In this course we will aim at a synthetic picture of Matthew’s achievement as “one of humanity’s three great religious teachers alongside Paul and John.” To do so, we will exegete as much of the text as possible, while reading selections from Josephus, the Talmud, and Midrash.
Matthew’s Gospel was written for war and for peace in Israel, for the hate of mother and father and the love of enemies; in his five great discourses, Matthew arranges and delivers to us Jesus’ fundamental words: the new righteousness, the principles of apostolic action, the mysteries of the kingdom, the new measure of human worth, and the absolute condemnation of man’s righteousness – all these establish the ethical footing of the New Testament with crystalline clarity. What is the will of God for man? Matthew saw this as Jesus’ principle concern and he delivers it to us in ever increasing contrast of the kingdom of Herod with the kingdom of Heaven. Built upon these words, the house of our faith will stand.