Ignorance of the particularity and the peculiarity of the exclusive material of the Gospel of Matthew lead to a serious misunderstanding of the essential thrust of the Gospel. The ongoing attempt to read the Gospel without clarity, especially as it relates to the meaning, purpose, and function of the Matthean M, is an injustice to the Matthean community and its effort to advance the Gospel of liberation of Jesus, the Messiah of God.
Ultimately, this research into the meaning, reason, and function of the Matthean M is a call for a rethinking of all the Gospels. To do so would require a revisit to the evangelistic thrust of each Gospel and to review what might be considered the hidden function of the Gospels.
The most striking injustice to the Message of the Gospels is the failure on the part of succeeding generations to mistakenly read the Gospels without due consideration for the socio-moral-theological journey of the religious group.
Those who joined the group in its journey caused a continuous evolution of the socio-moral-theological practices and beliefs, to the end that sometimes it was not clear as to what came first: the message of Jesus or the socio-moral-theological adaptation of the dynamics that define the point and time of the journey.
The mistake is made in limiting the socio-moral-theological premise to the impact of the Gospel on the people, while at the heart of the mission, the people revolutionized the Gospel. The journey continues.
Readers are challenged to read the Gospel through new eyes, and to recognize the diversity to engage and to embrace a new strategic mission community.
Dr. Livingstone R. Malcolm, a Methodist minister, taught New/Old Testament and theological ethics, and currently has a practice in clinical pastoral counseling.
