Reading different theological perspectives. Historical readings express their authors' perspectives, including Arminian and Reformed or Calvinist traditions. Inclusion does not make an author's position settled CTS doctrine. Read with Scripture and the assigned material. A supported answer from another evangelical perspective should be assessed on its reasoning, not penalized simply for differing from the author. If an automated score rejects such an answer, ask CTS for review.
Master’s Assigned Readings (all five)
M.Div. and Th.M. students read all five assigned selections and take their separate exam after activation. The test page states the current rule; valid earlier completions remain valid.
Optional Honors (choose three)
Honors is optional on every track. Certificate and Associate students may read three honors selections without a required-reading exam. Honors does not replace either master’s exam.
The Master's textbook test: read Gibson, The Expositor’s Bible: The Gospel of St. Matthew (assigned excerpts), then take its test: twenty fill-in-the-blank questions, drawn from forty; eighteen right passes. Each answer is marked right or wrong at once. Correct answers and explanations are available after the attempt passes. It is separate from the reading test on the five digests below: passing one does not pass the other. On the M.Div. and Th.M. tracks both tests are being introduced; each test's page says whether it is in force yet. Until then any student may take them, and a pass is kept in your record.
How to read this shelf
This intensive leads the student through the Gospel of Matthew — the Gospel of the King, which presents Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Son of David, the fulfillment of Israel’s hope and the King of the kingdom of heaven. These five readings are Chapala Theological Seminary digests, moving in turn through the movements of the Gospel — the King’s coming, the Sermon on the Mount, His mighty works and parables, the road to Jerusalem, and the cross, the empty tomb, and the Great Commission — and drawing on its classic public-domain expositors, from Ryle and Broadus to Spurgeon, Pink, Watson, Trench, Martin, Warfield, and Edersheim. Each is written to be read on its own, in English, Spanish or French. Choose any three, read them in full, and record your reading below.
These five readings draw on the great public-domain classics of Matthew — warm expository thoughts on the whole Gospel, commentary on its text, expositions of the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, the classic studies of the parables and miracles of our Lord, and the great works on the sufferings, the deity, and the messianic glory of Christ the King. Read these digests to walk with the King from Bethlehem to Galilee, and to bow before Him as He truly is.
The Master's reading test: separate from the honors invitation below. Honors asks you to read any three of these digests; the Master's test covers all five. It has twenty fill-in-the-blank questions, four from each reading, drawn from forty; eighteen right passes. Each answer is marked right or wrong at once; correct answers and explanations are available after the attempt passes. You may try again after a short wait. The test is being introduced: its page says whether it is in force yet. Until then any student may take it, and a pass is kept in your record.
With Honors — an invitation, not a requirement
The honors reading attestation is optional for every degree. Certificate and Associate students complete the course through its units. On M.Div. and Th.M., the assigned textbook and required-reading tests also count after activation; valid earlier master’s completions remain valid. Reading three digests for honors does not replace either test.
These supplemental readings are the path to one added distinction — your degree awarded with honors. Each class whose reading you complete counts toward it: twelve classes for the Certificate, fifteen for the Th.M., twenty-five for the Associate, and thirty for the M.Div. Choose any three of the readings below, read them in full, and record your reading on your honor — then track your progress on the Honors page.
No constant internet required — see below
Reading the digests
Every one of these five readings is a Chapala Theological Seminary digest, written by CTS and available here on the site — all of them open directly from this page, in English, Spanish or French, with nothing to download. Each digest walks through a portion of Matthew and rests on the classic public-domain expositions, but the digests themselves are CTS-authored teaching, not reproductions, and those classic works are freely available online for any who wish to read them in full.
Reading in another language
Most of these works are in English. If you would rather read in Spanish, French or another language, the Chrome browser can translate a whole page for you. On a computer, right-click anywhere on the opened reading and choose “Translate to…”. On an Android phone or tablet, tap the three-dot menu and choose “Translate”. On an iPhone or iPad, tap the translate icon in the address bar — or open the page in the Chrome app if you don't see it. Machine translation is not perfect, but it is enough to follow the argument.
The Five Readings
Chosen: 0 of 3
Matthew 1–4 · a CTS digest, ~2,000 words per language
1.The King Has Come
A CTS digest
The Gospel of the King (Son of David, Son of Abraham); Immanuel, “God with us,” born to save His people, worshiped by Gentile Magi; the way prepared by John, and the King revealed at His baptism by the Father’s voice and the Spirit; the King tested and standing firm where Adam and Israel fell; and the kingdom proclaimed — “Repent... follow Me.”
CTS DIGESTRead the full digest — opens right here
The Chapala Theological Seminary digest — an original summary written by CTS, available in English, Spanish and French, readable offline. This is the CTS digest, not the full original source text.
The King Has Come
A Chapala Theological Seminary reading — Matthew 1–4: the promised Messiah, Son of David, “God with us,” begins His reign
A CTS-authored survey, anchored in the classic public-domain expositions of Matthew (Ryle, Broadus, Edersheim, and others), and in Scripture.
Book Study: Matthew
The Promised King
Kingdom of Heaven
Anchored in classics
A word before you read. Matthew opens the New Testament by presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah-King, the Son of David, the fulfillment of all Israel's hope. This first reading walks through Matthew 1–4: the King's birth and lineage, the prophecies He fulfills, and the beginning of His ministry — "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
1.The Gospel of the King
Matthew stands first in the New Testament, and it opens the whole story with a portrait of Jesus as the long-promised King. Writing with special care for readers who knew the Hebrew Scriptures, Matthew shows again and again that Jesus is the one to whom all the Law and the Prophets had been pointing; his favorite refrain is that this or that happened "that it might be fulfilled." His great theme is the kingdom of heaven and the King who has come to establish it. And he announces that theme in his very first line, in the way he names Jesus: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." Those two names are not chosen at random. Son of David marks Jesus out as the promised royal heir, the King in David's line; Son of Abraham roots Him in the ancient promise that in Abraham's seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. From the opening words, then, we are told who this is: the King of Israel, and the blessing of the world.
2.Immanuel — God With Us
Then Matthew tells of the King's birth, and it is like no other birth in history. When Joseph learns that Mary is with child, an angel assures him that the child has been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and instructs him to give the boy the name Jesus — which means "the LORD saves" — "for He will save His people from their sins." And Matthew points to the ancient prophecy now coming true: "they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us." Here is the staggering heart of it: this King is not merely a great man, but God Himself come down to dwell among us. And the very first people to seek Him out and bow before Him are not the rulers of Jerusalem, but wise men who come from the East, following a star, to worship the newborn King of the Jews — Gentiles from far away, a quiet sign that this King has come for all the nations. King Herod, hearing of a rival king, flies into a murderous rage, and the little family must flee to Egypt for safety. From His first days, the King enters a world that is hostile to His reign.
3.The Way Prepared, the King Revealed
Years pass, and the King's public appearing draws near. First comes His herald, John the Baptist, out in the wilderness, preaching the very message the King will soon take up: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." John calls the people to turn from their sins and bring forth the fruit of true repentance, and to make themselves ready, for the King is coming. And then Jesus Himself comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John protests — surely it is the sinless One who should baptize him! — but Jesus insists, not because He had any sin to wash away, but in order to stand alongside the very people He came to save, "to fulfill all righteousness." And as He comes up from the water, heaven itself is torn open: the Spirit of God descends upon Him like a dove, and the voice of the Father is heard from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The King is now publicly revealed — owned by the Father, and anointed by the Spirit for His work.
4.The King Tested
Yet before He takes up His throne of ministry, the King must first be tested. The same Spirit who had just descended on Him now leads Him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And here Matthew draws a deliberate contrast with the whole sad history that had gone before: where the first man, Adam, fell in a garden of plenty, and where Israel had failed again and again in the wilderness, this King stands firm. Weak with hunger after forty days of fasting, He refuses every temptation the devil sets before Him — He will not turn stones into bread to serve Himself, He will not fling Himself down to force God's hand, and He will not seize all the kingdoms of the world by bowing to Satan. To each assault He answers simply with Scripture: "It is written." The King overcomes the tempter at every point, and so proves Himself the faithful and obedient Son — the second Adam, the true Israel, the one who, unlike all before Him, will not fail.
5.The Kingdom Proclaimed
Now, at last, the King begins His ministry in earnest. Taking up the very words His herald had used, He goes out preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He calls His first followers — ordinary fishermen at their work by the sea, who leave their nets at His word and follow Him, to be made, He says, "fishers of men." And He travels throughout the whole region, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of sickness and disease among the people, so that word of Him spreads far and wide and great crowds begin to follow Him. The King has come; and wherever He goes, His kingdom is breaking into the world.
6.The King for Us
So Matthew's opening chapters ring out the great announcement: the King has come. He is the Son of David and the Son of God; He is Immanuel, God with us, who came for the express purpose of saving His people from their sins. He was sought out and worshiped by Gentiles from distant lands, openly acknowledged by the voice of the Father and the descent of the Spirit, and He proved Himself the faithful Son by standing firm against every temptation of the enemy. And this King calls us, exactly as He called those first fishermen by the sea, to repent of our sins and to follow Him into His kingdom. So hear His call for yourself. The King who has come is God with us, and He came to save. He is worthy of all our allegiance, and He bids us leave everything behind and follow Him. And here is the very best of the good news: this King came not to be served, but to save — and, true to His name Immanuel, He is with us still.
7.Taking It to Heart
For reflection. Do you know Jesus as your King — not only as Savior, but as the one who has the right to rule your whole life? When the King calls, "Follow Me," are you ready, like those fishermen, to leave your nets? And does it steady your heart to know that His name is Immanuel — that He is "God with us," and with you now?
Matthew 5–7 · a CTS digest, ~2,000 words per language
2.The Sermon on the Mount
A CTS digest
The charter of the kingdom (not a ladder to climb, but the life grace produces); the Beatitudes beginning with the poor in spirit who know their need; salt and light for the Father’s glory; the deeper righteousness of the heart that drives us to grace; secret devotion, the Lord’s Prayer, treasure in heaven, and “seek first the kingdom” against anxiety; and hearing-and-doing — the wise builder on the rock.
CTS DIGESTRead the full digest — opens right here
The Chapala Theological Seminary digest — an original summary written by CTS, available in English, Spanish and French, readable offline. This is the CTS digest, not the full original source text.
The Sermon on the Mount
A Chapala Theological Seminary reading — Matthew 5–7: the King's own portrait of life in His kingdom
A CTS-authored survey, anchored in the classic public-domain expositions of Matthew (Pink, Watson, Ryle, and others), and in Scripture.
Book Study: Matthew
The Kingdom's Charter
The Beatitudes
Anchored in classics
A word before you read. Having announced that the King has come, Matthew now gives us the King's own description of life in His kingdom — the Sermon on the Mount, the most famous sermon ever preached. This reading walks through Matthew 5–7: the Beatitudes, the deeper righteousness of the heart, trusting devotion, and hearing and doing the King's word.
1.The Charter of the Kingdom
Having announced that the King has come and the kingdom is near, Matthew now sets before us, in chapters 5 through 7, the King's own description of what life in His kingdom looks like — the Sermon on the Mount, surely the most famous sermon ever preached. Seeing the great crowds, Jesus went up onto a mountainside, sat down in the posture of a teacher, and taught His disciples. It is important to understand what this Sermon is, and what it is not. It is not a new and heavier law by which we might earn our way into God's favor. It is, rather, a portrait — a description of the character and the life of those who have already entered the kingdom by grace. It shows us what the King's people are like, and how they are to live. And it is telling that it begins not with a single command, but with a string of blessings.
2.The Beatitudes
The Sermon opens with the Beatitudes, a series of surprising pronouncements of blessing upon the King's people. And notice, above all, where it begins: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom belongs, first of all, to those who feel their own spiritual poverty — who know that they have nothing in themselves to offer God, and come with empty hands. From that foundation of humility the rest follow: blessed are those who mourn over their sin and sorrow, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for righteousness' sake. Every one of these turns the values of the world upside down. The kingdom does not belong to the proud, the strong, and the self-sufficient, but to the humble, the hungry, and the merciful. And these Beatitudes are not a list of entrance requirements we must first achieve by our own effort; they are a description of the character that the King's own grace grows in His people — a character that begins, always, with the humility that knows its need.
3.Salt and Light
Jesus then tells His disciples what they are to be out in the world. "You are the salt of the earth," He says, and "You are the light of the world." Salt, in that age, preserved food from decay and gave it flavor; light shines out and drives back the darkness. Just so, the King's people are to work quietly against the world's corruption and to shine with a goodness that others can see. But the aim, Jesus is careful to say, is not that they themselves would be admired: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." The good is to be visible, but the glory is to go to God. Those who belong to the King are not meant to hide away, but to make a real difference in the world around them, for their Father's honor.
4.The Deeper Righteousness
Jesus is clear that He has not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them; and He says something startling: that the righteousness of His people must actually surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, the most scrupulous rule-keepers of the day. But He means a righteousness of a wholly different kind — not a matter of the outside, but of the heart. And so He takes one command after another and drives it inward, far deeper than the letter. It is not enough merely to refrain from murder, He says — you must not even nurse angry contempt in your heart against your brother. It is not enough to avoid the act of adultery — you must not even harbor lust. And you are to love not only your neighbor but your very enemies, praying for those who persecute you, so that you may show yourselves true children of your Father in heaven. Then He lays down the standard in a single breathtaking sentence: "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." This is a righteousness of the heart that no amount of careful rule-keeping could ever reach. And that is exactly the point. Who could possibly meet such a standard in his own strength? It is meant to strip away every last shred of our self-confidence, and to send us running to the King for the mercy and the new heart that He alone can give.
5.True Devotion, and Treasure in Heaven
In chapter 6 the King turns to the life of devotion, and warns against a subtle danger: performing our religious acts — giving, praying, fasting — in order to be seen and admired by other people. No, He says; do these things quietly, in secret, before your Father who sees in secret, and it is enough. And He teaches His disciples how to pray, giving them the model we call the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come..." — a pattern of trusting, unhurried, God-centered prayer, that puts His name and His kingdom before our own needs. He calls His people to lay up their treasures not on earth, where moth and rust destroy, but in heaven, adding this piercing word: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And He gives the great cure for anxiety. Your heavenly Father, He reminds us, feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field in splendor, and He knows your every need. So do not be consumed with worry; instead, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Put the King and His kingdom first, and trust your Father for the rest.
6.Hearing and Doing — the Two Builders
In the final chapter the King calls for a life that actually matches our profession. Do not set yourself up as a hypocritical judge of others, He warns; first take the great plank out of your own eye. Ask, seek, and knock, He urges, for your Father delights to give good things to those who ask Him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you — the Golden Rule, in which the whole Law and the Prophets are summed up. And He sets two ways before every hearer: the narrow gate and hard road that lead to life, and the wide gate and broad road that lead to destruction. He warns of false prophets, who are to be known by their fruits, and gives a solemn word that not everyone who merely calls Him "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom, but only the one who actually does the will of His Father. And He closes the whole Sermon with the parable of the two builders. The one who hears these words of His and does them is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; when the storm came, it stood firm. But the one who hears these same words and does not do them is like a foolish man who built upon the sand; when the storm came, it fell, and great was its fall. The crowds were left astonished, for He taught them not like their scribes, but as one who had authority in Himself. The King's word, in the end, is given not merely to be admired and heard, but to be obeyed. And here is the great encouragement of it all. The Sermon on the Mount is the King's own portrait of life in His kingdom: a life of humble dependence, of a righteousness that reaches down into the heart, of quiet devotion and childlike trust in the Father, and of hearing and doing the King's word. It holds up a standard so high that no one on earth can reach it by sheer willpower — and this, rightly seen, is part of its grace, for it drives us straight to the King for the mercy and the new heart He alone can give. So let this Sermon do its full work in you. Let it humble you, for not one of us measures up; let it send you to Christ for grace; and then, as His grace goes to work within you, let it shape your daily life — that you may be salt and light, seek first His kingdom, and build your house upon the rock of His words. Blessed, He says, are those who hear the King and do what He says.
7.Taking It to Heart
For reflection. Does the Sermon's standard humble you and send you to Christ for grace — or do you try to keep it in your own strength? Where is your treasure really — on earth, or in heaven? And are you a hearer only, or a doer — building your house on the rock of the King's words, or on the sand?
Matthew 8–13 · a CTS digest, ~2,000 words per language
3.The King’s Works: Miracles and Parables
A CTS digest
The King’s authority over disease, demons, nature, and death (and to forgive sins); the sending of the twelve into a hostile world under the Father who counts the sparrows; the tender “Come to Me... and I will give you rest” alongside the Pharisees’ hardening; the parables of the kingdom (sower, wheat and tares, mustard seed, treasure and pearl); and the King dishonored at Nazareth.
CTS DIGESTRead the full digest — opens right here
The Chapala Theological Seminary digest — an original summary written by CTS, available in English, Spanish and French, readable offline. This is the CTS digest, not the full original source text.
The King's Works: Miracles and Parables
A Chapala Theological Seminary reading — Matthew 8–13: the King's authority displayed, and the secrets of the kingdom revealed
A CTS-authored survey, anchored in the classic public-domain expositions of Matthew (Trench, Spurgeon, Ryle, and others), and in Scripture.
Book Study: Matthew
Miracles and Parables
“Come to Me”
Anchored in classics
A word before you read. Having heard the King's words in the Sermon, we now see the King's works. This reading walks through Matthew 8–13: the mighty deeds that display His authority over disease, demons, nature, and death; the sending of His messengers; and His teaching of the kingdom in parables.
1.The King's Authority Displayed
In the Sermon on the Mount we heard the King teach with unmistakable authority. Now, in chapters 8 through 13, we watch that same authority break out in action. These chapters show us the King's power displayed in a great series of mighty deeds, the calling and sending out of His own messengers, the first stirrings of serious opposition against Him, and His teaching of the mysteries of the kingdom in parables. If the Sermon revealed His authority in the realm of teaching, these chapters reveal His authority over disease, over demons, over the forces of nature, and over death itself — and His authority, too, to unlock the hidden secrets of the kingdom of heaven.
2.Authority over Disease, Demons, Nature, and Death
Matthew now gathers together a striking series of miracles, each one displaying the King's power over some enemy that afflicts us. He reaches out and cleanses a leper; He heals a Roman centurion's servant with a mere word, marveling aloud at the great faith of this Gentile soldier; He heals Peter's mother-in-law, and many others besides — and Matthew sees in it the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." Then, crossing the lake in a boat, He is asleep when a furious storm rises; He wakes, rebukes the wind and the waves with a word, and a great calm falls, so that the awestruck disciples ask one another, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" He casts out demons with a command. He heals a paralyzed man and, to prove that He also has authority on earth to forgive sins, tells the man his sins are forgiven. He even takes a dead girl by the hand and raises her to life again. Disease, demons, the raging storm, death itself — every one of them bows before the King. And through it all He is moved with deep compassion for the crowds, who seemed to Him "like sheep having no shepherd"; and He turns to His disciples and tells them to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers into His harvest.
3.The King Sends His Messengers
That prayer is answered at once, in part, by the King Himself. He now sends out His twelve apostles to extend His own ministry, giving them authority to heal the sick and to preach the very message He preached: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." But He does not hide from them the cost of the mission. He is sending them out, He says, as sheep in the midst of wolves; they will be persecuted, hated, and dragged before councils and rulers, all for His name's sake. And yet, three times over, He tells them not to be afraid. The same God who marks the falling of a single sparrow, He reminds them, has numbered the very hairs of their heads, and holds them of far greater worth than many sparrows. Whoever will confess Him openly before men, He promises, He will Himself confess before His Father in heaven; and whoever loses his life for His sake will, in the end, truly find it. The King's messengers are to go out bold and unafraid, resting in the Father's tender care, whatever the cost may be.
4.Responses to the King
As the King goes on ministering, Matthew shows us the very different ways people respond to Him. John the Baptist, now languishing in Herod's prison, sends his disciples to ask whether Jesus is really the Coming One; and Jesus answers simply by pointing to His works — the blind see, the lame walk, the poor have the gospel preached to them. He pronounces sorrow over the towns that had seen His mighty works and still would not repent. And then He speaks one of the tenderest invitations in all of Scripture: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." But at the very same time, the Pharisees are hardening into open hostility, quarreling with Him over the Sabbath and even daring to say that He casts out demons by the power of the devil — a charge against which Jesus gives a grave and solemn warning. The King divides all who meet Him: some come to Him, weary and burdened, and find rest; others harden their hearts and turn against Him.
5.The Parables of the Kingdom
In chapter 13 the King begins to teach the crowds in parables — simple earthly stories carrying a heavenly meaning, which open up the truth of the kingdom to those whose hearts are ready to hear, while remaining a closed riddle to the hard and unwilling. The parable of the sower shows how the same word of the kingdom is received in four very different ways: like the hard path, the shallow rocky ground, the thorny soil, and, at last, the good soil that receives it and bears a rich harvest. The parable of the wheat and the weeds teaches that good and evil will grow up together in the world until the final harvest, when God Himself will separate them. The tiny mustard seed and the hidden leaven show how the kingdom, from the smallest and most unlikely beginnings, grows to a vast size and works quietly through everything. And the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price show the supreme, incomparable worth of the kingdom — a treasure worth selling everything one owns in order to possess it. The kingdom, then, is a present and growing reality, mixed for now with much that opposes it, and yet of infinite value — and it is received by the heart that truly hears.
6.The King Rejected at Home, and the King for Us
The section closes on a sad and searching note. When Jesus comes to teach in Nazareth, His own hometown, the people there take offense at Him. "Is this not the carpenter's son?" they scoff — and, refusing to believe, they close their hearts, so that He does not do many mighty works among them, and Matthew tells us plainly it was because of their unbelief. Familiarity had bred contempt; the King was dishonored by the very people who imagined they knew all about Him. It is a sobering picture of how unbelief can slam the door shut on the blessing the King longs to give. And yet, taken all together, these chapters overflow with encouragement. They show us a King with authority over every single thing that afflicts and frightens us — disease, demons, the storm, and death — and with authority, besides, to forgive our sins and to reveal to us the secrets of His kingdom. He sends His messengers out into a hostile world, but tells them again and again not to fear, for the Father who watches the sparrows is watching over them. And He calls the weary and the burdened straight to Himself: "Come to Me, and I will give you rest." How we respond to this King is the one thing that matters most. Some harden their hearts against Him; but the good soil hears His word and bears fruit, and the wise gladly sell all they have for the one pearl of His kingdom. So come to this King, who holds all authority in His hands and yet is gentle and lowly in heart. Bring Him your heavy burdens, and find your rest in Him. And let the word of His kingdom sink down deep into the good soil of your heart, and bear its fruit — for the kingdom He brings is worth more than all the world besides.
7.Taking It to Heart
For reflection. Is there some burden you are carrying alone, that the King is inviting you to bring to Him for rest? Which soil does your heart most resemble when the word of the kingdom is sown — and what is choking or hardening it? And do you truly value the kingdom as the pearl of great price, worth more than everything else you own?
Matthew 14–25 · a CTS digest, ~2,000 words per language
4.The King and His Church, Toward Jerusalem
A CTS digest
The great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and the promise to build His unstoppable church; the transfiguration glimpse of the King’s glory; life in His community (humility, the lost sheep, limitless forgiveness); the triumphal entry and confronting the false shepherds; and the Olivet Discourse on the King’s certain return — “watch therefore.”
CTS DIGESTRead the full digest — opens right here
The Chapala Theological Seminary digest — an original summary written by CTS, available in English, Spanish and French, readable offline. This is the CTS digest, not the full original source text.
The King and His Church, Toward Jerusalem
A Chapala Theological Seminary reading — Matthew 14–25: the great confession, the road to the cross, and the King's return
A CTS-authored survey, anchored in the classic public-domain expositions of Matthew (Ryle, Broadus, Warfield, and others), and in Scripture.
Book Study: Matthew
“You Are the Christ”
The King's Return
Anchored in classics
A word before you read. This large section brings us to the great turning point of the King's ministry and His journey toward the cross. This reading walks through Matthew 14–25: Peter's confession and the promise of the church, the transfiguration, life in the King's community, the entry into Jerusalem, and the King's return in glory.
1.The Turning Point: Toward Jerusalem
This long stretch of Matthew's Gospel carries us through the great turning point of the King's ministry and sets His face toward the cross. In these chapters His disciples come at last to grasp who He truly is; He begins to tell them plainly that He must die and rise again; He teaches His followers how they are to live together as His community; and He makes His final approach to Jerusalem, where He will be welcomed as King, clash openly with the religious leaders, and foretell His return in glory. The road, from here on, bends steadily toward Calvary — and along the way the King is carefully preparing His people for all that is about to come.
2.“You Are the Christ” — the Confession and the Church
Amid still more mighty works — the feeding of the five thousand, and the walking on the water, where a sinking Peter cries out, "Lord, save me!" — the great question of the whole Gospel finally comes to a head. Jesus asks His disciples plainly, "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter answers for them all: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is the confession the entire book has been building toward. Jesus pronounces Peter blessed, declares that this truth was revealed to him not by flesh and blood but by the Father in heaven, and then makes a great promise: "On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Upon the solid rock of this confession — the confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God — the King will build His people, and no power of death or hell will ever overcome them. Yet at once He begins to teach what kind of Messiah He actually is: He must go up to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day be raised. When Peter, horrified, tries to talk Him out of it, Jesus rebukes him with startling force. The way of the King is the way of the cross — and, He adds, His followers too must deny themselves, take up their own cross, and come after Him; for whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the King's sake will find it.
3.The Transfiguration — the King's Glory Glimpsed
Then, to strengthen them for the dark road ahead, Jesus takes His three closest disciples — Peter, James, and John — up a high mountain, and is transfigured there before their eyes. His face shines like the sun, His clothing becomes white as the light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking with Him. And once again the voice of the Father sounds from a bright cloud: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" For one shining moment the veil is drawn back, and the disciples are allowed to see the hidden glory of their King. It is a lesson they will need: the One who is walking straight toward the cross is none other than the radiant, eternal Son of God. The cross, then, will not be a defeat that overtakes Him, but the very path that this King of glory has freely chosen to walk.
4.Life in the King's Community
Much of this section is taken up with the King teaching His followers how to live together as His people. True greatness in the kingdom, He says, is not to climb above others but to become humble, like a little child. He warns sternly against causing one of His little ones to stumble, and tells the tender parable of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep on the hills to go and search for the single one that is lost — for so it is the Father's heart that not one of them should perish. He teaches how to go and seek out reconciliation with a brother who has sinned, and He calls for a forgiveness without limit: when Peter asks whether seven times might be enough, Jesus answers, in effect, seventy times seven. And He drives it home with the parable of the unforgiving servant, who, having been let off a staggering, unpayable debt by his master, then seized a fellow servant by the throat over a trifling sum — a solemn warning that those who have been forgiven so vast a debt by God must, in turn, forgive others from the heart. He takes little children up in His arms and blesses them, and He teaches, again and again, that in His kingdom the last shall be first and the first last. The community of the King, in short, is to be marked through and through by humility, by forgiveness, and by grace.
5.The King Enters Jerusalem
At last the King comes to Jerusalem itself. He rides into the city humbly, mounted on a donkey, exactly as the prophet Zechariah had foretold the coming King would do; and the crowds spread their cloaks before Him and cry out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The King has come to His own royal city. He goes straight to the temple and cleanses it, driving out those who had turned it into a marketplace, declaring, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." There follow several days of sharp and open conflict with the religious authorities, who come at Him one after another, trying to trap Him with clever questions — about paying taxes to Caesar, about the resurrection, about which commandment is the greatest. To that last He gives the answer that gathers up the whole Law: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. One by one He silences His questioners; and then He turns and pronounces a series of solemn woes upon the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy — an outward show of religion that masked inward corruption and hardness. The King has come to confront the false shepherds who had led His people astray.
6.The King Will Return
As Jesus finally leaves the temple, He sits down on the Mount of Olives and gives His great discourse about the future — about the judgment that is coming, and, above all, about His own return in glory at the end of the age. He warns His followers of trials and deceptions ahead, and calls them again and again to be watchful and ready, for no one knows the day or the hour: "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming." He tells parables to press the point home — the wise and foolish virgins, who must keep their lamps burning and be ready when the bridegroom comes; and the servants entrusted with their master's talents, who must be found faithful with what they have been given. And He describes the last judgment itself, when the King will sit on His glorious throne and separate all the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats — welcoming those who, in caring for "the least of these," were caring all along for Him. The same King who is now going down to the cross will one day return as Judge and King over all; and so His people are to live ready, watchful, and faithful. And here is the great encouragement of these chapters. They bring us with the King right up to the threshold of the cross. Along the way we have heard the great confession — that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God — and His unbreakable promise to build His church, which the gates of hell shall never overcome. We have glimpsed His hidden glory on the mountain, learned the humble and forgiving life of His community, watched Him enter His city as King and confront the false shepherds, and heard His sure promise to return in glory as the Judge of all. So confess Him for who He truly is, and follow Him in the way of the cross. Live as a member of His community — humble as a child, forgiving as one who has himself been forgiven so much, faithful with all that He entrusts to you. And live every day ready, for the King is surely coming again. The One who went to the cross for us will return in glory — and blessed are the servants whom He finds watching.
7.Taking It to Heart
For reflection. Do you confess Jesus, with Peter, as "the Christ, the Son of the living God" — and follow Him in the costly way of the cross? Having been forgiven so vast a debt, are you forgiving others from the heart, or holding a grudge over some small thing? And if the King were to return today, would He find you watching and faithful?
Matthew 26–28 · a CTS digest, ~2,000 words per language
5.The Cross, the Empty Tomb, and the Great Commission
A CTS digest
The capstone: the Last Supper (His blood “shed for many for the remission of sins”) and Gethsemane’s “not as I will, but as You will”; the betrayal, Peter’s denial, and Barabbas set free in His place; the crucifixion — the King bearing our judgment, forsaken so we need never be, the veil torn; the empty tomb and the risen King; and the Great Commission — “all authority... make disciples of all nations... I am with you always.”
CTS DIGESTRead the full digest — opens right here
The Chapala Theological Seminary digest — an original summary written by CTS, available in English, Spanish and French, readable offline. This is the CTS digest, not the full original source text.
The Cross, the Empty Tomb, and the Great Commission
A Chapala Theological Seminary reading — Matthew 26–28: the King dies for His people, rises in triumph, and sends His church to the world
A CTS-authored survey, anchored in the classic public-domain expositions of Matthew (Martin, Ryle, Broadus, and others), and in Scripture.
Book Study: Matthew
The Cross and Empty Tomb
The Great Commission
Capstone
A word before you read. The whole Gospel has been moving toward this. This closing reading walks through Matthew 26–28 — the Last Supper and Gethsemane, the betrayal and trials, the crucifixion of the King for His people, the glorious resurrection, and the Great Commission — and gathers up the message of the entire Gospel of the King.
1.The King Goes to the Cross
Everything in Matthew's Gospel has been quietly moving toward this hour. All that we have seen — the King's birth, His teaching, His mighty works, His long journey up to Jerusalem — now reaches its great climax in the King's death and resurrection. Chapters 26 through 28 tell of the Last Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest, the trials, the crucifixion, the burial, and then, gloriously, the resurrection and the Great Commission. Here, at last, the King who came expressly "to save His people from their sins" does exactly that — not by force of arms, but by laying down His own life in their place. And then He rises again in triumph over the grave, and sends His church out into all the world.
2.The Last Supper and Gethsemane
On the very night He was betrayed, Jesus keeps the Passover with His disciples, and there He institutes the meal we call the Lord's Supper. Taking bread, and then the cup, He gives them to His disciples as His own body and His own blood — His blood, He says, "shed for many for the remission of sins." In that simple act the King explains beforehand the meaning of the death He is about to die: it is a sacrifice for sin, the very foundation of a new covenant between God and His people. Then He goes out to the Garden of Gethsemane and there, in unimaginable anguish, He prays: "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." The King feels the full and crushing horror of what lies before Him — and yet He bows His will entirely to His Father's. Here is perfect love and perfect obedience, walking with open eyes and a willing heart straight toward the cross.
3.Betrayed, Arrested, and Tried
Then the darkness closes in. Judas comes and betrays Him with a kiss; the disciples all forsake Him and flee; and Peter, who had sworn he never would, denies three times that he even knows Him, and goes out and weeps bitterly. Jesus is seized and dragged before the high priest and the council, where He is condemned for the "blasphemy" of confessing the plain truth — that He is the Christ, the Son of God — and is spat upon, mocked, and struck. In the morning He is handed over to Pilate, the Roman governor, who can find no real fault in Him, yet, caving in to the shouting of the crowd, condemns Him to be crucified. And Pilate releases to them, in Jesus' place, a guilty prisoner named Barabbas — a vivid picture, set right there in the story, of the guilty one going free because the innocent One takes his punishment. Through all of it, the King who could have called down legions of angels stays silent, willingly enduring every injustice for our sake.
4.The Crucifixion — the King Dies for His People
The soldiers mock Him as a would-be "King of the Jews," press a crown of thorns onto His head, and lead Him out to Golgotha, where they crucify Him between two thieves. Above His head they fasten the written charge against Him: "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS" — the truest title in all the world, nailed up there in scorn. Those who pass by revile Him. And then, as an eerie darkness falls over the whole land, the King cries out in the words of the psalm, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" In that dreadful cry we hear the very heart of what is happening: the sinless Son is bearing, in our place, the full judgment that our sins deserved — forsaken in that hour so that we, who trust in Him, need never be forsaken at all. Then He yields up His spirit. And at that instant, the great veil of the temple, which had always shut sinners out of the holiest place, is torn in two from top to bottom — for the one perfect sacrifice is now complete, and the way into the presence of God stands open at last. The earth quakes, the rocks split, and the hardened Roman centurion standing guard, seeing all that happened, is moved to confess: "Truly this was the Son of God!" The King has died for His people.
5.The Empty Tomb — the King Is Risen
But death, which has held every other man, could not hold this King. Very early on the first day of the week, the women come to the tomb, and suddenly there is a great earthquake; an angel of the Lord descends, rolls back the stone, and announces the news that changes everything: "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." The tomb is empty. The risen Jesus Himself meets the women on the way, and soon afterward meets His disciples. Death has been defeated, and the King is alive forevermore. The resurrection is God's own mighty vindication of His beloved Son, and His public proof that the sacrifice of the cross has been fully accepted — and so it stands as the sure guarantee of resurrection life for everyone who belongs to Him.
6.The Great Commission, and the King With Us
And so Matthew's Gospel comes to its close on a mountain in Galilee, where the risen King meets His eleven disciples and gives them their marching orders — the words we call the Great Commission. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth," He declares. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." The King who now holds all authority in heaven and on earth sends His people out to carry the good news to every nation, to make disciples, and to teach them His word. And He ends with the promise that crowns the entire Gospel: "and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." It is a perfect ending. Matthew had opened his book by naming this child Immanuel, "God with us"; and now it closes with the risen King's own pledge to be with His people, every day, to the very end. The King is with us still. And so our long walk through Matthew, the Gospel of the King, comes to its close. We watched the King come — the Son of David, Immanuel, God with us, born to save His people from their sins. We heard Him teach the charter of His kingdom upon the mountain, and saw His authority over disease and demons, over nature and death, and His teaching of the kingdom in parables. We heard the great confession — that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God — and His promise to build an unconquerable church. We followed Him up to Jerusalem and on to the cross, where the King died for His people, bearing our sin and our judgment in Himself; and we stood in wonder at the empty tomb, where He rose in triumph over death. And we heard His final charge: to carry the gospel of the kingdom to all the nations, under His promise to be with us always. This is the good news of Matthew: that the King has come, has died for us, is risen from the dead, reigns now with all authority, and is with us still — and that He sends us out to make disciples of every nation until He comes again. So bow before this King; rest the whole weight of your soul on His finished work; and take your place in His great mission — go, and make disciples of all nations. And whatever it may cost you, take heart in His last and greatest promise of all: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." The King who saved you is with you now, and will be with you still, all the way to the end.
7.Taking It to Heart
For reflection. Does it grip your heart that the King was "forsaken" on the cross so that you never need be — bearing your judgment in your place? Have you truly bowed before this crucified and risen King as your own? And will you take your part in His commission — to make disciples — resting in His promise, "I am with you always"?
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Further Study: Ten Public-Domain Works
These ten works are for further study, for the student who wants to go on reading. They are not part of the honors reading above: that stays as it is — the five CTS digests, any three read in full and recorded on your honor. All ten are in the public domain; each link opens the work online, and most can also be found in the Internet Archive or Project Gutenberg. Most are in English: the Chrome browser can translate a page (right-click, “Translate to…”; on a phone, the browser menu).
The Whole Gospel · Practical Exposition
1.Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew
J. C. Ryle
Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew bring the same plain, warm, heart-searching help to the first Gospel that generations have loved in his other volumes. Passage by passage he explains the text simply and drives its lessons home, never losing sight of the living Christ or the reader's soul. Practical, evangelical, and endlessly useful, it is the ideal everyday companion to the course — equally at home in the hand of a new believer and a seasoned preacher. Read it alongside your study of each unit, and you will find Matthew's King made near, and His claims pressed gently but firmly on the conscience.
Broadus was one of the finest New Testament scholars of his century, and his commentary on Matthew joins careful learning to warm faith and clear expression. He attends to the meaning of the Greek, the setting of each passage, and the difficulties that arise, always with a view to helping the teacher and preacher. Fuller and more detailed than a devotional guide, it is the ideal companion for the student who wants to understand Matthew thoroughly and accurately. For a trustworthy, believing, and richly informed exposition of the first Gospel, it has few equals among works of its kind.
The Gospel of the Kingdom was the last work of Spurgeon's life — a warm, popular commentary on the whole of Matthew, written as he was dying, out of a lifetime of loving the King. Brief and pointed, it opens each passage with the freshness and spiritual power for which he was famous, always aiming at the heart and the will. It is a perfect companion to the course, suited to every reader, and a fitting testament from the prince of preachers. Read it to feel the pulse of Matthew's great theme — the kingdom of heaven, and the King who bids us enter and follow Him.
Pink's thorough exposition opens the Sermon on the Mount — the great charter of the kingdom, in which the King sets forth the character, righteousness, and life of His people. Verse by verse he unfolds the Beatitudes, the teaching on the law, prayer, and the two ways, showing that these are not counsels of mere outward conduct but the description of a heart renewed by grace. It richly serves the course's units on the Sermon. Read it to be searched and humbled by the King's own words, and to see how high, and how inward, is the righteousness of His kingdom.
Watson's classic exposition of the Beatitudes opens the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount — the King's portrait of the citizen of His kingdom: poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker. With the searching practicality of the best Puritan writers, he shows what each blessing means and how it is found. It is the ideal companion to the course's unit on the character of the kingdom. Read it slowly, testing your heart by each mark, and let the King's blesseds both humble you and draw you up toward the life that is truly blessed.
Trench's Notes on the Parables is the classic English work on our Lord's parables, and no better guide has been written to the parables of the kingdom that fill Matthew's Gospel. With learning and reverence he expounds each one — the sower, the tares, the treasure, the pearl, the net, and the rest — drawing out its meaning and guarding against false interpretations. It is the ideal companion to the course's unit on the parables. Read it to learn how to read a parable rightly, and to enter more deeply into the mysteries of the kingdom that the King unfolded in these unforgettable stories.
In this companion volume Trench treats the miracles of Christ with the same care and depth he brought to the parables. He shows that the miracles were not mere wonders but signs — displays of the King's authority over disease, demons, nature, and death, and pictures of His power to save. It is the ideal companion to the course's unit on the King's authority. Read it to see the miracles of Matthew's Gospel not as isolated marvels but as the credentials of the King and the tokens of His kingdom, in which all that sin has broken shall at last be made whole.
Martin's profound work leads the reader into the last hours before the cross — Gethsemane, the betrayal, and the trial — that Matthew records with such solemnity. With rare spiritual depth he unfolds the agony in the garden and the sufferings of the sinless One as He drew near to bear the sin of the world. It is a fitting companion to the course's unit on the passion. Read it reverently, and slowly; it will lead you into the shadow of Calvary, to wonder at the love and the anguish of the King who set His face to die, that His people might live.
Warfield's careful study gathers the testimony of the Gospels to the deity of Christ — the truth, woven through Matthew from the virgin birth to ‘all authority in heaven and on earth,’ that the King is Himself divine, God the Son come in the flesh. With patience and force he shows how the Gospel writers, and Jesus Himself, bear witness to this. It is a valuable companion to the course's units on the person of the King. Read it to see that Matthew's Jesus is no mere teacher or prophet, but the Lord of glory — worthy of the worship the wise men gave Him, and of ours.
10.Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah
Alfred Edersheim
Edersheim, a Hebrew Christian of vast learning, traces how the hope of the Messiah runs through the whole Old Testament and the history of Israel, coming at last to fulfillment in Jesus. It illuminates the deepest concern of Matthew's Gospel, which again and again says of Christ, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.’ It is a valuable companion to the course's opening units on the King's origins. Read it to see, as Matthew's first readers were meant to see, that Jesus is no afterthought but the promised One toward whom all the centuries were leaning — the King foretold, and at last revealed.
Chapala Theological Seminary · Seminario Teológico de Chapala · free self-study in English, Spanish and French
Chapala Theological Seminary · Further Study
Further Study — Online
Optional resources for students with internet access — Matthew
ONLINE
Requires an internet connection. These resources are hosted on the web and do not open offline. They supplement the course; they do not replace its units or exams.
Free animated Bible videos
BibleProject — Proyecto Biblia
Video EnglishEspañol
Short, well-crafted animated videos that walk through the whole of Scripture. In the video library, open the overview of Matthew to see its structure and message. Non-partisan and freely available.
A place for a specific video the instructor has watched and approved for this course.
These optional supplements link to third-party websites that Chapala Theological Seminary does not control; weigh their content against Scripture and this course.