Resources for Teaching and Preaching the Gospel of Matthew

More Technical Commentaries

Even though it is expensive, if you want a technical commentary on Matthew, I would recommend the three-volume Davies and Allison texts. While I like some of the Word Biblical Commentaries, I have never found anything very interesting in Hagner’s Matthew. I don’t know the volume in the Sacra Pagina series at all.

Davies, W. D. and Dale C. Allison, Jr. The Gospel according to St. Matthew. International Critical Commentary. 3 vols. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1988.

Hagner, Donald A. Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew. Vols. 33A and 33B. Dallas: Word Books, 1993.

Harrington, Daniel J. The Gospel of Matthew. Sacra Pagina. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991.

Less Technical Commentaries

I find Smith, Long and Senior (in that order) to be the best commentaries in this list when I’m preparing a sermon. Smith is very good, but look for a used copy—it is out of print.

Garland, David E. Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Gospel. New York: Crossroad, 1993.

Hare, Douglas R. A. Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Gospel. Interpretation Commentary. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993.

Long, Thomas G. Matthew. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1997.

Senior, Donald, C. P. Matthew. Abingdon New Testament Commentaries. Nashville: Abingdon, 1998.

Smith, Robert H. Matthew. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1989.

Other Books & Articles

Allison’s book cites a lot of church fathers alongside the Sermon on the Mount. Carter’s thesis throughout these volumes is that Matthew is a political text, clearly anti-imperial as it makes its claim that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. Hultgren’s book is a technical yet readable commentary on all the parables, not just those in Matthew. Senior’s book is a fine, easy introduction to the gospel that I use in my entry-level Synoptics class.

Allison, Dale. The Sermon on the Mount: Inspiring the Moral Imagination. New York: Crossroad, 1999.

Carter, Warren. Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2000.

_____. Matthew and Empire: Initial Explorations. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2001.

_____. Matthew: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.

Hultgren, Arland. The Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

Lischer, Richard. "The Sermon on the Mount as Radical Pastoral Care." Interpretation 41 (1987) : 157-69. (The theme of this Interpretation issue is Matthew's Gospel.)

Senior, Donald, C. P. The Gospel of Matthew. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 1997.

_______. What Are They Saying About Matthew? Rev. ed. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist, 1996.

Preaching Helps & Sermons

I love the Craddock, et al. volume. It’s a commentary on the texts that appear in the lectionary. Pilgrim Preaching is my own blog on the lectionary.

Craddock, Fred B., et al. Preaching Through the Christian Year (A). Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992.

Hinkle, Mary E. Pilgrim Preaching. Weblog on preaching with commentary on upcoming lectionary texts. Access at http://www.pilgrimpreaching.org.

Kolden, Marc. Christ Our Sure Foundation: Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third). Lima, Ohio: CSS, 1995.

Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2004.

Last updated: October 12, 2004 .