THE WORDS OF JESUS AS THEY ARE RECORDED IN THE GOSPEL OF MAT IBD

Sinopse

This hardback edition, by Dr R M Price-Mohr, is a study of the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. When Jesus Himself spoke about Scriptures, He was referring to what today we think of as the Old Testament. All the studies in this book discuss JesusâÇÖ words in the context of the Scriptures that He would have referred to. The passages referred to accord with JesusâÇÖ own statement that He came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17).JesusâÇÖs words are presented each time initially as a transliteration from the Greek. The author believes that often a literal translation, though harder to grasp, reveals subtle meanings that would otherwise be lost. There are two hundred and thirty-six individual studies, suitable for individual or group study. The passages vary in length, but each study passage has been chosen to retain its intended cohesion. They are intended to be a starting point for further reflection and deeper study and provide inspiration to seek further insight from the New Testament and consider how JesusâÇÖ words impact on contemporary lives and the life of His Church today. The reader is asked to consider the question: Was Jesus speaking things that were new and radical or was He reaffirming what had already been spoken of in the Law and the Prophets?'Exactly as the title implies, Dr Price-Mohr has compiled a series of studies of the words of Jesus in Matthew and with specific reference to the Old Testament.áInstead of making any efforts to divert the reader into higher biblical criticism techniques, her style is that of a person of faith directing the thoughts of a person of faith.áThe book lends itself to a daily devotion on the words of Jesus. It is perhaps not written with a view of being read through in one go but to be dipped into or used section by section, day by day as a study aid and prompt for thought and prayer. There are few apologetics but instead a straightforward linking of Jesus to the Old Testament prophets and writers and Dr Price-Mohr rightly reminds the reader that these are writings that Jesus would have been extremely familiar with.áThere are frequent insights that are helpful, for example, when Jesus tells Simon Peter to âÇÖget behind me SatanâÇÖ (Matt. 16:23) which on first reading appears to have Jesus addressing Peter as the devil himself, Dr Price-Mohr is able to offer a clear explanation of the language and the reason why âÇÖadversaryâÇÖ might be a better understanding and translation of the NT Greek.To suggest that this book is simply a canter through the words of Jesus in Matthew is to sell it short. This book is much more than just referencing the words of Jesus with the OT.áIt is a comprehensive search of OT texts that Dr Price-Mohr suggests might be useful insights into the way Jesus was speaking.áShe distils her views and interpretations of explicit and implicit OT texts to help the reader in their devotional study of the scriptures giving numerous examples for the reader to contemplate and pursue.áHer interpretation and explanation is often insightful, interesting and helpful.áI commend it to anyone who is looking for a new way to study MatthewâÇÖs Gospel and understand a little more of the background of Jesus.' Revd John Morris BA MA RN retired