The Words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew

This book, by Dr R M Price-Mohr, is a study of the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. When Jesus Himself spoke about Scriptures, He was referring to what today we think of as the Old Testament. All the studies in this book discuss Jesus' words in the context of the Scriptures that He would have referred to. The passages referred to accord with Jesus' own statement that He came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17).

Jesus's words are presented each time initially as a transliteration from the Greek. The author believes that often, a literal translation, though harder to grasp, reveals subtle meanings that would otherwise be lost.

There are two hundred and thirty-six individual studies, suitable for individual or group study. The passages vary in length, but each study passage has been chosen to retain its intended cohesion. They are intended to be a starting point for further reflection and deeper study and provide inspiration to seek further insight from the New Testament and consider how Jesus' words impact on contemporary lives and the life of His Church today. The reader is asked to consider the question: Was Jesus speaking things that were new and radical or was He reaffirming what had already been spoken of in the Law and the Prophets?

"Exactly as the title implies, Dr Price-Mohr has compiled a series of studies of the words of Jesus in Matthew and with specific reference to the Old Testament. Instead of making any efforts to divert the reader into higher biblical criticism techniques, her style is that of a person of faith directing the thoughts of a person of faith. The book lends itself to a daily devotion on the words of Jesus. It is perhaps not written with a view of being read through in one go but to be dipped into or used section by section, day by day as a study aid and prompt for thought and prayer.

There are few apologetics but instead a straightforward linking of Jesus to the Old Testament prophets and writers and Dr Price-Mohr rightly reminds the reader that these are writings that Jesus would have been extremely familiar with. There are frequent insights that are helpful, for example, when Jesus tells Simon Peter to 'get behind me Satan' (Matt. 16:23) which on first reading appears to have Jesus addressing Peter as the devil himself, Dr Price-Mohr is able to offer a clear explanation of the language and the reason why 'adversary' might be a better understanding and translation of the NT Greek.

To suggest that this book is simply a canter through the words of Jesus in Matthew is to sell it short. This book is much more than just referencing the words of Jesus with the OT. It is a comprehensive search of OT texts that Dr Price-Mohr suggests might be useful insights into the way Jesus was speaking. She distils her views and interpretations of explicit and implicit OT texts to help the reader in their devotional study of the scriptures giving numerous examples for the reader to contemplate and pursue. Her interpretation and explanation is often insightful, interesting and helpful. I commend it to anyone who is looking for a new way to study Matthew's Gospel and understand a little more of the background of Jesus." Revd John Morris BA MA RN retired