Through The Bible

Session #32 – Matthew, Mark

November 5, 2003

 

The Matthew material below is from the October 15th, 2003 study that we did not get to. 

 

Matthew’s structure

 

·        The entire Gospel of Matthew is framed between the angelic announcement in 1.23, “…his name shall be called Immanuel, which means ‘God with us,’” and the messianic announcement in 28.20, “…lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

 

·        The Structure of Matthew dominated by five lengthy sections (excluding the introduction and conclusion)…interspersed with shorter collections of sayings. 

 

Ø     Introduction in two parts:

 

a.      Infancy narratives (Matthew 1-2).

 

Ø     It’s interesting to note the genealogy listed in Matthew 1.  Two things come to mind: (a) there are women listed in the genealogy and that normally wasn’t done in this culture.  The men were usually just listed; and (b) the women listed were not Jewish possibly pointing to Matthew’s message that salvation was for all people.

 

Ø     In 1:17 we have three sets of fourteen generations.  Why the breakdown of three sets of fourteen names?  One suggestion has been that in Hebrew, each letter of the alphabet has a numerical value in addition to a spelling value.  The Hebrew value of ‘David’ is fourteen and so Matthew may be underlining that Jesus was from David’s line.

 

b.     Preaching of John the Baptist (Matthew 3-4).

 

 

Ø     1st major section: Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

 

Ø     2nd major section: Mission discourse (Matthew 10).

§        Matthew 12:25-45 Jesus heals the demoniac, trees known by their fruit, and the sign of Jonah.

 

Ø     3rd major section: Collection of Parables (Matthew 13).

§        Matthew 16:21-28 Jesus’ foretelling of his death.

 

Ø     4th major section: Instructions for the Community (Matthew 18).

§        Matthew 19:23-30 Jesus’ teaching on what’s possible for God.

§        Matthew 21:28-22:14 Jesus’ kingdom of God teachings.

 

Ø     5th major section: Teachings about the future (Matthew 24-25).

 

Ø     Conclusion to the life of Christ: Passion narratives (Matthew 26-28).

 

 

 

General Comments about the different sections of Matthew:

 

a.      At the end of the first four sections (7.28; 11.1; 13.53; and 19.1) the same wording is used to mark the transition from one section to the next.  The wording is similar to this statement, “Now when Jesus had finished saying these things…”  At the end of the last section, the pattern concludes with Jesus saying, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things…” (the underlining of ‘all’ is my own.). 

 

b.     Some have suggested there’s a parallel between Matthew’s five major sections and the first five books of the Old Testament – the Pentateuch.  Some have said that Matthew has given his Christian community the messianic equivalent of the Torah.  While it may go too far to say that Matthew is providing the church with a new Moses or a new Torah, his Gospel does define Jesus and the church by using symbols familiar to Jewish Christians.

 

c.      The tension between the Jews and Jewish Christians of Matthew’s day reminded Christians, of all types, of the older and better established Jewish tradition.  This reminder helped the Christians wrestle with why they worshipped in the way they did and not down the street in the synagogue. 

 

Ø     The church Matthew addresses may not have been all Jewish-Christian.  But the church does seem to need to define itself in terms of the more dominant Jewish movement.  This accounts for the Jewish tone and the hostility toward Jews we see.

 

 

Matthew’s relationship to the other Gospels

 

Ø     Graham N. Stanton has said we should think about Matthew as a much expanded and revised 2nd edition of Mark.

 

Ø     Of Mark’s 662 verses, about 612 of them are found in Matthew.

 

Ø     Matthew has about 230 verses that are in Luke but not in Mark.

 

Ø     Only in Matthew is the word ‘church’ used (16:18; 18:17).

 

Ø     Matthew shortens all of Mark’s narratives, generally needing a third fewer words to tell a parallel story (e.g., Mark 5:1-20 and Matthew 8:28-34).

 

Ø     An example of how Matthew and other Gospel writers use similar stories for a different emphasis: In Luke 15:3-7 the parable of the lost sheep speaks of God’s love for those on the margins of society where in Matthew 18:12-14 the parable is used to encourage Christians to care for the straying member of the community.

 

 

Why was Matthew written?

 

Ø     It’s similar to the reason why Mark was written: to set out fully the writer’s understanding and significance of Jesus.

 

Ø     Matthew’s primary purpose is not to lay down a historical record but to address the followers of his own day.  Living as the ethical and righteous followers of Jesus seem to be prominent concern.

 

Ø     Matthew writes as a pastor.

 

Ø     One of the distinctive feature of Matthew is the strong anti-Jewish tone. 

 

o       Matthew 23 has seven strongly worded woes addressed to the scribes and Pharisees.  See especially 23:31ff.

 

o       Judaism as a whole seems to be rejected by Matthew (Matthew 23:37ff).

 

o       Why would Matthew say such harsh things about the Jewish faith?  More than likely, Matthew’s community recently parted company completely with Judaism after a period of prolonged hostility. 

 

o       The way Matthew phrases and emphasizes his anti-Jewish tone, it seems he, and his community, have felt deeply hurt by the Jews and their strong tone seeks to justify their position.

 

When was Matthew written?

 

Ø     We think Mark was written shortly after AD 70.  If Mark was written first (and most believe it was) then Matthew was written sometime later. 

 

o       Some scholars feel the parable of the wedding feast reflects the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  The parable tells how the king (God) has repeatedly sent his servants (the prophets) with an invitation to a marriage feast.  Those invited spurned the invitation; some reject and kill the servants.  So the king sent troops and destroyed them.  Here, the destruction of Jerusalem is linked with Israel’s rejection of Jesus.

 

Ø     Dates between AD 80 and AD 100 seem most probable. 

 

o       In AD 115, Matthew 3:15 is cited by Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, in his letter to the Smyrneans.

 

o       Since Matthew was known and used in Antioch in AD 115, some have suggested it was written in that city.

 

o       Matthew also used by the Didache, a Christian writing which may have originated in Syria around AD 100.

 

Who wrote Matthew?

 

Ø     Since the early 2nd century, Matthew’s name has been attached to the Gospel.

 

Ø     Was it Matthew, the tax collector of Matthew 10:3?  It could be but if it was this Matthew, would he have had to rely so heavily on Mark’s Gospel to shape his own?  If he were an eyewitness to as many things as the tax collector saw, wouldn’t he have shaped his own Gospel more distinctly?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark’s Gospel

 

In the 20th century, Mark studied more intensively by scholars than any of the other gospels.  Why? 

Ø     Considered to be the earliest Gospel written.  Since it was the earliest, it’s considered to be the most reliable historical source.

Ø     In early Church, Mark almost neglected.  Scribes copied it less frequently than the other gospels.  Why would it have been neglected?

o       With the exception of about 40 verses, all of Mark is in Matthew.  Some believed that Mark simply condensed Matthew. 

o       There’s no infancy narrative.  Mark starts with John the Baptist in the wilderness.

o       Resurrection account is short and seems abrupt.  It doesn’t flow like the other resurrection accounts.

o       In Matthew, 2/3 of the gospel contains words of Jesus.  In Mark, only about 1/3 of it contains the words of Jesus.

o       Familiar parables like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son are found in Luke, but not in Mark. 

 

Mark’s Greek is unimpressive

Ø     His writing style is said to be clumsy.

Ø     The Gospel has a frantic pace to it – note the use of ‘immediately’ (euthus) in transitions between stories.

Ø     Sometimes Mark records events and follows them hour by hour (1:21-38; 14:12-15:37) and sometimes he summarizes whole periods of ministry with a single line (10:1).

 

Date of Writing and Writer

Ø     Look at 13:14.  The “desolating sacrilege” is often seen as a hint that the Temple is about to be destroyed and defiled by Roman soldiers.  If this is true and a reference to that event, then Mark was written shortly before the siege and fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Ø     Tradition holds that Mark was written from Rome.  The style and language points to a location outside of Palestine.

Ø     Who is the writer?

o       Some traditions hold that Mark was a close associate of Peter.

o       John Mark, a close associate of Paul’s and frequently mentioned in Acts (see Acts 12:12), seems the best choice.

o       The early Church tended to link the Gospels to personal followers of Jesus, but John Mark was neither a disciple of Jesus nor an apostle.

 

Outline of Mark’s Gospel

 

I.                   Introduction (1:1-15)

a.      Notice from the outset that Mark is no biography or history because there’s no birth story.

b.     There’s a brief account of John the Baptist’s message, the baptism of Jesus, and Christ’s temptation.

c.      Notice Jesus announces in 1:15 that “…the kingdom of God has come near…” 

 

II.                Conflicts and Selection (1:16-3:34)

a.      We see three patterns.

                                                             i.      Demonstration of Jesus’ authority and power in healings and exorcisms (1:21-28, 29-34, 40-45; 2:1-12).  Summarization in 3:7-12

                                                           ii.      There is a positive response to Jesus by those whom he calls.  See 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19 – the choosing of the twelve.

                                                         iii.      Jesus is rejected by his opponents.  See 2:1-12, 15-28; and the Pharisees and Herodians seek Jesus’ death (3:1-6)

 

III.              Teaching in Parables (4:1-41)

a.      One interesting feature about Mark’s use of parables is that Jesus seems to confound people with his stories in Mark rather than instruct them.  Why?  Perhaps it’s because of the constant death threats that Jesus spoke in a veiled way.

b.     The inner circle of Jesus (disciples) were supposed to understand his teachings but they too often didn’t (see 4:10-13).

 

IV.             Caesarea Philippi (5:1-8:26)

a.      This part of Mark’s Gospel includes the doublets or repetition of similar stories.  See below comments on Mark’s inviting readers to look twice at similar accounts.

b.     We also see contrasts in this section: the ordinary needy people (Gentiles) recognize God’s power at work in Jesus (6:30-31; 7:35-36) but his own hometown folks (6:1-6) and colleagues (7:1-23) reject him.

 

V.                Going to Jerusalem (8:27-10:52)

a.      Jesus reveals his reasons for going to Jerusalem – to suffer and die (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34).

b.     Each time Jesus reveals his impending death, the disciples challenge what Jesus says revealing that they didn’t fully grasp their own discipleship.  Jesus clarifies what discipleship means (8:34-38; 9:35-37, 39-41; 10:38-45).

 

VI.             Jesus in Jerusalem (11:1-13:37)

a.      The religious leaders in Jerusalem are developed in this section.

b.     Mark drives home the point in this section that those who reject God’s kingdom in Jesus, will themselves be rejected.

 

VII.           The Passion (14:1-15:47)

a.      Mark’s portrayal of women in the Gospel is one of courage.  The women are the ones who stay near the tomb, etc.  They end up doing what the disciples were supposed to do.  See 15:40ff.

 

VIII.        The empty tomb (16:1-8…9-20)

a.      Notice the man in the white robe sitting by the tomb (16:5).  Where have we seen him before in Mark?

                                                             i.      Could he be the naked young man in the garden (14:51-52)?

                                                           ii.      Perhaps Mark wants us to see that those who fail can be restored?  The white robe tells us that he has been transformed. (Luke Timothy Johnson, p. 168).

 

Some stylistic features of Mark:

 

Mark has a way of inviting the reader to look twice at a similar account.  In a way, it might be Mark’s way of saying to the reader, “In case you missed it the first time, here the lesson again…” 

Ø     The story of Jesus calming a storm (4:35-41) is followed by an account of Jesus walking on water in the midst of a storm (6:45-52).

Ø     Healings seem to parallel one another (see 5:21-42 and 7:31-37).

Ø     The five thousand are fed (6:34-44) and then four thousand are fed (8:14-21).

This technique by Mark could be used for the purpose of moving people from the question, “Who is this…?” (4:41) to Jesus question, “But who do you say that I am?” (8:29).

 

 

Mark seems to have a fondness for three-fold patterns:

Ø     Three seed parables (4:3-32).

Ø     Three opinions about John (6:14-15).

Ø     Three opinions about Jesus (8:27-28).

Ø     Three predictions of his death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34).

Ø     Three failures of the disciples to stay awake in the garden (14:32-42).

Ø     Three denials of Jesus by Peter (14:66-72).

Ø     Three accounts of Jesus revealed as the Son of God (1:11; 9:7; 15:39).

 

From 1:1 through 8:27-30, the question, “Who is Jesus?” seems to dominate.  After Peter says, “You are the Messiah” the focus shifts to Jesus showing the disciples how he must suffer.

 

As far as we know, Mark was the first to connect what God accomplished in the death and resurrection of the Messiah to a narrative of what Jesus himself said and did.  Mark calls this ‘good news,’ euaggelion – (1:1).  In other words, Mark shapes the story of Jesus in a way that people see and understand that the whole story is leading to his death and resurrection.

 

The three endings of Mark

Ø     Most Bibles will indicate that there are 3 different stopping points to the end of Mark.  (16:8 – short verse; 16:8 – longer verse; 16:9-20).

Ø     The oldest and best manuscripts end Mark at 16:8 – short verse 8.  Notice if this is the original ending of Mark that it ends in fear.  “…and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” 

Ø     The longer version of verse 8 has Jesus sending out the disciples with the proclamation of his resurrection.

Ø     The longest ending (16:9-20) has a number of resurrection appearances, the commissioning of the disciples, and the ascension of Jesus.

Ø     Which is the ‘real’ ending of Mark? 

Ø     The most basic rule in evaluating manuscripts is: the shorter and harder readings are generally preferred to longer and smoother manuscripts. 

Ø     If the shortest version is the ‘real’ ending, then perhaps Mark wants the reader to again raise the question for themselves, “Who is this man?”