Setting Jesus apart from Demiurges, Deities, Daemons, and Divi

MATTHIAS KONRADT is Professor of New Testament at the Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg. His works translated into English include Israel, Church, and the Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew and The Gospel according to Matthew: A Commentary.

CONTENTS

Editors’ Preface Author’s Preface 1 Matthew in Context: The Relationship of the Matthean Community to Judaism 2 David’s Son and Lord: A Sketch of the

Davidic-Messianic Aspects of Matthean

Christology 3 The Baptism of the Son of God:

Reflections on the Baptism of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew 4 The Perfect Fulfillment of the Torah and the Conflict with the Pharisees in the

Gospel of Matthew 5 The Reception and Interpretation of the

Decalogue in the Gospel of Matthew 6 “Blessed Are the Merciful” (Matt 5.7):

Compassion and Mercy as Ethical

Attitude in the Gospel of Matthew 7 “Take My Yoke upon You and Learn from Me!” (Matt 11.29): Matthew 11.28–30 and the Christological Dimension of

Matthean Ethics

“This valuable collection of essays is uniformly careful and judicious, unfailingly informed and to the point, and always fair when criticizing others. Konradt has a knack for unpacking assertions, exposing assumptions, and following arguments to their conclusion. The various subjects are of broad importance and so should be of interest not only to Matthean experts but all serious students of early Christianity.” —DALE C. ALLISON JR., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary “Matthias Konradt, internationally known for his many outstanding contributions to Matthean studies, impressively enriches our view with this outstanding volume. The seven main essays of the author, collected and translated in this book, explore with admirable rigor and clarity central issues on the First Gospel. Students and scholars will benefit much from Konradt’s analysis of the Gospel of Matthew.”

Christology, Torah, and Ethics in the Gospel of Matthew

BAYLOR-MOHR SIEBECK STUDIES IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Matthias Konradt translated by Wayne Coppins

Christology, Torah, and Ethics in the Gospel of Matthew, the tenth and final volume in the Baylor–Mohr Siebeck Studies in Early Christianity series, brings together seven of Matthias Konradt’s most important essays on the Gospel of Matthew. Together they highlight key themes of this major early Christian text and demonstrate its formative role in shaping both the identity and theology of the growing Christian movement.

The first chapter on the context of Matthew is foundational. It presents the main points of controversy in recent scholarship on the relationship of the Matthean community to Judaism, identifies the interpretive problems that underlie the disagreements, and sketches out perspectives for subsequent scholarship. The next two chapters deal with central aspects of Matthean Christology: chapter 2 with the Davidic-messianic aspects of Matthean Christology and chapter 3 with the character of the Son of God concept in Matthew alongside the controversial question of the meaning of righteousness in Matthew. With chapters 4 and 5, Konradt works out his sophisticated understanding of Matthew’s Torah hermeneutic, giving special attention to the interpretation of the antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount and to Matthew’s reception and interpretation of the decalogue.

Finally, with the analysis of mercy in chapter 6 and the detailed interpretation of the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28–30 in chapter 7, the last two chapters show that Matthean ethics are not exhausted in the interpretation of the Torah. Rather, in the way the Gospel of Matthew brings together Old Testament and early Jewish heritage with an orientation toward the ethical potential of the Christ event, it proves to be one of the main testimonies of New Testament ethics.

“Conversant with a wide range of Jewish texts from the Hellenistic-Roman era and displaying remarkable exegetical skill, Konradt offers a series of insightful and thoughtprovoking studies that will be appreciated by anyone interested in understanding the Gospel of Matthew within its historical, literary, and theological context.”

—LIDIJA NOVAKOVIC, Professor of New Testament, Baylor University

MATTHIAS KONRADT

translated by

WAYNE COPPINS

CHRISTOLOGY, TORAH, and ETHICS

in the GOSPEL of MATTHEW

ISBN 978-1-4813-1568-5 $54.99 | Hardback 256 pages 6 x 9 October 15, 2022

—UTA POPLUTZ, Professor of Biblical Theology, University of Wuppertal