This commentary on Matthew s gospel is offered as a textbook for students of theology and as a guide for serious readers in the hope that it will deepen their spiritual and theological insight, and bring them to a level of academic competence. It is also aimed at those many preachers who wish to underpin their preaching with serious reading and to the many people who practise lectio divina and other forms of spiritual reading. No prior technical knowledge of biblical scholarship is assumed. Technical terms are explained in the book, and important Greek and Hebrew words and expressions translated.