Matthew as Story

by Jack Dean Kingsbury

This work uses literary (narrative) criticism to explore the world of the evangelist Matthew. The focus is on the plot of the gospel story, with discussions of the storylines, Jesus' speeches and journey, the disciples' experiences, and the contemporary community. The book is a completely revised and enlarged version of the first edition. Two chapters have been added: one discussing the speeches of Jesus and one tracing the storline of the religious leaders. Also, chapter 5 on Jesus' use of "the Son of man" has been substantially rewritten to explain more fully and more clearly the meaning and function of this self-designation. Throughout the book, new topics and insights have been added and developed, and the citations and bibliography have been updated.

Genres: New Testament, Theology, Biblical Studies

181 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1985

Reviews

[Kendall Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and very thorough literary analysis of Matthew's Gospel. At times Kingsbury seems to belabor the obvious or make a strange claim, however on the whole this book is full of keen insights and analysis that opens up the Gospel to fuller and deeper appreciation.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants in intro to Matthew that doesn't get bogged down in historical questions about authorship, provenance, etc.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kingsbury has great things to say about the gospel of Matthew but this is definitely not for the lay-reader. It definitely have a scholarly tone and reveals the extensive vocabulary of a biblical scholar. A little dry at times but full of important information for any study of Matthew, particularly the emphasis of Jesus' ministry.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Story of Matthew

I have read parts of this book before but in an atomized way. I've checked it on weeks I'd preached from Matthew's gospel, focusing on chapters 2-4 where Kingsbury lays out the shape of Matthew's narrative.

Have read it through now, I can tell you find those chapters the least compelling. Kingsbury wrote at a time when historical crucified methods gave way to other readings and this is narrative criticism par excellence. Chapter one explores the features of narrative (plot, setting, characters, author, narrator, implied reader) before examining Matthew's story's beginning, middle and end. There is some debate of where the seams of Kingsbury's section are, but his construction is sound. I'd quibble with some details here and there but nothing major.

Chapters 5-10 zero in aspects of Matthew's story: the use of son of man and son of God in Matthew, features and audience of Jesus's speeches, the antagonists of Jesus, the disciples, and what we know of the implied reader—the Matthean community that Matthew was writing to.

My goal in reading these books on Matthew during Matthew's liturgical year is to deepen my insights into the text. This book certainly is helpful toward that end. Kingsbury is attentive to structure, and the language of story. I have a few nuggets I've tucked away for later.

Nevertheless, there are limitations. In places it is too neat. In other places, he is less attentive to certain details (he's been criticized for rightly nothing the importance of "the son of God" as Chris to logical title, without noticing how the servant motif gives the title a peculiar title.

But then biggest limitation is that it was a book for its time and it opened up new discussions for.a scholarly world that had stagnated. But there are some questions, Kingsbury did not ask. Empire criticism, social scientific readings, womanist, feminist and postcolonial readings ask different questions of the text than are addressed here. Still, for what this is, it is great.

[Neil White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the classic works on literary or narrative criticism and Matthew's gospel. Very approachable and a good introduction to a literary approach.

[Bayu Probo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku ini mengambil sudut studi Injil Matius dari titik pencerita. Memang perlu lebih dari 10 tahun untuk menyelesaikan buku ini. Bagi saya memang tidak mudah. Judul dan covernya sangat memengaruhi minat baca :-) Termasuk jenis font bodytext-nya.

Tapi, mengingat informasi yang sangat kaya di dalamnya, akhirnya dengan terengah-engah buku ini dapat diselesaikan.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Dean Kingsbury does an excellent job of examining Matthew through a literary lens. This work develops the theology of Matthew as though it was the only book of the Bible available. This book isn't simply another encouraging Christian work for the Christian life, but Kingsbury's scholarly perspective gives insights that many believers would never come across in their own reading of the Gospel of Matthew. The primary benefit I found in this work was how Kingsbury leaves out other New Testament theology, examining the first of the synoptics without reading Paul into the text. While Kingsbury's examination does not prove that Matthew had any theological disagreements with any of the other New Testament writers, it does clearly demonstrate how Matthew's contribution to the New Testament is unique and offers special perspective on certain subjects that the rest of the New Testament don't necessarily focus on.

[Kurty Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the groundbreaking work that Kingsbury has done in terms of making a narrative interpretation of Matthew a viable option in scholarship. I wish he would do more understanding of Matthew in light of the story of Israel.

[James Chally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book manages to delve deep into the significance of Matthews gospel and at the same time be concise enough to read on an afternoon. This is the definitive literary critical work on Matthew.