his parabolic teaching, he goes to His home country to teach, and the people are astonished at His "wisdom." (13:54)
The fifth pillar has to do with eschatological doom. Leithart writes: "Jesus acts as a prophet in the tradition of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, so that this discourse corresponds to the prophecies that come in the latter days of the kingdom of Judah. Jesus, like Jeremiah, engages in verbal combat with the priests and leaders, and gives an extended prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple by the Romans. Jesus' style is very similar to the style of Old Testament prophets. Chapter 23 contains Jesus' most extended and intense condemnation of scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites. No setting is explicit, but the narrative indicates that this speech takes place in the temple: Jesus arrives in the temple in 21:23, tells parables and engages in debate, but never changes location until the beginning of chapter 24. The temple setting reminds us of the temple sermons of Jeremiah 7 and 26. Like Jeremiah, Jesus charges that the scribes and Pharisees have become a "den of robbers" condemnation (Jer. 7:11; Mt. 21:13). Like the "weeping prophet," Jesus laments the rebellion of the city he condemns (Mt. 23:37-38), and warns Jerusalem she will be left to desolation (23:38; cf. Jer. 22:5). Matthew 24:1 records Jesus' final departure from the temple, reminiscent of the departure of the glory of Yahweh from the temple in Ezekiel 8-11." (127)
Pillars 1, 2, 3, and 5 can be seen to move through Old Testament history. Since pillar 3 has us thinking of Solomon, and pillar 5 has us thinking of Jeremiah, Leithart extrapolates that pillar 4 connects us to the era of the divided kingdom. This leads to considerations of how chapter 18 shows links between Jesus and Elijah/Elisha in 1 and 2 Kings: "In (Matthew 18), Jesus emphasizes that His disciples will be characterized by childlike humility and faith (18:1-3) and warns the community to avoid causing little ones to stumble (18:5-14). Verses 15-20 sketch out the procedures for dealing with sin among the brothers, and Jesus' final parable describes the spirit of forgiveness that must characterize the church (18:21-35). Jesus assumes that His disciples will be separated from Israel as a whole. The word "church" (Greek, ekklesia) is virtually unique to this chapter. In 16:18, the word refers to Jesus' own temple-community that He intends to build on the rock of Peter, and the word has the same connotation in 18:17. It is used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the "assembly" of Israel (cf. Deut. 4:10), and Jesus uses the word to refer to the "new Israel" of His disciples, in contrast to the "Gentiles" outside. Matthew 18:17 goes beyond 16:18, however, in indicating that the new ekklesia will have its own structures of authority to enforce the community's standards. In short, Jesus is forming an Israel in the midst of Israel, just as Elijah and Elisha had done during the Omride dynasty." (128)
Leithart sums a lot of this up by showing that, for Matthew, Jesus is Israel and simultaneously God come to Israel: "Jesus is Israel, and He also comes in the guise of all those servants and prophets that Yahweh sends to Israel to call her to follow the covenant. Jesus is Moses (Mt. 5-7), Joshua (Mt. 10), Solomon (Mt. 13), Elisha (Mt. 18), Jeremiah (Mt. 23-25). When Jesus comes to Israel, all these leaders of Israel come back again, perfected. But by emphasizing that Jesus is the beginning of Israel's history, Matthew shows us that God comes whenever these servants come in His name." (130)
The third pillar constitutes the Parables of the Kingdom. Leithart writes: "The third discourse has multiple links to the wisdom literature and to Solomon in particular. Jesus begins to speak in "parables," a word first used in 13:3, and used twelve times in the chapter. The Septuagint employs parabole to translate the Hebrew mashal, a wisdom term that can be used both of pithy two-line proverbs and extended allegorical narratives. In this chapter above all Jesus uses a wisdom style associated with Solomon. Immediately after Jesus finishes his parabolic teaching, he goes to His home country to teach, and the people are astonished at His "wisdom." (13:54)
The fifth pillar has to do with eschatological doom. Leithart writes: "Jesus acts as a prophet in the tradition of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, so that this discourse corresponds to the prophecies that come in the latter days of the kingdom of Judah. Jesus, like Jeremiah, engages in verbal combat with the priests and leaders, and gives an extended prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple by the Romans. Jesus' style is very similar to the style of Old Testament prophets. Chapter 23 contains Jesus' most extended and intense condemnation of scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites. No setting is explicit, but the narrative indicates that this speech takes place in the temple: Jesus arrives in the temple in 21:23, tells parables and engages in debate, but never changes location until the beginning of chapter 24. The temple setting reminds us of the temple sermons of Jeremiah 7 and 26. Like Jeremiah, Jesus charges that the scribes and Pharisees have become a "den of robbers" condemnation (Jer. 7:11; Mt. 21:13). Like the "weeping prophet," Jesus laments the rebellion of the city he condemns (Mt. 23:37-38), and warns Jerusalem she will be left to desolation (23:38; cf. Jer. 22:5). Matthew 24:1 records Jesus' final departure from the temple, reminiscent of the departure of the glory of Yahweh from the temple in Ezekiel 8-11." (127)
Pillars 1, 2, 3, and 5 can be seen to move through Old Testament history. Since pillar 3 has us thinking of Solomon, and pillar 5 has us thinking of Jeremiah, Leithart extrapolates that pillar 4 connects us to the era of the divided kingdom. This leads to considerations of how chapter 18 shows links between Jesus and Elijah/Elisha in 1 and 2 Kings: "In (Matthew 18), Jesus emphasizes that His disciples will be characterized by childlike humility and faith (18:1-3) and warns the community to avoid causing little ones to stumble (18:5-14). Verses 15-20 sketch out the procedures for dealing with sin among the brothers, and Jesus' final parable describes the spirit of forgiveness that must characterize the church (18:21-35). Jesus assumes that His disciples will be separated from Israel as a whole. The word "church" (Greek, ekklesia) is virtually unique to this chapter. In 16:18, the word refers to Jesus' own temple-community that He intends to build on the rock of Peter, and the word has the same connotation in 18:17. It is used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the "assembly" of Israel (cf. Deut. 4:10), and Jesus uses the word to refer to the "new Israel" of His disciples, in contrast to the "Gentiles" outside. Matthew 18:17 goes beyond 16:18, however, in indicating that the new ekklesia will have its own structures of authority to enforce the community's standards. In short, Jesus is forming an Israel in the midst of Israel, just as Elijah and Elisha had done during the Omride dynasty." (128)
Leithart sums a lot of this up by showing that, for Matthew, Jesus is Israel and simultaneously God come to Israel: "Jesus is Israel, and He also comes in the guise of all those servants and prophets that Yahweh sends to Israel to call her to follow the covenant. Jesus is Moses (Mt. 5-7), Joshua (Mt. 10), Solomon (Mt. 13), Elisha (Mt. 18), Jeremiah (Mt. 23-25). When Jesus comes to Israel, all these leaders of Israel come back again, perfected. But by emphasizing that Jesus is the beginning of Israel's history, Matthew shows us that God comes whenever these servants come in His name." (130)
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