The Recapitulation of Israel

Christology in the Gospel of Matthew is multifaceted and variegated, which has spawned a diverse and voluminous amount of research. One component of Matthew's christology is the use of Israel's history in the story of Jesus as narrated by the Evangelist. Both the christology of Matthew and the use of the Old Testament in Matthew are essential ingredients toward unfolding the recapitulation of Israel in Matthew 1:1-4:11. It is the argument of Joel Kennedy that the recapitulation of Israel is a formative element of Matthew's presentation of Jesus Christ that has warranted further consideration using a variety of critical approaches. Discovering and describing the recapitulation of Israel in Matthew 1:1-4:11 is the cohesive and distinctive viewpoint throughout this work. In the first chapter, he argues that the genealogy recapitulates Israel's history in a narratological and teleological manner to focus upon Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Israel's history. In the second chapter, it is argued that in Matthew 2:1-23, Jesus passively recapitulates Israel's history, reliving primarily the exodus experience of Israel. In the third chapter, the author demonstrates that in Matthew 3:1-4:11, Jesus actively recapitulates Israel's history as the representative embodiment of Israel.