INTERPRETING THE ETHICAL TEACHING OF JESUS pp

“There are also many things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” John  Everyone has his or her own image of Christ, but no image is complete. Each gospel presents its own perspective of Christ and collectively they reveal Christ to us.

 We find many moral teachings of Jesus throughout the gospels.  How are we to interpret these teaching when Jesus lived in a world very different from ours?  The Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7 contains the heart of Jesus’ ethical message.

Interpreting the Sermon on the Mount 1) Why did Matthew write his gospel? 2) What does the “Kingdom of God” mean for Christian ethics? 3) What does the Sermon on the Mount mean for us in the 21 st century.

Interpreting Scripture Exegesis- the study of scripture texts in their original context. In Greek, it means “to lead out”. It looks at original language, historical context, religious tradition and other writings that influenced the authors of the text.  Consider what the world within which Matthew wrote his gospel and how his world influenced its shape and form.

 Hermeneutics – the task of interpreting scripture. Interpretations are made in reference to something else.   Matthew wrote in an era that was politically, culturally and economically different from our own. He used images and context that is unfamiliar to us but through examining his gospel using different lenses we can come to an understanding of the message Matthew is presenting.

 We use exegesis to understand the context of scripture, and hermeneutics to apply the findings of exegesis to understand these texts in our time.  We will try to understand factors that influence the context of Matthew’s gospel (exegesis).  We will use lenses like “apocalyptic literature” and the “kingdom of God” to help further understand Matthew’s gospel. (hermeneutics)

Matthew’s Gospel  Written in A.D. in Antioch (today’s Turkey), after the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.)  It was written for a Jewish community that was concerned with the division between Jewish followers of Christ (Christians) and those who saw Christ as subversive to Jewish tradition (Rabbinical Judaism).  The Pharisees and Rabbis refused followers of Jesus the right to participate in synagogue.

 The community of Matthew’s followers had been living the gospel as an oral tradition, before it was written down.  The gospel was written down so followers could continue the tradition after the apostles had died.  Matthew presents the gospel as a perspective or point of view. He interprets Jesus’ words and deeds to address the concerns of his community (hermeneutics).

 It is the only gospel where Jesus speaks of the Church.  He wants followers to remain united and not judge one another. He emphasizes Jewish tradition and Jesus’ connectedness to the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament.  Matthew’s interpretation has Jesus speaking to the church of A.D.

Matthew’s Jesus – The Ultimate Teacher  For Matthew, Jesus will be a constant presence in his Church as a teacher.  The Gospel starts with a genealogy of Jesus linking Jesus to Abraham (1 st Patriarch of Judaism) and King David (the house from which the Messiah was to come)  The genealogy ends with Joseph. While Joseph is not Jesus’ father, we are told Jesus’ origins are of God as Mary conceives of the Holy Spirit.

 At the end of the Gospel, Jesus is risen and instructs the apostles to teach the world about the him (make disciples of all nations, baptize and teach them to obey all that has been commanded.)  Matthew presents Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, who brings the teaching of Moses to perfection.

 Jesus took the Torah and its commandments and gave them a more spiritual interpretation, rather than a literal interpretation.  Jesus is seen as a fulfillment of the Torah and as the new Torah.  Jesus’ life is often compared to that of Moses in Matthew’ s gospel.

Jesus and Moses  Both threatened as infants  Moses was protected from Pharaoh; Jesus from Herod  Moses leads Israel from Egypt to the promised land; the Holy Family flees from the promised land to Egypt.  Both teachers of God’s Law

 Matthew inserted 5 teachings of Jesus into his account which was otherwise very similar to Mark’s; Moses left 5 teaching (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)  Moses taught the Torah to Israel; Jesus teaches the new law to the Church. Jesus makes five direct comparisons between his teaching and Moses’ teaching (Matthew teachings about anger, adultery, divorce, oaths and retaliation)  Matthew passes on to us, Jesus’ authority as teacher.