Anybody who has looked over an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form knows what tax collectors like: neat, orderly rows of figures, with all expenses and income classified by type and source. Fittingly, the Gospel attributed to former tax collector Matthew reflects systematic, ledger-sheet thinking. He doesn't tell Jesus' story chronologically: he groups facts topically.
Matthew collects Jesus' sayings in five main places. First comes the famous Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7. Chapter 10 records Jesus' instructions to his disciples' about their mission; chapter 13, a series of parables on the kingdom; chapter 18, Christ's words on the church as a community; and chapters 23-25, Jesus' thoughts on religious hypocrisy and his predictions of the future. Sandwiched in among these five great discourses you'll find connected scenes of Jesus in action.
The skillful blending of Jesus' action and teaching has helped earn this Gospel an esteemed place in literature. Artists are often drawn to it as a capsule summary of Jesus' ministry: witness J.S. Bach's greatest choral work, St. Matthew's Passion, the joyous play Godspell, and Pasolini's film The Gospel according to St. Matthew. The French skeptic Renan praised Matthew as "the most important book of Christendom - the most important book that has ever been written."
Two approaches will help in a detailed study of Matthew. |
