Gospel of Matthew: Introductions

From ancient times the Gospel of Matthew has been regarded as the "church Gospel" its aims are preeminently catechetical, pastoral, and missionary. But recent research raises many questions regarding Matthew's creation, theological intentions, and shaping for the circle of its first recipients. This highly original commentary by Rudolf Schnackenburg follows Matthew chapter by chapter and verse by verse, carefully explaining and interpreting the text against both its primitive and current horizons. Schnackenburg sees Matthew's purpose as simply "the proclamation of Christian salvation." His commentary gives extra attention to the great discourses of Jesus found in Matthew(such as the Sermon on the Mount), showing how Jesus' words and works have special currency for the self-understanding of the church and for the task of Christian living today. Written by a master exegete with a pastor's sensitivity, this commentary will fast become a classic study of Matthew's Gospel.

In this volume, Donald Senior provides an up-to-date introduction to the Gospel of Matthew. The seven chapters of Part One focus on modern biblical scholarship and the interpretation of Matthew, discussing the sources and structure of the Gospel, its use of the Old Testament, its understanding of Jewish Law, its setting as a part of the mission of Christianity to the Gentiles, its Christology, its understanding of the nature of discipleship, and the community from which the Gospel originated. The six chapters of Part Two provide a structured guide to reading and interpreting Matthew's Gospel.

A pioneering study on Matthew's Gospel, The Origins of the Gospel according to St. Matthew has stood the test of time and for the past sixty years has been regularly referred to and discussed in many a learned monograph or article on Matthew as well as in the standard commentaries on that Gospel. . . . Kilpatrick's investigation had revitalized and rejuvenated New Testament source criticism in general and Matthaean studies in particular.

Ideally suited for the classroom or for the minister s library, this work models the sound principles of exegesis essential to any study of the Bible. Carter impresses upon the reader the need to hear the author s words and to note their effect upon the original readers as well as upon the careful reader of today.

Contents: The Limits Of The Historical-Critical Method : The Situation of German New Testament scholarship -- The Relative insignificance of historical meaning -- The Holistic character of the understanding of Biblical texts -- The Power and productivity of Biblical texts. History Of Effects : A New Dimension Of Understanding : The History of effects and Biblical texts -- Why and how interpretations must change -- The Location of the interpreter -- Ecumenical dimensions -- The Fruits the texts produce throughout history -- A Reevaluation of the classical hermeneutics of the church. Itinerant Radicals, Settled Communities, And The Church Today (Matthew 10) : The Fundamental importance of the mission discourse -- Basic "notes" of the church, according to Matthew -- The Matthean "notes" and our ecclesiologies -- Peter : The True Christian Or The Pope? (Matthew 16) : An Overview of the history of interpretation -- Openness to new interpretations and the question of truth -- Some comments on the original meaning of Matthew 16:18 -- Original meaning, history of effects, and truth. The History Of Effects And The Question Of Truth : The Example of the tares -- The Criterion of correspondence and the history of Jesus -- The Value of the historical-critical method -- Dialogue as a way between relativity and absolute truth -- The Functional criterion : truth as an event of love -- The Convergence of the two criteria -- Epilogue : The Changing interpretation of the Bible and the situation in Europe and America today.

A survey of current scholarship on Matthew. The book has resources for those who wish to benefit form this most comprehensive and reliable exploration of modern biblical scholarship.

For the past ten years, the well-received first edition of this literary tour of the world of Matthew's gospel has offered a fresh approach to investigating these scriptural texts. Combining historical, narrative, and contemporary interests, it explores Matthew by examining it from the perspective of the "authorial audience"--the audience imagined by the author. This new edition adds perspectives gained from viewing Matthew's gospel as a work significantly shaped by and engaged with the Roman Imperial world.

This work uses literary (narrative) criticism to explore the world of the evangelist Matthew. The focus is on the plot of the gospel story, with discussions of the storylines, Jesus' speeches and journey, the disciples' experiences, and the contemporary community. The book is a completely revised and enlarged version of the first edition. Two chapters have been added: one discussing the speeches of Jesus and one tracing the storline of the religious leaders. Also, chapter 5 on Jesus' use of the Son of man has been substantially rewritten to explain more fully and more clearly the meaning and function of this self-designation. Throughout the book, new topics and insights have been added and developed, and the citations and bibliography have been updated.

The commentaries intend to make clear to the reader what are the major conceptual and cultural features of the work under analysis, and what role the document played in the origins of Christianity and in subsequent Christian thought. Church and Community in Crisis shows how Matthew's Gospel was shaped by an in response to local and regional tensions within Jewish society and culture in the post-70 C.E. period in Palestine.