Gospel of Matthew: Themes

This 1996 study reconstructs the apocalyptic eschatology in Matthew's Gospel so that we may understand his time and concerns. Dr Sim offers for the first time in English an extended and comprehensive comparison of Matthew's outlook with contemporary eschatological literature.

Contents: I. On the Exegesis of Mt 8.21-22: "Let the dead bury their dead" -- 1. Redaction and form criticism -- 2. What the logion states -- 3. The break with law and custom -- II. Considerations from Religionsgeschichte relating to the charismatic and eschatological background of following Jesus -- 1. The prototype of Elisha's call by Elijah -- 2. "Following" the charismatic-prophetic leader in the Holy war. -- 3. Apocalyptic prophets and Zealot leaders of the people in first century Palestine and their call to men to follow them -- 4. Charismatics and followers in the Hellenistic world -- 5. " Calling" and "Conversion" to philosophy or to the Torah in the Greek world or among the Rabbis -- 6. Following , disciple and charisma -- 7. John the Baptist and his disciples -- III. The charismatic and eschatological distinctives of Jesus call to follow him -- 1. The "Misunderstanding" of Jesus" Crucifixion -- 2.Jesus was not a "rabbi" -- 3. The rabbinic model does not explain " following after" and "discipleship" -- 4. Parallels and fundamental differences in relation to the phenomenon of apocalyptic Zealot prophecy -- 5. Jesus " call to " follow" him applies only to the individual who is called -- 6. Prophetic and charismatic features in the activity of Jesus -- 7. The unique "messianic" authority of Jesus -- 8. The meaning of Jesus call to follow Him -- 9. The tradition of the sending out of the disciples -- 10. Jesus as the teacher of his disciples and the beginning of the synoptic tradition.

Series: Supplements to Novum Testamentum (Book 59)

This volume identifies the crowds (ochloi) in the Gospel of Matthew and explains their character and function. It argues that a proper appreciation of the crowds is essential to an understanding of salvation history in the gospel. The book identifies the crowds as Jewish, and establishes that both the positive and negative characterizations of the crowds correspond to portrayals of Israel drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures. It concludes that the crowds are also meant to be figurative for the Jewish people of Matthews own day. New Testament scholars, particularly specialists in Matthew and the Synoptic Gospels will find the volume useful, and it will also appeal to those interested in early Jewish-Christian relations and the parting of the ways" between the two faiths."

Dissertation Series, #61

Leiva's work is scholarly but eminently approachable by the lay reader. The tone is very much of "taste and see how good the Lord is" and an invitation of "friend, come up higher!." The goal of the book is to help the reader experience the heat of the divine heart and the light of the divine Word.

Analyzes the speeches in the Gospel of Matthew for their intended message - then and now - and the reasons for their relevance today. To set them in context, the examination of the speeches is preceded by an overview of the Gospel of Matthew, its history, structure and theology.
Contents: The Gospel of Matthew -- The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29) -- The missionary discourse (Matthew 10:5-11:1a) -- The parables discourse (Matthew 13:1-53a) -- The ecclesial discourse (Matthew 18:1-19:1a) -- The eschatological discourse (Matthew 21:1-26:1a) -- Appropriate response to the five speeches today.

In this creative approach, Mark Allan Powell inquires into the thrust of Matthew's Gospel in categories related to pastoral theology rather than systematic theology. Fresh insights are gained into the intentions of the evangelist. Included are chapters on Matthew's understanding of: mission, stewardship, worship, social justice, and teaching

Message of biblical spirituality, v. 8.

In this meticulously researched and compelling study, David Sim reconstructs the social setting of the Matthean community at the time the Gospel was written and traces its full history.Dr Sim argues that the Matthean community should be located in Antioch towards the latter part of the first century. He acknowledges the dispute within the early Christian movement and its importance. He defines more accurately the distinctive perspectives of the two streams of thought and their respective relationships to Judaism. A new and important work in Matthean studies.

Foremost Matthean scholars explore the pastoral as well as academic aspects of the study of Matthew, including "clear points of disagreement". The essays are from a colloquium in memory of William G. Thompson, S.J., held June 12-14, 1998, at Loyola University, Chicago.

A much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew is the theme of heaven and earth. Rather than being a reverential circumlocution for God, heaven' in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven and earth language. Matthew's idiolectic way of using heaven language consists of four aspects: 1) a distinction in meaning between singular and plural forms of ouranos; 2) frequent use of the heaven and earth word pair; 3) regular reference to the Father in heaven; and 4) the recurrent use of the Matthean expression, kingdom of heaven. This book examines the historical precedents for each of these aspects and shows in Matthew how they serve one overriding theological purpose: to highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological resolution.

Journal for the study of the New Testament., Supplement series ;, 18.

Jerome Neyrey clarifies what praise, honor, and glory meant to Matthew and his audience. He examines the traditional literary forms for bestowing such praise and the conventional grounds for awarding honor and praise in Matthew's world.

This study addresses the question of whether a coherent sequence of pericopes can be identified in Matthew chapters 19-20. Employing audience-oriented criticism, it argues that the authorial audience's knowledge of the philosophical tradition concerning household structures provides that coherent sequence. But the audience also encounters in these chapters a critique of the household tradition's patriarchal and hierarchical structure of the rule of husband over wife, father over children, master over slaves, and the accumulation of wealth as an indicator of social identity. It understands that the community of disciples is to exhibit more egalitarian patterns. this alternative structure is placed in the context of wider socio-cultural forces which were also resisting aspects of the conventional household pattern. Features of the alternative structure - opposition ot hierarchical structures, a more egalitarian pattern, a temporal framework, marginal social location, minimalization of gender differences and authority roles and relationships, opposition to wealth - can be seen as aspects of an existence which Victor Turner identifies as normative or permanent liminality. that is, the study of chapters 19-20 contributes significantly to the formulation of the larger pattern of Matthean discipleship.

Contents: The environment of Matthew's gospel -- Oikía in the structure of Matthew's gospel -- The presence and power of Exousía in Matthew's gospel -- The household churches: rightly-ordered relationships and resources -- Ethos/ethics: Jesus/Church -- The Beatitudes: building blocks for a house of wisdom -- The Sermon on the Mount: building a house on the rock of justice -- The call to conversion in a society resisting change -- A sign of the kingdom in the house church -- Matthew's message for the third millennium.

Contents: Introduction: Matthew's gospel in recent scholarship (1994) / Graham Stanton -- Matthew as rabbi and cathechist (1928) / Ernst von Dobschütz -- The conclusion of Matthew's gospel (1950) / Otto Michel -- The passion narrative in Matthew (1955) / Nils Alstrup Dahl -- Quis et unde? an analysis of Matthew 1-2 (1960) / Krister Stendahl -- The concept of history in Matthew (1966) / Georg Strecker -- The authority to "bind" and "loose" in the church in Matthew's gospel (1970) / Günther Bornkamm -- The disciples in the gospel according to Matthew (1971) / Ulrich Luz -- Matthew's church (1974) / Eduard Schweizer -- The developing conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders in Matthew's gospel: a literary-critical study (1987) / Jack Dean Kingsbury.

Irony is a rhetorical and literary device for revealing what is hidden behind what is seen. This book provides a history of different definitions of irony, from Aristophanes to Booth; discusses the constitutive formal elements of irony and the functions of irony; and then studies particular aspects of the Matthean Passion Narrative.

This original study uses redaction criticism and composition criticism, drawing also on methods and insights from literary criticism and from the social sciences and feminist biblical studies; examines texts from late biblical and early Jewish literature where Lady Wisdom appears; discusses the function of Lady Wisdom against the backdrop of the nature of metaphor itself and in the context of the learned groups in which Lady Wisdom appears; studies the relevant passages in Matthew's Gospel and its use of the metaphor to express an understanding of Jesus' life and ministry; examines Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as Teacher and the ways in which the evangelist uses the Wisdom metaphor to articulate his interpretation of Jesus' teaching; and presents the figure of the teacher in Matthew's community and the relationship between teachers, Jesus-Wisdom, and the portrayal of Jesus' disciples in Matthew's Gospel.

This book was first published in 1996. Matthew uniquely highlights Jesus as 'Emmanuel', but almost wholly overlooked are the deeper implications of this 'presence' motif for Matthean Christology, as well as its centripetal force on his readers. With regard to the rhetorical, historical and theological dimensions of the text, Dr Kupp takes a multi-disciplinary approach.

This is a study of eleven character-shaping incidents in Matthew related to the disciples. In introducing the study, Richard Edwards points out that Matthews story does not focus primarily on the disciples. It is, instead, a story of the life of Jesus that moves from a beginning to its conclusion. While the response or reaction to the person of Jesus by individuals or groups may not always be positive, the narrator never portrays Jesus in a negative way.

Contents: The Roman imperial system. Constructing the Roman imperial system -- Roman imperial theology -- Rome's empire, Matthews' Gospel, and Antioch -- Jesus, agent of God's salvific purposes. Matthew's presentation of Jesus -- "To save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) : Rome's empire and Matthew's salvation as sovereignty. Counternarratives. -- Evoking Isaiah : why summon Isaiah in Matthew 1:23 and 4:15-16? -- Take my yoke not Rome's : Matthew 11:28-30 -- Paying the tax to Rome as subversive praxis : Matthew 17:24-27 -- Pilate and Jesus : Roman justice all washed up (Matt 27:11-26) -- Conclusion.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the basic structures of Matthew's and Paul's ethics, rather than to deal in detail with their teaching on specific moral issues. Dr Mohrlang discusses their perspectives under the five headings of 'law', 'reward and punishment', 'relationship to Christ and the role of grace', 'love', and 'inner forces', and gives special attention to the question of ethical motivation.

Scholars from the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and South Africa analyze the complex relationship between the Gospel of Matthew and the Didache. They discuss the implications not only for scholars' understanding of these two ancient documents but for the development of Christianity, Jewish-Christian relations, and the history of liturgy. The contributors are: Bas ter Haar Romeny Clayton N. Jefford Wim Weren Aaron Milavec Kari Syreeni John S. Kloppenborg Peter J. Tomson Gerard Rouwhorst Andre Tuilier Huub van de Sandt Joseph Verheyden Jonathan A. Draper

Contents: Narrative criticism -- Parts of narrative -- Structure of Matthew's gospel -- The sacred canopy -- Sectarian language and procedures -- The figure of Jesus messiah (1:1-4:16) -- The ministry of Jesus messiah to Israel and Israel's repudiation of Jesus (4:17-16:20) -- The journey of Jesus messiah to Jerusalem and his suffering, death and resurrection (16:21-28:20).

Contents: A scribe discipled -- The Midrashic method -- The Midrashic parable -- Matthew's poetry -- Matthaean imagery -- Language and use of scripture -- The non-Marcan traditions -- Matthew and Paul -- Matthew and the Jewish year -- The chronicler and the Jewish year -- The new Israel (1-4) -- Pentecost: the unity of the sermon (5-7) -- Pentecost: the law fulfilled 1 -- Pentecost: the law fulfilled 2 -- The works of the Messiah rejection (8-9,12) -- New Year: the failure of two missions (10-11) -- The season of tabernacles (13-16.12) -- Hanukkah (16.13-19) -- Going up to Passover (20-23) -- Passover (24-28) -- Luke's use of Mark and Matthew -- Conclusion -- Matthew's vocabulary.

Contents: Modern trends in parable interpretation -- Matthew 13 : structure and content -- Matthew's concept of 'the kingdom of heaven' -- Jesus' parables to the Jewish crowds beside the sea -- Jesus' parables to the disciples in private -- Observations and conclusions.

Contents: The problem in context -- The problem in detail -- The evidence : source-criticism -- Redaction criticism : Matthean omissions -- Marcan Petrine references in Matthew -- Petrine references unique to Matthew -- Conclusions : Peter in Matthew -- Implications : Peter and Matthew today

Matthew's community, contrary to what many scholars believe, was a cosmopolitan, wealthy Jewish Christian community located in Galilee. Gale concludes that Matthew's community was a conservative Christian community located in Galilee that still believed the laws of the Torah were valid and required strict adherence. Gale's argument contrasts with many scholars who argue that the Matthean church was in the process of, or had already abolished, the Torah. Gale uses material evidence to indicate that Matthew's community was cosmopolitan and wealthy, and he argues that the community was also highly learned, comprised of many scribes. Gale concludes that the Matthean church was located near Sepphoris and was a wealthy, urban, and learned community.

While New Testament scholars generally agree that the concept of righteousness occupies an important place in the Gospel of Matthew, there is no scholarly consensus as to the meaning and function of this concept. The author of this study contends that this lack of agreement is largely due to the fact that the wrong background literature (i.e. the Old Testament and the letters of Paul) has been posited as governing Matthaean usage. It is only when Matthaean usage is viewed in terms of the world of thought reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Tannaitic literature that it becomes intelligible. This monograph makes a twofold scholarly contribution. Professor Przybylski's exhaustive analysis of the righteousness terminology in the background literature provides a foundation for research in various areas of early Christianity and Judaism. In addition, his study contributes to a better understanding of the Matthaean view of salvation. This latest title in a distinguished series will arouse interest not only among New Testament specialists but also among those concerned with Judaic studies of the period.

Writing with theological sensitivity and a deft literary touch, this title presents thirteen essays on key passages, on structural features of the Gospel, and on patristic and modern interpretation. It offers further insights into the Gospel and the history of its interpretation.
Contents: The Magi's angel (2:2, 9/10) -- Seeing God (5:8) -- Murder and Anger, Cain and Abel (5:21/25) -- Darkness at noon (27:45) -- Touching Jesus' feet (28:9) -- Reading Matthew through the church fathers -- Structure, biographical impulse, and the Imitatio Christi -- Matthew's first two words (1:1) -- Divorce, celibacy, and Joseph (1:18/25) -- The configuration of the Sermon on the mount and its meaning -- Foreshadowing the Passion -- Deconstructing Matthew -- Slaughtered infants (2:16/18).

Contents: General remarks on the nature of the conflict between Jews and Christians -- Survey of the data of Jewish persecution of Christians in sources other than Matthew -- References to Jewish persecution of Christians in the Gospel according to St Matthew -- Matthew's understanding of the causes of persecution -- The Christian response to the persecution by the Jews as evidenced by Matthew.

In this 2006 text, Daniel M. Gurtner examines the meaning of the rending of the veil at the death of Jesus in Matthew 27:51a by considering the functions of the veil in the Old Testament and its symbolism in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Gurtner incorporates these elements into a compositional exegesis of the rending text in Matthew. He concludes that the rending of the veil is an apocalyptic assertion like the opening of heaven revealing, in part, end-time images drawn from Ezekiel 37. Moreover, when the veil is torn Matthew depicts the cessation of its function, articulating the atoning role of Christ's death which gives access to God not simply in the sense of entering the Holy of Holies (as in Hebrews), but in trademark Matthean Emmanuel Christology: 'God with us'. This underscores the significance of Jesus' atoning death in the first gospel.

Contents: "Sitz im Leben" of the Gospel of Matthew / Donald A. Hagner -- Matthew's understanding of the temple tax / David E. Garland -- Matthew and the law / Klyne Snodgrass -- Literary and theological function of the genealogy in Matthew's Gospel / David R. Bauer -- Characterization on the phraseological plane in the Gospel of Matthew / Mark Allan Powell -- Power and powerlessness : Matthew's use of irony in the portrayal of political leaders / Dorothy Jean Weaver -- Wisdom passages in Matthew / Russell Pregeant. -- Matthew : sermon and story / Janice Capel Anderson -- Matthew's Gospel as a test case for hermeneutical reflection / Rudolf Schnackenburg -- Final judgement (Matt 25:31-46) : an exercise in "history of influence" exegesis / Ulrich Luz -- Sound map of the Sermon on the Mount / Bernard Brandon Scott and Margaret E. Dean -- Discharging responsibility : Matthean Jesus, biblical law, and hemorrhaging woman / Amy-Jill Levine.

This book contributes to current debates in Matthean studies centered around the influence of wisdom thinking in Christology. The primary purpose of the study is to examine key passages in their present context and in relation to Matthew's Gospel as a whole. Through greater attention to literary context, the book focuses both on Matthew's use of his sources and on the final Gospel he produced. The ways in which Matthew makes use of the wisdom tradition reveal his consummate theological and literary skill, showing how he works both creatively and purposefully with the materials at his disposal.

The concept of discipleship in Matthew has been explained in several ways using different identity defining terms from the gospel. Such as one who does the will of God, one who practises the greater righteousness, one who becomes like a child, one who carries the cross etc.. The present study identifies the extensively but selectively used relational appellation Father for God in the gospel as the most important key for understanding the identity of the disciples. By examining all the passages where this appellation is used to refer to god as the father of the disciples, this study shows that discipleship is viewed in Matthew as a process of becoming children of God. Five different dimensions of discipleship - christological, ecclesiological, missiological, eschatological, and ethical -are integrated in this study. Discipleship is a process of becoming children of god: through Jesus, the son, one can become a child of god (christological); by responding affirmatively to jesus and to his message one enters the earthly family of God and continues his/her journey with other brothers and sisters (ecclesiological); through their life witness and teachings the disciples attract and invite other people to join them in their process of becoming children of God (missiological ); one becomes irrevocably a child of God only in the kingdom (eschatological); to reach this state one should do the will of God and practise the greater righteousness (ethical).