Matthew's Gospel and Judaism in the Late First Century C.E.

Book excerpt: Following a thorough examination of the structure, language, and argument of Matthew's discourse on parables, Anthony O. Ewherido underscores its primary relevance to the ongoing discussion on the social context of Matthew's Gospel. The convincing analysis of the textual evidence and study of some social and historical trends in Christianity and Judaism in the post-70 C.E. era inform Ewherido's conclusion that at the time the Gospel was written to its predominantly Jewish-Christian community, that community had parted ways with Judaism and stood at an ideologically irreconcilable distance from the «synagogue across the street.»