The most significant factor in the Gospel of Matthew that should be most importantly emphasized is the character of Jesus. The author of the gospel accomplishes this by first illustrating the genealogy of Jesus as the descendant to King David and the beginning of faith. Matthew's focus is to address to Jews the new Messiah that Jesus is unlike the normal interpretation of Messiah as a King or ruler. Matthew addresses an interesting factor in the life of Jesus relative to that of the life of Moses. Similar to Moses, Jesus has experienced similar climatic points in his life that seem to be important in the path of both Moses and Jesus. To begin, both were born from Jewish parents. Both also experienced a fierce tyrant who sought to kill them and both were protected from harm in Egypt. Also, both are tested in the wilderness (Jesus for 40 days/Moses for 40 years) and both go up to a mountain to deliver Gods law.1
An important part of Jesus' life that must be stressed is the role of John the Baptist in Matthew's Gospel. Lisa Bowens, "The Role of John the Baptist," stresses the role of John the Baptist as the forerunner and foreshadower of Jesus.2 John is shaped by Matthew to emphasize this theme. An interesting point she makes in her article is that both Jesus' and John's crucifixion and the death of John establish the fact that the Gospel does not guarantee the avoidance of suffering. Although not a direct disciple, John is the perfect example of what a true disciple is, someone who is not concerned about the treasures on earth but concerned about the kingdom of heaven. He stresses many of the traits that Jesus urges upon his own disciples which suggest that John was represented as the forerunner for Jesus' disciples. Unlike in the other Gospels, John is also thought to be aware of who Jesus is upon meeting him. As stated in Matthew 3:14, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"3 At the moment where Jesus comes to find John to ask him to baptize him, John is already aware of who Jesus is and stresses that it is Jesus who must baptize him. His recognition of Jesus demonstrates his certainty that Jesus is the coming Messiah.
1 Ehrman, B.D. The New Testament (New York. Oxford Press, 2004)
2 Bowens, L. The Role of John the Baptist in Matthews Gospel. (Vol. 30. No. 3. Word & World) 311-314.
3 Matthew (3:14) NASB
No comments:
Post a Comment