Up to Date (Gospel of Matthew)

Catching Up on the Latest Biblical Commentaries (2019-2024)

I’m running a new series called “Up to Date,” where I do a sweeping survey of recent commentaries. In 2020, I published a little book called The New Testament Commentary Guide: A Brief Handbook for Students and Pastors (Lexham Press, 2020). I’m proud of my “little orange book,” but a resource like this gets outdated. If you are looking for commentary classics and “best picks” I suggest picking up my book. In this Substack series though, I will be looking at what has been published in the last five years (2019-2024).

Best Gospel of Matthew Commentaries (2019-2024)

I feel like there are always good, fresh and new commentaries published on Matthew every year or two. Here are a few of my favorites from the last five years.

Wes Olmstead published a two-volume set focusing on the Greek text of Matthew. This series only takes interest in matters of grammar, syntax, and semantics. You are expected to know Greek. For students and pastors wanting to sharpen their Greek, these volumes are excellent.

One of the more high profile releases in recent years is Culpepper’s New Testament Library volume on Matthew. It is a substantial commentary at 600+ pages. Culpepper had distinguished himself as an expert Gospels scholar. This volume balances well historical contextualization, literary analysis, and theological sensitivity. The $90 pricetag might cause hesitation, but WJK is good at rolling out cheaper paperbacks.

Another major release is Walter Wilson’s two-volume Eerdmans Critical Commentary on Matthew. This is a resource that is geared towards scholars, with detailed engagement with the Greek text and Jewish and Greco-Roman comparative literature. The combines page count of the two volumes is 1200+, so this is a thorough resource.

Mark Allan Powell is widely known as a leading Gospels expert, with several popular textbooks. In this volume, Powell kicks off a brand new series called “Interpretation Bible Commentary.” I haven’t had a chance to look at this inaugural volume, but here is the series description.

Emphasizing sound critical exegesis with strong theological sensibilities, the new Interpretation Bible Commentary series features innovative interpretive approaches that help readers engage the biblical text as a source for participating in the larger social world. These new volumes, written by an array of new and diverse authors, are designed to meet the needs of clergy, teachers, and students by inviting readers into the lively work of careful biblical interpretation for the purpose of faithful exposition. Through its engagement with Scripture, the Interpretation Bible Commentary series illumines our relationship with God, one another, and creation so that readers are propelled with new understanding and energy for fulfilling God’s claims on us in our rapidly changing contexts.

The “Through Old Testament Eyes” series (from Kregel) is a great commentary series. I love these volumes; they are free of lots of distracting academic information and jargon. The focus is on how the New Testament text alludes to and quotes the Old Testament. This Matthew commentary is excellently written, and very enjoyable to read. If I were teaching a course on Matthew, I would be very tempted to use this. Very.

---

If you are interested in seminary, come study with me at Northern Seminary where we have degrees in ministry, Scripture, and theology. www.seminary.edu. We offer excellent distance programs that accommodate students wherever they live and allow you to work and stay in your preferred context while getting your degree. We are blessed with an incredible faculty including Dr. Beth Felker Jones, Dr. David Fitch, Dr. Matthew W. Bates, Dr. Ingrid Faro, Dr. Wayne Gordon, Dr. Marshall Hatch, and more!