Most scholars writing on the Gospel of Matthew agree that the structure of the Gospel is underpinned by five books. These books are reminiscent of the Pentateuch, that is, the first five books of the Jewish law or Torah which were reputed to have been written by Moses. In the Book of Deuteronomy the people are promised by God that he will raise up a prophet like Moses for them (Deut 18: 15). Jesus, as the Messiah, is the new Moses and he ascends the mountain to inaugurate a new age with new law. This new law is summarized in the Sermon of the Mount and is found in its most concentrated form in the Beatitudes that we hear today. The Ten Commandments is comprised largely of prohibitions whereas the Beatitudes speak of blessing. As a people of the New Covenant our first port of call is the teaching of Jesus whose law takes us to a higher and more exacting standard compared to that of the Old Testament.
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