Blog 3 Jedanndrila Bushnell

The most outstanding thing about the Gospel of Matthew is it's reference towards the Jewish community. I never really knew that the Christianity and the New Testament had much to do with the Jews. I always felt that most Jews did not become Christian and that the New Testament did not highlight much of Jewish ways. From reading Matthew I now have a deeper understanding of how some Jews may have been swayed to be followers of Jesus Christ. Matthew really brings about a deeper understanding of how Jesus can be portrayed as a different messiah in the Jewish light. Matthew's Gospel traces Jesus's genealogy all the way back to Abraham. It is believed that this is done so that the Jews of the community will understand that Jesus is the messiah because he comes from this line. Jesus in Matthew is also portrayed as being a rabbi. Jesus also mirrors the prophet Moses. The most interesting thing that caught my attention about the connections of this book to the Jewish community was the phrase kingdom of heaven. I never would have known that this had strong Jewish meaning prior to attending this class. I never thought that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God were different. When I look at this I now think that it is a good reference because I feel that the kingdom of God is more than heaven. I feel that the kingdom of God includes everything that God has made (i.e. Earth). This phrase is said to be a circumlocution for Kingdom of God. One scholar says that it is more than just a cicumlocution for Kingdom of God that “Heaven held a prominent place in the theological and cosmological world of Judaism, and Matthew carries forward this emphasis.²” I also feel that this is used as Kingdom of Heaven instead of Kingdom of God to differentiate between Earth and the Heaven. Matthew intends to focus attention on "the tension that now exists between heaven and earth, between God and humanity.² This makes sense because the Messiah is coming to set things straight with God and humanity. Jesus is coming to establish a new order and to sacrifice himself for our sins. In a way to me Jesus is like the Jewish Messiah. To me Jesus is a conqueror and is saving a holy land. It might be a different holy land then the Jews thought, but I feel that Jesus is fighting an even bigger battle than the Jews expected. By reading Matthew many Jews can be influenced to become followers of Jesus.

[1] J. Marshall, "Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew," TJ 31:2 (2010) 299.

[2] J. Marshall, "Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew," TJ 31:2 (2010) 300.

Bibliography

Marshall, Johnathan, "Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew." Trinity Journal 31:2 (2010): 299-301