https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X16XXXXXX Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2018, Vol. 41(1) 44–57 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0142064X18788976 journals.sagepub.com/home/jsnt Comparing Matthew and Luke in the Light of Second Temple Jewish Literature George J. Brooke Department of Religions and Theology, University of Manchester, UK Abstract This article argues that Luke provides a framework for his gospel narrative about Jesus that is based on the institution of the Temple but that the narrative as a whole is filled with instability marked by features of inclusiveness, whereas Matthew provides a framework of hope in the fulfilment of prophetic texts but that the central gospel narrative as a whole is marked by a restricted and restricting structure based on the Torah. As such the two gospels variously play with features of Jewish societal self- understanding that are also, at least partially, represented in 1 and 2 Maccabees, or in the sectarian scrolls found in the Qumran caves. The insights of C. Lévi-Strauss, as recently adapted for reading narratives by J.W. Rogerson, are used as the basis of a reading strategy. Keywords Luke, Matthew, Qumran, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Lévi-Strauss, hot, cold Introduction: Hot and Cold Texts This short essay is an attempt to think through some of the implications for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke of other work I have recently completed. On the one hand I have used the categories of Claude Lévi-Strauss to think through some of the distinctions between what might be taking place in the scriptural exegesis of the Qumran group and the wider movement of which it was a part and the approaches to scripture that might have been taking place in Jerusalem at roughly the same time (Brooke 2017: 64-77). On the other hand, in a study on Corresponding author: George J. Brooke, Department of Religions and Theology, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. Email: george.brooke@manchester.ac.uk Article