“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19) is the evangelistic call within Matthew, and Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs maintains that the text of Matthew was intended to serve “all nations” and the whole church rather than the some singular congregation as is argued by many contemporary scholars. Still, Gibbs interprets the text in light of the original cultural and religious context in which Matthew wrote, as well as the audience for whom he wrote. He employs a narrative approach that carefully attends to the literary structure of Matthew’s unfolding message in his Gospel. Themes that receive particular emphasis include Jesus’ mission to save his people from their sins; the reign of God in Jesus; the Son of God’s vicarious role as the substitute for Israel and for us; Jesus’ fulfillment of the OT; Jesus’ ministry of mighty word (preaching, calling disciples, teaching) and mighty deed (healing the sick, exorcizing, and raising the dead); how God’s grace in Jesus now comes to us through Word and Sacrament; and eschatology—that the end times have begun already with Jesus’ ministry, and the Christian lives with joyful hope in the promises yet to be fulfilled on the Last Day.

Features

• A conviction that the Gospels can and should be treated as independent, inspired sources, each to be interpreted in their own terms and in their own ways.
• A narrative approach and analysis of the life of Christ in the Gospel
• An extensive outline of how, when, and where Matthew wrote his Gospel

Essays

• Matthew for the Whole Church
• Matthew as Narrative
• The Reign of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel
• The Fulfilment of Mission in Matthew’s Gospel