OPENING UP MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

Description

IAIN CAMPBELL

The theme of Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus and what it means to follow him as his disciple and serve him, our King. But the scope of his Gospel is quite amazing: in his opening verse, Matthew takes us all the way back to Abraham, and in his closing verse, he takes us all the way forward to the close of this present age. Matthew offers us a view of life and of the world that is grounded in God’s plan and purpose, focused in the coming of Jesus and worked out in the ongoing work of the church. The first book in our New Testament has a fitting place in the centre of the Bible, linking the two parts together. Let’s listen to his story and follow his King!

Rev Dr Iain D. Campbell is Pastor of Back Free Church of Scotland on the Isle of Lewis. He trained for the ministry at the University of Glasgow and at the Free Church College, Edinburgh. His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh. He contributes regularly to several theological journals. His wife, Anne, is a teacher, and they have three children. He is author of ‘The gospel According to Ruth’, ‘The seven wonders of the world’, and ‘On the First Day of the Week – God, the Christian and the Sabbath’, all published by Day One.

In Opening up Matthew’s Gospel, Dr Iain D Campbell does precisely what the title of his latest book suggests with the clarity of a gifted preacher and the care of an able scholar. Dr Campbell leads the reader through the text of the Gospel, highlighting the most significant theological, historical and literary issues. Along the way, he draws on the insights of recent and older scholarship without allowing the reader to become swamped in technicalities or abstract debate. Concise but accurate exegesis, combined with some memorable expressions, will make this book popular with preachers. Probing questions at the end of each chapter serve to make this an excellent book for small study groups. I am glad to commend this book to all serious readers of Matthew.
—Rev Dr Alistair I. Wilson, Principal, Dumisani Theological Institute, King William’s Town, South Africa

Opening up Matthew’s Gospel ably combines careful attention to the text and structure of Matthew, sound theology, and insightful application. Concise and accessible without being superficial, this study of Matthew’s Gospel commends itself to all levels of Christian readership. I warmly commend it.
—Guy Prentiss Waters, Associate Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi, USA