Tyndale New Testament Commentaries

Volume 1

General Editor: Leon Morris

Matthew

An Introduction and Commentary

R. T. France

Inter-Varsity Press, England

Norton Street

Nottingham NG7 3HR, England

Website: www.ivpbooks.com

Email: ivp@ivpbooks.com

InterVarsity Press, USA

PO Box 1400

Downers Grove, Illinois 60515-1426, USA

Website: www.ivpress.com

Email: mail@ivpress.com

© R. T. France 1985

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Inter-Varisty Press.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk.

InterVarsity Press®, USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA® <www.intervarsity.org> and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a registered trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790. Distributed in North America by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

First published 1985

Reprinted in this format 2008

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

UK ISBN: 978-1-84474-267-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

France, R. T.

Matthew: an introduction and commentary / R. T. France.

p. cm.—(Tyndale New Testament commentaries; v. 1)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8028-0063-7 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. N.T. Matthew—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS2575.3.F69 1985

226/.207—dc19

86006186

US ISBN: 978-0-8308-4231-5

DEDICATION

In grateful memory of my mother 2.1.1909–19.6.1984

CONTENTS

General preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Matthew among the Gospels

Some characteristics of Matthew’s Gospel

The origin of the Gospel

Central theological emphases of Matthew

The structure of Matthew’s Gospel

Analysis

Commentary

GENERAL PREFACE

The original Tyndale Commentaries aimed at providing help for the general reader of the Bible. They concentrated on the meaning of the text without going into scholarly technicalities. They sought to avoid ‘the extremes of being unduly technical or unhelpfully brief’. Most who have used the books agree that there has been a fair measure of success in reaching that aim.

Times, however, change. A series that has served so well for so long is perhaps not quite as relevant as it was when it was first launched. New knowledge ...