Ewangelia według św. Mateusza. Katolicki komentarz do Pisma Świętego

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

by Curtis Mitch, Edward Sri

Ewangelia Mateusza ma dziś równie wielką moc jak wtedy, gdy pojawiła się po raz pierwszy, w kołysce starożytnego Kościoła. Pomimo upływu wieków jej moc przemieniania życia i prowadzenia mężczyzn i kobiet do żywej relacji z Jezusem nie zmniejszyła się ani o włos. Dla pierwszych chrześcijan była ona cennym, pierwszym świadectwem historii Jezusa, które wyszło spod pióra apostoła będącego jej naocznym świadkiem. Także dla nas Ewangelia Mateusza jest okrętem flagowym kanonu obejmującego cztery ewangelie oraz pierwszym świadectwem o Jezusie, które pojawia się w Nowym Testamencie. Zarówno wtedy, jak i dzisiaj otrzymujemy ją jako słowo zbawienia.Seria Katolicki Komentarz do Pisma Świętego adresowana jest zarówno do duszpasterzy, jak i osób szukających pomocy w osobistej lekturze Nowego Testamentu. Kolejne tomy zostały opracowane przez teologów i biblistów łączących wiedzę z umiejętnością przystępnego przekazu. Wychodząc od współczesnych badań biblijnych i Tradycji, seria pozwala zgłębiać Pismo Święte w kontekście życia codziennego i jego związków z liturgią oraz nauczaniem Kościoła.

Genres: Catholic, Nonfiction, Scripture, Religion, Theology, Faith, Spirituality

428 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
This is not quite as good as the previous books I've gotten in the series (The Gospel of Mark, Corinthians I and II). Partway through I began feeling the way Homer Simpson did about the Bible, "What a preachy book!"

It occurred to me that it was because these authors focus primarily on the connections Matthew made with Old Testament scripture and on Christ's struggles with the Pharisees. Aside from specific sections "for reflection" there is scant focus on Christ's humanity, of the people he encounters, and so on. When I pulled my other volumes to see why I was so dissatisfied with what I was getting out of this book, I found that those authors were able to work in the Biblical/legal connections that can be fascinating while still talking throughout about Christ's incarnation as something tangible, as a person, and about the reactions of the people he encountered.

I can appreciate the connections the authors are making but it makes for dull commentary indeed. I will continue reading but with another commentary to supply the deficiencies. This is a fault of the editors who surely should have directed the authors more strongly to provide a book more in keeping with the others in the series.

ABOUT THE SERIES AS A WHOLE
This is my favorite commentary series on the New Testament.

As a rule each volume combines a lot of the information that I have in a variety of other commentaries (both Catholic and Protestant), but then pulls it all together with additional observations that make it very accessible while still being scholarly. Many sections end with items for reflection. The style is very easy to read and you never feel as if it is talking over your head.

The structure is such that you are generally covering just a little scripture at a time. Each reading is followed with cross references to the Old Testament, New Testament, Catechism, and Liturgy. These are followed by the commentary, in which words from the scripture reading are bold whenever they are used. I have seen people complaining about that practice, I find it useful. Sometimes a bold word makes me suddenly pay attention and go back to the scripture, thinking, "Did it really say that? Why haven't I ever noticed before?"

There are also a few maps, occasional photos when they'd be helpful, and sidebar boxes with Biblical background and living tradition information that enriches understanding (Catechism, Fathers of the Church, saints).

[Karol Darmas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Komentarz do Pisma Świętego jest tym, bez czego nie wyobrażam sobie mojej półki z książkami. I wcale nie jest tak, że brakowało na niej takiego tytułu. Owszem, zanim zacząłem zakupy serii, do której należy ta konkretna książka, miałem w swojej biblioteczce inne komentarze. Ale miały już swoje lata.
Z biblistyką jest jak z każdą inną dziedziną. Rozwija się. Nie można więc zatrzymywać się na pewnym etapie, bo prowadzi to do systematycznego pozostawania w tyle za resztą. Tak było trochę z moimi komentarzami. Są dobre, ale mają swoje lata.
Stało się więc tak, że zauważyłem gdzieś reklamę tej serii i postanowiłem sobie, że będę sukcesywnie kupować kolejne tomy, żeby zaktualizować swoją biblioteczkę.
Z komentarzami jest tak, że zazwyczaj sięga się po nie wtedy, kiedy przygotowuje się kazanie (mówię o sobie). Rzadko kiedy czyta się je w całości. Zresztą rzadko kiedy (oceniam na postawie moich doświadczeń) są przygotowane z takim założeniem, że ktoś przeczyta dany komentarz "od deski do deski". Poza tym, wcale nierzadko pojawia się w nich bardzo hermetyczny język, który zniechęca do czytania dłuższych fragmentów.
Z tym komentarzem jest inaczej.
Jest napisany bardzo przystępnym językiem, który sprawia, że ten konkretny komentarz jest "przyjazny dla użytkownika". Nie wydaje się być pisany z myślą o specyficznej grupie ludzi jaką są księża czy teologowie. Jest napisany "dla każdego". I to moim zdaniem jest jego największa wartość.
Dlaczego w ogóle postanowiłem przeczytać ten komentarz? W końcu - jak napisałem wcześniej - większość z nich nie nadaje się do tego za bardzo. Z uczciwości wobec tych, którzy słuchają moich homilii. Chciałem przestrzec się przed zbytnim pokładaniem zaufania w swoją wiedzę i w swoje własne interpretacje. To ostanie było dla mnie szczególnie ważne, bo mam wrażenie, że to szczególna plaga dzisiejszych czasów. Każdy interpretuje Pismo Święte tak, jak mu się podoba. Nierzadko w ogóle nie przejmując się zasadami, nauką Kościoła i całym bagażem dokonań nauk biblijnych w tym zakresie. Nierzadko więc dziś dochodzi do tego, że przychodzi mi stanąć wobec "proroka", który ignorując to wszystko stwierdza coś w rodzaju: "Nikt przede mną nie rozumiał tego dobrze, dopiero ja wam powiem jak to ma być." I co z takim począć?
Ten komentarz polecam nie tylko księżom. Polecam go każdemu, kto chce lepiej rozumieć Słowo Boże. Członkom Kręgów Biblijnych, lektorom, liderom grup modlitewnych...
I na koniec jeszcze jedno. Coś co mnie zachwyciło. Na samym końcu znajduje się jedna strona, która może być bezcenna, a która zawiera propozycje lektur. Złoto!!!

[Brenda Conyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of all!!!

This is an excellent commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. It is written in a way that a person just beginning his Christian faith journey can learn much....and a person farther along on the journey can learn as well.
It is divided into easy sections for reading and personal reflection before moving to the next section.
It presents enough history, local customs, and the various meanings of the Hebrew/Greek words to keep you interested—but not overwhelmed with heavy theology!
At the end of some sections there is a Reflection section that invites you to pause and apply the reading to your own life.
I like this commentary because it is thorough, uses a lot of good resources, and is written in a way that I was able to use this book in my time of prayer and to do some self-reflection to explore my own relationship with Christ.
Lastly, it is a wonderful work that blasts the notion that Catholics are not Christian. There are a lot of things both faith journeys have in common—the most important being Jesus Christ. Therefore, I believe this study would be good for Protestant and Catholic alike.

[Vincent Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catholic Bible Commentaries are very helpful in helping readers of Scriptures understand what they are reading. When reading the Scriptures, Catholics should not only approach the text merely by its ‘face-value’. Catholics read the Scripture “within “the living Tradition of the whole Church,”” (CCC 113) with foundations built upon Jesus Christ, and also then on the apostles and the continued interpretation and analysis by the Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Catholic readers of Scriptures must not dismiss tradition, but see it as a means to correctly interpret Scripture without inserting one’s subjective notions.

Moreover, the Catechism clearly and defines well the senses of Catholic reading of the Scriptures:

The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.”

The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.

1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.

2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written “for our instruction”.

3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.

CCC 116-117
I think a number of Catholics are unaware of such guidelines of reading Catholic Scripture. There are times when Scripture verses are thrown around giving people the wrong impression and wrong understanding of what the verse actually means. When Catholic Scripture is quoted to suit one’s own agenda, instead of seeing Scripture as the Living Word read in light of the Tradition of the Church, it becomes a tool that causes more spiritual harm than good. An example of this is the Pride Month page on the website of The Catholic District School Board (I will only speak about the uncontextualization of Scripture), which used Mark 1:11 in the following context:


https://www.tcdsb.org/forcommunity/co... (as of December 17, 2021)
Such verse comes from the first chapter of Mark, which speaks of the Baptism of the Lord. However, the context in which the verse is quoted here sounds like it is the voice of the Father speaking to human beings.

I question how many Catholic publically funded school, at least in my province of Ontario has a copy of some Catholic Biblical commentary? Classrooms may have shelves full of Bibles, enough for each student to borrow, but I question why not a single presence of a Biblical commentary that will help Catholic students understand the Scriptures that they read? The same might go with the Catholic home. Perhaps many Catholic Bibles have at least one copy of the Bible, but is there any copy of a Catholic Biblical commentary? Many Catholic Bibles such as the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) have alread extensive notes below, and Catholic study Bibles, like the Oxford Catholic Study Bible have amazing built-in essays, maps, that assist in this experience. However, I much prefer a separate volume of commentary that I think is able to provide so much more than what built-in Bible commentaries can do. A wonderful one-volume edition that I currently have is The New Jerome Biblical Commentary which has always been my go-to commentary if I face a roadblock in reading a specific Scripture passage of either the Old or New Testament. It is, I believe a very good investment. New copies retail at hefty prices, but used copies can be found for around $30.00 USD. I peronally bought mine at a used book sale for only $5.00 CAD (hopefully COVID-19 will soon go away so I can go back to book hunting!)

In the recent decade, Baker Academic Publishing have been able to complete a whole New Testament Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I have been blessed to receive a review copy for The Gospel of Matthew to review on our blog. The totaly New Testament set is consisted of 17 volumes. While I would still vouch for my copy of the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, if you want to study more of a specific book of the New Testament, then The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series is for you. What you get with multi-volume Biblical commentaries is different than the a one-volume commentary.

For easy reference to the following features, you can view a PDF sample, or Amazon preview, of the Gospel of Matthew volume.

Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri dives deep into the Gospel of Matthew in this volume of The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. The introduction outlines some features that the common Catholic may not even consider, despite hearing the Gospel of Matthew on most Sundays of Year A: Who was the author of the Gospel of Matthew? What type of audience was the Gospel of Matthew written for? When was the Gospel of Matthew written? What is the relevance of Matthew’s Gospel today?… These are all questions that I think are often not asked when we read or listen to the Gospel of Matthew, but I think will be able to frame the Gospel in a oarticular lens. Having these details I think, would help us realize that the Gospels are not written as a story, or historical account, but something living, meant to be a dialogue that even the people of God today are invited to join in.

One of the features that I really like about the Bible is an outline of the Gospel. Often we refer to Biblical stories by their chapter and verse number, but little attention do we pay to the headings of the Gospel reading. We sometimes might mechanically turn to a chapter and verse, in reference to a particular story, but it is such a different perspective to see the outline of the Gospel itself, and ponder where various stories or events are located within the particular Gospel. Morever, I find this helpful in helping the reader get a better idea into where specific stories or events are located in the Gospel.

Each ‘chapter’ is divided based on the Gospel heading. I will pay particular attention to Matthew 1:1-25 as an example (and also because it is the Gospel as of the day of publishing). I think this is coincidentally a great example, because it is the Gospel of the geneology of Jesus… you know, the list of names of the ancestors of Jesus? Honestly, for me, it is one of the least interesting Gospel and I think for many others, but reading through the commentary in this volume for it is fairly interesting.

If you do not have your Bible with you as you read this commentary, that is not a problem, because surprisingly for me, the texts of the Gospel are inserted in bold-italic texts (in NABRE translation), and are split into segments where the commentators think is appropriate.

For example, the segment is commentary of Matthew 1:1 – only one single line:

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

However, one would be surprised that only one verse, but nearly two pages of commentary are made available, which speak to the literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical senses of the particular passage. This is so important for Catholics, because one may think that taking the line for face-value, there is not much to it, but just Matthew 1:1 has much to unpack historically and theologically.

To make the passage just commentated upon more relevant and applicable to daily life, there is a section after each commentary called, “Reflection and Application.” After learning about the Gospel passage, now it is time to apply it. Specifically with the geneology, it is interesting the application and relevancy provided here.

Interspersed throughout the book are grey boxes. Some are titled “Living Tradition,” and as the name suggests, in light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, helps present the Scripture interpret the Scriptures in “the living Tradition” with a quote and commentary from one of the Church Fathers. Some grey boxes are titled “Biblical Background,” which provides some commentary, explanation and cross references to important concepts. For example, page 105, in the commentary of Matthew 6:1-18, there is “Biblical Background” box with the heading, “Calling God Father,” which speaks of instances of such in the Old and New Testament. Occasionally, maps/diagrams/photographs may pop up which brings even more life to the Scripture readings.

The end of the book has a list of Suggested Reading with further resources that will help one learn more about the Gospel of Matthew. Following that is a nice concise glossary of the terms used, pastoral topics index, and even an index of sidebars.

Overall there is a wealth of content in this volume of The Gospel of Matthew which I believe will certainly be the case in other volumes. This commentary also seems to be for use in Bible study groups too, so you do not need to learn about the Bible alone.

This is a big investment, I think, to get 17-volumes. I suggest, starting with the Four Gospels. In a few days, Baker Academic Publishing is releasing a special boxed, 4-volume hardcover set of the commentary of the Gospels. As for the other books, depending on your finances, you might want to look into getting one or two a year. That way, you may be motivated into reading them before buying new ones. It is fruitful to actually use these commentaries, then purchase a whole set merely for display in a library. There is much content in these volumes that I think, will change your perspectives on the Gospels, in light of the tradition of the Church. I truly hope to see a set for the Old Testament texts.

[Colin Hickl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal commentary. I have never taken so many notes. Praise Jesus—what a wonderful Lord we have.

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I vowed this liturgical year (Cycle A devoted to Matthew) to spend every day reading some Matthew along with associated commentary. Book one is completed. As with all books in this marvelous series, this one hits a home run. Insightful commentary, practical reflections and application sections, and interesting sidebars, make this a must-have for Bible lovers. The authors are fine theologians, and I would encourage anyone to pick up any of their books and/or watch their videos -- you will always come away learning something and loving your faith more deeply.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gospel of Matthew


This Spring, I participated in an online group reading of the Gospel of Matthew as part of Symposium Great Books. The group read one chapter a week. I have either been exposed to the Gospel of Matthew as snippets at Mass, or I have read the entire gospel at one time. This middle approach was eye-opening in that it allowed the development of themes in context over time and sustained reading.

For example, it became clear to me that Jesus’s initial preaching was geared to the cultivation of a personal space. Jesus teaches that it is not enough to do good things that are seen to be good by others, thereby earning the praise of others. Doing good things is good, but good things should be done because they are good, the doer knows them to be good, and God knows them to be good. This amounts to the creation of a private sphere, a sphere of the self, which is not the modern isolated self, but a self illumined by the presence of God.

From the standpoint of the conventional understanding of social evolution, this is remarkable. It has often been proposed that the private self is a modern invention that did not exist until much later in history. Augustine is famous for penning the first autobiography. For example, artists did not sign their artwork until late in the Renaissance. Individuality is often thought of as an invention of the Reformation or the Enlightenment.

But here we are, in the first century, and Jesus is advocating that each individual create their own personal sphere of the self.

In addition, Jesus is not advocating orthopraxy. We have been told that ancient pagans did not care what people believed; so long as people went through the motions of piety, the gods and the community were happy. But here is Jesus advocating more than orthopraxy; believers should not engage in pious actions for show, but in order to shape their own character toward virtue.

For Jesus, the personal orientation toward the good matters a lot. Of course, for Jesus, behind the good is God, which means that the person’s orientation toward the good is one’s orientation toward God.

Another thing I picked up from this approach was that the key question is, who is Jesus talking to? Surprisingly often, the answer is, to the disciples. The Gospel of Matthew serves as a primer for the disciples on how to lead the successor movement after Jesus' departure. Early on, Jesus tells the disciples that he will be gone, and it will be up to them to run the surviving movement.

In Matthew 18, Jesus gives advice about how to handle disputes in the church, ending with the observation:



“I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Most people read the last line and think it refers to them in a church. But how did we get from judging disputes to a church sermon? And why “two or three”? I think the answer is that Jesus is still talking about the two or three judges meeting in His name and He is the Shekinah, or the Holy Spirit.

This verse has sometimes been understood to refer to the “messianic minyan.”

In the Talmud, Rabbi Halafta of Kefar Hanania said: when ten sit together and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shechinah abides among them, as it is said: “God stands in the congregation of God” (Psalm 82:1).

Psalm 82 recites:

A psalm of Asaph.

1 God presides in the great assembly;

he renders judgment among the “gods”:

2 “How long will you[a]defend the unjust

and show partiality to the wicked?[b]

3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;

uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Aquinas understood the reference to gods to refer to judges:

1527. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them; in the congregation of the holy, not of the earthly. In the council of the just: and in the congregation, great are the works of the Lord (Ps 110:1)

So, in Matthew 18, we have something more remarkable than Jesus saying that he will be present in future church services; we have an identification of Jesus with the Shekinah.

This identification becomes clear in the Transfiguration. I had never focused on the cloud that envelopes Jesus, but the resemblance to the “one who appears like a Son of Man” who arrives on a cloud before the Ancient of Days is obvious. (Daniel 7). Since this reference is understood as “binitarian,” we have in the Transfiguration another example that more or less identifies Jesus with God.

And all this is happening right under our noses.

I utilized several collections of quotations and commentaries from Patristic sources. The Sri commentary, supra, is very useful. In addition, the two-volume Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Volume 1 (Ch. 1 – 13) and Volume 2 (Ch. 14-28) were excellent.

These contain quotes from Patristic sources about the relevant passages of the text. The Patristic observations may seem apt or inapt, but they are often fruitful for contemplation.

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Finally, Aquinas’s Catena Aurea on Matthew provides similar resources.

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[ola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie było smuta :(
Glowny bohater umiera pod koniec 😞

[Fred Christopherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a commentary, this book is excellent. It goes through the gospel in detail. It explains words in the original languages and elements of the culture which are not obvious to modern readers. It includes and explains references to other parts of the Bible.

One of the helpful elements is that includes the text of Matthew's gospel. This means that one can simply read this book without having go back and forth between this volume and the Bible. As this commentary was written primarily for (Roman) Catholics, the translation used is the New American Bible. It may be convenient that it uses the same translation as the Roman lectionary, but some of us prefer a more literal translation for study.

Each section lists references to the current catechism.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn't look very exciting--even with sidebars and pictures, it still has a textbook feel--but it is excellent. Well-researched, well-written, and easy to read. The book goes through Matthew paragraph by paragraph, explaining the meaning and historical background. I like how it ties much of the Gospel of Matthew to Old Testament references, so the reader can see Christianity's connection to Jewish history and the teachings of the prophets. It's definitely not a page turner; it took me over a year to finish it. But any reader--from those with no knowledge of the Bible to those who are very familiar with it--will learn something from this book.

[Joethree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Christ is King!

Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

Jesus wants EVERYONE to be Saved.

1 Timothy 2:3-7
3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible resource for year A

In 2023 (2026, …) - Year A in the lectionary - we read through the first gospel. This guide takes us through step by step. It faces the challenges and helps to explain the more baffling parts, always relating the message to life and faith in both the first and twenty-first centuries. The language is American, but intelligible to an English speaker, apart from the odd reference to Texas! The teaching is Catholic.

[David Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew disciple of Christ

I love studying the life of Christ. It makes me hungry for more knowledge about my savior. With Lent just around the corner it was the perfect time to read one of the gospels. It makes me realize there's more to life than things. It makes me want to be more like Jesus. I hope to see him when this life is over. This commentary was inspiring.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this commentary. It provided explanations on the gospel passages and points for reflection and application at the ends of some sections. Also helpful were the Biblical Background and Living Tradition insets or sidebars that provide context for the scripture passages and the commentary.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in the collection of Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. This is an ideal way to deeply engage and learn the words and the meaning within the historical context. I can't recommend this enough for every person interested in a true and faithful study of the Gospel of Matthew.

[Roy Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information

This was a greatly insightful book that helped interpret some of the meanings of the gospel that were not always reflected on first reading. It provides a great commentary for people curious about the meaning.

[Judi Tischler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gospel of Matthew with reflections and applications for present day living.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of the others in the series, this shows a very high standard of writing and research.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid commentary on Matthew.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Every Catholic should read this.

[John Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last Christmas my bishop gifted all the priests in his diocese a copy of “The Gospel of Matthew,” a Catholic commentary by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. Having just finished reading the book, I am glad to offer my thoughts. Commentaries on Sacred Scripture often fall into one of two extremes ranging from overly pious to overly scholarly/skeptical. Refreshingly, this commentary seems to present a very balanced view; while authentically faithful to the Church’s teaching and tradition, the book also offers deep scholarly insight in simple language that anyone may appreciate. I recommend this commentary for deepening in knowledge of scripture and for prayer.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know...I would love to give this five stars, but I think four is fair. I felt that the author offered simplistic explanations after each gospel passage. The author basically repeats in his own words what the gospel just said, rarely was any new insight given. But given that, I think this book would be good for beginners (maybe that was the author's target market?), or for those who do not want to get too "heavy" into Scripture. All in all, I enjoyed the light read into Scriptures, and I did learn from it, and the author did apply the Scripture to Catholic doctrine, which was helpful.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent footnotes and commentaries. Although many messages and teachings contained in Matthew's Gospel transcend time and place (how could they not) and trying to extract those is one approach to reading the New Testament, this book allow a deeper dive especially for those who lack (as I do) sufficient understanding of the societal, cultural and political situation in the Middle East 2000 years ago, and knowledge of the Old Testament.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've started reading a section of this commentary each day and I've found it to be very worthwhile. There's a wealth of information presented in an easy to read way, and it has opened up St Matthew's Gospel and revealed some unseen nuances and details that have added a lot to my reading and understanding of the Gospel. I'd highly recommend this book.

[Les Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

More a reference book than a 'read-through'. Excellent presentation and commentary. I especially like the way the chapters align with the schedule of liturgical readings for the year of Matthew.

Good resource for deepening my practice of Lectio Divina

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find these a wonderful reference for understanding The Gospel of Matthew. Excellent reading. References for the other books of the Bible that pertain to the various chapters are included. I would like to read other books in this series.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. The format is great. The insights are great. The sections are broken up nicely. I'm reserving my five star rating for Bernard Orchard's commentary (A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture).

[Clive Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful Gospel commentary

This commentary of St Mathew’s gospel is a very good accompaniment to readers of that gospel. It is insightful and illuminating, provides context to many of the passages.