Building Blocks of Wisdom: The Chiastic Structure of Matthew’s Gospel
Ebook
Matthew chose not to write his Gospel in chronological order. Why? How does his presentation of the Gospel differ from the other three? I show that Matthew organized his book into fourteen chiasms, explain how chiasms work, and describe the advantages that Matthew afforded the careful reader. The contrasts and comparisons of the vertical and horizontal aspects of the chiasms provide the reader with new insights into the events of Jesus' earthly ministry, and examining the peaks of the chiasms provides a ready summary of the author's key events--some of which are surprising and take careful thought to see why he stresses them over more familiar events.
The chiastic structure aides in memorization due to its ordered pairs and, because they can span multiple chapters in one unit, allow for a view of the whole story at once. The result is a better understanding of the emotions of the disciples and the man on the street at a time when everything they had known was changing daily.
Reading Matthew's Gospel the way it was written allows the reader a more complete understanding of its message.
“Building Blocks of Wisdom is a monumental labor of love. William Wright first presented his observations about chiasms in Matthew to me some years ago, covering an entire whiteboard! I of course had covered chiasms as a literary strategy in my seminary studies. But no one had suggested chiasms as a key to a deeper understanding of Matthew in this manner. His word picture of a chiasm as similar to the triangular front of a Greek temple has stuck with me ever since. Highly recommended!”
—Dru A. Dodson, president, Vocaré
“Scholars may understand what chiasms are, but few can relate how they work like William Wright. Wright’s decades of Bible study and his experiences as a medical diagnostician help him to bring more depth to the chiastic structure of the Gospel of Matthew. While learning about chiasms is the focus of this book, a bonus is Wright’s ability to bring the flow of life to God’s word.”
—Dan Warthen, retired pastor
- Title: Building Blocks of Wisdom: The Chiastic Structure of Matthew’s Gospel
- Author: William J. Wright
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666774184, 9781666774177, 1666774170, 9781666774160, 1666774162, 1666774189
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666774184
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-13T21:51:58Z