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 book of Genesis
The first seven lessons of In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provide an in-depth look at the very earliest biblical history—including the two accounts of Creation, events surrounding the Fall of Adam and Eve, the relationship between Cain and Abel, and the baptismal foreshadowing present in the account of Noah and the Flood. Remaining lessons look at lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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