As many scholars have noted, the judgement by Jesus the Son of Man is one of the most important elements in Matthew's gospel. In this chapter, we shall examine Matthew's particular concept of Jesus the Son of Man as judge and how it relates to both Jewish and Christian apocalyptic-eschatological schemes. Prior to our consideration of this theme, it is necessary first to detail two eschatological events which, according to the evangelist's end-time chronology, must take place prior to the judgement. These events are the general resurrection of the dead and the recreation of the cosmos, both of which are common themes in apocalyptic eschatology.

The resurrection of the dead and the recreation of the cosmos prior to the judgement

The belief in the concept of resurrection, while very common in Judaism (see chapter 1), was almost axiomatic in early Christianity. The fundamental notion of the first Christians was that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that the end of the age would witness the general resurrection (cf. John 5:28–9; Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; Heb. 6:2; Rev. 20:4–6). Matthew is no exception to this general rule. He refers to the resurrection of Jesus (28:1–10) and even recounts a prior case of resurrection in rewriting the Marcan account of the death of Jesus (Mark 15:37–9). After Jesus yields his spirit in Matthew's version, a number of significant events take place.