198 Wim J.C. Weren from Bethany to the temple, causes a fig tree to wither in the presence of his disciples. The tree is full of leaves but carries no fruit. The fig tree is an image of the temple (cf. the cleansing of the temple in 21,12- 13 and the announcement of the destruction of the temple complex in 24,1-2). Jesus culminates his activities in Jerusalem with the Eschatolo- gical Discourse. This takes place on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple. The discourse is directed at his disciples and is about the long period between Jesus’ resurrection and his parousia. * ** The last step in my search is to combine the results in a scheme that renders a clear view of the macrostructure of Matthew, the various parts of which I will provide with headings. The result is printed at the end of this article. What is new about this hypothesis is that it provides a layered image of the structure of Matthew’s Gospel. At the first level, the structure is still coarse; at the second and third levels, the structure of the corpus (4,18–25,46) is presented gradually in more detail. What is also new is the insight that a number of passages function as hinges. Such a hinge text is linked with both the sequence that precedes it and the one that follows it. The size of these sequences is relatively large at the first level. At the second level, they are smaller and, at the third level, even smaller still. These two new insights explain why earlier research on the macrostructure of Matthew has led to such diverse results. Too much attention has been paid to rigid caesuras, whilst a typical characteristic of the composition of Matthew is the relatively smooth flow of the story. The various sections of the book partly overlap. In the hinge texts, patterns that have already been set are repeatedly continued whilst, at the same time, new patterns are indicated that are then further developed. Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies Wim J.C. WEREN Tilburg University P.O. Box 90153 NL-5000 LE Tilburg