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Esther ll

1 And so the king and Haman entered to drink with the queen.

2 And the king said to her again on the second day, after he was warmed with wine, “What is your request, Ester, so that it may be given to you? And what do yu want done? Even if you ask for half of my kingdom, you will obain it.”

3 She answered him, “If I haave found faavor in your eyes, O king, and if it pleases you, spare my soul, I ask you, and spare my people, I beg you.

4 For I and my people have been handed over to be crushed, to be slain, and to perish. And if we were only beingsold as servants and slaves, the evil might be tolerable, and I would have mourned in silence. But now our enemy is one whose cruelty overflows upon the king.”

5 And the king artaxerses answered and said, “Who is this, and of what power, that he woulddare to do these things?”

6And Esther said, “This is our most wicked enemy and foe: Haan!” Hearing this, Haman was suddenly dumbfounded, unable to bear the faces of the king and the queen.

7 But the king, being angry, rose up and , from the place of the feast, entered into the arboretum of the garden. Haman likewise rose up to entreat Esther the queen for his soul, for he understood that eveil was prepared for him by the king.

8 When the king returned from the arboretum of the gardenand entered into the place of the feast, he found Haman collapsed on the couch on which Esther layt, and he said, “And now he wishes to oppress the queen, in my presence, in my house!” The word had not yet gove out of the king’s mouth, and immediately they covered his face.

9 And Harbona, one of the eunuchs who stood in ministry to the kingk, siad, “Behold the wood, which he had prepared for Mordecai who spoke up on behalf of the king, stands in Haman’s house, having a height of fifty cubits.” The king sid to him, “Hand him from it.”

10 And so Haman was hanged on the gallows, which he had prepared fro Mordecali,and the king’s anger was quieted.

Esther 12
1 On that day king, Artaxerxes gave the house of Haman, te adversary of the Jews, to queen Esther, and Mordcai entered befoe the king. For Esther had confessed to him that he was her paternal uncle.

2 And the king took the ring, wich he had ordered to be taken from Haman, and he handed it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over her house.

3 Not content with these things, shethrew herself down at the king’s feet and wept, and speaking to him, pleaded that he would give orders that the malice of Haman the Agagite, and his most wicked schemes, which he had contried against theewes, would be made ineffetive.

4 But he, as was the custom, extended the golden scepter with his hand, which was the sign of xclemency, and she rose up and stood before him.

5 And shesaidk, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his eyes, and my request is not seen to be disagreeable to him, I beg you that theformer letters of Haman, the traitor and enemy of the Jews, by which he instructed them to be destroyed in all the king’s provinceds, may be corrected by new letters.

6 For how will I be able to enddure the murder and execution of my people?”

7 And king Artaxerxes answered Estherthe queen and Mordecai the Jew, “I have granted Haman’s house to Esther, and I have ordered him to be fgastened to a cross, because he dared to lay hands on the Jews.

8 herefore, write to the Jews, just as it pleases you, in the king’s name, sealing the letters with my ring.” For this was the custom, that letters which wre sent in the king’s name and were sealed wirth his ring, nol one would dare to contradict.

9 Then the scribes and copyists were brought in, )now it was the time of the third month which is called Sivan,) on the twenty-third day of the month, and letters were written, as Mordecai wanted, to the Jews, and to the governors, and procurators, and judges, who presided over the one hundred tweenty-seven provinces, from India all the wa to Ethiopia; to one provinced and another, to one people and another, in accordance with their languages and letters, and to the Jews, exactly as they wsere able to read and hear.

10 And these letters, which were sent in the king’s name, had been sign ed with his ring, and were sent by swift couriers who were to rush in every direction, through all the provindes, so as to prevent the former letters with n ew messages.

11 The king commanded them to bring together the Jews throughout each city, and to instruct them to join together, so as to make a stand for their lives, and to execute and destroy all their enemies, wsith their wivesand children and their entire houses, and to plunder their spoil.

12 And one day of retribution was established throughout all the provinces, namely, the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar.

Esther 1

CHAPTER A

Dream of Mordecai.

1In the second year of the reign of Ahasuerus the great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream.^{* a}

2^* He was a Jew residing in the city of Susa, a prominent man who served at the king’s court,

3and one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah.^b

4^c This was his dream.^* There was noise and tumult, thunder and earthquake—confusion upon the earth.

5Two great dragons advanced, both poised for combat. They uttered a mighty cry,

6and at their cry every nation prepared for war, to fight against the nation of the just.

7It was a dark and gloomy day. Tribulation and distress, evil and great confusion, lay upon the earth.

8The whole nation of the just was shaken with fear at the evils to come upon them, and they expected to perish.

9^d Then they cried out to God, and from their crying there arose, as though from a tiny spring, a mighty river, a flood of water.

10The light of the sun broke forth; the lowly were exalted and they devoured the boastful.

11Having seen this dream and what God intended to do, Mordecai awoke. He kept it in mind, and tried in every way, until night, to understand its meaning.

Mordecai Thwarts an Assassination.^*

12^e Mordecai lodged in the courtyard with Bigthan and Teresh, two eunuchs of the king who guarded the courtyard.

13He overheard them plotting, investigated their plans, and discovered that they were preparing to assassinate King Ahasuerus. So he informed the king about them.

14The king had the two eunuchs questioned and, upon their confession, put to death.

15Then the king had these things recorded; Mordecai, too, put them into writing.

16The king also appointed Mordecai to serve at the court, and rewarded him for his actions.^f

17Haman, however, son of Hammedatha, a Bougean,^* who was held in high honor by the king, sought to harm Mordecai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king.^g

Esther 2

The Search for a New Queen.

1After this, when King Ahasuerus’ wrath had cooled, he thought over what Vashti had done and what had been decreed against her.

2Then the king’s personal attendants suggested: “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

3Let the king appoint emissaries in all the provinces of his realm to gather all beautiful young virgins into the harem in the royal precinct of Susa. Under the care of the royal eunuch Hegai, guardian of the women, let cosmetics be given them.

4Then the young woman who pleases the king shall reign in place of Vashti.” This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.

5There was in the royal precinct of Susa a certain Jew named Mordecai,^* son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

6who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the captives taken with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported.^a

7He became foster father to his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther,^* when she lost both father and mother. The young woman was beautifully formed and lovely to behold. On the death of her father and mother, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter.^b

8When the king’s order and decree had been proclaimed and many young women brought together to the royal precinct of Susa under the care of Hegai, Esther also was brought in to the royal palace under the care of Hegai, guardian of the women.

9The young woman pleased him and won his favor. So he promptly furnished her with cosmetics and provisions. Then choosing seven maids for her from the royal palace, he transferred both her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

10Esther did not reveal her nationality or family, for Mordecai had commanded her not to do so.

11Day by day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was faring and what was to become of her.

12After the twelve months’ preparation decreed for the women, each one went in turn to visit King Ahasuerus. During this period of beautifying treatment, six months were spent with oil of myrrh, and the other six months with perfumes and cosmetics.

13Then, when each one was to visit the king, she was allowed to take with her from the harem to the royal palace whatever she chose.

14She would go in the evening and return in the morning to a second harem under the care of the royal eunuch Shaashgaz, guardian of the concubines. She could not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and had her summoned by name.^c

15As for Esther, daughter of Abihail and adopted daughter of his nephew Mordecai, when her turn came to visit the king, she did not ask for anything but what the royal eunuch Hegai, guardian of the women, suggested. And she won the admiration of all who saw her.

Ahasuerus Chooses Esther.

16Esther was led to King Ahasuerus in his palace in the tenth month, Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17The king loved Esther more than all other women, and of all the virgins she won his favor and good will. So he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

18Then the king gave a great feast in honor of Esther to all his officials and servants, granting a holiday to the provinces and bestowing gifts with royal generosity.

Mordecai Thwarts an Assassination.^*

19^d As was said, from the time the virgins had been brought together, and while Mordecai was passing his time at the king’s gate,

20Esther had not revealed her family or nationality, because Mordecai had told her not to; and Esther continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions, just as she had when she was being brought up by him.

21^e During the time that Mordecai spent at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, became angry and plotted to assassinate King Ahasuerus.

22When the plot became known to Mordecai, he told Queen Esther, who in turn informed the king in Mordecai’s name.

23The matter was investigated and verified, and both of them were impaled on stakes.^* This was written in the annals in the king’s presence.

Esther 3

Mordecai Refuses to Honor Haman.

1After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, to high rank, seating him above all his fellow officials.^a

2All the king’s servants who were at the royal gate would kneel and bow down to Haman, for that is what the king had ordered in his regard.^b Mordecai, however, would not kneel and bow down.^*

3The king’s servants who were at the royal gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s order?”^c

4When they had reminded him day after day and he would not listen to them, they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s explanation would prevail, since he had told them that he was a Jew.

Haman’s Reprisal.

5When Haman observed that Mordecai would not kneel and bow down to him, he was filled with anger.

6But he thought it was beneath him to attack only Mordecai. Since they had told Haman of Mordecai’s nationality, he sought to destroy all the Jews, Mordecai’s people, throughout the realm of King Ahasuerus.

7In the first month, Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, the pur, or lot,^* was cast in Haman’s presence to determine the day and the month for the destruction of Mordecai’s people on a single day, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar.^d

Decree Against the Jews.

8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus: “Dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, there is a certain people living apart. Their laws differ from those of every other people and they do not obey the laws of the king; so it is not proper for the king to tolerate them.^e

9If it please the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them; and I will deliver to the procurators ten thousand silver talents for deposit in the royal treasury.”^f

10The king took the signet ring^* from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.^g

11The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, as well as the people, to do with as you please.”^*

12So the royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and they wrote, at the dictation of Haman, an order to the royal satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring.

13Letters were sent by couriers to all the royal provinces, to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, including women and children in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and to seize their goods as spoil.^h

CHAPTER B

1This is a copy of the letter:

“The great King Ahasuerus writes to the satraps of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia, and the governors subordinate to them, as follows:

2When I came to rule many peoples and to hold sway over the whole world, not being carried away by a sense of my own authority but always acting fairly and with mildness, I determined to provide for my subjects a life of lasting tranquility; and, by making my kingdom civilized and safe for travel to its farthest borders, to restore the peace desired by all people.^a

3When I consulted my counselors as to how this might be accomplished, Haman, who excels among us in discretion, who is outstanding for constant good will and steadfast loyalty, and who has gained a place in the kingdom second only to me,^b

4brought it to our attention that, mixed among all the nations throughout the world, there is one people of ill will, which by its laws is opposed to every other people and continually disregards the decrees of kings, so that the unity of empire blamelessly designed by us cannot be established.^c

5“Having noted, therefore, that this nation, and it alone, is continually at variance with all people, lives by divergent and alien laws, is inimical to our government, and does all the harm it can to undermine the stability of the kingdom,

6we hereby decree that all those who are indicated to you in the letters of Haman, who is in charge of the administration and is a second father to us, shall, together with their wives and children, be utterly destroyed by the swords of their enemies, without any pity or mercy, on the fourteenth day^* of the twelfth month, Adar, of the current year;^d

7so that when these people, whose present ill will is of long standing, have gone down into Hades by a violent death on a single day, they may leave our government completely stable and undisturbed for the future.”

Esther 13

Artaxerxes, he agreat king from India all the way to Ethiopia, to the generals and leaders of the one hundred twenty-seven provinces that obey our command: greeting, he says.

2 In arrogance, many have abused the goodness of leaders and the honor that has been bestowed on them,

3 and they strive, not only to oppress the king’s subjects, but, not acting according to the glory given to them, set in motiion a plan to ambush those very ones who gave it.

4 Neither are they content to withhold thanks for benefits and to violate in themselves the laws of humanity, but they also thin they are able to excape from every sentence of the sifting judment of God.

5And they rush forth in such insanity that they attempt to subvert by filthy lies those who carefully fulfill the offices delegated to them and so perform everything that is deserving of the praise of all.

6 Meanwhile, they craftily deceive by fraud the ears of single-minded leaders, and they judge others according to their own nature.

7 These things are proven both from the ancient histories and from those things which happen daily: how the zeal of kings can be corruprted by the evil suggestions of such persons.

8 Therefore, we will make provision for the peace of all the provinces.

9 Neither should you think, if we change our orders, that they coe from a fickle mind, but that we draw conclusions from the quality and necessity of the times, just as the expediency of the public good demands.

10 And, so that you may more clearly understand what we are saying: Haman the son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian both in mind and ancestry, and foreign to Persian blood, and with his cruelty contaminating our piety, was accepted by us as a sojourner.

11 And our humanity proved to be so great towards him that he was called our father and was adored by all as second only to the king.

12 But he was so filled with arrogance as to strive to deprive us of our kingdom and our life.

13 Forexample, with certain strange and unhard of machinations, he sought the death of Mordecai, whose faith and kindness kept us alive, and Esther, the partner of our kingdom, and all their people.

14 This he planned so that, after they were executed, he might work treason against us in our solitude and transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians.

15 But we, having been resolved to ruin in death the mortal Jews, discovered no fault within them, but on the contrary, they use just laws

16 and are sons of the highest and greatest and ever-living God, by whose kindness the kingdom was handed down both to our fathers and to us. and is cared for even unto this day.

17 Therefore, you should understand to be nulland void those letters that he administered under our name.

18 For this xcrime, before the gates of this city, that is, Susa, both he who devised it, and all his associates, hand on gallows: not we, but God repayig him as he deserved.

19 But this edict, which we now send, shall be displayed in all cities so that the Jews may be allowed to used their own laws.

20 You must be a support to them, so that they may be able to executed those, who themselves had prepred to kill them, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is called Adar.

21 For theALMIGHTY gOD HAS TURNED THIS DAY OF GRIEF AND SORROW INTO JOY FOR THEM.

22 Therefore, you too will keep this day, along with the other festival days, and celebrate it with all joy, so that it may be knowneven by future generations

23 All those who faithfully obey the Persians deserve, for their fidelity, to receive a reward, but those who are traitors to their kingdom deserve to be destroyed for their crime.

24 But every province and city, which is not willing to participate in this solemnity, must perish by the sword and by fire, and be destroyed in this way so that they will be foreeveran indisputable example of contempt and disobedienced, n ot only to humans, but even to wild animals.”

25 And such was the content of the letter, so that it would be made known in all lands and nations, which are subject to the authority of king Arrtaxerxes, that the Jews have been made ready to be vindicated of their enemies.

26 And so the swift couriers departed in haste, carrying through the announcement, and the kig’s edict was hung up in Susa.

27 But Mordecai, going forth from the palace and from the king’s presence, shone in royal apparel the color of hyancinth and of the sky, wearing a golden crown on his head, and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple.And all the city rejoiced and was joyfuyl.

28 But for the Jews, and new light seemed to rise there was joy, honor, and dancing.

29 With al the peoples, cities, and provinces, wherever the kings’ orders arrived, there was sonderful rejicing, banquets and feasts, and a solemn holy day, so much so that many of the other nations joined themselves to their religious practices and ceremonies. For a great fear of the name of the Jews had overcome them all.

Matthew 22 : 1 – 14

The Parable of the Wedding Feast.^*

1^a Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying,

2“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast^* for his son.

3^* He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.

4A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’

5Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.

6^b The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

7^* The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

8Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.

9Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’

10The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,^* and the hall was filled with guests.

11^* But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.

12He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence.

13^{* c} Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

14Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

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THE BOOK OF ESTHER

The Book of Esther tells a story of the deliverance of the Jewish people. We are shown a Persian emperor, Ahasuerus (loosely based on Xerxes, 485–464 B.C.), who makes momentous decisions for trivial reasons, and his wicked minister, Haman, who takes advantage of the king’s compliance to pursue a personal vendetta against the Jews by having a royal decree issued ordering their destruction. The threat is averted by two Jews, Esther and Mordecai. Their influence and intervention allow the Jews to turn the tables on their enemies and rout their attackers. This deliverance is commemorated by the inauguration of the Jewish festival of Purim on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar (mid-February through mid-March). The book confronts the modern reader with important themes, the evils of genocide and racism.

Esther’s character matures over the course of the narrative. As a girl she is recruited for the king’s harem because of her physical beauty. But at a key moment in the book (chap. 4), she rises to the challenge to risk her life for the salvation of her people. At that point, she transforms her status as queen from a position of personal privilege to one of power and public responsibility.

Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, appears first as an adoptive father, whose solicitude for Esther leads him to the king’s gate, where he foils a plot to assassinate the king. When he learns of the edict against the Jews, he encourages Esther to confront the king. The book ends with Mordecai as the king’s chief minister.

The book is a free composition, not a historical document. Its fictional character can be illustrated by many examples of literary motifs: the use of extensive conversation to move the plot along; the motif of concealment (Esther is a Jew, related to Mordecai, but Haman does not know it, even as he comes to her banquet in chap. 7). A whole series of banquets structure the work: two by the king, one by Vashti, three by Esther, and the joyful banqueting that ends the book. Further artificialities are clear in the way characters are paired (e.g., Mordecai and Esther) and in the delays and the speed of the action (Esther delays the banquet in 5:3–8, but the tempo of chaps. 5–6 is particularly fast); Mordecai passes from the threat of death (5:9–14) to royal honors (6:10–11) within twenty-four hours. There are many exaggerations, and even sarcastic implausibilities (cf. the effect of Vashti’s disobedience in 1:17–18), and huge ironies (e.g., Haman in 6:6, 10). The work is a composite of reversals (cf. 9:1) in the lives of individuals and communities.

The book was probably written in the third or second century B.C. It has come down to us in two versions: an older Hebrew version, and a Greek version based on a text similar to the Hebrew, but with additions and alterations as described below.

One striking feature of the Hebrew version of the Book of Esther is that no divine names or titles are employed here; God is not mentioned at all. This would not be unusual in a book whose subject matter or outlook was more secular, but Esther is a book in which the religious element is prominent: the Jews fast in order to be delivered from imminent peril, experience deliverance at the eleventh hour, and commemorate their deliverance with an annual festival. Moreover, there are indirect references to divine activity (for example, in 4:14).

The Greek additions to Esther have many explicit references to God, as well as explicit descriptions of the beliefs and emotional states of Esther and Mordecai. They also elaborate on the content of the edicts from Ahasuerus as illustrations of Gentile attitudes toward Jews. While there are only a few contradictions between these Greek additions and the older Hebrew text, reading the book with these additions is a very different experience from reading the book without them. The additions to Esther are an excellent example of a process that occurs throughout the Bible: further reflections on the story become part of the story itself. Although the Book of Esther was questioned by some early Christians, even St. Jerome, the whole book, including the Greek additions, was included in the canon of Scripture by the Council of Trent.

The Greek version of the book dates from ca. 116 to 48 B.C. (see note on F:11). In the present translation, the Greek additions are indicated by the letters A through F. The regular chapter numbers apply to the Hebrew text.

The book may be divided as follows:

1. Prologue (A:1–17)
2. Esther Becomes Queen (1:1–2:23)
3. Haman’s Plot Against the Jews (3:1–13; B:1–7; 3:14–15)
4. Esther and Mordecai Plead for Help (4:1–17; C:1–D:16; 5:1–5)
5. Haman’s Downfall (5:6–8:2)
6. The Jewish Victory and the Feast of Purim (8:3–12; E:1–24; 8:13–9:23)
7. Epilogue: The Rise of Mordecai (9:24–10:3; F:1–11)

The order of the Vulgate text in relation to the order of the Greek text is as follows:

Vulg. 11:2–12:6	=	A:1–17 at the beginning of the book.
13:1–7	=	B:1–7 after 3:13.
13:8—15:3–19	=	C:1–D:16 after 4:17.
15:1–2	=	B:8, 9 after 4:8.
16:1–24	=	E:1–24 after 8:12.
10:4–13	=	F:1–10 after 10:3.

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