The Macrostructure of Matthew’s Gospel 181 a) Temporal information The book of Matthew covers the period round the birth of Jesus up till his resurrection from the dead. This juncture is expanded further backward and forward by means of references to the past (retrospections) and to the future (anticipations). The farthest point in the past to be mentioned in Matthew is the creation of the world (19,4.8), and the furthest point in the future is the coming of the Son of Man (24,3.27.29.39) or the end of the age (13,39.40.49; 24,3; 28,20). Twice, the narrator indicates that, from a temporal point of view, he stands at great distance from the events that he narrates. In 27,8 and 28,15, he mentions two phenomena that originate in the period described in the book but that “to this day” are still well-known or influential. There are a number of indications that give an idea of the temporal organisation of Matthew’s story about Jesus. In 1,2-17, the history of Israel is reviewed, starting with Abraham and culminating in Jesus. The episodes in 1,18–2,23 take place towards the end of the rule of Herod the Great and at the beginning of Archelaus’ administration. There is a long time-span between the establishment of the young Jesus in Nazareth (2,22-23) and the ministry of John the Baptist (3,1) (20). An unspecified period of time passes between the temptation of Jesus in the desert (4,1-11) and the time when he decides to go and live in Capernaum (4,12-17). The summaries in 4,23 and 9,35 characterize in a few strokes of the pen the activities of Jesus in Galilee during a long period of time. In 11,12-13, a review of the history that has been told so far is to be found; the retroversion formulated here refers back to John’s ministry as narrated in 3,1-17 (ajpo; de; tw'n hJmerw'n jIwavnnou tou' baptistou' e{w" a[rti ...); together, John and Jesus have made the kingdom of heaven accessible, whilst “until John came” (e{w" jIwavnnou) it was predicted by all the Prophets and the Torah (21). In 11,25, we come across the time adjunct ejn ejkeivnw/ tw/' kairw'/, that is then repeated twice (12,1 and 14,1). This formula indicates that the time has come when Jesus confronts those around him with the necessity to make (20) G. HÄFNER, “‘Jene Tage’ (Mt 3,1) und die Umfang des matthäischen ‘Prologs’”, BZ 37 (1993) 51, challenges the idea that there is a deep caesura between 2,23 and 3,1 and he considers the “in those days” used in 3,1 to be a “Verknüpfung von für den Evangelisten zeitlich zusammengehörenden Ereignissen”. (21) In 11,12, ajpov has an inclusive meaning and, in 11,13, e{w" has an exclusive one.