Matthew 16-23: New Testament Commentary

MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

The Old Testament looked forward to the final King of kings who would bring everlasting salvation and peace. In his Gospel, Matthew demonstrates that Jesus Christ is that King, perfect in His eternal glory and majesty. As the King's ambassadors, Christians today will find in Matthew great motivation for heartfelt worship and service. Join John MacArthur as he explains each verse of Matthew 16–23 in a way that is both doctrinally precise and intensely practical. Taking into account the cultural, theological, and Old Testament contexts of each passage, MacArthur tackles interpretive challenges and fairly evaluates differing views, giving the reader confidence in his conclusions. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series comes from the experience, wisdom, and insight of one of the most trusted ministry leaders and Bible scholars of our day. Each volume was written to be as comprehensive and accurate as possible, dealing thoroughly with every key phrase and word in the Scripture without being unnecessarily technical. This commentary will help to give a better, fuller, richer understanding of God's Word, while challenging the reader to a vibrant personal spiritual walk. A great resource for pastors, teachers, leaders, students, or anyone desiring to dig deeper into Scripture

Genres: Reference, Christian, New Testament

432 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 1988

About the author

John F. MacArthur, Jr. was a United States Calvinistic evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award-winning MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur was a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California beginning in 1969, as well as President of The Master’s College (and the related Master’s Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homiletical commentary - homiletical in the sense that it reads like a sermon. Many interpretive issues that one might otherwise expect to find discussed in a commentary are ignored. What I probably missed the most was a focus on what Matthew himself was trying to communicate through the themes and foci of his gospel, but MacArthur generally jumps straight to a gospel harmony and seems often to comment more on the life of Jesus than on Matthew specifically. That being said, once on accepts the way MacArthur has decided to interact with the text and the reader, there is much good both in understanding of the text and in application for the reader.

[Blue Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good third commentary on Matthew.

It’s interesting to see how MacArthur’s theology became more reformed since 1988 when this was published; particularly his clarity in the doctrines of sovereign grace.

I think 21st Century MacArthur would go back and rewrite many points made in this commentary, like in Matthew 22-1-14 “Responding to a Royal Invitation” when he explains:

“But few of those who heard the call were willing to accept it and thereby be among the chosen. The gospel invitation is sent to everyone, because it is not the Father’s will that a single person be excluded from His kingdom and perish … but not everyone wants God.”

However, the scripture is clear that “no one wants God” (Rom 3:10-12), rather it takes a decisive work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate and give us a new nature.

Yet, despite these Arminian undertones, overall good read.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

These commentaries were enormously helpful to me as a young Christian. I would legit sit in my room all day reading them. It was a nice trip down memory lane pulling this one off my shelf for a recent paper.

[Jim Salerno]

Excellent commentary.