Restoring Presence: The Spirit in Matthew's Gospel

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that there is in Matthew a thoughtful and carefully nuanced description of the activity of the Spirit. Specifically, Matthew is very careful to note that the eschatological redemption he describes in his Gospel is the direct result of the operation of the Spirit of God. Matthew does tend to be economical in his references to the Spirit, and this has no doubt contributed to the perception that he is not interested in matters of pneumatology. Yet such a cursory statistical assessment should not be permitted to obscure what is an important theological emphasis in the Gospel. Matthew's references to the Spirit, few as they are, occur at defining moments in the life of Jesus, notably in connection with those events critical to the salvation he came to bring about. Matthew further notes the involvement of the Spirit in the lives of those committed to following Jesus and continuing the redemptive work he had begun. By connecting the Spirit uniquely, and yet unmistakably, with the accomplishment of God's redemptive purpose, Matthew has actually heightened the theological role of the Spirit in his Gospel.
Blaine Charette (PhD, University of Sheffield) is Professor of New Testament at Northwest University in Kirkland, WA.