The author appears to have had a copy of the Gospel of Mark as well as another work that contained mostly sayings of Jesus, a work that scholars commonly call the
“Q source” (see fig. 4.6 on p. 97).
He also had a variety of other oral and possibly written traditions about Jesus, which scholars refer to collectively as the “M material.”
He wove these traditions together to create an effective narrative of Jesus’ life that would have been meaningful to urban Christians (especially Jewish Christians) in the mid-80s.
What Is Distinctive about the Gospel of Matthew?
Perhaps the first step in understanding the Gospel of Matthew consists of rec- ognizing how it is different from the other three Gospels. To get a good start on this, we should familiarize ourselves with what is unique to this Gospel.
Box 5.1 lists stories and passages from Matthew that are not found anywhere else in the New Testament.
A review of this material provides a quick and easy guide to what is distinc- tive about Matthew. For example, the only two instances in the New Testament where Jesus talks about “the church” occur in passages on this list (16:17–19;
18:15–20): Jesus says that he intends to build a church, and he offers advice for how that church should make decisions and regulate its membership. Likewise, we may note that a number of stories on the “only in Matthew” list are ones in which Peter figures prominently (14:28–31; 16:17–19; 17:24–27; 18:21–22).
If, in fact, Matthew’s Gospel was written in Antioch, then it was produced in a community where Peter had actually lived (see Gal. 2:11–14).
hyperlink 5.4 Fig. 5.3. Peter Given Keys. Matthew’s Gospel
grants a prominent role to the disciple Peter.
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Bridgeman Art Library)
Box 5.2
Matthew’s Use of Mark
Matthew preserves about 90 percent of the stories and passages that are found in Mark’s Gospel, but he edits this material in accord with certain principles.
Organization
Some Markan material is moved about.
Examples:
• Five miracle stories moved to Matthew 8–9, where other miracle stories occur.
• The mission charge to the disciples is related im- mediately after they are selected (Matt. 10:1–42;
cf. Mark 3:14–19; 6:7–13).
Abbreviation
Details or characters that are not immediately relevant are pruned away.
Examples:
• the demoniac’s chains and behavior (Matt. 8:28;
cf. Mark 5:2–5)
• unroofing the tiles for the paralytic (Matt. 9:2; cf.
Mark 2:2–5)
• the crowd and the disciples in story of woman’s healing (Matt. 9:20–22; Mark 5:24b-34)
Sophistication
Casual or colloquial expressions are rewritten in the more polished Greek of the educated class.
Examples:
• Many instances of “historical present” tense are changed (130 out of 151).
• Mark’s repetitious use of words such as and and immediately is reduced.
• Clear antecedents are provided to pronouns that lack them.
Accuracy
Instances of questionable accuracy are corrected.
Examples:
• “King Herod” (Mark 6:14) becomes “Herod the tetrarch” (Matt. 14:1).
• Reference to Abiathar as high priest in Mark 2:26 is omitted (Matt. 12:4 [cf. 1 Sam. 21:1–6]).
Contextual Relevance
Some changes make things more relevant to Mat- thew’s community.
Examples:
• Matthew omits Mark’s explanation of Jewish customs (Matt. 15:1–2; cf. Mark 7:3–4) because he is writing for Christians who are either ethni- cally Jewish or well-acquainted with matters of Jewish tradition.
• Matthew often replaces the phrase “kingdom of God” with “kingdom of heaven” (e.g., Matt. 4:17;
cf. Mark 1:15) because some Jews tried to avoid saying “God” out of respect for the sanctity of God’s name.
• Where Mark uses the word village (kōmē), Mat- thew frequently uses the word city (polis) because he is writing for an urban community removed from rural settings.
• Matthew adds “silver” and “gold” to Jesus’ injunc- tion for the disciples to take no “copper” with them on their travels (Matt. 10:9; cf. Mark 6:8) because he is writing for a more prosperous com- munity for which renunciation of “copper” might seem insignificant.
Character Portrayal
Matthew changes the way major characters are por- trayed in the Gospel story, including Jesus, his disciples, and the religious leaders of Israel.
Jesus
• Questions that might imply a lack of knowledge on Jesus’ part are omitted (Mark 5:9, 30; 6:38; 8:23;
9:12, 16, 21, 33; 10:3; 14:14).
• Statements that might imply a lack of ability or authority on Jesus’ part are modified (cf. Matt.
13:58 with Mark 6:5).
111 What Is Distinctive about the Gospel of Matthew?
There is another way to determine what is distinctive about Matthew: by noticing how Matthew uses material that he takes from his Markan source.
When the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are set side by side, it becomes evi- dent that Matthew did not just copy sections of Mark’s Gospel word for word;
rather, he made changes in what Mark had written, and these changes reveal what is distinctive about Matthew’s version of the Gospel story. Many of the changes are simply stylistic, but still they serve to point up Matthew’s priori- ties and approach to storytelling. For example, it is often said that Matthew takes more of a “just the facts” approach to narrative than Mark does; he is less concerned with telling stories in a lively or colorful manner than he is in simplifying material and organizing its presentation in a way that will establish certain key points. Other changes that Matthew makes may reflect the audi- ence that he envisions for his Gospel: he makes numerous changes that would make his Gospel more appealing to Jewish (or Jewish-Christian) readers or meaningful to readers who live in a fairly prosperous urban environment. The most interesting changes that Matthew makes in Mark, however, may be those that affect the way main characters in the story are presented. Jesus exhibits less human frailty in Matthew’s Gospel than he does in Mark—for example, state- ments that might imply a lack of knowledge or ability on his part are dropped or changed (cf. Mark 6:5 with Matt. 13:58). Likewise, the disciples of Jesus exhibit more potential for growth and leadership. Matthew’s portrayal of the religious leaders of Israel, however, exhibits the opposite tendency: inevitably they come off even worse in Matthew than they do in Mark.
• References to Jesus exhibiting human emotions are dropped: “pity” (Mark 1:41), “anger” (Mark 3:5),
“sadness” (Mark 3:5), “wonder” (Mark 6:6), “indigna- tion” (Mark 10:14), “love” (Mark 10:21).
• Stories that might seem to portray Jesus as a magician are omitted (Mark 7:31–37; 8:22–26).
The Disciples of Jesus
• “No faith” is changed to “little faith” (cf. Matt. 8:26 with Mark 4:40).
• The theme of not understanding Jesus is ad- justed so that the disciples are merely slow to understand (cf. Matt 16:12 with Mark 8:21; Matt 17:9–13 with Mark 9:9–13).
• Unseemly ambition is ascribed to the mother of James and John rather than to the disciples themselves (cf. Matt. 20:20 with Mark 10:35).
• References to the disciples “worshiping” Jesus and calling him “Lord” or “Son of God” are added to stories taken from Mark (cf. Matt. 14:32–33 with Mark 6:51–52).
The Religious Leaders of Israel
• A scribe whom Jesus praises in Mark (12:28–34) is depicted as an opponent who puts Jesus to the test in Matthew (22:34–40).
• Friendly religious leaders such as Jairus and Jo- seph of Arimathea are no longer identified as religious leaders in Matthew (cf. Matt. 9:18 with Mark 5:22; Matt. 27:57 with Mark 15:43).
Thus, our recognition of what is distinctive about Matthew can be helped by taking note of what is found only in his Gospel and also by noticing how Matthew has altered material taken from Mark. In addition, scholars often note that the very structure of Matthew’s Gospel is distinctive. Matthew displays a penchant for stereotypical formulas and organizational patterns. Throughout his Gospel he makes use of a “fulfillment citation” to indicate that something in the story of Jesus “happened to fulfill what was written in the prophets”
(see 1:22–23; 2:15, 17–18, 23; 4:14–16; 8:17; 12:17–21; 13:35; 21:4–5; 27:9–10;
if 2:5–6 and 13:14–15 are added to this list, the fulfillment citation may be said to occur twelve times). Jesus also gives five great speeches in Matthew, each of which is followed by a formulaic transitional phrase (7:28; 11:1; 13:53;
19:1; 26:1); some scholars have thought that Matthew does this because Jews customarily thought of Torah as “the five books of Moses” and he wanted to provide a Christian parallel by offering five books (speeches) of Jesus. The basic outline of the Gospel story, however, seems to be divided into three main parts, with the second and third parts introduced by another formulaic phrase,
“From that time on, Jesus began . . .” (4:17; 16:21). The first part (1:1–4:16) serves as an introduction, presenting stories that help to identify who Jesus is; the second part (4:17–16:20) tells the story of Jesus’ ministry to Israel; the
hyperlink 5.5 Box 5.3
The Presence of God in the Gospel of Matthew
God Is Present in Jesus
• when Jesus is born: “Emmanuel” = “God is with us” (1:23)
• Jesus is worshiped (2:11; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17) Jesus Is Present in the Church
• with little children, who are the greatest in the kingdom (18:5)
• with people who gather in his name to pray (18:20)
• with needy members of his spiritual family (25:37–40)
• with those who receive bread and wine in his name (26:26–28)
• with people who baptize, teach, and make disciples (28:19–20) The Church Is Present in the World
• salt of the earth and light of the world (5:13–14)
• sheep in the midst of wolves (10:16)
• the gates of hell will not stand (16:18)
• make disciples of all nations (28:19)
Jesus says to his followers, “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me” (Matt. 10:40).
113 Major Themes in the Gospel of Matthew third part (16:21–28:20) deals with his journey to Jerusalem and subsequent passion and resurrection.