Matthew — Biblical Theme Map (Hmong Language Package)

0. Purpose and Method

This document traces each of Matthew’s nine assigned doctrines as a theme — showing its Old Testament roots, its development across all 28 chapters of Matthew, its connections into the rest of the New Testament (with special attention to the Romans Hmong Language Package, since it is the only sibling curriculum currently in this pipeline), and the specific Hmong-translation considerations that govern how the theme must be taught without collision or distortion. It complements, and does not duplicate, analysis/09_cross_reference_analysis.md’s verse-level matrix; this document works at the level of theme-architecture.

The core passage, Matthew 5:1-12 (the Beatitudes), is treated throughout as the theological hinge where most of these nine themes first converge in concentrated form — not merely one theme among nine, but the passage where Kingdom, Righteousness, Discipleship, and (implicitly) Judgment all first interlock. Each theme section below notes precisely how the core passage anchors it.

---

1. The Kingdom of Heaven

Definition: God’s sovereign reign, breaking into history through Jesus’ person and ministry (already inaugurated) and consummated at the end of the age (not yet fully realized) — Matthew’s characteristic term (basileia tōn ouranōn) is referentially identical to “kingdom of God” used elsewhere in the Synoptics and by Matthew himself (6:33, 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 21:43).

OT roots: Daniel 2:44 (a kingdom that will never be destroyed); Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man receiving an everlasting kingdom); Psalm 145:11-13 (the LORD’s kingdom, an everlasting dominion); the entire OT hope of God’s direct kingship over Israel and the nations (1 Samuel 8; Isaiah 52:7; Zechariah 14:9).

Development across Matthew:

• Inaugurated in the wilderness announcement: 3:2 (John), 4:17 (Jesus) — “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
• Defined by its citizens’ character: the Beatitudes (5:3-12, core passage) — the Kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the persecuted; a total reversal of worldly status-markers.
• Taught in parables of hidden, organic, surprising growth: ch.13 (sower, mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, pearl, net).
• Demonstrated in power over the demonic realm: 12:28 (“if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you”).
• Entered through childlike humility, not achievement: 18:1-4, 19:14.
• Consummated at the Son of Man’s return: 24-25 (Olivet Discourse; sheep and goats, 25:31-46).
• Extended to all nations at the close of the Gospel: 28:18-20 (Great Commission) — the Kingdom’s present, partial, missionary expansion between the ascension and the parousia.

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 14:17 (“the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”) uses the other Matthean form directly, confirming referential identity (see analysis/09_cross_reference_analysis.md §1, Ch.6). Romans’ doctrine of Election and the Sovereignty of God (Critical) is the epistolary counterpart to Matthew’s narrative Kingdom-of-Heaven theme: both describe God’s sovereign initiative establishing his own reign/people, not human achievement.

Hmong translation considerations: lub Nceeg Vaj Saum Ntuj Ceeb Tsheej (B1, High) must be taught as strictly equivalent to baseline lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv (A17, Low) at every module introducing the term, to prevent two competing “kingdoms” from being imagined. The primary risk is a merely locative, afterlife-destination misreading; every lesson unit must reinforce the present-and-future, already-and-not-yet double horizon.

---

2. Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David

Definition: Jesus is the divinely anointed King, the promised heir of David’s throne, in whom Israel’s royal-messianic hope and the nations’ hope for a righteous ruler converge; simultaneously (and in tension with worldly kingship) the Suffering Servant and the transcendent Son of Man of Daniel 7.

OT roots: 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (Davidic covenant — an eternal throne); Psalm 2 (the LORD’s anointed king); Psalm 110:1 (enthronement at God’s right hand); Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-5 (the shoot from Jesse’s stump, ruling in righteousness); Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant); Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man given everlasting dominion); Micah 5:2 (the ruler from Bethlehem).

Development across Matthew:

• Genealogically established: ch.1 (Davidic and Abrahamic lineage).
• Geographically/typologically confirmed by Scripture fulfillment: ch.2 (Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth).
• Publicly attested by the Father’s voice: 3:17, 17:5.
• Popularly acclaimed: 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9 (“Son of David”).
• Confessed by Peter as the Gospel’s Christological climax: 16:16.
• Debated with the religious authorities on his own terms: 22:41-46 (Psalm 110:1 — David’s Lord).
• Revealed as suffering Servant, not conquering warlord, throughout the Passion: 26-27 (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 substrate).
• Vindicated in resurrection and universal authority: 28:18 (Daniel 7:14 echo).

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 1:3-4 states the same two-stage Christology in miniature — “descended from David according to the flesh… declared to be the Son of God in power… by his resurrection.” This is the single tightest doctrinal overlap between the two curricula: Paul’s opening summary and Matthew’s entire narrative architecture describe the identical Davidic-Son/exalted-Son movement. Romans 9:5, 15:12 (quoting Isaiah 11:10, the root of Jesse) also directly extend this theme.

Hmong translation considerations: B5 (tus Tub ntawm Daviv Vajntxwv, Medium) must be taught as a dynastic/messianic title, never mere biological descent; B21 (Son of Man, High) risks comprehension-collapse into “just a human being,” missing the Daniel 7 authority-and-glory sense entirely — this is the single most consequential comprehension risk in the whole Christological theme and must be reinforced at every recurrence (12:8, 16:27-28, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64). Baseline Son of God (Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv, Low, TM inherited) must never be rendered with any diminished-sonship phrasing (permanently forbidden per the Romans baseline’s §3.1 sectarian-vocabulary prohibition, carried forward unchanged into this Matthew package).

---

3. Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy

Definition: The conviction, stated explicitly through Matthew’s recurring fulfillment-formula (hina plērōthē), that the entire span of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection is God’s own sovereign follow-through on his own prior prophetic word — not coincidence, not merely a pattern noticed after the fact, but the intended terminus of Israel’s Scriptures.

OT roots: Every OT book quoted directly in Matthew functions as this theme’s “root” — see the full quotation inventory in analysis/09_cross_reference_analysis.md §1 (Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Daniel, Malachi, Jonah, the Psalms, and the Torah itself).

Development across Matthew: This theme is structurally distributed across the entire Gospel rather than concentrated in one discourse — it is Matthew’s most pervasive authorial technique, recurring roughly a dozen times with the explicit formula (1:22-23; 2:15; 2:17-18; 2:23; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 21:4-5; 26:56; 27:9-10) and dozens more times through unmarked allusion and typology (New Moses, New Israel, New Temple, Jonah-sign, Passover-lamb — see 09_cross_reference_analysis.md §3).

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 1:2 (“the gospel… promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures”) and Romans 3:21 (“the Law and the Prophets bear witness”) state the identical conviction as a compressed epistolary proposition, where Matthew demonstrates it narratively verse-by-verse. Romans 9-11’s argument about Israel similarly depends entirely on showing that God’s present dealings with Jew and Gentile fulfill, rather than abandon, his prior covenant promises (Romans 11:29, baseline all_israel_will_be_saved, High).

Hmong translation considerations: B7 (fulfillment formula, kom tiav raws li Vaj Lug Kub uas hais cia lawm, Medium) is a comprehension-level challenge, not a collision — Hmong hearers must be taught to distinguish “God’s sovereign follow-through on his own prior word” from generic prediction-fulfillment or, worse, from divinatory fortune-telling (a category that DOES exist in Hmong traditional religious practice and must be explicitly distinguished, since biblical prophecy is revelatory/covenantal, not divinatory/mantic). This distinction — prophetic fulfillment vs. divinatory prediction — deserves its own dedicated teaching note wherever the fulfillment-formula recurs, extending the same category of caution already applied to B8 (prophet) and B36 (magi) in the semantic analysis.

---

4. The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching

Definition: Jesus teaches, heals, forgives, and commands with an authority that is inherent to his own person (not derived, delegated, or ritually negotiated), placing his own word on par with or above the Mosaic Law as previously taught, and extending that authority to his apostles and church.

OT roots: Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (the prophet like Moses whom Israel must heed); the Sinai theophany itself (Exodus 19-20, God speaking with absolute authority); Isaiah 22:22 (the key of the house of David, delegated royal-steward authority).

Development across Matthew:

• Posture and setting: 5:1-2 — Jesus, like Moses, ascends a mountain and sits to teach.
• Content: the six antitheses, “you have heard… but I say to you” (5:21-48, B13, Critical) — Jesus’ own word reinterprets/intensifies the Law’s true intent without abolishing it (5:17).
• Crowd’s own verdict: 7:28-29 — “as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
• Demonstrated in deed: ch.8-9 (healing, calming the storm, forgiving sins — “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” 9:6).
• Delegated (in a subordinate, derivative sense) to Peter and the church: 16:19; 18:18 (binding and loosing).
• Vindicated eschatologically: 28:18 — “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 13:1-7’s exousia (governing authority, baseline A38, High) is explicitly delegated, civil, and God-ordained-but-derivative — the deliberate contrast with Jesus’ own inherent authority (B11, Critical) is one of the most theologically precise distinctions this Language Package must maintain across both curricula. Romans 1:16’s dynamis (gospel power, baseline A16, High) is a related but distinct concept (power exercised through the gospel message, not authority possessed by a person).

Hmong translation considerations: This is the theme with the single highest concentration of the hwjchim lexeme across the whole package. The baseline’s absolute rule — hwjchim is never bare — must be applied with three distinct qualifiers depending on referent: (1) Jesus’ own inherent authority (B11: Yexus Khetos li hwjchim uas nws muaj ntawm nws tus kheej); (2) God’s gospel-power (baseline: Vajtswv hwjchim); (3) delegated civil authority (baseline: cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws). Confusing any two of these three collapses a carefully maintained theological distinction into an undifferentiated, shamanic-adjacent “power” category — the single most sensitive structural rule in this entire theme.

---

5. Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees

Definition: The Kingdom’s ethical standard is not the external, performative religiosity of the Pharisaic tradition but an internal, heart-level righteousness that fulfills the Law’s true intent — exceeding the Pharisees not in the volume of rules kept but in the depth and sincerity of heart-transformation.

OT roots: Deuteronomy 6:5 (love God with all your heart); Leviticus 19:18 (love your neighbor); Isaiah 29:13 (lips honor God, hearts far from him); Hosea 6:6 (mercy, not sacrifice); Psalm 51:6, 10 (truth in the inward being, a clean heart).

Development across Matthew:

• Stated programmatically in the Beatitudes and Sermon: 5:8 (core passage — “pure in heart”), 5:20 (“your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees”), 5:21-48 (the antitheses reaching to the heart-level of the commandments), 6:1-18 (private, not performative, devotion), 7:1-5 (self-examination before judging others).
• Contrasted narratively against Pharisaic tradition: ch.9 (mercy vs. sacrifice, Hosea 6:6), ch.12 (Sabbath-legalism vs. mercy), ch.15 (tradition of the elders vs. heart-defilement), ch.23 (the sevenfold “woes”).
• Summarized as the Great Commandment: 22:37-40 (love God, love neighbor — the two commandments on which “all the Law and the Prophets” hang).
• Applied as the criterion of final judgment: 25:31-46 (“the least of these” — righteousness expressed in concrete mercy).

NT/Pauline connections: This is the theme requiring the most careful cross-curriculum theological calibration. Romans’ Justification by Faith doctrine (Critical) insists righteousness before God is forensically imputed, never earned by conduct (Romans 4:5). Matthew’s Righteousness-Exceeding-the-Pharisees theme, by contrast, describes ethical/practical righteousness — the fruit and shape of Kingdom life, not its ground. These are not competing doctrines but must never be flattened into one undifferentiated “ncaj ncees” concept (see B12, Critical, in 08_core_glossary.md): Matthew 5:20/6:33’s righteousness is the necessary outworking of the new-covenant heart Jeremiah 31:33 and Romans 8:4 describe, not an alternative ground of acceptance with God competing with Romans 3-4’s forensic imputation.

Hmong translation considerations: The baseline’s mandatory reckoning-qualifier discipline for ncaj ncees (A11/A12, Critical) must be explicitly taught alongside B12’s distinct ethical-sense phrase (kev ncaj ncees uas dhau li cov Falixais tus) at every module touching this theme, with a dedicated teaching note distinguishing “declared righteous by faith” (ground) from “living righteously, exceeding the Pharisees” (fruit) — collapsing the distinction risks either legalism (if the ethical sense absorbs the forensic one) or antinomianism (if the forensic sense is heard as excusing indifference to the ethical one).

---

6. The Church and Church Discipline

Definition: The covenant community Christ builds on the confession of his messianic identity, given delegated authority to teach, admit, and (when necessary) formally exclude and restore members through a structured, restoration-aimed process.

OT roots: Deuteronomy 19:15 (two or three witnesses — judicial procedure); Isaiah 22:22 (delegated stewardship authority, “the keys”); the qahal/assembly tradition of Israel as God’s covenant community (Deuteronomy 31:30; Psalm 22:22).

Development across Matthew:

• Founded: 16:18-19 (“on this rock I will build my church… I will give you the keys”).
• Given procedural structure: 18:15-20 (private confrontation, then witnesses, then the whole church; “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector”; “whatever you bind/loose on earth”).
• Modeled in restoration-oriented parable: 18:21-35 (the unforgiving servant — mercy must govern even disciplinary contexts).
• Extended into the church’s ongoing mission: 28:19-20 (the Great Commission presupposes an ongoing, gathered, teaching community).

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 12:3-8 (the body of Christ, its members) and Romans 16 (Phoebe the deacon, greetings to house-churches) provide the epistolary, congregational-life counterpart to Matthew’s foundational, authority-establishing narrative. Romans does not contain an explicit church-discipline procedure parallel to Matthew 18, making Matthew the load-bearing text for this doctrine within the current two-curriculum pipeline.

Hmong translation considerations: B17 (pawg ntseeg, Medium lexical / High doctrinal) is lexically stable and already established in Hmong Christian usage, but the doctrine it anchors is foundational and requires theologian-level review regardless of the lexical item’s modest risk score, per the doctrine-risk registry’s routing convention (doctrine-level risk can exceed term-level risk). B31 (excommunication, Medium) bridges genuinely well to real Hmong clan/community-expulsion custom — a rare case of a positive cultural bridge — but the mandatory teaching note must redirect that bridge toward Matthew 18:15’s explicit restoration goal (“if he listens, you have gained your brother”), preventing collapse into a purely punitive clan-justice framework that would miss the doctrine’s redemptive intent.

---

7. The Great Commission

Definition: The risen Christ’s climactic mandate, grounded in his own universal authority, to make disciples of all nations through Trinitarian baptism and ongoing teaching, extending the Kingdom’s reach beyond Israel to the whole world until the end of the age.

OT roots: Genesis 12:3 (all nations blessed through Abraham); Genesis 1:28 (the creation dominion/fruitfulness mandate, typologically echoed); Isaiah 49:6 (a light to the nations); Daniel 7:14 (dominion given over all peoples); Psalm 2:8 (the nations as the Son’s inheritance).

Development across Matthew:

• Anticipated by Gentile recognition of the King: ch.2 (the Magi).
• Anticipated by the Servant’s mission to the nations: 12:18-21 (Isaiah 42, “the Gentiles will hope in his name”).
• Anticipated by the harvest metaphor: 9:37-38 (“the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”).
• Foreshadowed in the Twelve’s initial, Israel-focused mission: ch.10 (contrast: initially “not to the Gentiles,” 10:5-6, later universalized).
• Commanded climactically: 28:18-20 — grounded in Jesus’ “all authority,” extended to “all nations,” sealed by Trinitarian baptism, sustained by his ongoing presence “to the end of the age.”

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 1:5 (“to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, for the sake of his name”) and Romans 10:14-15 (“how are they to hear without someone preaching… how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”) are Paul’s own missionary self-understanding, directly continuous with Matthew’s Great Commission mandate. Romans 15:19-21 (Paul’s ambition to preach where Christ has not been named) is the narrative outworking of exactly the mandate Matthew records Jesus giving.

Hmong translation considerations: B43 (txhua haiv neeg, “all nations,” inclusive sense, Low-Medium) must be kept contextually distinguishable from baseline lwm Haiv Neeg (A27, “the nations/Gentiles,” contrastive sense against Jews) — the two Hmong phrases now coexist in this Language Package and could be confused by curriculum writers if not flagged consistently. The Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19) is the single highest Critical-term-density clause in the Great Commission theme (baptism, Father, Son, Holy Spirit all co-occurring) and requires the escalation review already logged in 07_semantic_analysis.md Ch.28.

---

8. Judgment and the End of the Age

Definition: History moves toward a definite, personal, universal reckoning at the Son of Man’s visible return, when the righteous receive eternal life and the unrighteous receive eternal punishment — a doctrine of real, final, and everlasting consequence, not cyclical or provisional.

OT roots: Daniel 7:9-14 (the Ancient of Days, the Son of Man, judgment rendered); Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 (the abomination of desolation); Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 (cosmic-collapse judgment imagery); Genesis 6-9 (the Noahic flood as a prior pattern of decisive divine judgment); Malachi 4:1-5 (the coming day of the LORD).

Development across Matthew:

• Anticipated in John the Baptist’s preaching: 3:7-12 (wrath to come, the axe at the root, the winnowing fork).
• Embedded in the Beatitudes’ reversal logic: 5:10-12 (core passage — persecution now, reward in heaven — the present-suffering/future-vindication pattern that structures the whole Judgment theme).
• Warned throughout the Sermon: 7:13-27 (the narrow gate, false prophets, the wise and foolish builders — final accountability for how one hears and does Jesus’ words).
• Parabolically developed: ch.13 (weeds among wheat, the net — separation at the harvest/end of the age), ch.25 (ten virgins, talents, sheep and goats).
• Apocalyptically detailed: ch.24 (the Olivet Discourse — signs, the abomination of desolation, the Son of Man’s visible coming, the necessity of watchfulness).
• Climaxed in the starkest single verse of the theme: 25:46 (eternal punishment / eternal life, deliberately parallel).

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 2:5-16 (God’s righteous judgment rendered to each according to their deeds, yet compatible with justification by faith — works as evidence, not ground); Romans 14:10-12 (all will stand before God’s judgment seat); Romans 9’s wrath_of_god and election_choose vocabulary (both Critical/High in the baseline) supply the sovereignty-side of the same judgment doctrine Matthew narrates chronologically.

Hmong translation considerations: B15 (eternal punishment, High) must retain exact grammatical parallelism with baseline eternal_life (A32, Low) in any full quotation of 25:46, per the mandatory-parallelism note already logged in 08_core_glossary.md. The whole theme intersects repeatedly with the dab/demons Critical-tier collision (B18/B19) since the “outer darkness,” “furnace of fire,” and the demonic realm’s ultimate defeat are conceptually adjacent — teaching notes for this theme should cross-reference, but never merge, the distinct collision risks (traditional-spirit-veneration collision for demons vs. severity-softening risk for eternal punishment).

---

9. Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus

Definition: Following Jesus requires total, reordered allegiance — surpassing even the most sacred natural loyalties (family, self-preservation, possessions) — modeled on Jesus’ own self-giving pattern (the ransom saying, 20:28) and sustained by the promise of the Kingdom’s reward, not by present comfort or social approval.

OT roots: Genesis 22 (Abraham’s costly obedience, background typology); Deuteronomy 6:5 (undivided, total-life devotion to God); the prophetic call-narratives (e.g., Elijah/Elisha’s radical, life-reordering calls, 1 Kings 19:19-21, echoed in Jesus’ “let the dead bury their own dead,” 8:22).

Development across Matthew:

• Foundational identity established: 5:1 (core passage) — Jesus’ disciples (thwjtim, B3) are the ones formally, life-reorderingly gathered to him, addressed directly in the Beatitudes’ promises.
• Costliness embraced as the Beatitudes’ own logic: 5:10-12 — persecution for righteousness’ sake is not an unfortunate side-effect but the expected, even blessed, condition of Kingdom life.
• Radical priority statements: 8:18-22 (no place to lay his head; let the dead bury their dead); 10:34-39 (a sword, not peace; loving Christ above father/mother; losing one’s life to find it); 16:24-26 (take up the cross, deny oneself).
• Modeled positively in the calling narratives: 4:18-22 (the fishermen); 9:9 (Matthew the tax collector).
• Warned against in the parable of soils and the rich young man: 13:1-23; 19:16-30.
• Grounded ultimately in Christ’s own self-giving pattern: 20:28 (the ransom saying) — disciples are called to the same shape of life Christ himself embodied.
• Commissioned into ongoing costly mission: 28:16-20 (the Great Commission itself is the final, universalized discipleship call).

NT/Pauline connections: Romans 8:17 (“if children, then heirs… provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”) and Romans 12:1-2 (the “living sacrifice,” baseline living_sacrifice, High) are Paul’s own cost-of-discipleship vocabulary, directly continuous with Matthew’s cross-bearing theme. Romans 8:35-39 (nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, even amid persecution) directly parallels the Beatitudes’ persecution-and-reward promise (5:10-12).

Hmong translation considerations: This theme carries the package’s single sharpest values-tension with Hmong custom: B34 (filial priority, High) collides directly with the deep, sacred obligations of Hmong filial piety and ancestor-honor custom. The governing pastoral strategy — established already for baseline qhev (bondservant, High) — must be extended here without modification: the countercultural command itself is never softened or explained away, but it must always be paired with explicit teaching that Jesus does not denigrate the family relationship itself, only reorders its ultimate priority beneath allegiance to him. B32 (take up his cross, Medium-High) requires a comprehension-level gloss (the unfamiliar Roman execution custom) paired with a doctrinal distinction between the disciple’s derivative, metaphorical cross-bearing and Christ’s own unique, unrepeatable atoning cross (baseline propitiation_atoning_sacrifice, Critical) — the two must never be confused as the same category of suffering.

---

10. Thematic Interconnection Map

The nine themes are not nine independent silos; Matthew’s narrative structure deliberately interlocks them. The table below shows each theme’s two or three strongest structural connections to other themes in this package, anchored wherever possible in the core passage.

Theme	Strongest Connection 1	Strongest Connection 2	Core-Passage Anchor
The Kingdom of Heaven	Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees (Kingdom citizens’ character, 5:3-12, 20)	Judgment and the End of the Age (Kingdom’s future consummation, ch.13, 24-25)	5:3, 5:10 (“theirs is the kingdom of heaven”)
Messiah and Son of David	Fulfillment of OT Prophecy (Davidic/Servant/Son-of-Man typology)	The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching (Messiah’s teaching authority, 7:28-29)	5:1-2 (the authoritative Teacher ascending the mountain)
Fulfillment of OT Prophecy	Messiah and Son of David (typological fulfillment target)	The Law and Its Purpose-adjacent Righteousness theme (5:17, the Law fulfilled not abolished)	5:17 (immediately following the Beatitudes)
The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching	Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees (the antitheses, 5:21-48)	The Church and Church Discipline (delegated authority, 16:19, 18:18)	5:2 (“he began to teach them, saying…”)
Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees	The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching (5:20-48)	Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus (persecution for righteousness, 5:10)	5:6, 5:8, 5:10, 5:20
The Church and Church Discipline	The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching (binding/loosing, delegated)	The Great Commission (the church as the ongoing mission-community)	(implicit — the gathered “disciples,” 5:1, are the church’s seed-community)
The Great Commission	Messiah and Son of David (universal authority grounding the mandate, 28:18)	Fulfillment of OT Prophecy (all-nations hope, e.g. Isaiah 49:6)	(implicit — the Beatitudes’ promises anticipate a worldwide, not merely Israel-bound, Kingdom community)
Judgment and the End of the Age	The Kingdom of Heaven (consummation)	Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus (present suffering, future vindication)	5:10-12 (persecution now, reward in heaven — the theme’s clearest anchor)
Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus	Judgment and the End of the Age (reward motif)	Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees (persecution “for righteousness’ sake,” 5:10)	5:1, 5:10-12

---

11. Governing Cross-Curriculum Note

Every theme above has been checked against the Romans Hmong Language Package baseline for consistency. No theme in this document proposes a rendering, qualifier, or doctrinal framing that contradicts assets/translation_memory.json, assets/bible_term_registry.json, or assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json. Where a theme surfaces a genuine cross-curriculum consistency question not resolvable within Matthew’s own scope (notably the μακάριος/Psalm 32 consistency gap identified in analysis/09_cross_reference_analysis.md §4), that item is logged for escalation rather than resolved unilaterally, per governing doc §9. All nine themes are Critical- or High-risk at the doctrinal level (consistent with the pattern already established in the Romans baseline, where every assigned doctrine required human theologian review), and this document’s findings should be read as inputs to that review process, not as a substitute for it.