The role of the
Quite extensive research has been done on the Jewish society of the late Second Temple Period (e.g. Brown
The assumption of this article is that the debate about the
In this article broad outlines of the probable religious situation in which the first Gospel originated and what role the
It seems that the newly formed groups used the
In reaction to the Jewish revolt, Rome destroyed Jerusalem, the temple and the temple service in 70 CE. This left the Jewish community bewildered. The Jews struggled to come to terms with their loss, and probably entertained the question of whether this destruction was the punishment of God for their sins. If the destruction was God's punishment for sin, they had to consider how to know God's will with certainty to avert similar disasters in future. This resulted in many significant reformulations of important theological ideas and religious practices. Various Jewish groups debated questions about the meaning and practice of the
The law now emerged as the central symbol for post-70 Judaism. Who was recognized as the authoritative interpreters had a great deal to do with who emerged as the accepted and established movement. (p. 69)
The group that would be recognised as the most authoritative and accurate interpreters of the Law, would become the dominant force. Josephus (
The importance of the Law was obviously nothing new. Since the time of the Deuteronomistic historian there had been a continuous urge to a more exact observance of the Law (Foster
The Essenes believed they understood the Law correctly and that others in Israel, especially in the temple, failed to understand it. According to 1QS9, God has ‘concealed the teaching of the Law from the men of falsehood, but shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgement to those who chose the Way’. The true meaning of the Law was explicated by the Teacher of Righteousness. With his interpretation of the Law, the Essene community validated their own beliefs and practices and denounced those of other groups, specifically of the Jerusalem leaders.
Other Jewish documents from the late Second Temple Period until the 1st century CE reveal similar sentiments. Like the Essenes, 1 Enoch claims that the enemies of its community do not follow the Law correctly and lead people astray with false versions of the Scripture (1 En 99:12), whilst its own community understood their mysteries and made them available for the chosen community (1 En 92:1; 93:1). The Psalms of Solomon also attacks the Jewish leaders as people who violated and corrupted the Law (Ps Sol 4:1, 8, 22), whilst its own community is regarded as the faithful people who remain true to God's Law (Ps Sol 14:10). In 2 Baruch, Baruch himself emerges as God's agent who truly instructs the righteous community (2 Bar 38:1–4). Baruch is paralleled with Moses, as Baruch left his people and ascended Mount Zion to receive God's instructions. Like Moses, Baruch is portrayed as God's lawgiver. In 4 Ezra 14, Ezra appears as Moses redivivus: ‘I revealed myself in the bush, and spoke to Moses, … So too I now give this order to you’ (v. 3–7).
Because of how important the
In such polemic the need for a group to find in the
In many cases a study of what a group rejects, reveals what the group is in itself.
In Pharisaic Judaism the
The social location of Matthew is linked to the evangelist's view of the Law. Barth (
Matthew does not share the understanding of the law in the Rabbinate but rather opposes the Rabbinate face to face. But it will still not be correct to speak of a lex nova because the identity with the law of Sinai is not strongly emphasised. (p. 159)
With regard to Matthew's discussion of the Law, the evangelist developed a subtle dialectic with its opponents, presumably some village teachers of the Law (scribes) in the process of establishing a Pharisaic rabbinate. Matthew's Jesus strongly critiques the Pharisees’ oral traditions (e.g. Mt 15:1–9)
Matthew describes Jesus as the one who brought the definitive interpretation of God's will. Matthew claimed that Jesus provided the answer. Jesus superseded current understandings of the Law with his reinterpretation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is presented as a Moses type. In the beginning of the Sermon (5:1–2), the Sinai typology is significant (Loader
The tension amongst the Jews was intensified by the fact that they struggled to maintain their identity within the Hellenistic culture and under the Roman Empire. The Hasmonean dynasty also showed a particular affinity for Greek culture (Wright
The dynamics of a society can be illustrated by
Dynamics of a society.
The society is depicted as a heptagon. Behaviour and thought that are considered as normal and authoritative (depicted as circles) are clustered within the society, the heptagon. The behaviour and thought of the society are controlled by those in powerful positions. The line inscribing the behaviour and thought could be considered as the boundary of that society. Other social groups (depicted as octagons of differing sizes) are dispersed around the society, each with their own patterns of behaviour and thought. These groups may be related to the society or parts of it and can stand closer or further from the society.
Laws regarding the Sabbath, circumcision, diet and purity were foremost to form the behaviour and thought of the Jewish society (cf. Wright
In Matthew's Gospel these laws or identity markers are recognisable, indicating their closeness to the Jewish society. However, it seems that the Matthean community challenged the way the rabbinic movement in their society interpreted these laws. They based their understanding on the teaching and activity of Jesus. The following table indicates most prominent passages where the first Gospel refers to or implies such laws (see
Prominent passages.
Laws | Gospel |
---|---|
Identity marker | Matthean reference |
Sabbath | 12:1–14 |
(Circumcision) / baptism | 28:19 |
Dietary laws | 15:1–20 and (9:10–13) |
Purity | 8:1–4; 9:18–26, |
The observance of the Sabbath was the clearest marker of identity in the Jewish community (Wright
Circumcision is another important Jewish identity marker.
From the quantity of biblical texts devoted to food laws (e.g. Lv 11:1–47; Dt 14:2–20), it is clear that the Israelite diet was extremely important and formed another identity marker. Food laws were not simply related to dietary health, but also to covenantal purity. Although some Jews in the Greco-Roman period discarded some dietary laws in an effort to adapt to the surrounding cultures, Philo (
In the Jewish society, eating with others was also strictly regulated. Sharing meals was a way of binding the community together by confirming identity. Eating with Gentiles were forbidden, although some Jews found it acceptable if a Jew hosted the dinner or brought his own food to the Gentile's house (Jdt 12:1–4, 19; Add Esth. 14:17; Josephus
Purity can be regarded as the fourth Jewish identity marker (Wright
From this overview of these four identity markers and references to them in the first Gospel, it seems that Matthew's Jesus reinterpreted these markers. It seems that the Matthean community was still closely related to the Jewish society, although their deviance is apparent. Whilst the identity markers normally served to separate Jews from Gentiles, the different interpretation of these laws resulted in a separation between the Matthean group and the rest of the Jewish society. The character of the boundary marker between insiders and outsiders changed. The Matthean community differentiated them from the Pharisaic-rabbinic movement they encountered.
The changes, introduced by the Matthean community into their interpretation of the identity markers, are typical of deviant groups (Saldarini
This shift in identity of the Matthean community can also be recognised in their acceptance of Gentiles into their midst.
In the verses, directly before discussing Jesus’ teaching on the
By reading the Gospel of Matthew one can somehow picture the community in which the gospel was created and for whom it was intended. As this picture is a construct mainly based on the internal witness of the first Gospel that is intended as an internal document to its own community, opponents are presented from a specific perspective.
It seems that the crisis of 70 CE led to a reconsideration of the correct interpretation of the
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
When reading literature in which different groups are described, one has to realise that it is not clear to what extent these groups were constructed by the authors who promote their own groups or criticise their opponents and how much their description meets reality.
Most commentaries on Matthew have brief sections about some aspects of the Matthean community such as the relationship between the community and Judaism, the nationality of its members (Jewish, Gentile or both) and its geographical location. However, these constructions are mainly based on internal evidence of the text itself.
In my view, the strict distinction between Judaism as a religion of the Law and Christianity as religion of love, is inaccurate. The first Gospel deals extensively with the importance of adhering to the Law, but as interpreted by Jesus. The double-love commandment (Mt 22:34-40) describes love as the essence of the Law.
Although the Babylonean Talmud was only formalised in written form in late antiquity (3rd to 5th century CE) (Cohen
Further references to the Gospel of Matthew will be indicated only by chapters and verses.
Whilst the Israelite religion had a temple, Judaism had synagogues. The Israelite religion had priests, while Judaism had sages or rabbis. The Israelite religion had animal sacrifices, while Judaism had prayers. The Israelite religion was adhered to primarily in the homeland of Israel, while Judaism was found spread over the Roman Empire. However, the transition from the one to the other happened over a period of time, although the destruction of the temple in 70 CE could be regarded as a decisive event (cf. Cohen
The practice of circumcision, however, was not unique to the Israelites. According to Jeremiah 9:25-26 other Semitic groups such as the Edomites, Ammonites and Moabites were also practicing circumcision, but the Philistines are called the uncircumcised in a derogatory manner (Wright
The opposition of the synagogue could have been a contributing factor in the community's outreach to Gentiles (Brown
It has often been suggested that Matthew's Gospel was written in Antioch, though conclusive evidence is lacking. According to Acts this was the city in which the followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’ (Ac 11:26). They were mission-minded, as it was this community who sent Paul and Barnabas out on their first missionary journey (Ac 13).