A narrative-critical reading of God as a character in the Gospel of Matthew

Abstract

This dissertation examines the function of God as a character, and how the characterization of God works within the narrative of the Gospel of Matthew.

Chapter 1 presented a rationale for the study of God as a character. The purpose of the study and the current status of research has been stated. The study of existing scholarship provided a fair ground for current study.

Chapter 2 presented discussions over the modern literary theory which is related to this study and specific application of the theory to the Gospel of Matthew.

Employing the primary research and methodology presented in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 provided an exegetical analysis of passages in which God functions as a character. The passages included where (1) God speaks or acts, (2) the references to God occur directly, (3) the references to God occur indirectly, (4) God's activity is recognized explicitly, and (5) God's activity is recognized implicitly. In addition, specific Matthean terminology, which was related to this study, was discussed.

Chapter 4 discussed God's relationship with other characters in Matthew and summarizes God's function as a character in the Gospel of Matthew.