“Those who acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah will inherit the kingdom of God” (Harrington 10). Those who acknowledge Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament will be saved and be granted eternal life in Heaven. Those who reject him will be condemned. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches of the Kingdom of Heaven by placing “Jesus of Nazareth within the traditions of God’s chosen people and showing how this same Jesus burst the bonds of those traditions and brought them to fulfillment” (Harrington 7). One passage in specific that emphasizes this aspect of Matthew’s Gospel is Mt 12:38-42, The Demand for a Sign. In this passage, Matthew uses Jesus as a preacher to show him as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. He is a prophet greater than Jonah, and a King greater than Solomon. Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to preach about the Kingdom of Heaven. Within this essay, I will first summarize the specific passage, explain where The Demand for a Sign is placed within the Gospel of Matthew as a whole, and compare it to its comparable passage in the Gospel of Mark. Then I will examine the different points that Matthew is making within this passage.
In Mt 12:38-42, Jesus is being rejected by people of his generation. The Scribes and Pharisees ask to see a sign proving that Jesus really is the Messiah, but Jesus tells them, “no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet” (The Catholic Study Bible, Mt 12:39). Then Jesus begins to speak of Jonah from the Old Testament. He mentions that the Son of Man will spend three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth, just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. He then continues to speak of the Final Judgment. The men of Nineveh will condemn t...
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...about a new Israel. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7) Through the new Israel, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Mt 7:8). Because of the New Israel, the Church of Matthew must stand strong against Judaism.
Works Cited
The Catholic Study Bible. Ed. Donald Senior and John J. Collins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
Harrington, Daniel J. The Gospel according to Mark. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. 1983. Print.
Nickle, Keith F. The Synoptic Gospels, An Introduction. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. 2001. Print.
Wright, Nicholas T. Matthew for Everyone. London, England: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002. Print.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Wilson, Barbara S., Arlene Flancher, and Susan T. Erdey. The Episcopal Handbook. New York, NY: Morehouse Pub., 2008. Print.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Morgan, G. Campbell. Studies in the Four Gospels. 3rd ed. Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1931.
Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
14 Jonathan T. Pennington. Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew. (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2009), 214.15 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 101.16 Frank J. Matera. Passion Narratives and Gospel Theologies: Interpreting the Synoptics Through Their Passion Stories. (New York: Paulist Press, 1986), 115.17 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 229.
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike, eds. "The Gospel According to Luke." The Longman Anothology of World Literature. Compact ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. 822-33. Print.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible. Eds. Dom Bernand Orchard, Rev. R. V. Fuller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Print.
Silva, Moisés. Philippians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
Bromiley, Geoffrey William, Fredrich, Gerhard, Kittel, Gerhard. “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” Struttgart, Germany. W. Kohlhammer Verlag. 1995. Print.
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of the temptation of Jesus and how other sects defined the Messiah.
Lane, William. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974.
Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1995. Print. (BS195 .C66 1995)
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.