Darrell L. Bock and Timothy D. Sprankle, Matthew (Kerux)

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Bock, Darrell L. and Timothy D. Sprankle. Matthew. A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Ministry, 2025. 799 pp. Hb. $43.99 Link to Kregel Ministry

Kregel’s Kerux commentary series combines exegesis from a leading scholar with a preaching pastor. This is a unique blend of academic rigor and pastoral heart, which is rare in a commentary series. In this new commentary on Matthew, the exegetical sections are written by a top New Testament scholar, Darrell Bock. He previously published several excellent commentaries (Luke, 2 vols. and Acts in the BENTC; Mark in the NCBC) and monographs on Jesus and the Gospels, such as A Theology of Luke and Acts (Zondervan, 2012) and edited volumes such as Parables of Enoch: A Paradigm Shift (with James Charlesworth; T&T Clark 2014); Who is This Son of Man? (with Larry Hurtado; LNTS 390, T&T Clark, 2011), and Key Events in the Life of the Historical Jesus (WUNT 247, Mohr Siebeck 2009). He serves as Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Timothy D. Sprankle is the senior pastor at Leesburg Grace Brethren Church in Northern Indiana. He contributed the preaching sections to the Philippians Kerux volume.

There are many strategies for outlining the book of Matthew. Often these focus on the five teaching units in the book, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). Bock and Sprankle divide the Gospel of Matthew into four major sections and fifty-one preaching units. Matthew 1:1-4:11 in an introduction to Jesus and John the Baptist (five units); in Matthew 4:12-12:50, Messiah confronts Israel in Galilee and meets rejection (fifteen units); Matthew 13:1-20:28, Jesus presents Kingdom, Provision, Acceptance-Call, and the Rejection by Israel (sixteen units); in Matthew 20:29-28:20, the Rejection and Vindication of the Messiah-Son in Jerusalem (fifteen units). Fifty-one preaching units make it unlikely any pastor will preach through Matthew in a single series (as one might for Philippians). Any one of the major sections would do for a shorter series. Sometimes Jesus’s long sermons make a good series. In this commentary, the Sermon on the Mount is subdivided into seven preaching sections, all part of the Messiah’s confrontation of Israel in Galilee.

The commentary begins with a brief introduction to the Gospel of Matthew. Beginning with Papias, Bock defends the traditional view that the Apostle Matthew Levi, the tax collector, was the author of the book. He is less confident about the place or writing, although Antioch in Syria has the most evidence. For Bock, “Matthew wrote his gospel for churches near the Judean homeland” (67). This means that Mathew was in touch with the earliest disputes between the emerging church and its Jewish neighbors. “Mathew is claiming to be a legitimate extension of Jewish hope in line with the promises God made long ago” (67). The original readers of the gospel were both Jews and Gentiles. Since the gospel and the church are rooted in the promises of Israel, separation from the synagogue is not the fault of Christians; the Jews have forced them out. With respect to date, Bock is confident that Matthew has made use of the gospel of Mark, which he dates to the late 50s or early 60s. He favors a mid to late 60s for Mathew. Because this is late in Nero’s reign, he briefly reviews Nero’s reign because Nero “generated problems in Judea” (69). This means the Olivet Discourse anticipates the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

The purpose of Matthew’s gospel is apologetic, both as legitimation and proclamation. “Jesus is the promised one of God according to the scripture and prophetic claims” (70). Mathew defends Jesus’s support of the law, but opposition to Jesus arose because of his actions and self-claims, specifically, how he handled the Sabbath and purity, among other issues. Objections to Jesus missed the point of the signs of his ministry, and this opposition is what led to his crucifixion. The Jewish focus of Matthew’s gospel suggests primary readers were Jewish Christians who interacted with the Jews (70). Matthew wants to equip Jewish Christians to tell the story of Jesus and how to interact with Jewish neighbors. They should deal with hostility by demonstrating Jesus’s connection to the messianic hope of Jewish Christians (70).

Exegetical portions of the books are based on the group text, although Bock does not often use Greek in the commentary itself. There is less focus on Greek grammar and syntax compared to other volumes in this series. There are no Translation Analysis sidebars (frequent in other Kerux volumes). One unusual aspect of this commentary is the use of sidebars. The majority are used for Old Testament verses to which Matthew may allude, or comparable literature from the Second Temple period (Apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, rabbinic literature). For example, in the commentary on Matthew 19:18-19, Bock provides several uses of Leviticus 19:18 in Judaism, including texts from Sirach, Jubilees, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, demonstrating how the “golden rule” was used in Jewish literature written before the time of Jesus. Commenting on oaths in Matthew 23:16-19, Bock offers three lengthy examples from the Mishnah, another page of references on tithes for Matthew 23:23-24, and uncleanliness for Matthew 23:27-28. In all these cases, the text is conveniently printed in the sidebar rather than a list of references. These will be valuable illustrations of Jewish thought at the time of Jesus for those teaching and preaching the text who do not have easy access to this Jewish literature.

Since Bock is a premillennialist (often associated with progressive dispensationalism), some readers may be interested to learn how he treats the Olivet Discourse. In the introduction to Matthew 24, Bock briefly defines three possible approaches: preterist (Jesus refers only to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70), futurist (Jesus refers to his future second coming), or typological (both timings are present since one event provides the pattern for the other). Bock suggests that typological is the best approach. Jesus does predict the fall of Jerusalem, but Matthew 24:6-13, 12-22, and 27-31 “discuss events of the end and look beyond A.D. 70” and Matthew 24:14-22 “may well point to both times at once” (658).

Bock suggests “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” can refer to the short-term events of the fall of Jerusalem, “yet reserve full fulfillment for the end with Jesus’s return. This is actually how typological-prophetic fulfillment works” (665). Bock does not think there is a hint of the Rapture in 24:38-41, (rightly) disconnecting the judgment of Matthew 24 from Paul’s revelation of a mystery in 1 Thess 4:13-18 (677).

Matthew 25 is unique to the first gospel: Matthew “was going out of his way to reassure his readers that God had a program in the midst of seemingly emerging chaos and rejection of much of Israel” (658). Bock’s comments on the Olivet Discourse are richly illustrated with Second Temple texts, showing that Jesus’s teaching stands within Jewish eschatological teaching from the first century.

Bock interacts with secondary literature with in-text citations. The commentary concludes with selected references with key commentaries marked with an asterisk. He most frequently refers to Davies and Allison (ICC), but he interacts with a range of academic commentaries.

Each preaching unit is outlined on one page (exegetical idea, theological focus, preaching idea, and preaching pointers) at the beginning of the commentary (pages 14-52). This material is repeated at the beginning of each unit in the body of the commentary. The Kerux series uses Haddon Robinson’s “big idea” method for sermon preparation (hence the exegetical, theological, and preaching ideas). Sprankle’s preaching notes are excellent. For example, his “contemporary connections” for Matthew 19:1-12 (on divorce), he illustrates first-century Jewish views on divorce with a short script for role-playing of Hillel and Shammai and a chart contrasting what he calls “maximalists and minimalists views of marriage (and other aspects of life). He also includes a sidebar suggesting several books as additional resources. On Matthew 5:21-48 (which he calls Jesus’s Six Elaborations), Sprankle offers case studies for each to help a pastor illustrate Jesus’s main point. Throughout the commentary, Sprankle points to various media that pastors can adapt and use in their presentations.

Conclusion. Bock’s commentary is excellent, and Sprankle’s preaching guides will be valuable for any preacher or teacher presenting the first Gospel to their congregations.

Other volumes reviewed in this series: