Matthew (and John) Commentaries
and Bible Studies
Nov. 30 marked not just the beginning of Advent, but the beginning of a new lectionary year—Matthew for those who follow the RCL and John for those who follow the newer Narrative Lectionary. For several lectionary cycles, my go-to commentary on Matthew has been ethicist Stanely Hauerwas’ commentary in the Brazos section. In conversation with Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship, it helped me draw on the best of Matthew’s gospel—a vision for the church on earth and clarity about what it means to follow Jesus.
In 2023, shortly after I began serving as bishop, I received a complimentary copy of Lutheran New Testament scholar Mark Allan Powell’s Matthew commentary. I’ve been waiting since then to highlight it in this space. It’s worth purchasing just for the 36-page introduction. Here’s just a hint of what you will receive,
“The point might also be stated thus: Matthew’s Gospel offers modern readers a paradigmatic pathway for understanding the benefits and deficits of Christianity. When Christians have gotten things wrong (Crusades, colonialism, divinely sanctioned sexism or racism, anti-Semitism), they have almost always cited Matthew’s Gospel in support of their beliefs and actions. But when Christians have gotten things right (empowering the weak; protecting the vulnerable; opposing any and all forms of violence; striving for peace, justice, responsible stewardship, and radical inclusivity), they have likewise almost always citied Matthew’s Gospel in support of their beliefs and actions. The book has a complicated and legacy; understanding Matthew is the best way to grasp and evaluate that legacy.”
For those of you making your way through John’s Gospel, I have yet to find a better conversation partner than Gail O’Day in Abingdon’s Luke/John New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary Volume 8. WJK also as a stand-alone John commentary by O’Day.
I would love to learn that every congregation in our synod is taking a deep dive into one of these gospels (the whole Gospel, not just the lectionary readings) sometime in 2026. It’s easier to proclaim Jesus in your daily lives when you know the story well.
To that end, for churches small and large, I commend the Yale Divinity School free Bible studies on Matthew and John, with videos and leader guides:
If you want to round-out your personal or church Bible commentary section with other voices (maybe use some memorial money or a Thrivent Action Team) here are two more recommendations:
Fortress Press’s True to Our Native Land, Second Edition: An African American New Testament Commentary.
WJK’s Women’s Bible Commentary, Third Edition, Revised and Update