This excellent commentary on Matthew offers a unique interpretive approach that focuses on the socio-historical context of the Gospel and the nature of Matthew's exhortation to his first-century Christian audience. By merging a careful study of Matthew's Gospel in relation to the social context of the ancient Mediterranean world with a detailed look at what we know of first-century Jewish-Christian relations, Craig Keener uncovers significant insights into the Gospel not found in any other Matthew commentary. In addition, Keener's commentary is a useful discipleship manual for the church. His unique approach recaptures the full "shock effect" of Jesus' teachings in their original context and allows Matthew to make his point with greater narrative artistry. Keener also brings home the total impact of Matthew's message, including its clear portrait of Jesus and its call for discipleship, both to the Gospel's ancient readers and to believers today.

This commentary on Matthew offers a unique interpretive approach that focuses on the socio-historical context of the Gospel and the nature of Matthew s exhortation to his first-century Christian audience. / By merging a careful study of Matthew s Gospel in relation to the social context of the ancient Mediterranean world with a detailed look at what we know of first-century Jewish-Christian relations, Craig Keener uncovers significant insights into the Gospel not found in any other Matthew commentary. / In addition, Keener s commentary is a useful discipleship manual for the church. His approach recaptures the full shock effect of Jesus teachings in their original context and allows Matthew to make his point with greater narrative artistry. Keener also brings home the total impact of Matthew s message, including its clear portrait of Jesus and its call for discipleship, both to the Gospel s ancient readers and to believers today. / Thoroughly researched, the book includes a 150-page bibliography of secondary sources, and more than 150 pages of indexes.

Matthew was the most popular gospel in the early church, widely read for its clear empahsis on Jesus' teaching. Craig Keener expounds the text as a discipleship manual for believers today.

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

"Complete biblical texts with sound, scholarly based commentary that is written at a pastoral level; the Scripture translation is that of the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (1991)"--Provided by publisher.

Having devoted the past ten years of his life to research for this major new work, John Nolland gives us a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew that engages with a notable range of Matthean scholarship and offers fresh interpretations of the dominant Gospel in the history of the church. Without neglecting the Gospel's sources or historical background, Nolland places his central focus on the content and method of Matthew's story. His work explores Matthew's narrative technique and the inner logic of the unfolding text, giving full weight to the Jewish character of the book and its differences from Mark's presentation of parallel material. While finding it unlikely that the apostle Matthew himself composed the book, Nolland does argue that Matthew's Gospel reflects the historical ministry of Jesus with considerable accuracy, and he brings to the table new evidence for an early date of composition. Including accurate translations based on the latest Greek text, detailed verse-by-verse comments, thorough bibliographies for each section, and an array of insightful critical approaches, Nolland's Gospel of Matthew will stimulate students, preachers, and scholars seeking to understand more fully Matthew's presentation of the gospel narrative.