Charles H. Talbert, «Indicative and Imperative in Matthean Soteriology», Vol. 82 (2001) 515-538
It is usually thought that Matthew emphasizes the imperative at the expense of the indicative, demand over gift. Identifying Matthew’s indicative is difficult because in chapters 5–25, insofar as disciples are concerned, the narrative is told in terms of ‘omnipotence behind the scenes’. In Matt 5–25 four techniques appropriate to such a method of narration speak of the divine indicative in relation to the imperative. They are (1) I am with you/in your midst, (2) invoking the divine name, (3) it has been revealed to you/you have been given to know, and (4) being with Jesus. They show Matthew’s soteriology is by grace from start to finish.
speaking would have been sensitive to Matthew’s use of his conceptual repertoire. Second, one should remember that in the First Evangelist’s scheme of things, when the narrative speaks of Jesus’ presence, it is God who is with us in Emmanuel (1,23).
At every point in a disciple’s life and at every stage of salvation history, therefore, Matthew speaks of the divine indicative, divine enablement for the whole of a disciple’s existence from its beginning unto the messianic banquet! Granted all of this is unobtrusive, almost invisible to the eye that is focused on the surface of the plot of the Gospel. That is as it should be, however, given that in Matt 5–25, as far as disciples are concerned, the Evangelist is telling his story in terms of omnipotence-behind-the-scenes. This is not the way Paul or the Fourth Evangelist would tell the story but it is Matthew’s way. Matthew’s way, moreover, involves him in neither soteriological legalism nor legalistic covenantal nomism. Like Paul, his soteriology is by grace from start to finish. He just uses a different conceptual repertoire. Surely he cannot be faulted for that!