Matthew

317 Pages·2013·1.753 MB·English

by  O. Wesley Allen Jr.

Proclaiming Matthew’s interpretation O
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of the Christ Event— W
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O. Wesley Allen draws together the strengths of two exegetical approaches to the Gospel s
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of Matthew in this volume of the Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries series. Allen y

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takes a broad thematic approach to the Gospel while at the same time giving exegetical l
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and homiletical insights about individual pericopes. This volume will help congregational n

leaders develop exegetically informed cumulative preaching focused on but not limited J
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to the lections in Matthew. With liturgical sensitivity and analytical skill, Allen provides
a unique preaching resource that will build biblical literacy by assisting both preachers
and listeners in understanding Matthew’s Gospel as a whole, not just as a collection of
vaguely related stories.
Praise for Matthew: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries
“O. Wesley Allen has given us a fine commentary on Matthew’s Gospel. Here is a robustly,
unashamedly theological reading of the biblical text, all in service of Christian proclamation M
today. Here is Matthew’s good news meant to be preached, performed, and practiced!”
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William H. Willimon
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Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry | Duke Divinity School t
h
“Allen helps the preacher to listen to both text and congregation, and to construct a sturdy e
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bridge—with two-way traffic—binding each to the other.”
M. Eugene Boring
I. Wylie Briscoe Professor of New Testament Emeritus | Brite Divinity School
O. Wesley Allen Jr. is associate professor of homiletics
and worship at Lexington Theological Seminary. He is the
author of numerous books, including Determing the Form
(Fortress Press, 2008), in the Elements of Preaching series,
which he also edited, and editor of The Renewed Homiletic
(Fortress Press, 2010).
Religion/PReaching
MATTHEW

MATTHEW
O. WESLEY ALLEN JR.
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
MATTHEW
Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries
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eBook ISBN: 978-1-4514-2645-8
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For
Howard Collins,
Stewart Jackson,
Rex Kaney,
Bill Kincaid
and Ron Luckey.
Some of the best of those
who have preached to me over the years.
All of whom make me want
to be a better preacher in the years to come.

CONTeNTS
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Readings from Matthew in the Revised Common Lectionary
in Order of the Liturgical Calendar, Year A xix
Readings from Matthew in the Revised Common Lectionary
in Order of Matthew’s Narrative xxiii
All Passages in Matthew, including Those Not Used xxvii
in the Revised Common Lectionary
Introduction 1
1. Beginnings: From Bethlehem to Nazareth (1:1—4:11) 25
2. Capernaum-Based Ministry (4:12—18:35) 43
3. Traveling to Jerusalem (19:1—20:34) 189
4. Passion, Death, and Resurrection in and 203
around Jerusalem (21:1—28:15)
5. Beginning Again in Galilee (28:16-20) 277
Appendix: Suggestions for Further Reading 283

Series Foreword
A preacher who seeks to be creative, exegetically up to date, hermeneutically
alert, theologically responsible, and in-touch with the moment is always on
the hunt for fresh resources. Traditional books on preaching a book of the
Bible often look at broad themes of the text with little explicit advice about
preaching individual passages. Lectionary resources often offer exegetical and
homiletical insights about a pericope with little attention given to broader
themes and structures of the book from which the lection is taken. Fortress
Biblical Preaching Commentaries provide the preacher with resources that draw
together the strengths of these two approaches into a single text aid, useful for
the moment of preparation halfway between full scale exegesis and a finished
sermon.
The authors of this series are biblical scholars who offer expositions of the
text rooted in detailed study and expressed in straightforward, readable ways.
The commentators take a practical approach by identifying (1) what the text
invited people in the ancient world to believe about God and the world and
(2) what the text encouraged people to do in response. Along the way, the
interpreters make use of such things as historical and cultural reconstruction,
literary and rhetorical analysis, word studies, and other methods that help us
recoverhowatextwasintendedtofunctioninantiquity.Atthesametime,the
commentariesofferhelpinmovingfromthentonow,fromwhatatextmeant
(inthepast)towhatatextmeans(inthepresent),byhelpingaministeridentify
issues, raise questions, and pose possibilities for preaching while stopping short
of placing a complete sermon in the preacher’s hands. The preacher, then,
shouldbeinapositiontosetinmotionaconversationwiththetext(andother
voices from the past and present) to help the congregation figure out what we
today can believe and do.
The commentators in this series seek to help preachers and students make
connections between the various lections from a given book throughout the
lectionary cycle and liturgical year in their sermons and studies. Readers,
preachers, and their parishioners will have a deeper appreciation of the book’s
unique interpretation of the Christ event and how that influences their
approach to living the Christian faith in today’s world. The most life-giving
preaching is nearly always local in character with a minister rooted in a
particular congregation, culture, and context encouraging listeners to think
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