Matthew's Gospel: An Anti-Imperial/Imperial Reading‪.‬

Matthew's plot is an act of imperial negotiation. Unfolding through six stages, its central dynamic comprises conflict between Jesus and the Rome-allied (Jerusalem-based) leaders. It ends with God raising Jesus, crucified by the imperial elite. (1) 1. 1:1-4:16 God initiates the story in the conception and commissioning of Jesus to manifest God's saving presence. Jesus is threatened by Herod, witnessed to by John, sanctioned by God in baptism, tempted by the devil, and validated by Scripture.