Summer Reading: Gospel of Matthew


The community book read is back this summer, and we’re going for MATTHEW! In June, July, and August, 2023, we’ll read about 2 chapters per week, discussing them at worship each Wednesday, 5:30 pm. [We meet at the Ecumenical Religious Center, 110 Garfield Ave, Eau Claire, WI– adjacent to campus.] Most weeks I (Pastor Lori) will provide a blog Bible study, with some key concepts and questions to consider as you read. 


First, some overall themes that will shape the whole story, as an introduction. 


Matthew is the first book of the New Testament, perhaps so placed because the genealogy that begins the book serves as a bridge between the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. Composed about 80-90 CE, it builds on the earlier Gospel of Mark, and shares much material in common with Luke. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, the survival of Judaism is in question, and we see the tension between the Jewish religious leaders and the Jesus leaders each making the case that their way is the right way to observe Torah and preserve the tradition (thus the tension between Jesus and his followers and the scribes and Pharisees). 


Three key themes will shape this story, and how you read it. 


1, The Centrality of Torah– Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), instructions for life together as the people of God (read “instruction”  or “teaching” rather than “law”). This shows up in Matthew who provides 50 quotes from the Old Testament, and shows Jesus to be parallel to Moses– he is rescued from death as an infant, teaches from a mountain, spends time in the wilderness, and does miracles with water. There is lots of teaching by Jesus, which is the essence of Torah. 


2, Belonging vs believing – Matthew’s Jesus is not concerned that we know the right things, but that we live the right way, according to God’s intention as we know it in Torah. How do we live together and shape life together after the destruction of the Temple? Matthew shapes the story with Jesus, rather than the Temple,  as the locus of the Divine Presence. Jesus is the embodiment of divine wisdom; he’s what Torah looks like in a person. Faithfulness to Torah happens in community, and in this new age, community is expanding. 


3, Violence – This gospel is strewn through with violence, most notably directed at Jesus, who is hunted from the very beginning and finally “caught” at the end. Matthew is not promoting rebellion against Rome, but rather lifting up the violence that Rome is perpetuating against God’s people as the “test” of their faith: how do they live together in Torah community in the midst of this destruction? The violence against Jesus shapes and haunts his whole life, beginning to end– how might that affect how he interacts in the world? And the grand finale is not the end of Jesus’s life, for Rome does not win. God’s response to violence is resurrection, the final word that even Rome is not more powerful than God. 


There’s lots to explore in this gospel! I encourage you to read the chapters each week and join us for worship and discussion on Wednesdays as we work through the entire story.


Pro Tip: Hearing different versions of a story exposes some of the layers of meaning and nuances of the language used by the storyteller. Try reading from 2 different translations of the Bible to get a variety of interpretations. I’ll be looking particularly at The Inclusive Bible and the First Nations Version for my reading. I’m so familiar with the NRSV, and I find reading a different translation (or two) jolts me out of familiarity so I notice things differently. 


My go-to study materials: 


First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament. InterVarsity Press, 2021. 

The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. 

Jewish Annotated New Testament, NRSV. Oxford University Press, 2017. 

Lutheran Study Bible. Augsburg Fortress, 2009. 

Swanson, Richard. Provoking the Gospel of Matthew: A Storyteller’s Commentary, Year A. Pilgrim Press, 2007. 


Workingpreacher.org 

Journeywithjesus.org 

Queer Theology podcast, Matthew, Feb-Mar 2023

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