Book Description

Recognized as a masterly commentary when it first appeared, Frederick Dale Brunerbs study of Matthew is now available as a greatly revised and expanded two-volume work -- the result of seven years of careful refinement, enrichment, and updating. Through this commentary, crafted especially for teachers, pastors, and Bible students, Bruner aims bto help Godbs people love what Matthewbs Gospel says.b Brunerbs work is at once broadly historical and deeply theological. It is historical in drawing extensively on great church teachers through the centuries and on the classical Christian creeds and confessions. It is theological in that it unpacks the doctrines in each passage, chapter, and section of the Gospel. Consciously attempting to bridge past and present, Bruner asks both what Matthewbs Gospel "said" to its first hearers and what it "says" to readers today. As a result, his commentary is profoundly relevant to contemporary congregations and to those who guide them. Brunerbs commentary is replete with lively, verse-by-verse discussion of Matthewbs text. While each chapter expounds a specific topic or doctrine, the bookbs format consists of a vivid, original translation of the text followed by faithful exegesis and critical analysis, a survey of historical commentary on the text, and current applications of the text or theme under study. In this revision Bruner continues to draw on the best in modern scholarship -- including recent work by W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., by Ulrich Luz, and by many others -- adding new voices to the reading of Matthew. At the same time he cites the classic commentaries of Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Bengel, and the rest,who, like Bruner himself, were not simply doctrinal teachers but also careful exegetes of Scripture. Such breadth and depth of learning assure that Brunerbs "Matthew" will remain, as a reviewer for "Interpretation" wrote, bthe most dog-eared commentary on the shelf.b Volume 1 of Brunerbs commentary is called "The Christbook" because the first twelve chapters of Matthew are focused on the nature and work of Christ. As Bruner proceeds through these chapters, he shows how Matthew presents, step by step, central themes of Christology: Jesusb coming (chapters 1-4), his teaching (5-7), his miracles (8-9), his sermon on mission (10), and his person (11-12). Throughout the book there are also thoughtful discussions of significant topics such as baptism, marriage, Jewish-Christian relations, and heaven and hell. Eminently readable, rich in biblical insight, and ecumenical in tone, Brunerbs two-volume commentary on Matthew now stands among the best in the field.