The Canaanite Woman (15:21-28) The story of the Canaanite woman is also in Mark (7:24-30), but Matthew's revisions are substantial. Although Matthew does not underscore the…

THE EVANGELIST AND THE CONTEXT OF THE GOSPEL Although we have no direct evidence about the context of Matthew's Gospel and must deduce it from indications in the Gospel itself or …

THE SOURCES OF THE GOSPEL Matthew did not compose this Gospel on his own, but depended on earlier sources. Primary among these is the Gospel of Mark. Although the relationships…

Christology As suggested above, Matthew wrote his Gospel to give his community members a reliable perspective or vantage point from which to understand the profound historical…

Ethics Matthew's emphasis on Jesus' role as teacher and interpreter of the Jewish law also gives this Gospel a strong ethical tone. Here, too, Matthew's Jewish heritage, with its …

A Theology of History A curious feature of Matthew's Gospel is that during his public ministry Jesus restricts his mission and that of the disciples to the “lost sheep of the…

Matthew and Anti-Judaism As noted in the preface, Matthew's Gospel is something of a paradox on the issue of its relationship to Judaism. On the one hand, Matthew's Gospel is…