Inspired by the work of Richard France and his highly influential
Matthew: Evangelist and Teacher, Charles L. Quarles and Charles Nathan
Ridlehoover have gathered together a collection of works that argue for
a re-examination of the defining features of Jesus's role as a teacher
in the Gospel of Matthew. This volume suggests that, while each of the
Gospel writers display Jesus leading disciples along, speaking to
crowds, and confronting Jewish authorities with effective and timely
teachings, Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as a teacher contains
distinctives that deserve further exploration.
After examining Jesus's Old Testament and Second Temple influences and
comparing his methods to the contemporary Greco-Roman tradition, the
contributors explore Jesus's position as a teacher of faith and
forgiveness and a trainer of scribes, and analyse his relationship with
several different apostles. Including responsive essays, and concluding
with a summary of Jesus and Matthew himself as evangelists and teachers,
this journey through the aspects of Jesus's teaching ministry gives
readers a more complete look at Jesus's vocation.