Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art

669 Pages·1982·30.567 MB·English

by  Robert Horton Gundry

M a t t h e w
A COMMENTARY
ON HIS
LITERARY AND
THEOIDGICAL ART
ROBERT H. GUNDRY
MATTHEW
A Commentary on His
Literary and Theological Art
by
Robert H. Gundry
WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Copyright © 1982 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2~~ Jefferson Ave., S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Reprinted, Nuvember 1983
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gundry, Robert Horton.
Matthew, a commentary on his literary
and theological art.
Bibliography, p. xii.
Includes indexes.
1. Bible. N.T. Matthew-Commentaries. 1. Bible.
N.T. Matthew. II. Title.
BS2'575.3.G85 226'.206 81-12448
ISBN 0-8028-3549-X AACR2
Contents
PREFACE Xl
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY X111
ABBREVIATIONS xviii
INTRODUCTION 1
Some Characteristics of the Present Commentary Including the
Use of Word-Statistics 1
The Theology of Matthew 5
The Structure of Matthew 10
THE COMMENTARY PROPER 13
The Origin of Jesus Christ (1:1) 13
A Messianic Genealogy of Jesus (1:2-17) 14
The Birth of Jesus Christ as the Son of David and
God with Us (1:18-25) 19
The Worship of Jesus by a Vanguard of Gentiles (2:1-12) 26
The Preservation of Jesus as a Sign of His Divine Sonship
(2:13-15) 32
A Preview of Jewish Calamities Resulting from the Rejection
of]esus (2:16-18) 34
The Return of the Greater Moses to Become the Branch of
David (2:19-23) 37
Jesus' Baptism by John as a Model of Righteousness (3: 1-17) 41
Jesus as a Model of Obedience to Divine Law (4:1-11) 53
Going into Gentile Territory Because of Persecution
(4:12-16) 59
Jesus as a Model Discipler (4:17-25) 61
The Encouraging Word of God as Taught by the Greater Moses
to His Pe.csecuted Disciples (5:1-10) 65
v
U)NTENTS
The Disciples' Persecution and Mission in the World
(5:11-16) 73
The Affirmation of the Old Testament in Jesus' Teaching of the
Law and Fulfillment of the Prophets (5:17-20) 78
The Righteousness That Surpasses That of the Scribes and
Pharisees (5:21-48) 82
Murder and Anger (5:21-26) 84
Adultery and Lust (5:27-30) 87
Divorce and Compassion (5:31~32) 89
Oaths and Divine Majesty (5:33-37) 91
Retaliation, Meekness, and Helpfulness (5:38-42) 94
Perfect Love (5:43-48) 96
The Teaching of Jesus the Sage (6:1-7:27) 100
Against Ostentation (6:1-18) 101
Against Hoarding Earthly Wealth (6:19-34) 111
AgainstJudging (7:1-12) 119
Exhortations to Obedience in Heedlessness of Antinomian False
Prophets (7:13-27) 126
A Transitional Formula Concluding the First "Book" of Jesus'
Law (7:28-29) 136
The Authority of Jesus (8: 1-9:34) 137
Jesus' Authority in Fulfilling the Law of Leprosy (8:1-4) 138
Jesus' Authority in Pronouncing Believing Gentiles Accepted and
Unbelieving Israelites Rejected (8:5-13) 140
Jesus' Authority in Healing Peter's Mother-in-Law, Casting Out Demons,
and Healing All the Sick in Fulfillment ofP rophecy (8:14-17) 147
Jesus' Authority in the Demands of Discipleship (8:18-22) 150
The Authority ofJ esus as Seen in a Storm (8:23-27) 154
Jesus' Authority in Killing Demons (8:28-34) 157
Jesus' Authority to Forgive Sins as a Model of the Dimples' Authority to
Forgive Sins (9:1-8) 161
Jesus' Authority to Exercise Mercy Toward Publicans and Sinners in
Accord with the Old Testament (9:9-13) 165
Jesus' Authority in the Preservation of Fasting (9:14-17) 168
Jesus' Authority Over Death and in the Salvation of the Woman with a
Flow (9:18-26) 171
The Lordly Authority ofJ esus in Healing Two Blind Men
(9:27-31) 176
Jesus' Marvelous Authority in Exorcising a Demon from a
Deaf-Mute (9:32-34) 179
VI
CONTENTS
The Work and Compassion of the Lord of the Harvest
(9:35-38) 180
The Workers of the Lord of the Harvest and Their Authority
(10:1-4) 181
Jesus' Commissioning the Twelve to Harvest Israel
(10:5-15) 183
Jesus' Warning Concerning Persecution in a Mission
Including Gentiles (10: 16-42) 190
A Concluding Formula for the Second "Book" of
Jesus' Law (11: 1) 203
The Opposition and Persecution Incurred by Jesus and
His Disciples (11:2-12:50) 203
The Suffering of Violence by the Kingdom of Heaven (11:2-24) 204
The Gentleness ofJ esus Toward His Disciples (11 :25-30) 215
The Pharisees' Plot to DestroyJesus (12:1-21) 220
The Persecutors' False and Unforgivable Accusation (12:22-37) 230
The Wickedness andJudgment ofJ esus' Persecutors (12:38-45) 241
The Persecuted as the Family of the Heavenly Father (12:46-50) 248
False Disciples as Those Who Lack and Lose Understanding;
True Disciples as Those Who Have and
Gain Understanding (13:1-52) 250
Old Understanding as a Human Responsibility (13:1-23) 251
New Understanding as a Gift from Jesus (13:24-52) 261
The Future Judgment of False Disciples in
the Kingdom (13:24-30) 261
The Magnitude of the Kingdom (13:31-33) 265
The Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy in the
Parabolic Conundrums (13:34-35) 269
The Future Judgment of False Disciples in the
Kingdom (continued) (13:36-43) 271
The Necessity of Economic Self-Deprivation to True Membership
in the Kingdom (13:44-46) 275
The Future Judgment of False Disciples in the Kingdom
(concluded) (13:47-50) 279
The Disciple as a Knowledgeable Scribe (13:51-52) 280
Lack of Understanding in Unbelieving Jews (13: 5 3-58) 282
Lack of Understanding in Herod the Tetrarch (14:1-12) 284
Obedient Understanding of Jesus' Command to Serve the Lord's
Supper to Discipled Nations (14:13-21) 289
Understanding Jesus as Saving Lord and
Son of God (14:22-36) 295
Vll
CONTENTS
Granting Understanding to the Disciples Concerning
True Defilement (15: 1-20) 302
A Gentile's Understanding of Jesus as Lord and
Son of David (15:21-28) 309
Understanding Jesus' Will to Heal and Feed
the Gentiles (15:29-38) 317
Failure to Understand the Signs of the Times (15:39-16:4) 322
The Disciples' Gaining Understanding Concerning the Evil
Teaching of the Pharisees. and Sadducees (16:5-12) 325
Understanding the Son of Man to be the Messiah and
Son of God (16: 13-20) 328
Understanding the Lordship of Jesus for the
Suffering of Persecution (16:21-28) 337
Understanding Jesus as the New and Greater Moses
(17:1-8) 342
Understanding John the Baptist as Elijah (17:9-13) 346
The Threat of Little Faith (17: 14-20) 348
Understanding the Death and Resurrection' of Jesus
(17:22-23) 353
Avoidance of Causing Non-Christian Jews to Sin
(17:24-27) 355
Brotherhood in the Church (18:1-35) 358
Accepting the Unmarried in the Church (19:1-12) 375
Accepting Young People in the Church (19: 13-26) 383
Accepting Gentiles in the Church (19:27-20: 16) 391
Churchly Acceptance of the Blind, the Lame, and Young People
(20:17-21:16) 399
The Church's Acceptance of Publicans, Prostitutes, and Gentiles
as Supported by God's Rejection of the Jewish Leaders (21:17-
22:46) 415
The Withering 0/ the Fig Tree (21:17-22) 415
Jesus' Authority and the Parable 0/ the Two Sons (21 :23-32) 418
The Trans/eral 0/ God's Kingdom from the Jewish Leaders to the Church
as Taught Through the Parable 0/ the
Tenant Farmers (21 :33-46) 424
The Shared Condemnation 0/ Jerusalem's Leaders and Falsely Professing
Disciples in the Parable 0/ the Wedding Feast (22:1-14) 432
The Evil of the Pharisees in TestingJesus on the Issue 0/ Paying Taxes to
CaeJar (22: 15-22) 441
The Culpable Error 0/ the Sadducees in Denying the
Resurrection (22:23-33) 444
Vlll
CONTENTS
The Gathering of the Pharisees Against the Messiah in the Question
About the Great Commandment (22:34-40) 447
The Besting of the Pharisees by the Son of God (22:41-46) 450
The Rejection of Falsely Professing Jewish Christian Leaders as
Portrayed in the Rejection of Israel's Leaders
(23:1-25:46) 453
Prohibition of HonorIfic Titles in the Church (23:1-12) 453
Warnings Against Hypocrisy (23:13-24:2) 459
The Persecution of Disciples, the Rise 0/ Ecclesiastical Antinomianism, and
the Worldwide Proclamation of the Kingdom as Noneschatological
Characteristics of the Church Age (24:3-14) 475
The Abomination of Desolation as an Eschatological Sign and the Coming
of the Son of Man as a Public Event (24:15-31) 481
The Nearness of the Son of Man (24:32-35) 489
The Uncertainty Concerning the Exact Time of the Son of
Man's Coming (24:36-44) 491
Maltreatment of Fellow Disciples as a Characteristic of False Discipleship
Which Will Draw Judgment at the Lord's Coming (24:45-51) 495
Watching as Doing Good Works in Obedience to
Jesus' Teaching (25:1-13) 497
Once More, Watching as Doing Good Works (25:14-30) 502
The Criterion of Neighborly Love at the LastJudgment with Particular
Reference to Demonstrating True Discipleship Through Doing Charity
to the Persecuted MessengerJ ofJ esus (25:31-46) 511
The Disciples' Understanding That Jesus Must Be
Crucified (26:1-5) 516
Judas's Bargain to Betray Jesus as a Result of Jesus' Defending
the Large Expenditure for His Anointing (26:6-16) 519
The Preparation of the Passover and the Observance of the
Lord's Supper as Obedience to
Jesus' Commands (26:17-29) 523
Peter as an Example of Prayerlessness That Will Lead to Denial
of Jesus in Time of Persecution (26:30-46) 529
Jesus' Death as a Fulfillment of Old Testament
Prophecy (26:47-56) 536
Jesus' Example of Nonretaliation and Refusal to Take
an Oath (26:57-68) 540
The Negative Example of Peter's Denials as a Continuation of
the Warning Against Prayerlessness (26:69-75) 548
The Malice of Jewish Officialdom (27: 1-2) 551
lX
CONTENTS
The Dreadful End of Judas: An Example That Warns Against
Treachery in the Church During Persecution (27:3-10) 552
The Meekness of Jesus (27:11-14) 558
The Acknowledgment of Jesus as Righteous by the Gentiles
Pilate and His Wife (27:15-26) 560
Jesus as the Model of a Persecuted Righteous Person
(27:27-50) 566
Encouragement to the Persecuted: The Circumstances of Jesus'
Death as Eschatological ~roof That
He is God's Son (27:51-54) 575
Christian Ministry to Persecuted Fellow
Christians (27:55-61) 578
The Contrast Between the Jewish Leaders' Deceitfulness and
Jesus' Truthfulness (27:62-66) 582
The Resurrection of Jesus as a Demonstration of His Deity
and Truthfulness (28: 1-10) 585
The Contrast Between the Deceitfulness of the Jewish Leaders
and the Truthfulness of]esus (continuedH28:11-15) 591
The Mission to All the Nations and Related Matthean
Themes (28: 16-20) 593
SOME HIGHER·CRITICAL CONCLUSIONS 599
The Literary Form of Matthew 599
The Date of Matthew 599
The Provenance of Matthew 609
The Authorship of Matthew 609
A THEOLOGICAL POSTSCRIPT 623
INDEXES 641
Greek Index 641
Topical Index 649
Index of Modern Authors 650
x
Preface
My first word is one of thanks to Mr. Marlin VanElderen and those asso
ciated with him at Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company for taking on
the publication of this commentary and carrying it out with characteristic
expertise. Thanks also go to my typist, Mrs. Betty Bouslough, and to my
longsuffering family: to Lois for wifely encouragement, to Judy and Connie
for their understanding, and to Mark for good humor in tolerating my habit
of calling him "Matthew" while the commentary was being written.
I hope that the commentary will not only shed light on the text of
Matthew, but also contribute to solving the synoptic problem, which has
come under renewed discussion. In particular, the commentary should, I
believe, confirm Matthew's use of Mark and Matthew's and Luke's use of
non-Mark an tradition, but broaden our concept of that tradition consid
erably beyond the limits usually imposed on Q and favor Luke's using
Matthew as a secondary source in addition to his primary sources Mark and
a broadened Q.
It is unfortunate from my standpoint that the comments on the na
tivity story must come first. Those comments had to be completely re
written once I saw how freely and creatively Matthew edited his sources
in the rest of his gospel. I can only urge the reader to withhold negative
judgment against my advocating that Matthew used haggadic and midrashic
techniques on the very tradition later appearing in the early chapters of
Luke-and to reread the sections on Matthew 1-2 after perusing the rest
of the commentary for the way Matthew treats his sources.
ROBERT H. GUNDRY
Westmont College
Santa Barbara, California
Xl