Matthew and Stephen

Peter J. Leithart, August 04, 2006

Assuming that Matthew was composed very early in the history of the church - in the early 30s, I suspect - it fits neatly into the early persecution situation of the church. As a retelling of Israel's history, it mimics Stephen's sermon, which presents the history of Israel as a history of rejecting those whom the Lord sent. Jesus assumes various roles in Matthew - the law giver, the Sage, the apocalyptic prophet - and the Jews do to Him what they did to all the prophets.