The first Gospel, written by one of the least conspicuous of the twelve apostles, is a book of primary importance. Dr Hendriksen’s massive commentary soon reveals why this is so, and why, for the author, the reading of Matthew ‘at one sitting is a thrilling experience. The book is simply irresistible.’
While holding that the purpose of Matthew’s Gospel was ‘fully to win the Jews to Christ,’ Dr Hendriksen does not find the Gospel’s most distinctive feature in Christ’s kingship. Rather it is seen in the prophetic emphasis, in the plan of God’s grace revealed in the Messianic predictions of the Hebrew Scriptures (forty of which Matthew uses), and now shown to be realized in history.
More than this, the Gospel holds forth Christ himself as the Chief Prophet (Matt. 17:5). So among the first three Gospels it is to Matthew that one must turn for Christ’s great discourses. ‘Whatever parallels the other Gospels contain, it is the former publican who has given us this material in its fullest and most organized form.’ Matthew gives us not only the Sermon on the Mount, but the seven ‘kingdom’ parables, the rules for church discipline, the seven woes denounced upon Pharisees and scribes, and Christ’s vivid and detailed prophecy of the future of Jerusalem, the church and the world. The majestic portrayal of the final judgment provides the grand climax of Christ’s prophetic ministry.
The commentary on the text is preceded by one hundred pages of Introduction in which Dr Hendriksen deals with the ‘synoptic problem.’ Dating the Gospel at around A.D. 63-66, he shows the ineffectualness of the attempted liberal ‘reconstruction’ of the Gospel history.
| LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS | vii | |
| INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPELS | 1 | |
| To the four: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John | 3 | |
| To the three: Matthew, Mark, and Luke (The Synoptics) | 6 | |
| A. Their Origin (The Synoptic Problem) | 6 | |
| B. Their Reliability | 54 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW | 77 | |
| Characteristics | 79 | |
| Authorship, Date, and Place | 92 | |
| Purpose | 97 | |
| Theme and Outline | 99 | |
| The interpretation of each of the Lord’s discourses is preceded by an introduction and summary. Elsewhere the summary will be found at the close of the chapter. By way of exception Matthew 28 is followed by a “Reflection” on the main theme of that chapter. | ||
| GENERAL THEME: The Work Which Thou Gavest Him to Do | 99 | |
| Its Beginning or Inauguration 1:1- 4:11 | 103 | |
| Chapter 1 | 104 | |
| Chapter 2 | 148 | |
| Chapter 3 | 194 | |
| Chapter 4:1-11 | 220 | |
| Its Progress or Continuation 4:12-20:34 | 237 | |
| A. The Great Galilean Ministry | 238 | |
| Chapter 4:12-25 | 239 | |
| Chapters 5-7 First Great Discourse | 254 | |
| Chapters 8, 9 | 384 | |
| Chapter 10 Second Great Discourse | 444 | |
| Chapter 11 | 480 | |
| Chapter 12 | 508 | |
| Chapter 13 Third Great Discourse | 546 | |
| Chapter 14 | 584 | |
| Chapter 15:1-20 | 606 | |
| B. The Retirement Plus Perean Ministries | 620 | |
| Chapter 15:21-39 | 621 | |
| Chapter 16 | 634 | |
| Chapter 17 | 662 | |
| Chapter 18 Fourth Great Discourse | 682 | |
| Chapter 19 | 710 | |
| Chapter 20 | 734 | |
| Its Climax or Culmination 21:1-28:20 | 757 | |
| A. The Week of the Passion | 758 | |
| Chapter 21 | 759 | |
| Chapter 22 | 790 | |
| Chapter 23 Fifth Great Discourse | 816 | |
| Chapters 24, 25 Sixth Great Discourse | 842 | |
| Chapter 26 | 894 | |
| Chapter 27 | 940 | |
| B. The Resurrection | 986 | |
| Chapter 28 | 987 | |
| SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY | 1004 | |
| GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY | 1006 |