Table Of ContentMATTHEW'S
STORY OF
JESUS
Richard A. Edwards
FORTRESS PRESS PHILADELPHIA
MATTHEW'S STORY OF JESUS
COMPANION VOLUMES
Mark's Story of Jesus by Werner H. Kelber
Luke's Story of Jesus by O. C. Edwards, Jr.
John's Story of Jesus by Robert Kysar
Biblical quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. and are used by permission.
COPYRIGHT © 1985 BY FORTRESS PREss
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior per
mission of the copyright owner.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Edwards, Richard Alan.
Matthew's story of Jesus.
1. Bible. N. T. Matthew-Criticism, interpretation,
etc. I. Title.
BS2575.2.E38 1985 226' .2066 84-48711
ISBN 0-8006-1619-7
1257H84 Printed in the United States of America 1-1619
For
June
Contents
Introduction 9
1. Establishing the Framework of the Story /-~ 11
Opening 11
Birth and Infancy 12
Preparation for Ministry 15
Transition 18
2. The Demands of the Kingdom 19
Introductory Report 19
The Sermon on the Mount 20
Antitheses 22
True Piety 23
Conclusion 24
3. The Power of the Kingdom 26
In Gentile Territory 27
InG~~ ~
Transition 33
The Mission Discourse 34
4. The Response to the Coming of the Kingdom 37
John the Baptist Is Uncertain 37
Further Reactions to Jesus 40
The Son's Authority and Task 40
The Opposition Increases 41
Jesus' Reaction and Rationale 42
Negative Reaction Continues 43
Parables for the Crowd 47
The Reason for Speaking in Parables 49
Parables for the Disciples 49
The Response of His Own Country 51
Herod's Response 51
The Response Continues 52
Opposition Resumes 54
The Importance of Understanding 55
Peter Confesses 59
The Disciples Are Instructed 60
Advice for the Community 65
5. The Message of the Kingdom Presented in Judea 68
The Opponents Attack 68
Disciples Admonished and Advised 69
Initial Statement in the Temple 72
Disagreement About Authority 74
The Controversy Intensifies 76
The Indictment of the Opponents 78
The Importance of Responding to Jesus 81
6. The Conflict Takes Place 85
The Passover Celebration in Jerusalem 85
The Son's Obedience and the Disciples' Failure 86
The Persecution and Trials 88
The Son's Death and Vindication 91
The Son's Obedience Vindicated 92
Introduction
The Gospel of Matthew is a story of Jesus, a narrative, not an
essay or chronicle. Since, as we will see, the various parts of this story
are carefully interrelated, it is inappropriate and misleading to impose
upon it a precise outline. At present there are two primary suggestions
about the proper outline of the Gospel, both of which are based on
repeated phrases or formulas. In contrast, the method used here will
follow the development of the plot or the flow of the narrative. Rather
than view the work as a completed or finished whole, I intend to
examine the narrative from the point of view of a reader who begins at
the beginning. This approach is less concerned with an outline and
more interested in the way the narrator anticipates or recalls ideas or
subjects in the progress oft he story. The narrative will seem to double
back at times as the narrator builds his impressions in the reader's
mind. Since reading is a cumulative process that extends over a
period of time, the sequence of information and its relation to earlier
portions of the storY will be my primary concern.
In my treatment, Matthew's story will be divided into sections, but
they should not be considered complete, self-contained units. Rather,
they are basic segments or moments in the continuing narration.
Matt. 1:1-4:22 Establishing the Framework
of the Story
Matt. 4:23-7:29 The Demands of the Kingdom
Matt. 8: 1-11: 1 The Power of the Kingdom
Matt. 11:2-18:35 The Response to the Coming
of the Kingdom
Matt. 19: 1-25:46 The Message of the Kingdom
Presented in Judea
Matt. 26: 1-28:20 The Conflict Takes Place
9
10 INTRODUCnON
Typical of biblical narrative is an extensive use of direct speech.
This is an especially prominent feature of Matthew . Of course, these
speeches or discourses within Matthew have often been noted. But
we must consider the effect on the reader. When a character is
presented primarily by quotation, there is always an ambiguity that
requires the reader to be more involved in the story. Instead of being
told by the narrator what the individual is like, the reader is forced to
make an independent evaluation. This reader participation produces,
among other things, a growing sense of concern. Furthermore, be
cause there is some ambiguity, it is important that the narrator estab
lish the reliability (or its lack) of the speaker. Thus, the opening ofa
narrative is most significant in giving the reader a perspective from
which to judge the characters.
Because the narrator of a story is important, especially in establish
ing a point of view, we must pay special attention to our narrator's
"reticent-omniscient" point of view. There are only a few direct
comments by the narrator in this story and yet the narrator moves
around at will, has inside information about participants, and, at
times, reveals the inner thoughts of some characters. Once the story
begins, he or she stays very close to Jesus, hearing conversations and
witnessing" closed" meetings. The result is that the reader is encour
aged to accept the narrator's reliability. And, since the narrator is
reliable, the reader also accepts the reliability of the narration. There
fore one of our tasks is to locate those features of the story that
encourage the reader to make these judgments.
I must add a special comment about the terms "reader" and "nar
rator." Literary critics make a careful distinction between the nar
ratee, the implied reader, and the real reader, and also between the
narrator, implied author, and the real author. Using these terms, this
study of Matthew is an analysis of the implied author's use of the
narrator and the effect this has on the implied reader. I have chosen to
use the simpler terms-"narrator" and "reader." Thus, I ask the
reader of this volume to make that adjustment; when I speak about the
reader I am not attempting to describe a real person (of the first, third,
tenth, or twentieth century) but the person posited by the text as the
reader.
Finally, this book is neither a commentary nor a retelling of the
story but an attempt to point to significant features of the narration.
Some details of the Gospel will not be mentioned-not because they
can be overlooked but because it is not possible for me to be exhaus
tive here. Those items that affect the reader will be noted and their
relation to the developing strategy of the narrator analyzed.
