Matthew

While it is speculative to ascribe the five-part arrangement of discourses to a conscious imitation of the five books of the Pentateuch (though this would fit the Jewish orientation of the Gospel), the convenience of the scheme (perhaps an aid to the memory of new converts being instructed) is unmistakable. One can count off the five discourses on the fingers of one’s hand, each one answering a question. The question of how citizens of the kingdom are supposed to live is answered by the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7). The question of how disciples are to conduct their travels is answered by the missionary discourse on servanthood (Mt 10). Those wanting to know what parables Jesus told about entering the kingdom will find some of them collected into a single chapter (Mt 13). The question of how disciples should live with each other finds an answer in the discourse about humility and forgiveness (Mt 18). The question of how it will all end receives its answer in the Olivet Discourse on the end of the age (Mt 24–25). The tidiness of the arrangement is highlighted by the way each of these sections ends with the formula “when Jesus had finished these sayings” [543] (see Mt 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).