Ideal Disciples: A Commentary on Matthew's Beatitudes

by Daniel Daley

Happiness and human flourishing were common topics among philosophers in the ancient world, from Aristotle to Seneca and beyond. Although Bible readers often think about Jesus’ primary role as the savior of his people, he also taught a unique vision for a thriving and fulfilled life, a vision that continues to guide and challenge followers of Jesus as they navigate a complex, morally fraught world. In Ideal Disciples , Daniel Daley argues that Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount serves as an ideal starting point for understanding Jesus’ vision for discipleship. Matthew’s beatitudes might be the topic of more reflection, discussion, teaching, and writing than any other passage in the Bible. Often seen as a summation of the heart of Jesus, the beatitudes are a richly textured, layered, and penetrating passport into Christ-oriented dispositions, requiring consideration by readers of the Gospel and constant reappraisal by careful interpreters. Ideal Disciples argues that Jesus’ beatitudes demonstrate a faithful but innovative engagement with antecedent traditions and a stirring, universal call to discipleship for those willing to commit to Jesus’ unique vision. Matthew’s writer takes linguistic cues from both Judaism and the Greco-Roman world, and the message of the beatitudes can be situated squarely within Jewish wisdom and apocalyptic traditions. By serving as instruction for Jesus’ ideal disciples , the beatitudes speak not only to Matthew’s goals for the first Gospel’s first readers, but also into the lives of readers throughout the centuries and into the present day. The beatitudes are a counterintuitive and countercultural introduction to Christlikeness, and readers of the beatitudes are asked to consider what they reveal about Jesus’ vision of a fully flourishing life for his followers.

203 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2024

Reviews

[Leah Jolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daley offers an in-depth analysis of Matthew’s beatitudes, examining the role of the beatitudes in Matthew’s overall structure, as well as evaluating translation and interpretation debates. This book is extremely accessible for scholars and laypeople alike, and it has definitely changed how I read and interpret the beatitudes. Highly recommend!

[Andrea Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could easily be rated a ten-star book! All my life I’ve studied (even taught) the Beatitudes in the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel; yet, I’ve never read a more thorough, inspired, and enlightening exegesis than this one by Daniel Daley. Even Amy-Jill Levine’s “Toward the Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Daily Readings on the Sermon on the Mount” can’t come close, and that’s saying a lot. Absolutely stellar …

by Amy-Jill Levine

[Rylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great virtue of Daley's study is its close attention to the text of Matthew itself. These discipleship dispositions are given their shape and color by Matthew's narrative and, most importantly, by the person and ministry of Jesus. Additionally, reading these makarisms in conversation with the woes of Matthew 23 was something I had never before considered, but strikes me as precisely the right thing to do. There are ever only two ways to live. In these makarisms and woes, Matthew offers the crowds (and the reader) what he offers continually throughout his Gospel, the chance to make a decision about Jesus--whether Jesus is who he says he is and therefore deserves the allegiance he says he does. It is a decision, as Daley remarks, never without uncertainty, but also never offered without the promise of great reward: the experience of "nothing less than God's very kingdom" (84). A useful commentary in many many ways.