Jesus: King of a Better Israel

As Jesus is called the true King of the Jews who inherits the throne of David, Matthew must now begin to define what that means. Jesus is not the king of an earthly nation, taking the old Israel and making it better with more earthly liberty or prosperity. Rather, Matthew shows that Jesus is the King of a new Israel, a better Israel - a spiritual Israel. As such, this King must be shown to be greater than all whom God has used to found the old Israel. In particular, He must be greater than Moses, and greater than even old Israel itself. Wherever Israel has failed, this new King must succeed perfectly and fully, showing that He is worthy to be the Founder of New Israel.