Thomas R. Hatina
Douglas R. A. Hare
David C. Sim
Sharing
many traditions and characteristics, the Gospel of Matthew, the letter
of James, and the Didache invite comparative study. In this volume,
internationally renowned scholars consider the three writings and the
complex interrelationship between first-century Judaism and nascent
Christianity. These texts likely reflect different aspects and emphases
of a network of connected communities sharing basic theological
assumptions and expressions. Of particular importance for the
reconstruction of the religious and social milieu of these communities
are issues such as the role of Jewish law, the development of community
structures, the reception of the Jesus tradition, and conflict
management. In addition to the Pauline and Johannine schools, Matthew,
James, and the Didache may represent a third religious milieu within
earliest Christianity that is especially characterized through its
distinct connections to a particular ethical stream of contemporary
Jewish tradition. The contributors are Jonathan Draper; Patrick J.
Hartin; John S. Kloppenborg; Matthias Konradt; J. Andrew Overman; Boris
Repschinski, S.J.; Huub van de Sandt; Jens Schrter; David C. Sim;
Alistair Stewart-Sykes; Peter Tomson; Martin Vahrenhorst; Joseph
Verheyden; Wim J. C. Weren; Oda Wischmeyer; Jrgen K. Zangenberg; and
Magnus Zetterholm.
A
much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew is the theme of heaven
and earth. Rather than being a reverential circumlocution for God,
'heaven' in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven
and earth language. Matthew's idiolectic way of using heaven language
consists of four aspects: 1) a distinction in meaning between singular
and plural forms of "ouranos"; 2) frequent use of the heaven and earth
word pair; 3) regular reference to the Father in heaven; and 4) the
recurrent use of the Matthean expression, kingdom of heaven. This book
examines the historical precedents for each of these aspects and shows
in Matthew how they serve one overriding theological purpose: to
highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or
God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological
resolution.
This
book examines four texts: 1 Enoch, 4QInstruction, Matthew and 2 Enoch. A
common idea in these texts, which blend sapiential and apocalyptic
elements, is that the revealing of wisdom to an elect group inaugurates
the eschatological period. The emphasis on "revealed wisdom" is
essentially apocalyptic, but facilitates the uptake of motifs, forms and
language from the sapiential tradition and is important in explaining
the fusion of the two traditions. In addition, revealed wisdom often has
creational associations and this has significance for the notion of
ethics in these texts. The book will interest anyone concerned with the
development of Jewish and Christian eschatology and ethics. It also
challenges the simplistic redactional assumptions of certain New
Testament scholars.
The
Gospel of Matthew in its Roman Imperial Context examines how Matthew's
gospel reflects the situation in which the community found itself after
the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent humiliation of Jews across the
Roman Empire. It considers the extent to which Matthew was seeking to
oppose Rome's claims to authority and sovereignty over the whole world,
to set up alternative systems of power and society, and to forge new
senses of identity. It asks how Matthew's approach to such problems
compared with that of Jews who were not followers of Jesus Christ and
with that of others, Jews and Gentiles, who were followers.
Matthew's
Gospel reveals little about the three wealthy visitors said to have
presented gifts to the infant Jesus. Yet hundreds of generations of
Christians have embellished that image of the Three Kings or Magi for a
myriad of social and political as well as spiritual purposes. Here
Richard Trexler closely examines how this story has been interpreted and
used throughout the centuries. Biblically, the Journey of the Magi
presents a positive image of worldly power, depicting the faithful in
progress toward their God and conveying the importance of the
gift-giving laity as legitimators of their deity. With this in mind,
Trexler explains in particular how Western societies have molded the
story to describe and augment their own power--before the infant God and
among themselves.The author demonstrates how the magi as a group
functioned in Christian society. For example, magi plays, processions,
and images taught people how to pray and behave in reverential contexts;
they featured monarchs and heads of republics who enacted the roles of
the magi to legitimate their rule; and they constrained native Americans
to fall in line behind the magi to instill in them loyalty toward the
European world order. However, Trexler also shows these
philosopher-kings as competitive among each other, as were groups of
different ages, races, and genders in society at large. Originally
modeled on representations of the Roman triumphs, the magi have reached
the present day as street children wearing crowns of cardboard, proving
again the universality of the image for constructing, reinforcing, and
even challenging a social hierarchy.
