Closing Summary (7:28-29).
‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.'
Matthew now ends Jesus' words with a summary which is very similar to the summaries in Matthew 11:1; Matthew 13:53; Matthew 19:1; Matthew 26:1 (see note below). ‘The disciples' have now become ‘the crowds' but not the ‘great crowds' of Matthew 8:1. This may be seen as evidencing that the write was an eyewitness, and true to what had happened. He remembered how the disciples had been gathered (Matthew 5:1), he remembered how they had grown into crowds by the time that Jesus had finished teaching (Matthew 7:28). And he remembered the even greater crowds who subsequently followed (Matthew 8:1).
All who heard Him were astonished at the authority with which He spoke. For the Scribes in general taught by referring to the traditions of the Elders, which in their training they had thoroughly memorised, and claimed no authority for themselves. Although often they did them come to their own ultimate conclusion. But even then it was based on their authorities. Jesus, however, spoke on His own authority. The repetitive ‘I say to you' was unquestionably unique, and as will be seen in the Sermon it was as against all comers.
Note the reference to ‘their Scribes'. As with ‘their synagogues' in Matthew 4:23 it indicated the close relationship that they felt that they had with them (compare how we might say ‘our Pastor'). They placed great reliance on them. Their religious life was based on them.
Note On The Five Major Dissertations.
There are five major dissertations in Matthew which end with a specific formula as follows:
‘‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished these words' (Matthew 7:28).
‘And it came about that when Jesus had made an end of commanding His twelve disciples' (Matthew 11:1).
‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables' (Matthew 13:53).
‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished these words' (Matthew 19:1)
‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words' (Matthew 26:1).
This would seem to confirm his deliberate intent to draw attention to these five major dissertations. This division into five is typically Jewish, for five is the number of covenant. There were five books of the Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy). Five books of Psalms. Five books of Proverbs. Other later Jewish literature also divides into five, such as The Megilloth (Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes); the Apocryphal Ecclesiasticus; the Pseudepigraphics Enoch and Pirqe Aboth. In the ten commandments also five commandments related to God, and five commandments related to man, each group possibly on separate tablets (thus there were two tablets of the Law. Alternatively they might have been duplicates of each other). The purpose in all this would seem to be in order to stress the covenant, and in Matthew's case to stress to His Jewish readers that in Jesus the covenant was finding its complete fulfilment (Matthew 5:17), a covenant whose terms had been renewed and expanded on in Matthew 5-7.
End of note.