MATTHEW Matthew was a skilled literary craftsman. He presents five discourses, each of which begins in a specific context and ends with a formula found nowhere else: literally, “And it happened, when Jesus had finished saying these things, that …” (7:28–29; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Five times Matthew alternates between narrative (stories about Jesus) and discourse (Jesus’ teaching). 1. Prologue (1:1–2:23) An Old Testament (OT) quotation, introduced by an appropriate
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