Each chapter includes discussion questions and reflection, making Meeting God in Matthew a perfect book for Bible study both for individuals and small groups. With a focus on the Passion narrative in Matthew's Gospel, it is also ideal for use as a Lent devotional for 2023.

Firstof all, these moments of mourning enabled me to see the world as it really is — as both dignified and broken. When God became incarnate, He dignified the material world by making it the dwelling place of His holiness. Yet the world is also full of sin, death, injustice, suffering, and evil. This harshness towards their historic community has provoked some Jewish scholars to question the editorship and agenda of this book, doubting that it could ever have been the work of a Jewish writer. Rabbi Michael J. Cook, Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies at Hebrew Union College, stated simply: ‘The Gospel according to Matthew has a persistent anti-Jewish animus.’ ² Since Cook was committed to positive Christian–Jewish engagement, this clearly saddened him; it was probably one of the impulses that led to his decision to spend decades teaching New Testament studies to Jewish students. In the eleven years since our son Zach was disabled, three of the four most profound emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and even physical experiences of life have occurred in moments of intense mourning related to Zach’s injury. One of those experiences occurred one week after Zach’s injury. Our daughter, Chelsea, had left for her first year of college two weeks before Zach’s accident. We waited until Zach’s condition stabilized and he woke from his medically-induced coma before we flew her home to visit him in the hospital.Matthew’s primary audience is a Jewish–Christian community in conflict and debate with the larger (unbelieving) Jewish community. Both sides, the church and the synagogue, are claiming to be the true people of God. Both claim Israel’s Scriptures as their legacy. ⁴ Answers are provided, I tend to think that the knowing the questions is more engaging and ultimately a more fruitful approach than staying safely in the boat. Matthew piles prophecy upon prophecy — from Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Micah, Zechariah — opening up the scriptures to those who knew them so that they might recognise without doubt that those scriptures point to Jesus. The prophecies were not necessarily predictive; their fulfilment often pointed to something deeper than was evident in the original text,. But in Matthew’s hands they reinforce the identity of Jesus: his name, the place of his birth, his kingship, and his purpose in God’s redemptive plan. In teaching his disciples, Jesus was not, therefore, like other rabbis of his day, and many teachers of our own. He was not training heresy-spotters, grand inquisitors, judges of others. He was inviting people into the humility of sitting under truth, growing in knowledge, acquiring wisdom.

My conversation with the man who confronted me after my talk did not end with my admission that I really had not experienced deep pain, suffering, and grief. I added that even though I had not yet experienced great loss, I was quite confident that one day I would. After an introduction we have six sections all entitled Meeting God in:- fulfilment of prophecy; in preparation for ministry; in the teaching of the kingdom; on the journey to Jerusalem; in woes and warnings; in Christ's suffering and death. Then there are three brief appendices, preceded by questions for discussion. If one favours a safety-first approach to Matthew, then this will appeal. There is something unforgettable about a bunch of fishermen who are feeling frustrated with no catch, being told how to do their job in a way that goes counter to normal experience — and then finding that the catch exceeds all expectations. There is something so odd about a man from customs and excise, getting on with the routine job of sorting out duties, being told “Follow me.” I hesitated before responding. Judging from the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes, the middle-aged man wasn’t looking for answers. He was making a statement. He clearly had no interest in having someone who had never really suffered loss dare to lecture him about mourning.MATTHEW’s account also offers readers one other incident of momentous significance: the visit of the Magi. The story of the journey of sages from the East falls into the 20 per cent of material found uniquely in Matthew. Though not technically part of the birth narrative — Jesus would have been aged around two —this is seen as belonging to the nativity story.