Matthew: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [ZECNT]

Designed for pastors, students, and Bible teachers, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament examines the biblical text in its original context. Written by scholars who carefully attend to and build their interpretation on grammatical detail, literary context, rhetorical flow, theological nuance, and historical setting in their interpretation, the ZECNT series is ideal for the task of exegesis and constructing expository sermons. Analysis of the text is also aided by graphic representations of discourse analysis and an exegetical outline.

Critical scholarship informs each step, but does not dominate the commentary and is only used as a tool to draw out meaning from the text. This allows readers to concentrate on the message of the biblical text as it unfolds. While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Greek (one full year at least), all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will find this series beneficial.

The following focused sections help readers understand the text:

• Literary Context: Explains how each passage functions within the book
• Main Idea: Summarizes the central message of the passage
• Translation in Graphic Layout: Presents a translation through a diagram that helps readers visualize the flow of thought within the text
• Exegetical Outline: Gives the overall structure of the passage
• Explanation of the Text: Provides interpretive insights into the background and meaning of the text
• Theology in Application: Discusses how the message of the text fits within the book itself and in a broader biblical-theological context, suggesting applications for the church today.

It is too often assumed that the Gospels can and should be taught without respect to their unique genre. This is, of course, a false assumption as genre directly contributes to the intention of the message as well as informing its content at every turn. In Matthew Grant Osborne recognizes this reality and begins his commentary by discussing how Matthew should be approached and taught.

Following this discussion Osborne moves through the text with the expert precision we would expect of a scholar whose reputation as a hermeneutician is at least equal to his reputation as a NT scholar. Osborne is direct, lucid, and to the point and provides an exemplary model for the series as a whole in attaining its goals (see above) in each section of Matthew. As such, Osborne's text, like others in the series, is a more of a tool for interaction with the text than a commentary, though Osborne is never shy about his conclusions as they have been reached on the basis of the text.