Choose from the Gospel of Matthew an episode of Jesus

This is a paper that is focusing on the student to choose from the Gospel of Matthew an episode of Jesus. The paper also provides additional guidelines to use in writing this assignment paper well.

Choose from the Gospel of Matthew an episode of Jesus

Step One: Choose a passage from the Gospel of Matthew that details a particular episode in Jesus’ life or ministry, a particular selection of Jesus’ teaching, a particular parable that Jesus tells, etc. By “a passage” I mean something shorter than an entire chapter, but longer than a single verse – one parable, one event in Jesus’ life or ministry, etc., of about one paragraph’s length. It will be easier to write an excellent essay if you choose a passage that you find interesting, confusing, intriguing, or hard to understand. This will be your primary source.

Step Two: Look at two of the following scholarly commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew. Find your passage by looking it up via its chapter/verse numbers in Matthew. These commentaries will serve as a secondary source to help you better understand your primary source, the passage in the Gospel of Matthew.

*Anna Case-Winters, Matthew (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2015),

*Cynthia Jarvis and Elizabeth Johnson, eds., Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew. 2 vol (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2013), Ch 1-13 and Chapters 14-28.

* Ulrich Luz, Matthew. 2 vols (Minneapolis: Augsburg), Ch 8-20, and 21-29.

Choose from the Gospel of Matthew an episode of Jesus

–       Introduction (1/2 page) Introduce your overall essay. Firstly, what passage are you going to talk about, what is your commentary’s main point about the passage, what you think about it, etc.

–       Passage Summary (1/2 page) Secondly, briefly summarize the biblical passage, your primary source, in your own words. Is it a story about an event in Jesus’s life and ministry, a parable that he tells, a particular teaching about how to behave or act?

–       Report on your Research (1-1.5 pages). Thirdly, summarize your two secondary sources, your commentaries. What are these two scholars’ major ideas about the passage? What do they teach you about your passage that you would not know without having read the commentary?

–       Your Analysis (1 page) Fourthly, do the authors of your secondary sources agree or disagree with each other? Do they fit with what you have learned in class or know from your own studies, or disagree with it? What did you learn from your authors? What further questions do these commentaries raise?

–       Conclusion (1/2 page) Remind the reader what your major points were. The passage you chose, what you learned from your research, and your analysis of these commentaries.

It is entirely possible that you may choose to be more creative in organizing your essay. Or in providing more information on any of the substantive components to the essay. As long as it 1) summarizes the passage in your own words, 2) reports on what you learned from one of the commentaries, and 3) analyzes your two secondary sources