Luke versus Matthew: Reading the Gospels as Midrash

How did the evangelists write their Gospel stories and what did they mean with them in their own days? According to the author of this book, this is the most important question the exegesis of the Gospels should be concerned with. Dr. Peter van ’t Riet is one of the most innovative Bible researchers of this moment. He is doing his Bible study independent of the ‘mainstream’ of contemporary biblical scholarship. By reading the Gospels without compromise as Jewish stories from the 1st century, he arrives at results that differ radically from current biblical studies.

In Luke versus Matthew, he shows that the evangelists did not compile a historical report from all kinds of source material but worked as creative Jewish scribes. In line with themes from the Tanakh (the Old Testament) they wrote Jewish theology in story form (midrash) and each gave their own answer to the question of how the messianic time could best be arrived. In this book, the author shows that Matthew and Luke seriously disagreed about their messianic strategies.

Dr. S.P. (Peter) van ’t Riet studied mathematics and psychology, obtained his PhD for psychological research in the field of education. He was teacher, director, and professor in Higher Education. He has been researching the Jewish character of the New Testament for more than 40 years and gives courses and lectures to groups of all denominations. More information about his publications can be found on his website www.petervantriet.nl.