Matthew: Odds and Ends

The Birth in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6). The prophet Micah (5.2) predicts that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. This is one reason the author of Matthew created his virgin birth story. The Messiah could not be born in Nazareth. He also wanted to make the point that Jesus was a great religious figure. This part of the story is inspired by the legends surrounding the births of some Roman emperors. In these stories, god traveled to earth to impregnate a human mother. Although the historical facts of Matthew’s story are unlikely to be true, the author succeeds in making his point. Jesus was a great religious figure.

The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 3:2) The author of Matthew uses the phrase Kingdom of Heaven about thirty times in his gospel. The fact that he substitutes the term heaven for God reflects the Jewish reluctance to cite the name of God. It was too sacred a name to mention. This small change illustrates the Jewish roots of the gospel. Matthew’s audience was a group of Jewish Christians.

Effective Prayer (Matthew 7: 7-11) “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” As I confessed in the blog on the Sermon on the Mount, I have asked God to make me a more loving person, and not much seems to have changed. I have prayed for friends with cancer, and they have died. “For the one who asks always receives.” Sadly, I can’t believe that, which has led me to conclude that God does not act in the world in any way that humans can know or understand. We so often give God the benefit of the doubt. When good things happen, God answers prayer. When bad things happen, we look for another explanation. I think the most honest answer is to say that God leaves us alone to our own devices. This fact is a great gift of love.

False Prophets (Matthew 7:16) You can tell false prophets by their fruits. This is a wonderful teaching. Religion has nothing to do with correct belief. If a person isn’t loving, that person doesn’t get it.

Disciples Go to Israel (Matthew 10: 5-8) Jesus sends the disciples out to the lost sheep of Israel with a warning to stay out of pagan territory. Toward the end of the gospel, Jesus says that the gospel will be proclaimed to the whole world (24: 14), and he instructs his disciples on the mountain in Galilee to make disciples of all the nations (28: 19). These statements appear to be contradictory. A possible solution is to suggest that two voices echo through the gospel—that of Jesus, the first voice cited above, and the early church.

Along these lines, it is interesting to note that Jesus focuses his ministry exclusively on rural areas—in the small towns and villages along the Sea of Galilee. Jews lived in these rural areas, Gentiles were located in urban areas. The gospel record suggests that Jesus purposely avoided urban areas where Gentiles resided.

This deliberate strategy supports the idea that Jesus’ message of salvation was directed at Israel. Paul and the early Church in the Hellenistic world changed the message to include Gentiles.

The Son of Man is not God (Matthew 12:32). The authors of the Trinity seem to have missed this passage in Matthew.

Joseph’s Son (Matthew 13: 55). Jesus goes to Nazareth, and the people there see him as Joseph’s son, with several brothers and sisters. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary remained a perpetual virgin. I wonder what Church theologians do with this passage.

On Clean and Unclean (Matthew 15: 10-20). In the Odds and Ends blog for Mark, I commented on the conflict stories involving the Pharisees. The purpose of these stories is to suggest that the Pharisees played a role in Jesus’ death. I indicated then that these stories are probably not historical, and that Rome and the Jewish elite were responsible for the death of Jesus.

The discussion of Jewish purity rules in Matthew helps to make this point. The author of Matthew turns the discussion into a major confrontation with the Pharisees.

The problem with this is that rules regarding what was clean are no big deal. Everyone was unclean from time-to-time. A male and female after intercourse were unclean, a woman during the time of her period was believed to be unclean. The solution was simple. One became clean from immersion in a pool, and waiting until sunset. It was then possible to enter the Temple. This issue reminds me of my mother going to great lengths to dress me for church as a young boy.

When Jesus teaches that eating with unwashed hands does not make a person unclean but that cleanliness is a matter of the health of one’s heart, he is not attacking the essence of Judaism. Rather he is making an interesting ethical point. Such an argument would not shock or infuriate the Pharisees. They might not agree with him, but disputes of this nature were common within the family of Judaism.

A Mother’s Request (Matthew 20: 20-22). The mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus to allow her two sons to sit, one at his right hand and the other at his left hand, in the kingdom. Compare this with Mark 10: 35-38 where the two sons make the same request. Matthew has a higher view of the disciples than Mark. In Matthew’s gospel, the disciples eventually get it.

The Coming Apocalypse (Matthew 24:20). When the apocalypse comes, Jesus instructs his listeners to, “pray that you will not have to escape in the winter or on a Sabbath.” Compare this with Mark’s version in 13:18. Matthew adds the words “on a Sabbath,” again reflecting the Jewish Christian audience for his gospel. This is the work of an editor.

The Treachery of Judas (Matthew 26: 47-56). The story of Jesus’ arrest is a strange one. Judas tells the chief priests and elders that he will kiss Jesus in order to identify him. Why was this necessary? Jesus and the Jewish elite are seen fighting throughout Matthew’s gospel. They surely knew each other. What probably happened was that Judas told them that Jesus would destroy the Temple. When the Jewish establishment reported this to the Roman authorities, these authorities arrested him and put him on the cross.