word of God

In the Gospel According to Matthew we continue to see a fascinating theme expressed—the contrast between the word of God and other forms of speech. The prologue to the Gospel According to John (NABRE) takes as a major theme Jesus as the word of God, using the word logos to describe Jesus. Logos is the root of the English word logic and the -ology part of many branches of study. In addition to “word,” logos also means “reason.

The approach in the Gospel According to Matthew is substantively different. In all of the instances where the word of God is mentioned—including the Gospel According to Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; and 26:1 (NABRE)—a separate word is used that comes etymologically from the idea of flowing water. The word of God flows forth from him through prophets and other intermediaries to us. It’s not speech or reason in the traditional sense but a different kind of revelation. What do you think that word choice tells us about the Evangelist Matthew’s view of God?

related topics: prophecy; prophet

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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