Matthew: Treasure Brought Forth

Oct 15, 2025 - Nov 4, 2025

3-Week Course

Overview

“Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” —Matthew 13:52

This verse likely expresses the author’s self-understanding, as the Gospel of Matthew draws heavily on the Old Testament to show Jesus and his new teaching as fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. This is one of the reasons Matthew has long been recognized as the “most Jewish” of the gospels. This course explores some of the ways Matthew alludes to Moses, Divine Wisdom, and other figures and features of the Jewish tradition to explain who Jesus is and the virtue of following his teachings. Special attention will be given to the Sermon on the Mount as an expression of that Wisdom, as a source for prayer, and as a key to understanding the whole of Matthew’s gospel.

Topics

Week 1: Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew
Week 2: Bridging the Old Testament to the New
Week 3: The Sermon on the Mount

Special Features

This course includes:

Video clips;
Text transcripts of each featured video;
Weekly questions for reflection and discussion;
A weekly introduction and study guide; and
A regularly updated Resources page for further study.

All CSTM Crossroads online courses include these features

Participants have access 24 hours/7 days a week to the course's password-protected web site.
Each participant belongs to a small Community for Conversation and faith sharing guided by a facilitator.
The course site is usually available to participants at least three months after the course has ended.
An orientation on how to navigate the web site is always available.
Technical assistance is easy to contact and prompt in returning a message.
A Certificate of Active Participation is awarded to those who post at least three messages of substance for each week of content.

Time Commitment

A participant can expect to spend an average of approximately 3-4 hours each week. This commitment includes both the assigned reading and interaction online.

Content Scholars

Angela Kim Harkins, (video) is professor of New Testament at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, with expertise in Second Temple Judaism including research on the Dead Sea Scrolls, particularly the Hodayot (Thanksgiving Psalms), focusing on ritual and emotional content.
Amy-Jill Levine, (text) is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, a popular teacher and author bringing a Jewish perspective to interpreting the New Testament without anti-semitism and sexism.