Video Introduction

Summary

This chapter offers a brief overview of the contents of Matthew’s Gospel, followed by discussion of historical background, distinctive features, and major themes.

In terms of historical background, most scholars think that the author of Matthew’s Gospel was a Jewish Christian who used both the Gospel of Mark and the now-lost Q document as sources for his work. The book appears to have been intended for a community of mostly Jewish Christians in an urban setting some time after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (70 CE).

Matthew’s Gospel contains a number of stories not found anywhere else, including ones in which Peter figures prominently and ones in which “the church” is explicitly mentioned. Scholars also compare Matthew to the Gospel of Mark and note ways in which Matthew appears to have edited or altered what was written in his source material; in general, there is enhancement of the divine power of Jesus, the leadership potential of his disciples, and the failings of Israel’s religious leaders.

The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the presence of God, which is mediated first through Jesus and then through the church, which now manifests the presence of God in the world. Jesus comes as the Son of God and as the authoritative teacher who is able to instruct disciples concerning behavior that will accord with God’s will. Jesus is able to interpret Scripture authoritatively, and he continues to do so through the church, which binds and looses laws on his authority. Discipleship in Matthew is portrayed somewhat ambiguously: followers of Jesus worship in spite of doubt and understand God’s word in spite of their “little faith.” Matthew’s Gospel also exhibits a pronounced hostility toward the religious leaders of Israel, who in this book seem to function as literary personifications of evil.

Study Questions

1. Indicate why the Gospel of Matthew is traditionally associated with one of Jesus’s twelve disciples and evaluate that tradition in terms of modern scholarship.

2. List two features of Matthew’s Gospel that are noticeable in the material that is unique to Matthew (that is, in stories not found in any of the other Gospels).

3. Explain why scholars compare the Gospel of Matthew to the Gospel of Mark in order to determine what seem to be specific priorities for the author of Matthew. Give three examples of instances in which differences between those two Gospels reveal something significant about Matthew’s particular interests.

4. Explain how Matthew’s Gospel seeks to answer the question “Where is God?” State three propositions Matthew advances in response to this question and provide an example of how each of those propositions is developed within the Gospel.

5. What is the Sermon on the Mount, and how does it function to support Matthew’s notion of discipleship? How might Matthew respond to theological claims that the Sermon’s ethic is unrealistic?

6. What does the phrase “binding and loosing” mean, and what principles does Matthew’s Gospel offer the church for its exercise of this function?

7. Discuss Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus’s disciples as “people of little faith”: how does this accord with his perspective on such matters as worship, doubt, and understanding?

8. Indicate at least three ways in which hostility to the religious leaders of Israel is more pronounced in Matthew’s Gospel than in the other New Testament Gospels. What might account for this feature of Matthew’s Gospel?

Explore Readings

These readings provide a chance for you to explore the New Testament in more depth. The boxes from the text are included here, as well as bibliographies and outlines for the books of the New Testament.

All the Explore readings can also be downloaded as PDFs here.

• 6.0. Matthew: Outline of Contents

• 6.1. Content Summary: Expanded Overview of the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.2. Material Unique to Matthew’s Gospel (Box 6.1)

• 6.3. Passages from Mark Omitted by Matthew

• 6.4. Parallels between the Sermon on the Mount and the New Testament Epistles

• 6.5. Women in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.6. Worship in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.7. Matthew in the Revised Common Lectionary

• 6.8. Bibliography: The Gospel of Matthew

• 6.9. Distinctive Characteristics of Matthew’s Gospel

• 6.10. Two Christmas Stories: Similarities and Differences

• 6.11. Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.12. The Disciples of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.13. John the Baptist in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.14. The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.15. The Twelve Disciples

• 6.16. The Presence of God in the Gospel of Matthew (Box 6.3)

• 6.17. Jesus as the Son of God in Matthew’s Gospel

• 6.18. Disciples of Jesus as People of Little Faith in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.19. Fear, Joy, Worship, and Doubt in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.20. The "Church" in Matthew

• 6.21. The Theme of Understanding in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.22. Binding and Loosing in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.23. How to Interpret the Scriptures according to Matthew

• 6.24. The Religious Leaders of Israel in Matthew’s Narrative

• 6.25. The Bias against Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.26. Jewish Responsibility for the Death of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

• 6.27. Variations on "the Golden Rule"

• 6.28. Community Rules (Box 6.4)

• 6.29. The Mocking of the Righteous in Wisdom and in Matthew

• 6.30. Matthew 3:4—John’s Clothing and Diet (Church Tradition)

• 6.31. Matthew 3:16—Why a Dove? (Church Tradition)

• 6.32. Matthew 3:17—Quoting God: Why the Gospels Differ

• 6.33. Matthew 4:1–11—Temptation of Jesus and of Adam and Eve

• 6.34. Matthew 5:27–30—Plucking Out Eyes and Cutting off Hands (Tradition and Literature)

• 6.35. Matthew 6:9–13—The Lord’s Prayer in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism

• 6.36. Matthew 10:16—Emulating Serpents and Doves

• 6.37. Matthew 11:11—The Greatest Man Who Even Lived?

• 6.38. Matthew 13:31–32—Why a Mustard Seed? (Comments from Church Tradition)

• 6.39. Authorship of Matthew’s Gospel

• 6.40. The Community of Matthew: Clues from the Gospel Itself

• 6.41. The Structure of Matthew’s Gospel: Two Views

• 6.42. Salvation History in Matthew’s Gospel: Two Views

• 6.43. Matthew’s Use of Mark (Box 6.2)

• 6.44. Expanding Mark: How Matthew and Luke Arranged Their Gospels

• 6.45. Theological Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount

• 6.46. Matthew’s Beatitudes: A New Interpretation

• 6.47. The Lord’s Prayer

• 6.48. Matthew 1:18–25—A Hymn to Honor Bethlehem

• 6.49. Matthew 2:1–12—A Carol about the Bethlehem Star

• 6.50. Matthew 2:1–12—Visit of the Magi

• 6.51. Matthew 2:16–18—Slaughter of the Innocents in English Literature

• 6.52. Matthew 4:1–11—Jesus Quotes Scripture to Satan (and Vice Versa)

• 6.53. Matthew 4:8–10—Satan’s Offer to Christ in Milton’s Paradise Regained

• 6.54. Matthew 5:13—Salt of the Earth and the Rolling Stones

• 6.55. Matthew 7:1–2—Measure for Judgment

• 6.56. Matthew 8:24–33—Jesus Walks on Water

• 6.57. Matthew 10:16—"Wise as Serpents" in Twentieth-Century Literature

• 6.58. Matthew 10:34—Not Peace but a Sword

• 6.59. Matthew 12:22–25—A House Divided

• 6.60. Matthew 18:10–14—Lost Sheep

• 6.61. Matthew 18:20—Where Two or Three Gather

• 6.62. Matthew 18:21–22—Seventy Times Seven

• 6.63. Matthew 19:13–15—"Suffer the Little Children"

• 6.64. Matthew 19:30—Last Shall Be First (English Poetry)

• 6.65. Lightning That Flashes from the East

• 6.66. Matthew 25:31–46—The Corporal Works of Mercy

• 6.67. Matthew 25:31–46—Sheep and Goats in the Chorus of a Pop Song

Video: Binding and Loosing in the Gospel of Matthew