Matthew’s Gospel begins where the Bible begins, with the Greek words biblos geneseos, “book of beginning” or “book of Genesis.”

It ends where the Hebrew Bible ends, with Jesus giving a commission that resembles the decree of Cyrus.

In between, Matthew presents Jesus as a Moses who teaches Torah, a Joshua who conquers the land by healing and raising the dead, a Solomon who speaks riddles of the kingdom, a prophet like Jeremiah who announces the doom of the world as it then was.

From beginning to end, Matthew recounts Jesus’ life as a recapitulation of the history of Israel.

Using this overall framework, Peter J. Leithart, President of the Theopolis Institute, will explore major themes of the first Gospel: Jesus’ teaching about the law; the nature of the kingdom; the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ parables; Jesus’ relation to His disciples; His clashes with the leaders of Israel, especially after His entry to Jerusalem; the meaning of the Olivet Discourse; the significance of His death; and the scope of the Great Commission.

The course will be held at Third Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 26-27.

---

About the instructor: Peter J. Leithart serves as the president of Theopolis Institute.