Matthew (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) [Hardcover]

Stanley Hauerwas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible | Publication Date: January 1, 2007

Matthew is the third volume in the forty-volume Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. This commentary, like each in the series, is designed to serve the church--through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This book is the third in a planned 40-volume commentary series by Brazos Press, which is attempting to revive the early church's tradition of having theologians, rather than professional biblical scholars, interpret scripture. What's nice to see is that the individual commentators have been allowed to retain their own voices in this series; Hauerwas is as delightfully irascible and hard-hitting as ever, suggesting, for example, that the parable of the sower "helps us to read the situation of the church in America as Jesus' judgment on that church." Believing that "Matthew's gospel is…an ongoing exercise to help us see the world through Christ," Hauerwas attends to the Gospel chapter by chapter, teasing out theological themes while resisting the temptation to create a systematic Christology. He draws on theologians like Barth, Augustine, Origen and especially Bonhoeffer, whom he quotes and paraphrases often, as well as New Testament scholars and eclectic writers like Wendell Berry. Insightful and provocative, Hauerwas adds a valuable theological perspective to the Gospel of Matthew. (Jan.)
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From the Inside Flap

Praise for the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible

"The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible makes a most welcome contribution to the church, the academic world, and the general public at large. By enlisting a wide range of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians who differ on much, but who agree on the truth of the Nicene Creed, the series also represents ecumenical activity of the very best kind. It is always a daunting challenge to expound the church's sacred book both simply and deeply, but this impressive line-up of authors is very well situated for the attempt."--Mark A. Noll, University of Notre Dame

"Preachers and teachers in particular, but thoughtful Christians more generally, have long lamented the slide of biblical scholarship into hyper-specialized critical studies of ancient texts in remote historical context. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Brazos Theological Commentary is being so warmly welcomed. The outstanding array of authors, beginning with Jaroslav Pelikan's splendid commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, are, at long last, reclaiming the Bible as the book of the living community of faith that is the church."--Richard John Neuhaus, editor in chief, First Things

"What a splendid idea! Many preachers have been longing for more commentaries that are not only exegetical but theological in the best sense: arising out of the conviction that God, through his Word, still speaks in our time. For those of us who take our copies of Martin Luther's Galatians and Karl Barth's Romans from the shelves on a regular basis, this new series in that tradition promises renewed vigor for preaching, and therefore for the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church in our time."--Fleming Rutledge, author of The Bible and The New York Times and The Seven Last Words from the Cross

"This new series places the accent on 'theological' and reflects current interpretive ferment marked by growing resistance to the historical-critical project. With a focus on the theological tradition, this series holds the promise of asking interpretive questions that are deeply grounded in the primal claims of faith. The rich promise of the series is indicated by the stature and erudition of the commentators."--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"The Brazos Theological Commentary exists to provide an accessible authority so that the preacher's application will be a ready bandage for all the hurts of life. We who serve the pulpit want a commentary we can understand, and those who hear us expect us to give them a usable word. The Brazos Commentary is just the right level of light to make illuminating the word the joy it was meant to be."--Calvin Miller, author of A Hunger for the Holy and Loving God Up Close

Projected volumes in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible include:

John Behr (St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary) on Exodus

Telford Work (Westmont College) on Deuteronomy

Stephen Fowl (Loyola College, Maryland) and Samuel Wells (Duke University) on Ruth & Esther

David Burrell (University of Notre Dame) on Job

Ellen Charry (Princeton Theological Seminary) and Anne Astell (Purdue University) on Psalms

Paul Griffiths (University of Illinois at Chicago) on Song of Songs

Kevin Vanhoozer (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) on Jeremiah

Robert Jenson (Center of Theological Inquiry) on Ezekiel

David Lyle Jeffrey (Baylor University) on Luke

Bernd Wannenwetsch (Oxford University) on 1 & 2 Corinthians

Kathryn Greene-McCreight (Yale University Divinity School) on Galatians

John Webster (King's College, Aberdeen) on Ephesians

George Hunsinger (Princeton University) on Philippians

Christopher Seitz (University of St. Andrews) on Colossians

Douglas Farrow (McGill University) on 1 & 2 Thessalonians

David Hart (University of Virginia) on Hebrews

Timothy George (Beeson Divinity School, Samford University) on James

Geoffrey Wainwright (Duke University) on Revelation

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Brazos Press (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587430959
• ISBN-13: 978-1587430954
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally....a book on discipleship that's actually Christocentric!!!, June 1, 2007

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scourge39 "scourge39" (Archbald PA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Matthew (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) (Hardcover)

Stanley Hauerwas' theological commentary on Matthew approaches this Gospel from a thematic standpoint, largely centered on the implications of following Christ. It also addresses relevant topics such as abortion, homosexuality and marriage in a timely, penetrating way. Throughout this volume, Hauerwas interacts with the writings of theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth and John Howard Yoder. As expected, Christian ethics and pacifism are well explicated at key points throughout this book. He gently challenges the Reformational understanding that views the Sermon on the Mount as Law rather than Gospel, and argues that it reflects the obligations now placed upon all who call themselves Christians. His explanation of the relationship between Israel and the Church is seemingly vague, which undoubtedly will frustrate both Dispensationalists and Covenantalists alike. At one point, he seems to question the eternal nature of the human soul by implication without explicitly denying it. Interestingly, he interprets Jesus' reference in Matthew 24:15 to 'the abomination that causes desolation' from Daniel 9:27 as a prediction of Christ's own crucifixion, which brought about the subsequent end of the Jewish Temple system. The section on Matthew 24 and 25 contains a healthy discussion about the nature of apocalyptic literature and its relationship to our anticipation of the Second Coming. It is a welcome corrective to the paranoia peddled by the authors of the Left Behind series. Hauerwas' interpretative decisions clearly demonstrate his familiarity with current Matthean scholarship. My only minor quibble is that he doesn't articulate why he chose one particular interpretation over another. This is especially important when dealing with passages like Matthew 24:15. I recommend that those planning to preach or teach through Matthew supplement Hauerwas' volume, which only offers broad commentary on each chapter and subsequently doesn't address the entire text of Matthew in a verse-by-verse manner, with R.T. France's The Gospel of Matthew in the NICNT series, which is the most thorough commentary on this Gospel currently available.

Christians need to see why some interpretations are more viable than others. This is one of the primary reasons why people consult commentaries in the first place. While it's true that more linguistically-oriented exegetical commentaries already do this, it would be refreshing for the Brazos Theological Commentary to explain why certain interpretations are THEOLOGICALLY correct while others are erroneous. Hopefully, subsequent volumes will contain such helpful guidance whenever warranted (Particularly Joseph L. Mangina's volume on Revelation). Offering specific theological defenses of particular interpretations versus other options would be a very useful void for subsequent volumes in this series to fill. It would also make each volume even more useful for preaching and teaching. I certainly hope that series editor, R. R. Reno, will move future volumes in this direction.

Even when I disagreed with some of Hauerwas' observations, I was still thankful for his willingness to be provocative in constructive ways. All of his provocative statements are certainly plausible rather than improbable and will stretch one out of their comfort zone. This commentary will serve pastors, teachers and laypeople immensely as they endeavor to follow Christ in our increasingly complex world. Hauerwas gives plenty of good insight that will greatly enrich sermons, Sunday school classes, Bible studies, and times of private reflection. Above all, it will challenge anyone who reads it to count the cost of following Christ. Highly recommended, regardless of one's theological persuasion!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars from sentimentality to subversion, November 28, 2007

By 

Daniel B. Clendenin (www.journeywithjesus.net) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matthew (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) (Hardcover)

As I write there are now four volumes published in Brazos's projected forty-volume series of theological commentaries on the Bible. Jaroslav Pelikan led the series with a masterful study of the book of Acts (2005), Peter Leithart studied 1-2 Kings (2006), Matthew Levering wrote on Ezra and Nehemiah (2007), and in the present volume Stanley Hauerwas of Duke University tackles the gospel of Matthew. My own experience of reading Bible commentaries has often been frustrating; their linguistic dissection of verb tenses and technical comparisons of what other scholars have written has generally left me spiritually hungry. The Brazos series moves to theological reflection, and I have been very grateful for the volumes by Pelikan and Hauerwas that I've read.

Matthew's gospel, Hauerwas reminds us, is not intended to provide mere theological information (although it does do that). Rather, it's a manual to train and transform us into disciples of Jesus, for "Jesus the Son of God is what Matthew is all about." In contrast to the many ways that we sentimentalize the gospel, the kingdom that Jesus announced is nothing less than a radically subversive and alternative way of life. The Jesus way unmasks our own deep anxieties, our denials of our dependency, the "legitimating stories" of our modern world, and our doomed attempts to secure our own (illusory) salvation on our own terms by work, politics, money, sex, power, reputation, etc. "There is a kind of madness," says Hauerwas, "with being a disciple of Jesus."

Hauerwas takes a simple approach to organization, devoting one chapter to each chapter of Matthew. Readers who are familiar with his many other works will not be surprised to find heavy doses of Augustine, Barth, Bonhoeffer, and Yoder. Hauerwas is at his prophetic best in pointing us to the disruption and offense provoked by the Gospel. On the third page of his book he observes that "after Jesus there is no 'normal,' or, put differently, after Jesus we are able to live 'normally' only because of his extraordinary work." And then on the next-to-the last page: "The problem, after all, is not belief in the resurrection, but whether we live lives that would make sense if in fact Jesus has not been raised from the dead." The way of discipleship, then, is difficult, but it's not dismal. Rather, it's the only true way of genuine human joy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work, September 4, 2007

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David Duncan (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matthew (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent volume for ministers, teachers, and students. Hauerwas did an outstanding job of explaining the temptations Jesus experienced in the desert. His overall treatment of the Sermon on the Mount was also excellent. I wish Hauerwas would have been more specific with the details. Because he is such a profound thinker, it would have been nice to know his conclusions concerning each detail. This commentary, however, is an excellent source for giving the overall feel of Matthew's gospel. It is well worth the price and a source I always use when teaching Matthew.