Commentaries on Matthew's Gospel

For those who would like suggestions for the upcoming lectionary gospel Matthew, here are some recommendations.

The commentary on Matthew by R.T. France (Eerdmans 2007) is superb. The Kindle edition is here. The RBL review by Leslie Robert Keylock is here and it concludes with this paragraph:


This commentary is a tour de force that culminates one man’s career. Only a person who has spent his life on Jesus research could produce such a magisterial commentary in four years. Not everyone will agree with all his interpretations, of course, but that is true of any commentary—or book, for that matter. I will not at this point detail my evaluations of those interpretations; I have throughout this lengthy review drawn attention to most of  France’s provocative interpretations so the reader will know how France handles matters 

that are most likely to arouse disagreement. But this commentary on Matthew’s Gospel 

will certainly take its place with the best commentaries on this  Gospel that have been 

written in our time, and every  Gospel scholar will want to have a copy in his or her library.

Ulrich Luz has worked on Matthew's Gospel for years. Here is a link to some of his Matthew publications especially the three-volume commentary in the Hermeneia series. The great contribution of Luz to Matthean scholarship is his interest in the history of the effects and interpretation of the text (German: Wirkungsgeschichte). No one does it better. 

In the Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries series, O.Wesley Allen has written the one on Matthew. The link has samples from this text including the Introduction and Chapter 1. 

Amy-Jill Levine analyzes Matthew in the Women's Bible Commentary  third edition and she edits A Feminist Companion to Matthew (Pilgrim Press 2001) wherein lie excellent essays by a variety of scholars. 

There is also a 2006 commentary on Matthew written by Stanley Hauerwas. Of the reviews, perhaps this one describes his approach best:

While most commentaries strive to connect contemporary readers to the first century, Hauerwas also gives heed to Matthew’s vast interpretive history, a noteworthy achievement. . . . Anyone wishing to become acquainted with theological exegesis should consider this volume. Hauerwas offers a fresh perspective on Matthew that is aberrantly insightful, colorful, compelling, and powerful. Well-written, fast-paced, and accessible to laity, Hauerwas delivers thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation between Matthew’s gospel and American culture that aims to do no more than ‘position the reader to be a follower of Jesus.’”—Thomas Seat, Princeton Theological Review