Associate Professor of New Testament, Tyndale Seminary
God’s New People More than the other Gospels, Matthew is focused in large part on the life of the Christian community. It is only in Matthew that the word “church” (ekklesia, ἐκκλησία) appears on Jesus’ lips as a term for his circle of disciples (Matt 16:18; 18:17). This has seemed unlikely to many historians, who…
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The Good Law How has the Jewish scribe who penned Matthew’s Gospel re-shaped Mark’s portrait of Jesus? One of the ways is by exploring the relationship between the Messiah’s work and the Jewish law, the Torah of Moses. For many of us today this makes Matthew a difficult book to read well. In the religious…
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A Faithful Scribe in the Kingdom As we approach the Gospel of Matthew, let us imagine that we are there in the room with the book’s author. His back is turned to us, so we cannot yet see his face. He is seated on a low writing bench, the fresh papyrus roll balanced on his…
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A friend of mine recently asked me why, in Scripture, Peter is forgiven by Jesus but Judas isn’t. Peter’s denial of Jesus during the trial scene is a betrayal, just like Judas’ conspiracy with the priestly aristocracy. Does Peter just “get a pass” because he is part of Jesus’ inner circle, chosen to be a…
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The Problem of the Law One of the greatest tensions in the New Testament surrounds the Old Testament law, also called torah. On the one hand we read Matthew’s Gospel and hear Jesus make the solemn declaration: “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of…
Read MoreSometimes we can start thinking we know the limits of God’s mercy, who can and cannot be shown God’s grace. The story of Jesus’ conversation with the Syrophoenician woman reminds us that sometimes God can break his own rules.
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