O Woman, Great is Your Faith!
Faith in the Gospel of Matthew
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
The concept of "faith" holds a central position in New Testament and early Christian thought, yet this concept has not received the careful attention it deserves in the Synoptic Gospels. The present study offers a comprehensive analysis of "faith" as a key motif in the Gospel of Matthew, where it plays a major role in communicating this Gospel's vision for how readers should respond to the person and message of Jesus. The argument propounded is that Matthew's unique narrative portrayal of the Canaanite woman's faith (15:21-28) is used for pedagogical purposes, namely, that by comparing and contrasting her "great faith" with those characters expressing "no faith" and "little faith," Matthew uses Jesus's quantitative πίστ-terms to teach on the nature of true faith. She embodies Matthew's theological vision of faith! Even though she is a gentile outsider/enemy, she comprehends the universal scope and abundant blessings of Jesus's mission. Moreover, she acknowledges Jesus's messianic identity, correctly perceiving him to be both David's royal heir and David's Lord. Finally, based on who she perceives Jesus to be and the purpose of his mission, she demonstrates faith as trust manifested in action.
Endorsements (3)
“Douglas O’Donnell takes his readers down into the depths of the meanings of ‘faith’ in the Gospel of Matthew in ways that no other author I know has ever done. Using the Canaanite woman’s faith as his major model through all of Matthew’s multiple faith passages, one comes away from his Aberdeen doctoral dissertation longing to re-incarnate that dear woman’s spirit.”
“The nature of faith in the Gospel of Matthew has not been previously explored in any detail. Through his exploration of this topic O’Donnell demonstrates his scholarly creativity with fresh insights in a persuasive argument that, beyond its own immediate topic, contributes as well to a greater understanding of the Gospel’s thematic structure and theological message.”
“Douglas O’Donnell’s monograph is by far the most thorough treatment of the theme of faith in Matthew. Rightly grasping the centrality of the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew’s vision of faith, he has succeeded not only in explicating the relationships among ‘no faith,’ ‘little faith,’ and ‘great faith’ in the First Gospel, but also in synthesizing Matthew’s portrayal of faith in Jesus that might well be a narrative counterpart of faith in Pauline theology.”
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