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1 Maccabees 1

From Alexander to Antiochus.

1^a After Alexander the Macedonian, Philip’s son, who came from the land of Kittim,^* had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and Medes, he became king in his place, having first ruled in Greece.

2He fought many battles, captured fortresses, and put the kings of the earth to death.

3He advanced to the ends of the earth, gathering plunder from many nations; the earth fell silent before him, and his heart became proud and arrogant.

4He collected a very strong army and won dominion over provinces, nations, and rulers, and they paid him tribute.

5But after all this he took to his bed, realizing that he was going to die.

6So he summoned his noblest officers, who had been brought up with him from his youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive.

7Alexander had reigned twelve years^* when he died.

8So his officers took over his kingdom, each in his own territory,

9and after his death they all put on diadems,^* and so did their sons after them for many years, multiplying evils on the earth.

10There sprang from these a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome. He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year^* of the kingdom of the Greeks.

Lawless Jews.

11^b In those days there appeared in Israel transgressors of the law who seduced many, saying: “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles all around us; since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us.”

12The proposal was agreeable;

13some from among the people promptly went to the king, and he authorized them to introduce the ordinances of the Gentiles.

14Thereupon they built a gymnasium^* in Jerusalem according to the Gentile custom.

15They disguised their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.

Antiochus in Egypt.

16^c When his kingdom seemed secure, Antiochus undertook to become king of the land of Egypt and to rule over both kingdoms.

17He invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots, elephants^* and cavalry, and with a large fleet,

18to make war on Ptolemy,^* king of Egypt. Ptolemy was frightened at his presence and fled, and many were wounded and fell dead.

19The fortified cities in the land of Egypt were captured, and Antiochus plundered the land of Egypt.

Robbery of the Temple.

20^d After Antiochus had defeated Egypt in the one hundred and forty-third year,^* he returned and went up against Israel and against Jerusalem with a strong force.

21He insolently entered the sanctuary^* and took away the golden altar, the lampstand for the light with all its utensils,

22the offering table, the cups and bowls, the golden censers, and the curtain. The cornices and the golden ornament on the facade of the temple—he stripped it all off.

23And he took away the silver and gold and the precious vessels; he also took all the hidden treasures he could find.

24Taking all this, he went back to his own country. He shed much blood and spoke with great arrogance.

25And there was great mourning throughout all Israel,

26and the rulers and the elders groaned.

Young women and men languished,

and the beauty of the women faded.

27Every bridegroom took up lamentation,

while the bride sitting in her chamber mourned,

28And the land quaked on account of its inhabitants,

and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame.

Attack and Occupation.

29^e Two years later, the king sent the Mysian commander^* to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a strong force.

30He spoke to them deceitfully in peaceful terms, and they believed him. Then he attacked the city suddenly, in a great onslaught, and destroyed many of the people in Israel.

31He plundered the city and set fire to it, demolished its houses and its surrounding walls.

32And they took captive the women and children, and seized the animals.

33Then they built up the City of David with a high, strong wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel.^*

34There they installed a sinful race, transgressors of the law, who fortified themselves inside it.

35They stored up weapons and provisions, depositing there the plunder they had collected from Jerusalem, and they became a great snare.

36The citadel became an ambush against the sanctuary,

and a wicked adversary to Israel at all times.

37They shed innocent blood around the sanctuary;

they defiled the sanctuary.

38Because of them the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away,

she became the abode of strangers.

She became a stranger to her own offspring,

and her children forsook her.

39^f Her sanctuary became desolate as a wilderness;

her feasts were turned into mourning,

Her sabbaths to shame,

her honor to contempt.

40As her glory had been, so great was her dishonor:

her exaltation was turned into mourning.

Religious Persecution.

41^g Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,

42and abandon their particular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king,

43and many Israelites delighted in his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.

44The king sent letters by messenger to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, ordering them to follow customs foreign to their land;

45to prohibit burnt offerings, sacrifices, and libations in the sanctuary, to profane the sabbaths and feast days,

46to desecrate the sanctuary and the sacred ministers,

47to build pagan altars and temples and shrines, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals,

48to leave their sons uncircumcised, and to defile themselves with every kind of impurity and abomination;

49so that they might forget the law and change all its ordinances.

50Whoever refused to act according to the command of the king was to be put to death.^h

51In words such as these he wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people, and he ordered the cities of Judah to offer sacrifices, each city in turn.

52Many of the people, those who abandoned the law, joined them and committed evil in the land.

53They drove Israel into hiding, wherever places of refuge could be found.

54On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five,^* the king erected the desolating abomination upon the altar of burnt offerings, and in the surrounding cities of Judah they built pagan altars.ⁱ

55They also burned incense at the doors of houses and in the streets.

56Any scrolls of the law^* that they found they tore up and burned.

57Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant, and whoever observed the law, was condemned to death by royal decree.

58So they used their power against Israel, against those who were caught, each month, in the cities.

59On the twenty-fifth day of each month they sacrificed on the pagan altar that was over the altar of burnt offerings.

60In keeping with the decree, they put to death women who had their children circumcised,

61and they hung their babies from their necks; their families also and those who had circumcised them were killed.

62But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean;

63they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

64And very great wrath came upon Israel.

1 Maccabees 2

Mattathias and His Sons.

1In those days Mattathias, son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib,^a left Jerusalem and settled in Modein.^*

2He had five sons: John, who was called Gaddi;

3Simon, who was called Thassi;

4Judas, who was called Maccabeus;

5Eleazar, who was called Avaran; and Jonathan, who was called Apphus.

6When he saw the sacrileges that were being committed in Judah and in Jerusalem,

7he said:

“Woe is me! Why was I born

to see the ruin of my people,

the ruin of the holy city—

To dwell there

as it was given into the hands of enemies,

the sanctuary into the hands of strangers?

8Her temple has become like a man disgraced,

9her glorious vessels carried off as spoils,

Her infants murdered in her streets,

her youths by the sword of the enemy.^b

10What nation has not taken its share of her realm,

and laid its hand on her spoils?

11All her adornment has been taken away.

Once free, she has become a slave.

12We see our sanctuary laid waste,

our beauty, our glory.

The Gentiles have defiled them!

13Why are we still alive?”

14Then Mattathias and his sons tore their garments, put on sackcloth, and mourned bitterly.

Pagan Worship Refused and Resisted.

15The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them sacrifice.

16Many of Israel joined them, but Mattathias and his sons drew together.

17Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias: “You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city, supported by sons and kindred.

18Come now, be the first to obey the king’s command, as all the Gentiles and Judeans and those who are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King’s Friends,^* and you and your sons shall be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”

19But Mattathias answered in a loud voice: “Although all the Gentiles in the king’s realm obey him, so that they forsake the religion of their ancestors and consent to the king’s orders,

20yet I and my sons and my kindred will keep to the covenant of our ancestors.

21Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.

22We will not obey the words of the king by departing from our religion in the slightest degree.”

23As he finished saying these words, a certain Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein according to the king’s order.

24When Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal; his heart was moved and his just fury was aroused; he sprang forward and killed him upon the altar.

25At the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.

26Thus he showed his zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did with Zimri, son of Salu.^c

27Then Mattathias cried out in the city, “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow me!”

28Then he and his sons fled to the mountains, leaving behind in the city all their possessions.^d

29At that time many who sought righteousness and justice went out into the wilderness^* to settle there,

30they and their children, their wives and their animals, because misfortunes pressed so hard on them.

31It was reported to the officers and soldiers of the king who were in the City of David, in Jerusalem, that those who had flouted the king’s order had gone out to secret refuges in the wilderness.

32^e Many hurried out after them, and having caught up with them, camped opposite and prepared to attack them on the sabbath.

33The pursuers said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and obey the king’s command, and you will live.”

34But they replied, “We will not come out, nor will we obey the king’s command to profane the sabbath.”

35Then the enemy attacked them at once.

36But they did not retaliate; they neither threw stones, nor blocked up their secret refuges.

37They said, “Let us all die in innocence; heaven and earth are our witnesses that you destroy us unjustly.”

38So the officers and soldiers attacked them on the sabbath, and they died with their wives, their children and their animals, to the number of a thousand persons.

39When Mattathias and his friends heard of it, they mourned deeply for them.

40They said to one another, “If we all do as our kindred have done, and do not fight against the Gentiles for our lives and our laws, they will soon destroy us from the earth.”

41So on that day they came to this decision: “Let us fight against anyone who attacks us on the sabbath, so that we may not all die as our kindred died in their secret refuges.”

42Then they were joined by a group of Hasideans,^* mighty warriors of Israel, all of them devoted to the law.

43And all those who were fleeing from the persecutions joined them and supported them.

44They gathered an army and struck down sinners in their wrath and the lawless in their anger, and the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.

45Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the pagan altars;

46they also forcibly circumcised any uncircumcised boys whom they found in the territory of Israel.

47They put to flight the arrogant, and the work prospered in their hands.

48They saved the law from the hands of the Gentiles and of the kings and did not let the sinner triumph.

Farewell of Mattathias.

49When the time came for Mattathias to die, he said to his sons: “Arrogance and scorn have now grown strong; it is a time of disaster and violent wrath.

50Therefore, my children, be zealous for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors.

51“Remember the deeds that our ancestors did in their times,

and you shall win great honor and an everlasting name.

52Was not Abraham found faithful in trial,

and it was credited to him as righteousness?^f

53Joseph, when in distress, kept the commandment,

and he became master of Egypt.^g

54Phinehas our ancestor, for his burning zeal,

received the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.^h

55Joshua, for executing his commission,

became a judge in Israel.ⁱ

56Caleb, for bearing witness before the assembly,

received an inheritance in the land.^j

57David, for his loyalty,

received as a heritage a throne of eternal kingship.^k

58Elijah, for his burning zeal for the law,

was taken up to heaven.^l

59Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, for their faith,

were saved from the fire.^m

60Daniel, for his innocence,

was delivered from the mouths of lions.ⁿ

61And so, consider this from generation to generation,

that none who hope in Heaven shall fail in strength.

62Do not fear the words of sinners,

for their glory ends in corruption and worms.^o

63Today exalted, tomorrow not to be found,

they have returned to dust,

their schemes have perished.

64Children! be courageous and strong in keeping the law,

for by it you shall be honored.

65“Here is your brother Simeon who I know is a wise counselor; listen to him always, and he will be a father to you.

66And Judas Maccabeus, a mighty warrior from his youth, shall be the leader of your army and wage the war against the nations.

67Gather about you all who observe the law, and avenge your people.

68Pay back the Gentiles what they deserve, and observe the precepts of the law.”

69Then he blessed them, and he was gathered to his ancestors.

70He died in the year one hundred and forty-six,^* and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors in Modein, and all Israel mourned him greatly.

Matthew 23 : 1 – 12

Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.

1^a Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,

2^* saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

3Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.

4^b They tie up heavy burdens^* [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.

5^{* c} All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

6^{* d} They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

7greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’

8^* As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

9Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.

10Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah.

11^e The greatest among you must be your servant.

12^f Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

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THE FIRST BOOK OF MACCABEES

The name Maccabee, probably meaning “hammer,” is actually applied in the Books of Maccabees to only one man, Judas, third son of the priest Mattathias and first leader of the revolt against the Seleucid kings who persecuted the Jews (1 Mc 2:4, 66; 2 Mc 8:5, 16; 10:1, 16). Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of Judas, his supporters, and even to other Jewish heroes of the period, such as the seven brothers (2 Mc 7).

The two Books of Maccabees contain independent accounts of events (in part identical) that accompanied the attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in the second century B.C. The vigorous reaction to this attempt established for a time the religious and political independence of the Jews.

First Maccabees was written about 100 B.C., in Hebrew, but the original has not come down to us. Instead, we have an early, pre-Christian, Greek translation full of Hebrew idioms. The author, probably a Palestinian Jew, is unknown. He was familiar with the traditions and sacred books of his people and had access to much reliable information on their recent history (from 175 to 134 B.C.). He may well have played some part in it himself in his youth. His purpose in writing is to record the deliverance of Israel that God worked through the family of Mattathias (5:62)—especially through his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The writer compares their virtues and their exploits with those of Israel’s ancient heroes, the Judges, Samuel, and David.

There are seven poetic sections in the book that imitate the style of classical Hebrew poetry: four laments (1:25–28, 36–40; 2:7–13; 3:45), and three hymns of praise of “our fathers” (2:51–64), of Judas (3:3–9), and of Simon (14:4–15). The doctrine expressed in the book is the customary belief of Israel, without the new developments which appear in 2 Maccabees and Daniel. The people of Israel have been specially chosen by the one true God as covenant-partner, and they alone are privileged to know and worship God, their eternal benefactor and unfailing source of help. The people, in turn, must worship the Lord alone and observe exactly the precepts of the law given to them. The rededication of the Jerusalem Temple described in 4:36–59 (see 2 Mc 10:1–8) is the origin of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah.

Unlike the Second Book of Maccabees, there is no doctrine of individual immortality except in the survival of one’s name and fame, nor does the book express any messianic expectation, though messianic images are applied historically to “the days of Simon” (1 Mc 14:4–17). In true Deuteronomic tradition, the author insists on fidelity to the law as the expression of Israel’s love for God. The contest which he describes is a struggle, not simply between Jew and Gentile, but between those who would uphold the law and those, Jews or Gentiles, who would destroy it. His severest condemnation goes, not to the Seleucid politicians, but to the lawless apostates among his own people, adversaries of Judas and his brothers, who are models of faith and loyalty.

The first and second Books of Maccabees, though regarded by Jews and Protestants as apocryphal, i.e., not inspired Scripture, because not contained in the Jewish list of books drawn up at the end of the first century A.D., have always been accepted by the Catholic Church as inspired and are called “deuterocanonical” to indicate that they are canonical even though disputed by some.

First Maccabees can be divided as follows:

1. Crisis and Response (1:1–2:70)
2. Leadership of Judas Maccabeus (3:1–9:22)
3. Leadership of Jonathan (9:23–12:53)
4. Leadership of Simon (13:1–16:24)

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