Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

"The English translation at the beginning of each section is France's own, designed to provide the basis for the commentary. This adept translation uses contemporary idioms and, where necessary, gives priority to clarity over literary elegance." -- BOOK JACKET.

This excellent commentary on Matthew offers a unique interpretive approach that focuses on the socio-historical context of the Gospel and the nature of Matthew's exhortation to his first-century Christian audience. By merging a careful study of Matthew's Gospel in relation to the social context of the ancient Mediterranean world with a detailed look at what we know of first-century Jewish-Christian relations, Craig Keener uncovers significant insights into the Gospel not found in any other Matthew commentary. In addition, Keener's commentary is a useful discipleship manual for the church. His unique approach recaptures the full "shock effect" of Jesus' teachings in their original context and allows Matthew to make his point with greater narrative artistry. Keener also brings home the total impact of Matthew's message, including its clear portrait of Jesus and its call for discipleship, both to the Gospel's ancient readers and to believers today.

You see the full character of Christ through the four different portraits in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of them is painting a different picture – not a contradictory one, but filling it out with a new aspect. Matthew paints the King of the Jews. That is his object. We now suddenly realise why Matthew is the first in the New Testament, even if it was not the first to be written. The answer is that it is the nearest Gospel to the Old Testament, the most Jewish one that picks up the threads of all that has gone before....

According to Eusebius (H. E. VI. 36) the Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew were written about the same time as the Contra Celsum, when Origen was over sixty years of age, and may therefore be probably assigned to the period 246-248.

Matthew wrote his Gospel from his perspective as a Jew. It is with sensitivity to this perspective that Father Harrington undertakes this commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. After an introduction, he provides a literal translation of each section in Matthew's Gospel and explains the textual problems, philological difficulties, and other matters in the notes. He then presents a literary analysis of each text (content, form, use of sources, structure), examines the text against its Jewish background, situates it in the context of Matthew's debate with other first-century Jews, and reflects on its significance for Christian theology and Christian-Jewish relations. Bibliographies direct the reader to other important modern studies.