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commandeer for himself; compare the experience of Elijah in the wilderness
(1 Kgs 19:4–8), though in that case the food was provided at the beginning
of the forty days, not at the end. The angels thus fulfill their protective role
as it was promised in the devil’s quotation from Ps 91:11. Jesus will later
claim to have legions of angels at his call in case of need (26:53), though
again he will decline to call on them. For the “caring” role of angels cf. Heb
1:14: they are “ministering spirits sent to care for (diakonia, the same term
as here) those who are to inherit salvation,” though it is unlikely that
Hebrews was thinking there of the provision of literal food.³⁷
II. Galilee: The Messiah Revealed in Word and Deed (4:12–16:20)
In 1:1–4:11 we have been introduced to Jesus of Nazareth, Israel’s Messiah and
the Son of God. A rich profusion of scriptural quotation and allusion has traced a
variety of prophetic themes and typological connections which together point to
the coming of Jesus as the time of fulfillment of God’s age-old purpose for his
people. Jesus himself has come on the scene in the context of the exciting revival
movement of John the Baptist and has been marked out as the one who will
carry John’s work forward into the era of effective judgment and salvation which
God has promised. A period of personal preparation in the wilderness has proved
his fidelity as the Son of God. We are now ready for the messianic mission to be
launched.
As in chapter 2, Matthew first explains from Scripture what is to be the
geographical setting of the mission: in conformity with Isaiah’s prophecy it must
be in Galilee (4:12–16)—despite the standard view expressed by the priests and
scribes in 2:5–6 and endorsed by the Jewish opinion cited in John 7:41–42, 52.
Galilee and surrounding areas accordingly are the setting for the presentation of
the Messiah’s mission which will take up nearly half the gospel until it reaches
its climax near Caesarea Philippi (probably the most northerly point of Jesus’
recorded travels) in 16:13–20. From time to time Jesus will move outside Galilee
proper (8:28–34; perhaps 14:13–21; 15:21–39; 16:13–20), but all the time he
remains in the north. It will be only from 16:21 that he sets off for Judea, where
the climactic scenes of the gospel will be set, until the final triumphant return to
Galilee in 28:16–20. The narrative from 16:21 to 28:15 will be cast in the form
of a single journey from north to south culminating in a single week in
Jerusalem. In contrast the Galilean section of the gospel has no clearly defined
framework of time and movement (though in some sections a coherent itinerary
can be discerned) but is rather an anthology of events and teaching designed to
convey an overall impression of an undefined period of largely public activity in
the north. In this section we are given a broad impression of Jesus’ ministry in
and around his home province; after 16:21 he will go south into Judean territory
for the confrontation with the Jerusalem authorities which will bring his ministry
to its paradoxical climax.
It is therefore within this northern section of the gospel that the majority of the
words and deeds of Jesus recorded by Matthew, especially those which envisage
a public setting, must find their place. Matthew has his own distinctive way of
arranging this collection of disparate material. Three of his five discourse
collections (see pp. 8–10) occur in this section (chs 5–7, 10, 13). Between the
first two of these is found an equally carefully constructed anthology of the
authoritative deeds of Jesus (chs 8–9; see introduction to that section). There is
thus a clear plan to the first part of the Galilean section of the gospel:
4:18–22
The call of the first disciples, to form the essential audience for
5:1–7:29
Teaching on discipleship, revealing the Messiah’s authority
8:1–9:34
Anthology of actions revealing the Messiah’s authority
9:35–10:42
The Messiah’s authority shared with his disciples.
Thereafter, while some deliberate patterns and development can be discerned
(see my section headings for 11:2–16:20), there is less sign of an overarching
design, and at times one feels that the material is there simply because Matthew
had to find somewhere to put it within the northern period of public ministry.
This whole section of the gospel corresponds broadly to the first main section of
Mark’s account (Mark 1:14–8:30), though considerably expanded with non-
Marcan material at several points. In Mark’s Galilean section there is only one
main block of teaching, the parable discourse of ch. 4, which falls roughly half-
way through the section and thus provides an opportunity for reflection on the
implications of Jesus’ announcement of the kingdom of God and the responses
which it has met. Matthew’s chapter 13 is a considerable expansion from Mark
4, but serves a similar purpose following the varied responses to Jesus recorded
in chs. 11–12. But by his careful construction of the opening part of the section
(chs. 5–10) Matthew has considerably enhanced the impression of Jesus’
authority, thus providing fuller food for thought when the parable discourse is
reached. In order to achieve this effect Matthew has not only constructed a
substantial discourse out of almost entirely non-Marcan material (chs. 5–7) but
also extensively reordered the narrative pericopes which he has in common with
Mark, with chs. 8–9 mainly made up of a careful interweaving of two Marcan
sections, Mark 1:29–2:22 and 4:35–5:43.
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