Gospel of Matthew

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For the film, see The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film).

Matthew 21:34–37 on Papyrus 104 (c. AD 150)
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The Gospel of Matthew[a] is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the world.[3] Matthew wishes to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile.[4][5] The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes, chief priests and Pharisees[6] with the position that the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.[7]

Scholars find numerous problems with the traditional attribution to the Apostle Matthew, though it is possible the gospel incorporates a source written by the disciple.[8][9][10] The predominant scholarly view is that it was written in the last quarter of the first century by an anonymous Jew familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture.[11][10] Most scholars think Matthew used the Gospel of Mark and the hypothetical sayings Gospel Q (which consists of the material Matthew shares in common with Luke)[12][13] and is the product of the second generation of the Christian movement, though it draws on the memory of the first generation of the disciples of Jesus.[14][15]

Composition

Author and date

Papyrus 𝔓4, fragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, ευαγγελιον κ̣ατ̣α μαθ᾽θαιον, euangelion kata Maththaion. Dated to late 2nd or early 3rd century, it is the earliest manuscript title for Matthew.

The gospel is anonymous.

First Century is very likely statistically.[24] Markus Bockmuehl finds this structure of lifetime memory in various early Christian traditions.[25]

The majority of scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel to be composed and that Matthew and Luke both drew upon it as a major source for their works.[13][26] The author did not simply copy Mark but used it as a base, emphasizing Jesus's place in the Jewish tradition and including details not found in Mark.[27] This does not necessarily show a linear approach of continual development and addition only, as some of what Paul the Apostle says is more similar to Matthew's details.[28][29] Writing in a polished Semitic "synagogue Greek", he drew on the Gospel of Mark as a source, plus a hypothetical collection of sayings known as the Q source (material shared with Luke but not with Mark) and hypothetical material unique to his own community, called the M source or "Special Matthew."[12][30] Matthew could have depended on Mark through oral tradition or used memorization rather than simply copying.[31][32] Alan Kirk praises Matthew for his "scribal memory competence" and "his high esteem for and careful handling of both Mark and Q", which makes claims the latter two works are significantly different in terms of theology or historical reliability dubious.[33][34]

Matthew has 600 verses in common with Mark, which is a book of only 661 verses. There is approximately an additional 220 verses shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark, from a second source, a hypothetical collection of sayings to which scholars give the name Quelle ('source' in the German language), or the

Hebrew.[38]

Setting

Most scholars view the gospel of Matthew as a work of the second generation of Christians, though it draws on the memory of the first generation of Jesus's disciples.

destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD in the course of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD); from this point on, what had begun with Jesus of Nazareth as a Jewish messianic movement became an increasingly gentile phenomenon which would evolve in time into a separate religion.[15] The author appears to have written for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians located probably in Syria; Antioch, the largest city in Roman Syria and the third largest city in the empire, is often proposed.[40] Other scholars hold that the historical Jesus had already predicted that the Jerusalem Temple would be destroyed.[41]

The community to which Matthew belonged, like many 1st-century Christians, was still part of the larger Jewish community.[42] The relationship of Matthew to this wider world of Judaism remains a subject of study and contention, the principal question being to what extent, if any, Matthew's community had cut itself off from its Jewish roots.[43] It is evident from the gospel that there was conflict between Matthew's group and other Jewish groups, and it is generally agreed that the root of the conflict was the Matthew community's belief in Jesus as the Messiah and authoritative interpreter of the law, as one risen from the dead and uniquely endowed with divine authority.[44]

The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community, the crucial element separating the

Son of Man he will return to judge the world, an expectation which his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware.[47] As Son of God, God is revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example.[48]

Unlike Mark, Matthew never bothers to explain Jewish customs, since his intended audience was a Jewish one; unlike Luke, who traces Jesus's ancestry back to Adam, father of the human race, he traces it only to Abraham, father of the Jews. Of his three presumed sources only "M", the material from his own community, refers to a "church" (ecclesia), an organized group with rules for keeping order; and the content of "M" suggests that this community was strict in keeping the Jewish law, holding that they must exceed the scribes and the Pharisees in "righteousness" (adherence to Jewish law).[49] Writing from within a Jewish-Christian community growing increasingly distant from other Jews and becoming increasingly gentile in its membership and outlook, Matthew put down in his gospel his vision "of an assembly or church in which both Jew and Gentile would flourish together".[50]

Structure and content

Structure: narrative and discourses

Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished"

R. T. France, in another influential commentary, notes the geographic movement from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, with the post-resurrection appearances in Galilee as the culmination of the whole story.[54] An 'eleven' sectioned structure is also recognized, where the sections alternate between narrative and teachings in a 1,2,3,4,5,C,5',4',3',2',1' arrangement (and the parables of the Kingdom take central place). In this reading, the sections comprise 'fourteens' of units of text, where in the first and last units of the gospel the writer provides these numbers, 'threes', 'fourteens' and 'eleven', as a reading check.[55]

Prologue: genealogy, Nativity and infancy (Matthew 1–2)

Main articles: Genealogy of Jesus and Nativity of Jesus

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words "The Book of Genealogy [in Greek, 'Genesis'] of Jesus Christ", deliberately echoing the words of Genesis 2:4

King David and the miraculous events surrounding his virgin birth,[e] and the infancy narrative tells of the massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, and eventual journey to Nazareth
.

First narrative and Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 3:1–8:1)

Main articles: Baptism of Jesus and Sermon on the Mount

Following the genealogy, birth and infancy of Jesus, the first narrative section begins.

kingdom of God, introduced by the Beatitudes ("Blessed are..."). It concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowd's amazed response leads into the next narrative block.[57]

Second narrative and discourse (Matthew 8:2–11:1)

From the authoritative words of Jesus, the gospel turns to three sets of three

Twelve Disciples and sends them to preach to the Jews, perform miracles, and prophesy the imminent coming of the Kingdom, commanding them to travel lightly, without staff or sandals.[59]

Third narrative and discourse (Matthew 11:2–13:53)

Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with an accusation put forward by the Pharisees that his deeds are done through the power of Satan.[60] Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The discourse is a set of parables emphasizing the sovereignty of God, and concluding with a challenge to the disciples to understand the teachings as scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven.[61] (Matthew avoids using the holy word God in the expression "Kingdom of God"; instead he prefers the term "Kingdom of Heaven", reflecting the Jewish tradition of not speaking the name of God).[62]

Fourth narrative and discourse (Matthew 13:54–19:1)

See also: Confession of Peter

The fourth narrative section reveals that the increasing opposition to Jesus will result in

feedings of the multitude (Matthew 14:13–21[64] and 15:32–39)[65] along with the narrative in which Simon, newly renamed Peter (Πέτρος, Petros, 'stone'), calls Jesus "the Christ, the son of the living God", and Jesus states that on this "bedrock" (πέτρα, petra) he will build his church (Matthew 16:13–19).[66]

Matthew 16:13–19 forms the foundation for the

papacy's claim of authority.[citation needed
]

Fifth narrative and discourse (Matthew 19:2–26:1)

Main article: Second Coming

Jesus travels toward Jerusalem, and the opposition intensifies: he is tested by the Pharisees as soon as he begins to move toward the city, and when he arrives he is soon in conflict with the Temple's traders and religious leaders. He teaches in the Temple, debating with the chief priests and religious leaders and speaking in parables about the Kingdom of God and the failings of the chief priests and the Pharisees. The Herodian caucus also become involved in a scheme to entangle Jesus,[67] but Jesus's careful response to their enquiry, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's", leaves them marveling at his words.[68]

The disciples ask about the future, and in his final discourse (the Olivet Discourse) Jesus speaks of the coming end.[69] There will be false Messiahs, earthquakes, and persecutions, the sun, moon, and stars will fail, but "this generation" will not pass away before all the prophecies are fulfilled.[59] The disciples must steel themselves for ministry to all the nations. At the end of the discourse, Matthew notes that Jesus has finished all his words, and attention turns to the crucifixion.[69]

Conclusion: Passion, Resurrection and Great Commission (Matthew 26:2–28:20)

The events of Jesus's last week occupy a third of the content of all four gospels.

another Mary discover the empty tomb, guarded by an angel
, and Jesus himself tells them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

After the resurrection the remaining disciples return to Galilee, "to the mountain that Jesus had appointed", where he comes to them and tells them that he has been given "all authority in heaven and on Earth." He gives the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you". Jesus will be with them "to the very end of the age".[71]

Theology

Christology

Christology is the theological doctrine of Christ, "the affirmations and definitions of Christ's humanity and deity".[72] There are a variety of Christologies in the New Testament, albeit with a single centre—Jesus is the figure in whom God has acted for mankind's salvation.[73]

Matthew has taken key Christological texts from Mark, but has sometimes changed the stories found in Mark, giving evidence of his own concerns.

Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware.[47] As Son of God he is named Immanuel ('God with us'),[75] God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example.[48]

Relationship with the Jews

Matthew's prime concern was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile.[4] This concern lies behind the frequent citations of Jewish scripture, the evocation of Jesus as the new Moses along with other events from Jewish history, and the concern to present Jesus as fulfilling, not destroying, the Law.[76] Matthew must have been aware of the tendency to distort Paul's teaching of the law no longer having power over the New Testament Christian into antinomianism, and addressed Christ's fulfilling of what the Israelites expected from the "Law and the Prophets" in an eschatological sense, in that he was all that the Old Testament had predicted in the Messiah.[77]

The gospel has been interpreted as reflecting the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees.[6] It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgment on Israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles.[78] Prior to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews are referred to as Israelites—the honorific title of God's chosen people. After it, they are called Ioudaios (Jews), a sign that—due to their rejection of the Christ—the "Kingdom of Heaven" has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.[7]

Comparison with other writings

See also: Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

Christological development

The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the community of Matthew, the crucial element marking them from their Jewish neighbors. Early understandings of this nature grew as the gospels were being written. Before the gospels, that understanding was focused on the revelation of Jesus as God in his resurrection, but the gospels reflect a broadened focus extended backwards in time.[45]

Mark

Matthew is a creative reinterpretation of Mark,[79] stressing Jesus's teachings as much as his acts,[80] and making subtle changes in order to stress his divine nature: for example, Mark's "young man" who appears at Jesus's tomb becomes "a radiant angel" in Matthew.[81] The miracle stories in Mark do not demonstrate the divinity of Jesus, but rather confirm his status as an emissary of God (which was Mark's understanding of the Messiah).[82]

Chronology

There is a broad disagreement over chronology between Matthew, Mark and Luke on one hand and John on the other: all four agree that Jesus's public ministry began with an encounter with John the Baptist, but Matthew, Mark and Luke follow this with an account of teaching and healing in Galilee, then a trip to Jerusalem where there is an incident in the Temple, climaxing with the crucifixion on the day of the Passover holiday. John, by contrast, puts the Temple incident very early in Jesus's ministry, has several trips to Jerusalem, and puts the crucifixion immediately before the Passover holiday, on the day when the lambs for the Passover meal were being sacrificed in Temple.[83]

Canonical positioning

The early patristic scholars regarded Matthew as the earliest of the gospels and placed it first in the canon, and the early Church mostly quoted from Matthew, secondarily from John, and only distantly from Mark.[84]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The book is sometimes called the Gospel according to Matthew (Greek: Κατὰ Ματθαῖον/Μαθθαῖον Εὐαγγέλιον, romanized: Katà Mat(h)thaîon Euangélion), or simply Matthew.[1] It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt."[2]
  2. ^ This view is based on three arguments: (a) the setting reflects the final separation of Church and Synagogue, about 85 AD; (b) it reflects the capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD; (c) it uses Mark, usually dated around 70 AD, as a source. (See R. T. France (2007), The Gospel of Matthew, p. 18.) France himself is not convinced by the majority—see his Commentary, pp. 18–19. Allison adds that "Ignatius of Antioch, the Didache, and Papias—all from the first part of the second century—show knowledge of Matthew, which accordingly must have been composed before 100 CE. (See e.g. Ign., Smyrn. 1; Did. 8.2.)" See Dale Allison, "Matthew" in Muddiman and Barton's The Gospels (Oxford Bible Commentary), Oxford 2010, p. 27.
  3. ^ Wenham holds that later dates are based on (a) a belief that the apocalyptic passages in the Synoptics refer to past events rather than future; and (b) a misreading of Irenaeus as claiming that Matthew wrote after Peter and Paul preached in Rome.
  4. ^ France, p. 26 note 1, and p. 28: "The first two words of Matthew's gospel are literally "book of genesis".
  5. ^ France, p. 28 note 7: "All MSS and versions agree in making it explicit that Joseph was not Jesus' father, with the one exception of sys, which reads "Joseph, to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, begot Jesus."

References

Citations

  1. ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0. Archived
    from the original on 3 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bible Book Abbreviations". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. ^ Luz 2005b, pp. 233–34.
  4. ^ a b Davies & Allison 1997, p. 722.
  5. ^ Storkey 2022, p. 84.
  6. ^ a b Burkett 2002, p. 182.
  7. ^ a b Strecker 2000, pp. 369–70.
  8. ISBN 978-0199580255
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-8006-9785-3
    .
  10. ^ a b c Duling 2010, pp. 301–02.
  11. ^ a b Burkett 2002, p. 174.
  12. ^ a b Duling 2010, p. 306.
  13. ^ a b Turner 2008, pp. 6–7.
  14. ISBN 978-0898692488
    .
  15. ^ a b Scholtz 2009, pp. 34–35.
  16. ^ Keith 2016, p. 92.
  17. ISBN 978-0-8006-9785-3
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0334024590
    .
  19. ISBN 978-0199580255
    .
  20. ^ Davies & Allison 1988, p. 128.
  21. ^ Duling 2010, p. 302.
  22. OCLC 1128988591
    .
  23. ISBN 9781725276659
    .
  24. ISBN 978-0567269515
    .
  25. ISBN 978-0801027611
    .
  26. ^ a b Senior 1996, p. 22.
  27. ^ Harrington 1991, pp. 5–6.
  28. doi:10.1093/jts/flt063
    .
  29. ISBN 9780802879905
    .
  30. ^ Burkett 2002, p. 175-176.
  31. ISBN 978-1620320907
    .
  32. ISBN 978-0567686541
    .
  33. ISBN 978-0567686541
    .
  34. doi:10.1163/17455197-01502003
    .
  35. ^ McMahon 2008, p. 57.
  36. ^ Beaton 2005, p. 116.
  37. ^ Barber 2023, p. 243.
  38. doi:10.1093/jts/flaa088
    .
  39. ISBN 978-0898692488
    .
  40. ^ Nolland 2005, p. 18.
  41. ^ Barber 2023, p. 84.
  42. ^ Saldarini 1994, p. 4.
  43. ^ Senior 2001, pp. 7–8, 72.
  44. ^ Senior 2001, p. 11.
  45. ^ a b Peppard 2011, p. 133.
  46. ^ a b Luz 1995, pp. 86, 111.
  47. ^ a b Luz 1995, pp. 91, 97.
  48. ^ a b Luz 1995, p. 93.
  49. ^ Burkett 2002, pp. 180–81.
  50. ^ Senior 2001, p. 19.
  51. ^ Turner 2008, p. 9.
  52. ^ Davies & Allison 1988, pp. 59–61.
  53. ^ Davies & Allison 1988, pp. 62ff.
  54. ^ France 2007, pp. 2ff.
  55. ^ Palmer, David G, 2023, Challenging New Testament Scholarship: The Texts in Full and in Detail, Ceridwen Press, Church Gresley, ISBN 978-1-9161068-5-7
  56. ^ Genesis 2:4
  57. ^ Turner 2008, p. 101.
  58. ^ Turner 2008, p. 226.
  59. ^ a b Harris 1985.
  60. ^ Matthew 12:22–28
  61. ^ Turner 2008, p. 285.
  62. ^ Browning 2004, p. 248.
  63. ^ Turner 2008, p. 265.
  64. ^ Matthew 14:13–21
  65. ^ Matthew 15:32–39
  66. ^ Matthew 16:13–19
  67. ^ Matthew 22:15–16
  68. ^ Matthew 22:21–22
  69. ^ a b Turner 2008, p. 445.
  70. ^ Turner 2008, p. 613.
  71. ^ Turner 2008, pp. 687–88.
  72. ^ Levison & Pope-Levison 2009, p. 167.
  73. ^ Fuller 2001, pp. 68–69.
  74. ^ Tuckett 2001, p. 119.
  75. ^ Matthew 1:23
  76. ^ Senior 2001, pp. 17–18.
  77. ^ France 2007, pp. 179–81, 185–86.
  78. ^ Luz 2005b, pp. 17.
  79. ^ Beaton 2005, p. 117.
  80. ^ Morris 1986, p. 114.
  81. ^ Beaton 2005, p. 123.
  82. ^ Aune 1987, p. 59.
  83. ^ Levine 2001, p. 373.
  84. ^ Edwards 2002, p. 2.

Sources
Gospel of Matthew
Preceded by
Minor prophets
Books of the Bible
 		Succeeded by
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