Matthew and the Margins: A Socio-Political and Religious Reading

This detailed commentary presents the Gospel of Matthew as a counter-narrative, showing that it is a work of resistance written from and for a minority community of disciples committed to Jesus, the agent of God's saving presence. It was written and functions to shape the identity and lifestyle of the early community of Jesus' followers as an alternative community that can resist the dominant authorities both in Rome and in the synagogue. The Gospel anticipates the time when Jesus will return and establish God's reign over all, including the powers in Rome.

Breaking Matthew into five narrative blocks, Carter presents a line by line commentary, considering historical, literary, cultural and ecclesial factors present at the time of the writing. These themes, accompanied by a survey of ther studies on Matthew, are outlined in his masterful introduction.