A cultural and anthropological interpretation of Mark and Matthew which examines their contribution to the formation of early Christian identity, world-view and ethos.

John Riches studies the notions of sacred space and ethnicity in the Gospel narratives. He shows how early Christian group identity emerged through a dynamic process of reshaping traditional Jewish symbols and motifs associated with descent, kinship and territory. Ideas about descent from Abraham and the return from exile to Mount Zion are interwoven into early Christian traditions about Jesus and in the process...