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Home , Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 2, Matthew 20, Matthew 22, Matthew 25

An Introduction to the of Matthew Trinity Cathedral Matthew Groups By the Rev. James Richardson 2019

The New Oxford Annotated describes of Matthew as a “manual of Christian teaching in which , Lord of the new-yet-old community, the , is described particularly as the fulfiller and the fulfillment of ’s will disclosed in the .” And Matthew is much more than that. This introduction is intended for use with our Matthew Groups, a six-week course of studying the gospel in small groups. This introduction touches on the main themes and issues of Matthew, but by no means is this introduction exhaustive. It is the hope you will explore deeply the and go further than what is written here. At the end of this introduction are a few suggested resources for further reading and exploration. The study guide for your group maps out six weeks of daily reading from Matthew with suggested discussion questions. The study guide also points you to links from the website www.IntroducingNT.com, connected to the book, Introducing the , by Mark Allan Powell. To find the links on the website, click on the tab “Chapters,” and then click “Chapter 6. Matthew.” Scroll down to “Explore Readings.” The links listed on this study guide follow the numbering system on the above webpage. Let’s explore Matthew. Here is an overview…

Authorship

The author is unknown. The gospel is named in honor of Matthew, the tax collector . But there is no claim in the gospel or anywhere else that he wrote it. The of the were assigned in the second century. It was common practice in the ancient Greek world to literature in honor of someone rather than its author. For convenience, we will refer to the gospel and its author as “Matthew.”

1 Keep in mind that the gospel was written in Greek, the common language of the Roman world, but a language that Jesus did not know. He spoke , a dialect common to the living in northern Israel and what is now Syria. Note that his words are translated from that language into Greek and then to us in English. The gospel also quotes extensively from the Hebrew Scriptures, further complicating and interpretation. As you know, ideas and nuances can be lost in the . The gospel was probably written in the 80s by a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian with knowledge of Aramaic and Hebrew or both. It may have been written in Damascus or Antioch, in what is now Syria. Antioch was a major center of learning in the ancient world, and the rival city to Alexandria. Mark is the gospel of Alexandria; Matthew is the gospel of Antioch. There is no known “original” text of Matthew, but many early manuscripts dating from the early centuries of . Those manuscripts have differences, often subtle, which biblical scholars call “divergences.” Matthew draws on a number of sources. About 80 percent of the is reproduced in Matthew, which is half-again longer than the Gospel of Mark – 11,300 words. Matthew shares a source in common with the ; the two gospels have many of the same and teachings. The common source for Matthew and Luke is designated as “Q,” though that text has never been found and therefore remains a theory. Matthew also has a source known only to Matthew; much of the gospel is unique to itself (more on that below).

Audience

Matthew appears to be written for an endangered community of Christian Jews, probably in the Antioch region. They see themselves as persecuted like the Jews in slavery in , and so motif from the Old Testament is echoed in Matthew. Jesus is seen as the new leading them out of captivity in whatever “Egypt” holds them and brings them to the Promised Land of God’s salvation. The theme is set immediately at the beginning of the gospel in the genealogy tracing Jesus’s roots back to and linking him to King , the last “.” (:17).

2 Matthew is the most Jewish of the gospels, deeply enmeshed in Jewish culture and politics of the First Century. The gospel is written to prove that Jesus is the messiah, pausing frequently to quote the Old Testament. There are 40 such passages directly quoted from the Old Testament to make the point. In Christian tradition, Matthew is considered the “Church’s Gospel,” hence it is the first book in the New Testament. Why? Two passages: Upon Peter, the “Rock,” the Church will be built (:18), and “The ” to go forth and make new disciples by baptizing the “all the nations” (:19).

Matthew’s uniqueness

The imagery in Matthew is colorful, over-the-top, extravagant. Where Mark is stark, barebones, only-the-facts, Matthew is like opera. We pause at each scene, dwell in the details. Characters are richly developed, dialogue is full, the speeches are long, the dialogues fulsome, and the arguments violent. We get familiar but unique scenes and sayings like the “ on the Mount,” with the “” – Blessed are the poor, the meek, the peace makers. We get ’s . Luke also has a version of the Lord’s Prayer, but we use Matthew’s longer version in our worship (:9-13). We get a cascade of parables – the pithy stories with a point – including the of the seeds, the weeds and wheat, the mustard seed, the missing . Matthew emphasizes an apocalyptic vision of the “end times.” You can read this as a prediction of the end of the world, or you can read this in the context of Matthew’s doctrine of the “harrowing” of hell, as Jesus descends into the chaos and rescues sinners. Jesus’s birth story is unique in Matthew. The gospels of Mark and John have no birth story, while in Luke Jesus is born in a , and is discovered by shepherds in the field. In Luke, Jesus has a quiet childhood. There is no star, no wise men, no conflict. But in Matthew, conflict begins at the start. The wise men, or “,” from the east (note: Matthew does not specify how many) follow a star to . King Herod finds out and slaughters the children of Bethlehem; Mary and Joseph, with the baby Jesus, flee for the lives to Egypt. Only in Matthew do we hear this story.

3 The emphasis in Matthew’s birth story is on Joseph (unlike in Luke, where the emphasis is on Mary). It is through Joseph, who adopts Jesus as his own, that we understand Jesus’ legitimacy as heir to King David (through the genealogy at the start of the gospel). Hebrew numerology is embedded in these first verses of Matthew 1:1-17. Here is how: • 14 generations from Abraham to David • 14 generations from David to the exile in Babylon • 14 generations from Babylon to Joseph The numerical values of three Hebrews letters in David (DWD) add up to 14, symbolic of Jesus being the new David, the messiah.

Content and organization

We get more of Jesus’s teachings in Matthew than in the other gospels. Fully 43 percent of Matthew is taken up with teaching, compared with 20 percent of Mark as teaching. Distinctive to Matthew are the “Five Discourses”: (1) the “”; (2) instructions to the disciples on their mission (3) the parables describing the Kingdom of ; (4) the gathering the church in anticipation of the future followers; and (5) the “End Times” about the judgment to come. The division into five is not an accident; the “five discourses” are meant to parallel the five books of , with Jesus as the new Moses. Many commentators have noted that geography is integral to the theology of Matthew. The stories are arranged around seven mountaintop experiences: (1) the mountain of the Temptation (:8); (2) the mountain of the Beatitudes (:1); (3) the mountain of the separation (:23); (4) the mountain of the feeding in the wilderness (:29);( 5) the mountain of the transfiguration (:1); (6) the mountain of the (:3); and (7) the mountain of the commissioning (Matthew 28:16). And for every mountain there is a valley, with Jesus descending into the valley to heal, teach and lead people up to the next mountain. Commentators hear in this a metaphor for the spiritual life.

4 The geography of shapes the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus stands on the south steps of the Temple, where he preaches, teaches, and upsets the social order. The Temple is behind him where God is said to dwell in the inner sanctum of the Holy of Holies, but also where people are cheated out of their money to purchase animals for sacrifices. As Jesus teaches from the Temple steps, he looks downward to the Valley of Hinnom, where the sick and lepers are taken to die. Hinnom means Hell – the place is known as the Valley of Hell. We are challenged to ask which place is truly heaven and which place is hell? Is hell in the valley below? Or is it where the Temple authorities persecute and exploit people? Matthew challenges our very worldview of heaven and hell. Also note: Exactly halfway between the Temple and the Valley of Hinnom are the dungeons where Jesus is taken after his arrest, and where Peter denies Jesus three times before the cock crows. It is in the dungeon where Jesus stands bridging Heaven and Hell.

Harrowing of Hell

At a deeper level, the entire gospel can be read the story of the – how Jesus goes to the Cross to descend into hell, destroy , and rob Hell of everyone imprisoned. The word “harrowing” is an old English term that means robbery. When Jesus is done robbing hell, there is still a hell, but no one is in it. The harrowing of hell begins in the birth story: The baby Jesus escaping the hell of Herod, and then each scene in Matthew builds on the last as another escape from Hell. Demons are defeated in the graveyards, people are healed and sinners forgiven. Unique to Matthew is the description of how the dead are freed from the shackles of Hell at the moment of Jesus’s death: “Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (:50-53). The at the end of the gospel is the ultimate symbol of humanity’s rescue from hell by Jesus.

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The Great Commission

The Gospel of Matthew ends with the Risen Christ on a mountain with the eleven surviving disciples (Judas has died by suicide) commanding them to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the , and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20). This has been called “The Great Commission,” and traditionally viewed as the mandate to establish the Church. It is also the only mention in the New Testament of baptism in the Trinitarian formula (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The Greek word, ethnos, commonly translated into English as “nations,” has a much wider meaning than it appears. The word means “all peoples,” (root of the word ethnic), and some commentators have noted it is close to the word for earth. The Gospel of Matthew ends with a promise from the Risen Jesus, also unique to this gospel: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Guide to Biblical Resources

Bibles: that are solid translations with excellent footnotes and cross-references: HarperCollins Study Bible The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fourth edition

Bible Commentaries:

There are numerous multi-volume Bible commentaries on the market, and most are quite expensive. Typically, Bible commentaries extensively expound on translation issues and historical context, going verse-by-verse in each book of . The best multi-volume Bible commentaries are:

The New Interpreters Bible Commentary (Protestant orientation) Sacra Pagina (Catholic orientation) The Anchor Bible (scholarly)

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Other good-to-have Biblical resources:

Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey, by Mark Allan Powell, Baker Academic, 2009

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, by Peter J. Gomes, William Morrow & Co., 1996.

An Introduction to the New Testament, by Raymond E. Brown, Doubleday, 1996.

The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, by Raymond E. Brown, Doubleday, 1993.

The Death of the Messiah: From to the Grave, A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels (two volumes), by Raymond E. Brown, 1993.

Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written, by Marcus J. Borg, HarperOne, 2012.

The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright, HarperSanFrancisco, 1999 (a fair representation of two differing contemporary views about the ).

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Heart of Contemporary Faith, by Marcus Borg, HarperSanFrancisco, 1994.

The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins, by Burton L. Mack, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.

Websites:

Episcopal (daily and Sunday Biblical readings): www.io.com/~kellywp/lectionary.html

Biblical translations, word/phrase search, and links to other biblical resources: http://bible.oremus.org

Further resources, background links: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/introducing-the-new-testament-2nd- edition/11940/students/esources

7 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW READING AND DISCUSSION GUIDE

Welcome to your Matthew Group! We hope the next six weeks are exciting, enriching, intriguing and life changing! Everything you need is here in this study guide – everything except for a Bible (contemporary translation please!), and the prayer and insight that you will bring to your group. You will be among fellow pilgrims on this journey. Some will be veterans at reading the Bible, others novice, and for most of us, somewhere in between. No matter your level of familiarity with the Bible, this study guide should assist you in reading and discovering the wonders that the Gospel of Matthew holds. We hope you enjoy your time together in a Trinity Cathedral Matthew group!

About this study guide…

This study will take you six weeks of reading a small portion of Matthew each day, culminating in a small group discussion once a week. The reading plan is set up to begin in Advent 2019, and end six sessions later (recognizing that you might take time off for and New Years). The study guide follows a seven-day reading plan, starting the day your group meets.

This reading plan covers a small portion of Bible text each day, allowing us to read and savor this Gospel. The plan is designed to give us a chance to take in and digest the gospel at a slow pace. Resist the temptation to read ahead. Instead spend a bit more time with each day’s reading. Sometimes it helps to read the passage of the day more than once.

We are also including background material from the website connected to the book, Introducing the New Testament, by Mark Allan Powell. To find links to background material, go to www.IntroducingNT.com, then click on the tab “Chapters,” and then click on “Chapter 6. Matthew.” Scroll down to “Explore Readings.” The links listed on this study guide follow the numbering system on the above webpage. You should begin with the overview of Matthew on link 6.11 (“Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew”).

Your small group sessions are designed with questions that cover the material you have read each day the previous week. Your weekly reading should be completed BEFORE the next group meeting. The questions provided are for the week after you’ve done the reading. These are just suggested topics; you might come up with better questions. Don’t be afraid to go deeper! Some of the questions prompt you to struggle with the text. There aren’t always “right” answers. Don’t be surprised if your own answers change over time.

Let’s get started…

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First Group Meeting

The first meeting will introduce this study guide and establish the “norms” or ground rules for our conversation as a group (for example: confidentiality and not interrupting each other). It is imperative that as a group member you agree and adhere to the norms of the group. The reason we have norms is so that everyone can feel safe in the group when sharing their thoughts and feelings, allowing all of us to learn from each other. Everyone should have a chance to share, and everyone should have a chance to listen. The group moderators will lead you in a discussion about norms and will have suggestions for you to consider as your norms; everyone needs to agree to the norms before any in-depth conversation can occur. An outline of the first group meeting:

1. Opening prayer – led by the moderator.

2. Introduction of the group moderator, who will say something of what it is that has brought him or her to the group.

3. Introduction of the study guide, including the reading for the week; questions answered.

4. Each person in the group introduces him or herself, and briefly say what intrigues them about Matthew and what has drawn them to the group. What are your expectations?

5. Group norms: The moderator will lead a discussion on how the group will conduct itself. Everyone should agree to these norms.

6. Now that you have agreed to the norms, someone should volunteer to read aloud Matthew 1:1-25 (Congratulations! You’ve completed your Day 1 biblical reading!)

Group Discussion questions:

Why do you think the genealogy is important to the writer of Matthew? What might Joseph have thought when he heard an in a dream?

7. Closing prayer: The group moderator should lead; you can take turns other weeks

Below is your reading for the remainder of the week:

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Week Two Reading Plan

Day Reading

1 Matthew 1:1-25 – Birth of Jesus (link 6.10; authorship background link 6:39)

2 :1-23 – The visit of the “Magi” or “Wise Men” (link 6.50)

3 :1-17 – (link 6.30 and 6.31)

4 Matthew 4:1-11 – The (link 6.33)

5 Matthew 4:12-22 – Gathering the disciples (link 6.12, 6.15)

6 Matthew 4:23-25; 5:1-48 – The Sermon on the Mount (Link 6.45)

7 Matthew 6:1-18 – Piety and the Lord’s Prayer (link 6.35)

Group Discussion questions:

What caught your attention this week? Where were the mountains and valleys, and what did they signify about the spiritual life?

What did Joseph react to the news of Mary’s pregnancy? What risks did he take? How might we have reacted to the news of Mary’s pregnancy? (1:1-25)

What was John the Baptist’s main message? (3:1-17) What does John’s message have for people today? John was later killed for speaking the truth about God and how God wants people to live. What situations can you think of in the world today that might be like what happened to John?

In what ways does the test Jesus? (4:1-11) How does Jesus challenge this testing. Has anyone ever tried to persuade you to do something that you knew was wrong? How did you handle it? Where do you turn for help in facing temptations or times of testing?

The “Sermon of the Mount” is long, with many parts (4:23-5:43). What is your favorite “beattitude” or blessing?

Jesus warns of false piety, and when asked how to pray, offers a simple formula which we now know as the “Lord’s Prayer” (6:1-18). What does this prayer mean to you? How has your prayer life evolved over your life?

10 Week Three Reading Plan

Day Reading

1 Matthew 6:19-34 – Possessions and

2 :1-28 – Ask, search, listen (link 6.17)

3 :1:17 – Healing

4 Matthew 8:18-34 – Crossing the sea, casting out demons

5 :1-8 – Faith of friends

6 Matthew 9:9-17 – Dining with sinners

7 Matthew 9:18-38 – Healing and the harvest

Group Discussion questions:

What caught your attention this week? Where were the mountains and valleys, and what did they signify about the spiritual life?

What is Jesus saying about possessions and worry? Do you have possessions that possess you sometimes? (6:19-34)

What can we learn from Jesus about how to live in the world, and about our spiritual life? How do these two realms connect? (7:1-28)

Can you think of a time when you were crossing rough seas in life? What was that like? What sustained you? (8:18-34)

How can the faith of friends sustain us? How can we sustain our friends through our faith? (9:1-8).

This week contains a several stories about people healed by Jesus. Which story moved you the most? Why? What took place after each healing described?

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Week Four Reading Plan

Day Reading

1 :1-42 – Disciples sent forth (link 6.58)

2 :1-30 – John the Baptist, judgment, sabbath

3 :1-50 – Healing and the crucifixion foretold

4 :1-58 – Teaching in parables (link 6:38)

5 Matthew 14:1-36– Conflict deepens (link 6.24)

6 Matthew 15:1-39 – Feeding the thousands

7 Matthew 16:1-28 – Peter to the forefront

Group Discussion questions:

What caught your attention this week? Where were the mountains and valleys, and what did they signify about the spiritual life?

Describe what Jesus says about being his disciple (10:1-42). What risks come with discipleship? (11:1-30) What do you think this means for the way you live your life?

What is your favorite parable and why? What parable puzzles you the most? (13:1- 58)

What does the feeding of the thousands say about God’s grace? How might this relate to the Holy in our worship and the grace in our life? (14:1-36; 15:1-39)

Peter is the leader of the disciples, yet when the chips are down, he will deny knowing Jesus. He is maybe the most human of the characters in the gospel. Can you relate to Peter? Is there something to learn from him? (16:28)

12 Week Five Reading Plan

Date Reading

1 Matthew 17:1-27 – The mountaintop

2 :1-35 – Warnings of Hell

3 :1-30 – Journey to Jerusalem

4 :1-16 – Parable of the vineyard workers

5 Matthew 20:17-34 – The crucifixion (“Passion”) foretold

6 :1-46 – Entry into Jerusalem and conflict at the Temple

7 :1-46 – Attempts to ensnare Jesus and the

Group Discussion questions:

What caught your attention this week? Where were the mountains and valleys, and what did they signify about the spiritual life?

Peter and the other disciples have a vision of Jesus on the mountaintop, surrounded by Moses and – and it is s turning point in the gospel. From here the go down into the valley. How does their experience sustain them in the trials to come? What has sustained you in the trials you have experienced? (17:1-27)

Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem? (19:1-30) What does Jesus say is going to happen?

How to you interpret the parable of the vineyard workers? (20:1-16) What is Jesus saying about the Kingdom of God and God’s grace?

Why would Jesus foretell his death? (20:17-34)

Jesus is welcomed into Jerusalem and quickly confronts the corruption at the Temple. He turns over the tables, and but also preaches loving our neighbors. How do you reconcile this? (22:1-46)

13 Week Six Reading Plan

Date Reading

1 :1-39 – Jesus denounces the scribes and

2 Matthew 24:1-51; 25:1-13 – The hour is late

3 :14-46 – “You gave me something to drink” (links 6.66, 6.67)

4 :1-35 – The last supper

5 Matthew 26:36-75 – Judas, Peter and the betrayal of Jesus

6 Matthew 27:1-66 – The trial and crucifixion

7 Matthew 28:1-20 – The Resurrection and the Great Commission

Group Discussion questions:

What caught your attention this week? Where were the mountains and valleys, and what did they signify about the spiritual life?

Who is Jesus talking about when he speaks of being visited in prison, and how does it relate to his parables? (24:1-51; 25:1-46) Who is the one thrown “into the ”? (25:30) How might these parables and sayings relate to social ?

How might the disciples have reacted when they learned one of them would betray Jesus, and that this would be the they would have with him? (26:1-35)

Is there a scene or an episode in the narrative of these last days of Jesus that particularly speaks to your heart?

How did the disciples react to what they were told by the women who had gone to the tomb? (28:1-15)

What does Jesus tell his followers to do? How do we live this out in our own time and place? (28:16-20)

BONUS: Read the final chapter in each of the four gospels and compare. How are they similar? How are they different? What do you think each gospel writer is trying to tell us with their endings?

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