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Nehemiah 7

1Now that the wall had been rebuilt, I had the doors set up, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were put in charge of them.

2Over Jerusalem I placed Hanani, my brother, and Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, who was more trustworthy and God-fearing than most.

3I said to them: “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot, and while the sun is still shining they shall shut and bar the doors. Appoint as sentinels the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts, and others in front of their own houses.”

Census of the Province.

4Now, the city was quite wide and spacious, but its population was small, and none of the houses had been rebuilt.

5When my God had inspired me to gather together the nobles, the magistrates, and the people, and to examine their family records, I came upon the family list of those who had returned in the earliest period. There I found the following written:

6^{* a} These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, to their own cities:

7They returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The census of the people of Israel:

8descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;

9descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;

10descendants of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;

11descendants of Pahath-moab who were descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;

12descendants of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

13descendants of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;

14descendants of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;

15descendants of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;

16descendants of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;

17descendants of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;

18descendants of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;

19descendants of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;

20descendants of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;

21descendants of Ater who were descendants of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;

22descendants of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;

23descendants of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;

24descendants of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;

25descendants of Gibeon, ninety-five;

26people of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;

27people of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;

28people of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two;

29people of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;

30people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;

31people of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;

32people of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;

33people of Nebo, fifty-two;

34descendants of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

35descendants of Harim, three hundred and twenty;

36descendants of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;

37descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;

38descendants of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

39The priests: descendants of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;

40descendants of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;

41descendants of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;

42descendants of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

43The Levites: descendants of Jeshua, Kadmiel of the descendants of Hodeviah, seventy-four.

44The singers: descendants of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.

45The gatekeepers: descendants of Shallum, descendants of Ater, descendants of Talmon, descendants of Akkub, descendants of Hatita, descendants of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.

46The temple servants: descendants of Ziha, descendants of Hasupha, descendants of Tabbaoth,

47descendants of Keros, descendants of Sia, descendants of Padon,

48descendants of Lebana, descendants of Hagaba, descendants of Shalmai,

49descendants of Hanan, descendants of Giddel, descendants of Gahar,

50descendants of Reaiah, descendants of Rezin, descendants of Nekoda,

51descendants of Gazzam, descendants of Uzza, descendants of Paseah,

52descendants of Besai, descendants of the Meunites, descendants of the Nephusites,

53descendants of Bakbuk, descendants of Hakupha, descendants of Harhur,

54descendants of Bazlith, descendants of Mehida, descendants of Harsha,

55descendants of Barkos, descendants of Sisera, descendants of Temah,

56descendants of Neziah, descendants of Hatipha.

57Descendants of Solomon’s servants: descendants of Sotai, descendants of Sophereth, descendants of Perida,

58descendants of Jaala, descendants of Darkon, descendants of Giddel,

59descendants of Shephatiah, descendants of Hattil, descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, descendants of Amon.

60The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was three hundred and ninety-two.

61The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite:

62descendants of Delaiah, descendants of Tobiah, descendants of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two.

63Also, of the priests: descendants of Hobaiah, descendants of Hakkoz, descendants of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was named after him).

64These men searched their family records, but their names could not be found written there; hence they were disqualified from the priesthood,

65and the governor^* ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.

66The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

67not counting their male and female servants, who were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,

68their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

69Certain of the heads of ancestral houses contributed to the temple service. The governor put into the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty basins, thirty vestments for priests, and five hundred minas of silver.

70Some of the heads of ancestral houses contributed to the treasury for the temple service: twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.

71The contributions of the rest of the people amounted to twenty thousand drachmas of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven vestments for priests.

72The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all Israel took up residence in their cities.

Nehemiah 8

Ezra Reads the Law.

1^{* a} Now when the seventh month came, the whole people gathered as one in the square in front of the Water Gate, and they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

2^b On the first day of the seventh month, therefore, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand.

3In the square in front of the Water Gate, Ezra read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

4Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion; at his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and on his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.

5Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it, for he was standing higher than any of the people. When he opened it, all the people stood.

6Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, “Amen, amen!” Then they knelt down and bowed before the LORD, their faces to the ground.

7^c The Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah explained the law to the people, who remained in their places.

8^d Ezra read clearly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.

9Then Nehemiah, that is, the governor, and Ezra the priest-scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not lament, do not weep!”—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.

10^e He continued: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!”

11And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Silence! Today is holy, do not be saddened.”

12Then all the people began to eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been explained to them.

The Feast of Booths.

13On the second day, the heads of ancestral houses of the whole people, and also the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law.

14^f They found it written in the law commanded by the LORD through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month;

15^g and that they should have this proclamation made throughout their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring in branches of olive, oleaster, myrtle, palm, and other trees in leaf, to make booths, as it is written.”

16The people went out and brought in branches with which they made booths for themselves, on the roof of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares of the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim.

17^h So the entire assembly of the returned exiles made booths and dwelt in them. Now the Israelites had done nothing of this sort from the days of Jeshua, son of Nun, until this occasion; therefore there was very great joy.

18Ezra read from the book of the law of God day after day, from the first day to the last. They kept the feast for seven days, and the solemn assembly on the eighth day, as was required.

Nehemiah 9

Public Confession of Sin.

1^{* a} On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites gathered together while fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.

2^b Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their ancestors.

3When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, for a fourth of the day, and during another fourth they made their confession and bowed down before the LORD their God.

4Standing on the platform of the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, who cried out to the LORD their God, with a loud voice.

5^c The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said,

“Arise, bless the LORD, your God,

from eternity to eternity!”

“And may they bless your glorious name,

which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

6^* “You are the LORD, you alone;

You made the heavens,

the highest heavens and all their host,

The earth and all that is upon it,

the seas and all that is in them.

To all of them you give life,

the heavenly hosts bow down before you.

7^d You are the LORD God

who chose Abram,

Who brought him from Ur of the Chaldees,

who named him Abraham.

8^e You found his heart faithful in your sight,

you made the covenant with him

To give the land of the Canaanites,

Hittites, Amorites,

Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites

to him and his descendants.

You fulfilled your promises,

for you are just.

9^f You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt,

you heard their cry by the Red Sea;

10^g You worked signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

against all his servants and the people of his land,

Because you knew of their insolence toward them;

thus you made for yourself a name even to this day.

11^h The sea you divided before them,

on dry ground they passed through the midst of the sea;

Their pursuers you hurled into the depths,

like a stone into the mighty waters.

12ⁱ With a column of cloud you led them by day,

and by night with a column of fire,

To light the way of their journey,

the way in which they must travel.

13^j On Mount Sinai you came down,

you spoke with them from heaven;

You gave them just ordinances, true laws,

good statutes and commandments;

14^k Your holy sabbath you made known to them,

commandments, statutes, and law you prescribed for them,

by the hand of Moses your servant.

15^l Food from heaven you gave them in their hunger,

water from a rock you sent them in their thirst.

You told them to enter and occupy the land

which you had sworn to give them.

16But they, our ancestors, proved to be insolent;

they were obdurate^* and did not obey your commandments.

17^m They refused to obey and no longer remembered

the wonders you had worked for them.

They were obdurate and appointed a leader

in order to return to their slavery in Egypt.

But you are a forgiving God, gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and rich in mercy;

you did not forsake them.

18ⁿ Though they made for themselves a molten calf,

and proclaimed, ‘Here is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’

and were guilty of great insults,

19Yet in your great mercy

you did not forsake them in the desert.

By day the column of cloud did not cease to lead them on their journey,

by night the column of fire did not cease to light the way they were to travel.

20^o Your good spirit you bestowed on them,

to give them understanding;

Your manna you did not withhold from their mouths,

and you gave them water in their thirst.

21^p Forty years in the desert you sustained them:

they did not want;

Their garments did not become worn,

and their feet did not swell.

22^q You gave them kingdoms and peoples,

which you divided among them as border lands.

They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon,

and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

23^r You made their children as numerous as the stars of the heavens,

and you brought them into the land

which you had commanded their ancestors to enter and possess.

24The children went in to possess the land;

you humbled before them the Canaanite inhabitants

and gave them into their power,

Their kings and the peoples of the land,

to do with them as they wished.

25^s They captured fortified cities and fertile land;

they took possession of houses filled with all good things,

Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,

and fruit trees in abundance.

They ate and had their fill,

fattened and feasted on your great goodness.

26^t But they were contemptuous and rebelled against you:

they cast your law behind their backs.

They murdered your prophets

who bore witness against them to bring them back to you:

they were guilty of great insults.

27^u Therefore you gave them into the power of their enemies,

who oppressed them.

But in the time of their oppression they would cry out to you,

and you would hear them from heaven,

And according to your great mercy give them saviors

to deliver them from the power of their enemies.

28As soon as they had relief,

they would go back to doing evil in your sight.

Again you abandoned them to the power of their enemies,

who crushed them.

Once again they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven

and delivered them according to your mercy, many times over.

29^v You bore witness against them,

to bring them back to your law.

But they were insolent

and would not obey your commandments;

They sinned against your ordinances,

which give life to those who keep them.

They turned stubborn backs, stiffened their necks,

and would not obey.

30You were patient with them for many years,

bearing witness against them through your spirit, by means of your prophets;

Still they would not listen.

Therefore you delivered them into the power of the peoples of the lands.

31Yet in your great mercy you did not completely destroy them

and did not forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

32^w Now, our God, great, mighty, and awesome God,

who preserves the covenant of mercy,

do not discount all the hardship that has befallen us,

Our kings, our princes, our priests,

our prophets, our ancestors, and your entire people,

from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day!

33^x In all that has come upon us you have been just,

for you kept faith while we have done evil.

34Yes, our kings, our princes, our priests, and our ancestors

have not kept your law;

They paid no attention to your commandments

and the warnings which you gave them.

35While they were still in their kingdom,

in the midst of the many good things that you had given them

And in the wide, fertile land

that you had spread out before them,

They did not serve you

nor turn away from their evil deeds.

36Today we are slaves!

As for the land which you gave our ancestors

That they might eat its fruits and good things—

see, we have become slaves upon it!

37Its rich produce goes to the kings

you set over us because of our sins,

Who rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please.

We are in great distress!”

Matthew 18 10:18

The Parable of the Lost Sheep.^*

10^f “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,^* for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. [

11]^{g *}

12 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?

13And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.

14In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

A Brother Who Sins.^*

15^h “If your brother^* sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.

16^{* i} If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

17^j If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.^* If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

18^{* k} Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

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THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

Problems common to the combined books Ezra-Nehemiah have been pointed out in the Introduction to the Book of Ezra. The achievements of the two men were complementary; each helped to make it possible for Judaism to maintain its identity during the difficult days of the Restoration. Ezra was the great religious reformer who succeeded in establishing the Torah as the constitution of the returned community. Nehemiah, governor of the province of Judah, was the man of action who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and introduced necessary administrative reforms.

The biblical sources for Nehemiah’s life and work are the autobiographical portions scattered through the book. They are called the “Memoirs of Nehemiah,” and have been used more effectively by the editor than the “Memoirs of Ezra.” The substantial authenticity of Nehemiah’s memoirs is widely accepted. From these and other sources, the picture emerges of a man dedicated to the single purpose of the welfare of his people. While serving as cupbearer to the king at the Persian court in Susa, Nehemiah received permission from Artaxerxes I to fortify Jerusalem, and served as governor of Judah for two terms, the first lasting twelve years (445–432 B.C.), the second of unknown length (Neh 5:14; 13:6). Despite temperamental shortcomings, Nehemiah was a man of good practical sense combined with deep faith in God. He used his influence as governor of Judah to serve God and the fledgling Jewish community in Jerusalem.

The Book of Nehemiah is divided as follows:

1. The Deeds of Nehemiah (1:1–7:72)
2. Promulgation of the Law (8:1–10:40)
3. Dedication of the Wall; Other Reforms (11:1–13:31)

I. THE DEEDS OF NEHEMIAH

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

The position of the Gospel according to Matthew as the first of the four gospels in the New Testament reflects both the view that it was the first to be written, a view that goes back to the late second century A.D., and the esteem in which it was held by the church; no other was so frequently quoted in the noncanonical literature of earliest Christianity. Although the majority of scholars now reject the opinion about the time of its composition, the high estimation of this work remains. The reason for that becomes clear upon study of the way in which Matthew presents his story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipleship, and the breaking-in of the new and final age through the ministry but particularly through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The gospel begins with a narrative prologue (Mt 1:1–2:23), the first part of which is a genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham, the father of Israel (Mt 1:1–17). Yet at the beginning of that genealogy Jesus is designated as “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt 1:1). The kingly ancestor who lived about a thousand years after Abraham is named first, for this is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the royal anointed one (Mt 1:16). In the first of the episodes of the infancy narrative that follow the genealogy, the mystery of Jesus’ person is declared. He is conceived of a virgin by the power of the Spirit of God (Mt 1:18–25). The first of the gospel’s fulfillment citations, whose purpose it is to show that he was the one to whom the prophecies of Israel were pointing, occurs here (Mt 1:23): he shall be named Emmanuel, for in him God is with us.

The announcement of the birth of this newborn king of the Jews greatly troubles not only King Herod but all Jerusalem (Mt 2:1–3), yet the Gentile magi are overjoyed to find him and offer him their homage and their gifts (Mt 2:10–11). Thus his ultimate rejection by the mass of his own people and his acceptance by the Gentile nations is foreshadowed. He must be taken to Egypt to escape the murderous plan of Herod. By his sojourn there and his subsequent return after the king’s death he relives the Exodus experience of Israel. The words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” are fulfilled in him (Mt 2:15); if Israel was God’s son, Jesus is so in a way far surpassing the dignity of that nation, as his marvelous birth and the unfolding of his story show (see Mt 3:17; 4:1–11; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16; 27:54). Back in the land of Israel, he must be taken to Nazareth in Galilee because of the danger to his life in Judea, where Herod’s son Archelaus is now ruling (Mt 2:22–23). The sufferings of Jesus in the infancy narrative anticipate those of his passion, and if his life is spared in spite of the dangers, it is because his destiny is finally to give it on the cross as “a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). Thus the word of the angel will be fulfilled, “…he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21; cf. Mt 26:28).

In Mt 4:12 Matthew begins his account of the ministry of Jesus, introducing it by the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist (Mt 3:1–12), the baptism of Jesus that culminates in God’s proclaiming him his “beloved Son” (Mt 3:13–17), and the temptation in which he proves his true sonship by his victory over the devil’s attempt to deflect him from the way of obedience to the Father (Mt 4:1–11). The central message of Jesus’ preaching is the coming of the kingdom of heaven and the need for repentance, a complete change of heart and conduct, on the part of those who are to receive this great gift of God (Mt 4:17). Galilee is the setting for most of his ministry; he leaves there for Judea only in Mt 19:1, and his ministry in Jerusalem, the goal of his journey, is limited to a few days (Mt 21:1–25:46).

In this extensive material there are five great discourses of Jesus, each concluding with the formula “When Jesus finished these words” or one closely similar (Mt 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). These are an important structure of the gospel. In every case the discourse is preceded by a narrative section, each narrative and discourse together constituting a “book” of the gospel. The discourses are, respectively, the “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5:3–7:27), the missionary discourse (Mt 10:5–42), the parable discourse (Mt 13:3–52), the “church order” discourse (Mt 18:3–35), and the eschatological discourse (Mt 24:4–25:46). In large measure the material of these discourses came to Matthew from his tradition, but his work in modifying and adding to what he had received is abundantly evident. No other evangelist gives the teaching of Jesus with such elegance and order as he.

In the “Sermon on the Mount” the theme of righteousness is prominent, and even at this early stage of the ministry the note of opposition is struck between Jesus and the Pharisees, who are designated as “the hypocrites” (Mt 6:2, 5, 16). The righteousness of his disciples must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees; otherwise, in spite of their alleged following of Jesus, they will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:20). Righteousness means doing the will of the heavenly Father (Mt 7:21), and his will is proclaimed in a manner that is startling to all who have identified it with the law of Moses. The antitheses of the Sermon (Mt 5:21–48) both accept (Mt 5:21–30, 43–48) and reject (Mt 5:31–42) elements of that law, and in the former case the understanding of the law’s demands is deepened and extended. The antitheses are the best commentary on the meaning of Jesus’ claim that he has come not to abolish but to fulfill the law (Mt 5:17). What is meant by fulfillment of the law is not the demand to keep it exactly as it stood before the coming of Jesus, but rather his bringing the law to be a lasting expression of the will of God, and in that fulfillment there is much that will pass away. Should this appear contradictory to his saying that “until heaven and earth pass away” not even the smallest part of the law will pass (Mt 5:18), that time of fulfillment is not the dissolution of the universe but the coming of the new age, which will occur with Jesus’ death and resurrection. While righteousness in the new age will continue to mean conduct that is in accordance with the law, it will be conduct in accordance with the law as expounded and interpreted by Jesus (cf. Mt 28:20, “…all that I have commanded you”).

Though Jesus speaks harshly about the Pharisees in the Sermon, his judgment is not solely a condemnation of them. The Pharisees are portrayed as a negative example for his disciples, and his condemnation of those who claim to belong to him while disobeying his word is no less severe (Mt 7:21–23, 26–27).

In Mt 4:23 a summary statement of Jesus’ activity speaks not only of his teaching and proclaiming the gospel but of his “curing every disease and illness among the people”; this is repeated almost verbatim in Mt 9:35. The narrative section that follows the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 8:1–9:38) is composed principally of accounts of those merciful deeds of Jesus, but it is far from being simply a collection of stories about miraculous cures. The nature of the community that Jesus will establish is shown; it will always be under the protection of him whose power can deal with all dangers (Mt 8:23–27), but it is only for those who are prepared to follow him at whatever cost (Mt 8:16–22), not only believing Israelites but Gentiles who have come to faith in him (Mt 8:10–12). The disciples begin to have some insight, however imperfect, into the mystery of Jesus’ person. They wonder about him whom “the winds and the sea obey” (Mt 8:27), and they witness his bold declaration of the forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins (Mt 9:2). That episode of the narrative moves on two levels. When the crowd sees the cure that testifies to the authority of Jesus, the Son of Man, to forgive sins (Mt 9:6), they glorify God “who had given such authority to human beings” (Mt 9:8). The forgiveness of sins is now not the prerogative of Jesus alone but of “human beings,” that is, of the disciples who constitute the community of Jesus, the church. The ecclesial character of this narrative section could hardly be more plainly indicated.

The end of the section prepares for the discourse on the church’s mission (Mt 10:5–42). Jesus is moved to pity at the sight of the crowds who are like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 9:36), and he sends out the twelve disciples to make the proclamation with which his own ministry began, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7; cf. Mt 4:17), and to drive out demons and cure the sick as he has done (Mt 10:1). Their mission is limited to Israel (Mt 10:5–6) as Jesus’ own was (Mt 15:24), yet in Mt 15:16 that perspective broadens and the discourse begins to speak of the mission that the disciples will have after the resurrection and of the severe persecution that will attend it (Mt 10:18). Again, the discourse moves on two levels: that of the time of Jesus and that of the time of the church.

The narrative section of the third book (Mt 11:2–12:50) deals with the growing opposition to Jesus. Hostility toward him has already been manifested (Mt 8:10; 9:3, 10–13, 34), but here it becomes more intense. The rejection of Jesus comes, as before, from Pharisees, who take “counsel against him to put him to death” (Mt 12:14) and repeat their earlier accusation that he drives out demons because he is in league with demonic power (Mt 12:22–24). But they are not alone in their rejection. Jesus complains of the lack of faith of “this generation” of Israelites (Mt 11:16–19) and reproaches the towns “where most of his mighty deeds had been done” for not heeding his call to repentance (Mt 11:20–24). This dark picture is relieved by Jesus’ praise of the Father who has enabled “the childlike” to accept him (Mt 11:25–27), but on the whole the story is one of opposition to his word and blindness to the meaning of his deeds. The whole section ends with his declaring that not even the most intimate blood relationship with him counts for anything; his only true relatives are those who do the will of his heavenly Father (Mt 12:48–50).

The narrative of rejection leads up to the parable discourse (Mt 13:3–52). The reason given for Jesus’ speaking to the crowds in parables is that they have hardened themselves against his clear teaching, unlike the disciples to whom knowledge of “the mysteries of the kingdom has been granted” (Mt 13:10–16). In Mt 13:36 he dismisses the crowds and continues the discourse to his disciples alone, who claim, at the end, to have understood all that he has said (Mt 13:51). But, lest the impression be given that the church of Jesus is made up only of true disciples, the explanation of the parable of the weeds among the wheat (Mt 13:37–43), as well as the parable of the net thrown into the sea “which collects fish of every kind” (Mt 13:47–49), shows that it is composed of both the righteous and the wicked, and that separation between the two will be made only at the time of the final judgment.

In the narrative that constitutes the first part of the fourth book of the gospel (Mt 13:54–17:27), Jesus is shown preparing for the establishment of his church with its teaching authority that will supplant the blind guidance of the Pharisees (Mt 15:13–14), whose teaching, curiously said to be that of the Sadducees also, is repudiated by Jesus as the norm for his disciples (Mt 16:6, 11–12). The church of Jesus will be built on Peter (Mt 16:18), who will be given authority to bind and loose on earth, an authority whose exercise will be confirmed in heaven (Mt 16:19). The metaphor of binding and loosing has a variety of meanings, among them that of giving authoritative teaching. This promise is made to Peter directly after he has confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16), a confession that he has made as the result of revelation given to him by the heavenly Father (Mt 16:17); Matthew’s ecclesiology is based on his high christology.

Directly after that confession Jesus begins to instruct his disciples about how he must go the way of suffering and death (Mt 16:21). Peter, who has been praised for his confession, protests against this and receives from Jesus the sharpest of rebukes for attempting to deflect Jesus from his God-appointed destiny. The future rock upon whom the church will be built is still a man of “little faith” (see Mt 14:31). Both he and the other disciples must know not only that Jesus will have to suffer and die but that they too will have to follow him on the way of the cross if they are truly to be his disciples (Mt 16:24–25).

The discourse following this narrative (Mt 18:1–35) is often called the “church order” discourse, although that title is perhaps misleading since the emphasis is not on the structure of the church but on the care that the disciples must have for one another in respect to guarding each other’s faith in Jesus (Mt 18:6–7), to seeking out those who have wandered from the fold (Mt 18:10–14), and to repeated forgiving of their fellow disciples who have offended them (Mt 18:21–35). But there is also the obligation to correct the sinful fellow Christian and, should one refuse to be corrected, separation from the community is demanded (Mt 18:15–18).

The narrative of the fifth book (Mt 19:1–23:39) begins with the departure of Jesus and his disciples from Galilee for Jerusalem. In the course of their journey Jesus for the third time predicts the passion that awaits him at Jerusalem and also his resurrection (Mt 20:17–19). At his entrance into the city he is hailed as the Son of David by the crowds accompanying him (Mt 21:9). He cleanses the temple (Mt 21:12–17), and in the few days of his Jerusalem ministry he engages in a series of controversies with the Jewish religious leaders (Mt 21:23–27; 22:15–22, 23–33, 34–40, 41–46), meanwhile speaking parables against them (Mt 21:28–32, 33–46), against all those Israelites who have rejected God’s invitation to the messianic banquet (Mt 22:1–10), and against all, Jew and Gentile, who have accepted but have shown themselves unworthy of it (Mt 22:11–14). Once again, the perspective of the evangelist includes not only the time of Jesus’ ministry but that of the preaching of the gospel after his resurrection. The narrative culminates in Jesus’ denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, reflecting not only his own opposition to them but that of Matthew’s church (Mt 23:1–36), and in Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem (Mt 23:37–39).

In the discourse of the fifth book (Mt 24:1–25:46), the last of the great structural discourses of the gospel, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and his own final coming. The time of the latter is unknown (Mt 24:36, 44), and the disciples are exhorted in various parables to live in readiness for it, a readiness that entails faithful attention to the duties of the interim period (Mt 24:45–25:30). The coming of Jesus will bring with it the great judgment by which the everlasting destiny of all will be determined (Mt 25:31–46).

The story of Jesus’ passion and resurrection (Mt 26:1–28:20), the climax of the gospel, throws light on all that has preceded. In Matthew “righteousness” means both the faithful response to the will of God demanded of all to whom that will is announced and also the saving activity of God for his people (see Mt 3:15; 5:6; 6:33). The passion supremely exemplifies both meanings of that central Matthean word. In Jesus’ absolute faithfulness to the Father’s will that he drink the cup of suffering (Mt 26:39), the incomparable model for Christian obedience is given; in his death “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28), the saving power of God is manifested as never before.

Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus in his passion combines both the majestic serenity of the obedient Son who goes his destined way in fulfillment of the scriptures (Mt 26:52–54), confident of his ultimate vindication by God, and the depths of fear and abandonment that he feels in face of death (Mt 26:38–39; 27:46). These two aspects are expressed by an Old Testament theme that occurs often in the narrative, i.e., the portrait of the suffering Righteous One who complains to God in his misery, but is certain of eventual deliverance from his terrible ordeal.

The passion-resurrection of God’s Son means nothing less than the turn of the ages, a new stage of history, the coming of the Son of Man in his kingdom (Mt 28:18; cf. Mt 16:28). That is the sense of the apocalyptic signs that accompany Jesus’ death (Mt 27:51–53) and resurrection (Mt 28:2). Although the old age continues, as it will until the manifestation of Jesus’ triumph at his parousia, the final age has now begun. This is known only to those who have seen the Risen One and to those, both Jews and Gentiles, who have believed in their announcement of Jesus’ triumph and have themselves become his disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). To them he is constantly, though invisibly, present (Mt 28:20), verifying the name Emmanuel, “God is with us” (cf. Mt 1:23).

The questions of authorship, sources, and the time of composition of this gospel have received many answers, none of which can claim more than a greater or lesser degree of probability. The one now favored by the majority of scholars is the following.

The ancient tradition that the author was the disciple and apostle of Jesus named Matthew (see Mt 10:3) is untenable because the gospel is based, in large part, on the Gospel according to Mark (almost all the verses of that gospel have been utilized in this), and it is hardly likely that a companion of Jesus would have followed so extensively an account that came from one who admittedly never had such an association rather than rely on his own memories. The attribution of the gospel to the disciple Matthew may have been due to his having been responsible for some of the traditions found in it, but that is far from certain.

The unknown author, whom we shall continue to call Matthew for the sake of convenience, drew not only upon the Gospel according to Mark but upon a large body of material (principally, sayings of Jesus) not found in Mark that corresponds, sometimes exactly, to material found also in the Gospel according to Luke. This material, called “Q” (probably from the first letter of the German word Quelle, meaning “source”), represents traditions, written and oral, used by both Matthew and Luke. Mark and Q are sources common to the two other synoptic gospels; hence the name the “Two-Source Theory” given to this explanation of the relation among the synoptics.

In addition to what Matthew drew from Mark and Q, his gospel contains material that is found only there. This is often designated “M,” written or oral tradition that was available to the author. Since Mark was written shortly before or shortly after A.D. 70 (see Introduction to Mark), Matthew was composed certainly after that date, which marks the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans at the time of the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66–70), and probably at least a decade later since Matthew’s use of Mark presupposes a wide diffusion of that gospel. The post-A.D. 70 date is confirmed within the text by Mt 22:7, which refers to the destruction of Jerusalem.

As for the place where the gospel was composed, a plausible suggestion is that it was Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria. That large and important city had a mixed population of Greek-speaking Gentiles and Jews. The tensions between Jewish and Gentile Christians there in the time of Paul (see Gal 2:1–14) in respect to Christian obligation to observe Mosaic law are partially similar to tensions that can be seen between the two groups in Matthew’s gospel. The church of Matthew, originally strongly Jewish Christian, had become one in which Gentile Christians were predominant. His gospel answers the question how obedience to the will of God is to be expressed by those who live after the “turn of the ages,” the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The principal divisions of the Gospel according to Matthew are the following:

1. The Infancy Narrative (1:1–2:23)
2. The Proclamation of the Kingdom (3:1–7:29)
3. Ministry and Mission in Galilee (8:1–11:1)
4. Opposition from Israel (11:2–13:53)
5. Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church (13:54–18:35)
6. Ministry in Judea and Jerusalem (19:1–25:46)
7. The Passion and Resurrection (26:1–28:20)

I. THE INFANCY NARRATIVE