Discipleship
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 50, No. 2 - Spring 2008
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Stephen Westerholm. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006. 160 pages. Softcover, $16.99.
Stephen Westerholm’s goal in Understanding Matthew is to extract Matthew’s worldview from the First Gospel by seeking to understand “how Matthew made sense of things, and to see how it makes sense to make sense of things that way” (26). Westerholm concludes that Mat- thew’s basic message is that Jesus “is a fit object of devotion and discipleship” (14). Thus, “Matthew wrote . . . not to inform readers of the nature of Christian discipleship but to summon them to a life of discipleship” (16). Throughout Westerholm’s book, he employs Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a conversation partner since Westerholm thinks that Bonhoeffer lived Mat- thew’s call to discipleship accurately and faithfully.
Westerholm appropriately sets the stage for a book about worldviews by defining “worldview” in chapter one: a worldview is “our basic under- standing of life, the framework within which we interpret our lives and the world around us” (21). From here, Westerholm presents two interrelated chapters. In chapter two, Westerholm explores Jesus’ famous recitation against worry (6:24–34). Herein, Jesus’ fundamental worldview surfaces: “Jesus simply assumes that the people to whom he speaks believe that there is a God and that God is their benevolent heavenly father” (28). Chapter three wrestles with the difficulties imposed by the high moral demands of the Sermon on the Mount. These demands make sense within Jesus’ (and Matthew’s) worldview: “Jesus lives in a world of good and evil—of infinite goodness and unacceptable evil” (49).
In chapters four and five, Westerholm briefly retraces the history of Abraham, Moses, David, and the Babylonian Exile in order to note their importance for interpreting Matthew’s worldview. This history reaches its climax in Jesus, who inaugurates God’s reign. After discussing what Jesus doesin chapter five, Westerholm presents who Jesus isin chapter six, namely someone who assumes the divine functions of God and who demands absolute allegiance (112). Westerholm describes this allegiance as true discipleship in chapter seven. Chapter eight serves as the book’s conclusion and reminds the reader that Matthew is better read narratively instead of thematically.
Understanding Matthew allows the readers’ eyes to glide effortlessly through its pages. Especially helpful is Westerholm’s reminder that it is important to understand an author’s worldview. Westerholm grounds the interpreter in the authorial intent of the text and seeks to avoid emphasis on Matthew’s sub-themes to the exclusion of his primary theme, namely discipleship. Going a step further, Westerholm correctly reminds the exegete that Matthew wrote his story in order to elicit allegiance to Jesus. The rest of the Gospel must be read through this lens.
Aside from these strengths, Understanding Matthew has at least three major weaknesses. First, Westerholm apparently has in mind a scholarly audience, but the book does not exhibit the marks of a scholarly work. Although he offers splendid explanations of several difficult passages and Matthean theologies (39–40, 48–51, 66–67, 95, 114–117), Westerholm does not interact with scholarly literature, offers no bibliography for further research, and provides no Scripture index. In essence, Westerholm should delineate his audience in the introduction.
Second, Westerholm over-simplifies Matthew’s worldview. Wester- holm is correct in that Matthew’s worldview does assume the existence of a benevolent creator; it is deeply rooted in the heritage of Abraham, Moses, David, and the Exile; and it does assume that Jesus is the Messiah after whom all people should unswervingly follow. However, Westerholm fails to say enough. A few strategically placed footnotes concerning the complexity of Matthew’s worldview would eliminate Westerholm’s apparent flattening of the evidence.
Third, Bonhoeffer’s role in the book is unexpected and artificial. It is unexpected in light of the book’s title, which gives no indication of Bonhoeffer’s salient role. It is artificial in that it is often unclear why certain sections about Bonhoeffer were added. Given the prominent role that he plays in the work, the title or sub-title should inform the reader of his presence and/or function. In so doing, Westerholm might better market his book to those who are interested in Bonhoeffer’s life and hermeneutic and better explain its purpose.
Understanding Matthew fails to include enough adequate information to use it as a primary textbook for understanding Matthew’s worldview. However, it might function well as supplementary reading for an undergraduate class or church.
