Any thorough social context
critique of the Gospels requires an understanding of the audience being written
for; however, there is a debate over what kind of audience the author of
Matthew envisioned. Our text notes
that the [unknown] author of Matthew “produced his Gospel in Greek, presumably
for a Greek-speaking community, so he was probably located somewhere outside of
Palestine”.[i] However, some scholars reject this
local community hypothesis and argue that the Gospel was written for a wide and
diverse audience and not limited to Greek-speaking communities. At the heart of this debate is the
level of inclusiveness included in Matthew.
The local-community hypothesis is
that “the Gospel was written in and for same local community”[ii],
i.e. Greek speakers. Implicit in
this theory is the assumption that the Gospel would have exclusive
characteristics. That is, cues,
explanations, and language/word choice would be used so as to reach a Greek
audience, presumably at the expense of reaching more diverse groups.
Daniel
Ulrich argues against the local-community hypothesis with evidence of inclusive
language in Matthew, what he calls the missional audience. For instance, Matthew 24:14 & 26:13
read, “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited
world as testimony to all nations” and “whenever this Gospel is proclaimed in
all the world…”, respectively.[iii] Also, in 28:19-20, Jesus commands the
disciples to “go therefore and
disciple all nations, baptizing them . . . and
teaching them to obey all I have commanded you”.[iv] It is evident then that the author of
Matthew envisioned a global message that could transcend ethnic or cultural
barriers.
Although
limited in my knowledge of this area, I am inclined to agree with Ulrich’s
counter to the local community hypothesis. The Gospel’s Greek manuscript does not outweigh either the
inclusive language used or the anonymity of the author. While the original Gospel may have been
written in Greek and initially told to a predominantly Greek speaking audience,
is it not possible that the author intended for his message to be carried
throughout the regions? Indeed,
considering the rate of illiteracy as well as the widespread use of oral
tradition, it is not impossible to imagine the author of Matthew intending his
inclusiveness to spread to non-Greek communities.
Ehrman, Bart D. The New
Testament. Fourth Edition. New York:
Oxford, 2004
Ulrich, Daniel W. The
Missional Audience of the Gospel of Matthew.
Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
January 2007, Vol. 69 Issue 1, p64-83
[i]B.D. The
New Testament (3; New York; Oxford; 2004),
102
[ii]D.U. The
Missional Audience of the Gospel of Matthew
(CBQ, 2007, Vol. 69), 64
[iii]D.U. The
Missional Audience of the Gospel of Matthew
(CBQ, 2007, Vol. 69), 67
[iv] D.U. The
Missional Audience of the Gospel of Matthew
(CBQ, 2007, Vol. 69), 70
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