Gospel of St.Matthew

by John Fenton

Published 22 February 1973
Part of "The Penguin New Testament Commentaries", this is Saint Matthew's Gospel, which is the most structured of all and it is centred on Jesus' teachings. Although he undoubtedly drew on Mark (and perhaps on the source known as Q), Matthew always shaped and supplemented such material to make it his own. It is Matthew, for example, who lays most stress on miracles and the fulfilment of prophecies, on the Jews' rejection of Jesus, on reward and punishment in the next life and on the imminent end of the world. All these themes reflect a first-century outlook that is alien to modern readers. In this commentary, however, J.C. Fenton cuts through the details and penetrates to the heart of the Gospel to help the reader "use it as Matthew intended it to be used".