His purpose is clear: to demonstrate that Jesus is the Jewish nation’s long-awaited Messiah. His extensive quoting of the OT is specifically designed to show the tie between the Messiah of promise and the Christ of history. This purpose is never out of focus for Matthew, and he even offers many incidental details from the OT prophecies as proofs of Jesus’ messianic claims (e.g., 2:17, 18; 4:13–15; 13:35; 21:4, 5; 27:9, 10). KEY PEOPLE IN MATTHEW Jesus—the promised Messiah and King of the Jews (1:1–28:20)