NWT113: A Survey of the New Testament “The wise man keeps his eye on the goal.” NWT113: A Survey of the New Testament Chapter 4 - Part I Introduction to Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution “The Messiah Has Come!” (pp. 63ff.)

4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church ... Crucial Introductory Matters: Logia or “oracles” (i.e. gospel) was written by Matthew in Hebrew or Aramaic, “and others interpreted them as they are able.” Matthew’s interpretation of the gospel in the sense of explanation in Hebrew or Aramaic style for the Jews. 4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church ... Authorship: Patristic tradition favors the apostle Matthew (one of the twelve) Date: after the writing of Mark’s Gospel Structure: starts with the nativity, follows the Marcan narrative, 5 major discourses

4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … Jesus is presented as the Jewish Messianic King. Jewishness: Jesus is depicted as Moses-like prophet-teacher but new and greater than Moses (Pentateuch: Gen, Exod, Lev, Num, Deut). Purpose: “…to strengthen Jewish Christians in their suffering of persecution, to warn them against laxity and apostasy, and…[to take] an opportunity for the evangelism of all nations.” 4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … Theme Emphasized: Jesus’ fulfillment of the O.T. Universality: discipling nations (Mt. 28:18-20) Provenance: originated from Syrian Antioch where Jews migrated (Acts 11:19, 27)

4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … “Stories are not just something we read to put ourselves and our children to sleep, nor just something we read in literature classes. Rather, they are the thing that lies at the heart of human intelligence, we need to understand stories: their structure, their acquisition, their retelling.” (Robert J. Steinberg)  Why is Matthew’s Gospel different from Mark or Luke? 4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … B. W. Bacon sees the structural key to Matthew as: “kai egeneto hote etelesen ho Iēsous…” “When Jesus finished saying these things…” Mt 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; & 26:1 (five times used formula)  see the diagram

4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … Matthew Retold: Prologue, Development, Climax J. D. Kingsbury points out the key to the outline of Matthew as : “apo tote ērxato ho Iēsous…” “from that time on Jesus began to…” Mt 4:17 and 16:21 (two times used formula) Introduction - Mt 1:1-4:16 - Person of Christ Body - Mt 4:17-16:20 - Proclamation of Christ Conclusion - Mt 16:21-28:20 - Passion of Christ 4 – Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church … Favorites: “the kingdom of heaven,” “Father in heaven,” “Son of David,” and “righteousness” Acquisition: Why use Mark (Peter’s kerygma)?