Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets

Matthew’s Gospel makes mention of prophets and prophecy more than any other canonical Gospel. Yet its perspective on prophecy has generally been neglected within biblical scholarship when, in fact, Jesus’ prophetic vocation is a central christological theme for Matthew. This new study by Matthew Anslow seeks to draw attention to this underdeveloped focus within Matthean studies. The central claim of the book is that in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ prophetic vocation is presented as a multi-faceted phenomenon, drawing on several prophetic traditions. Like biblical and popular prophets before him, Jesus is depicted by Matthew as calling Israel back to covenantal faithfulness, thereby providing guidance for the identity, theology, and communal life of God’s people.