Jeffrey D. Meyers, The Nonviolent Apocalypse: Revelation’s Nonviolent Resistance against Rome

Abstract

Scriptures in what he says and does, advocating obedience to the law. The eschatology in Matthew is in line with Jewish apocalyptic, in which the righteous are rewarded and the disobedient will be punished. Culpepper offers a synthesis in which he argues that Matthew’s Gospel was first heard in Antioch (“before the parting of the ways,” [p. 547]) within a specific context, one of Jewish Christians who are called to observe the law and to take this gospel to the nations. The commentary follows the standard format of the New Testament Library series. In each section of the text, Culpepper provides a translation of the Greek text, including footnotes explaining text-critical and linguistic/grammatical decisions, followed by an overview of the section in question. Finally, a detailed analysis of the sub-sections within the text is provided. Culpepper’s analysis of each section focuses on Matthew’s redaction of Mark and the literary connections found within the First Gospel. Culpepper also views the text of the Gospel through the lens of ancient, predominantly Jewish, sources, comparing Matthew to Josephus, the rabbis, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Ben Sira, 1 Enoch, and 4 Ezra. Non-Jewish Greco-Roman sources are less frequently noted. Finally, Culpepper sometimes offers a modern theological understanding of a particular section of text; for example, regarding 22:37, Jesus’s statement of the greatest commandment, Culpepper suggests, “The qualifier ‘as yourself’ requires us to ask how we love ourselves and how we can love others in this way” (p. 433). He goes on to cite Barth, arguing that loving one’s neighbor actually restricts love of self. Culpepper understands the author’s presentation of Jesus’s death to be “a moment of cosmic significance” (p. 567), a sacrifice in continuity with the law for the salvation of Israel, also serving as a new temple in view of the temple’s destruction in 70 C.E. Through Jesus’s crucifixion, death’s power is made ineffective. This commentary is highly recommended for anyone engaging the Gospel of Matthew, including those in academic as well as ecclesial settings. Culpepper sets the stage for the exegesis in the introduction and ably leads the reader to a plausible understanding of Matthew in its original, late-firstcentury context. Throughout the commentary, he emphasizes that the author is encouraging Jesus's followers in the author’s day to observe the law, but not in a legalistic sense. Humanity’s sins are forgiven through Jesus’s sacrificial death; observing the law is the disciple’s response to this event.