O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...
O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ... O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...
7.2.2 The Accumulation of WealthLuthi and Brunner (1963:129) say that Jesus, in Matthew 6:19 was advocating that adisciple cannot have amassed a significant amount of material wealth without givingthe allegiance of one’s heart to it. Notably they arrived at this conclusion by treatingJesus command not to lay up treasures on earth as an absolute command that couldstand on its’ own.However the literary analysis concluded that by taking Jesus teaching style intoaccount one can conclude that He was not prohibiting the accumulation of wealth.This speaks to the question of whether or not a disciple may commit her or himself toa vocation or enterprises whereby they accumulate a significant portion of wealth. Italso speaks to the question of whether the disciple is to neglect work in favour ofseeking God’s Kingdom.The literary analysis showed that the admonition from Jesus was not to neglect work,but in working hard to trust God to provide. This conclusion was reached in part byaffirming that this scripture needs to be understood in light of Proverbs 6:6-8. This isa passage of wisdom literature, that encourages the reader to neglect laziness andbe diligent in working to supply for one’s needs. Also it was noted that the metaphorsused by Jesus of birds, showed animals hard at work, but ultimately relying on God’sgoodness for provision. Further, the historical analysis showed Jesus to have had atrade, to have worked and yet he committed no sin.Thus it is possible to be involved in enterprises whereby a disciple accumulateswealth and keep one’s allegiance to God. However it was concluded in the examinedtheological motif of discipleship that Jesus may require different levels of sacrificefrom different disciples. The historical analysis settled on the assumption thatMatthew, a former tax collector, wrote the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew the taxcollector was one who would have, if not accumulated lots of wealth would havebeen in the position to do so and gave up everything to follow Jesus. A point whichthe first readers of Matthew’s gospel would have been aware of.Further it was noted that discipleship requires the disciples to adopt the attitude of95
preparedness to give up monetary pursuits in favour of obedience to Jesus. Jesus,whom the historical and theological analysis portrayed as the supreme example ofhow discipleship is to be lived, was known to have given up everything in obedienceto God.Matthew 6:19-34 provided some signals as to whether or not one’s accumulation ofMoney is at the cost of authentic discipleship. Firstly one could argue from the sayingof two kinds of treasure that if the disciple has not prioritised Heaven’s values abovemoney the disciple is not adhering to the demands of following Jesus.Secondly, the saying of the good and bad eye showed that a stingy dispositionmeans discipleship has been sacrificed for the worship of Money. Finally, a lifecharacterised by anxiety and fear over provision points to a movement away fromfollowing Jesus, to skewed priorities and a wayward attitude toward wealth.The cure for alleviation of worry or anxiety that is related to human survival andobscures disciple’s priorities, was put forward as adequate trust in God. This kind oftrust was not shown to be a quick fix. The literary analysis as noted in 7.2.1 but inmore detail here, encourages disciples to katamanthano nature in order to learn.Katamanthan is a word which was shown to require some reflection and pondering.Further this kind of reflection would have been done, as suggested by chapter two, inthe context of a people that were suppressed by the Roman Empire and many ofwhom would have been exploited by their own countrymen. I.e. God’s cure to thealleviation of this kind of worry may not meet the expectations of people who arelooking for swift justice on their enemies.One could also say that the alleviation of anxiety related to human survival and it’scure, were counter the culture of the day. Chapter two showed the ruling Romanpower to be extremely rich. This came about by conquest. Jesus on the other handadvocated trust in God. Further it was noted that philosophies of the day may haveadmired people who live a life free from the lure of wealth, but in practice did notadhere to such a world view.96
- Page 51 and 52: Blomberg (1992:123) shows that the
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- Page 109 and 110: APPENDIX ONETALBERTS FORMAL DIVISIO
- Page 111 and 112: BIBLIOGRAPHYAchtemeier PJ, Green JB
- Page 113 and 114: Clowney EP 1988. Church. In SB Ferg
- Page 115 and 116: Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishi
- Page 117 and 118: Peter Laing Publishing.Lloyd-Jones
- Page 119 and 120: 73-97.Smith KG 2008. Academic Writi
preparedness to give up monetary pursuits in favour of obedience to Jesus. Jesus,whom the historical and theological analysis portrayed as the supreme example ofhow discipleship is to be lived, was known to have given up everything in obedienceto God.Matthew 6:19-34 provided some signals as to whether or not one’s accumulation ofMoney is at the cost of authentic discipleship. Firstly one could argue from the sayingof two kinds of treasure that if the disciple has not prioritised Heaven’s values abovemoney the disciple is not adhering to the demands of following Jesus.Secondly, the saying of the good and bad eye showed that a stingy dispositionmeans discipleship has been sacrificed for the worship of Money. Finally, a lifecharacterised by anxiety and fear over provision points to a movement away fromfollowing Jesus, to skewed priorities and a wayward attitude toward wealth.The cure for alleviation of worry or anxiety that is related to human survival andobscures disciple’s priorities, was put forward as adequate trust in God. This kind oftrust was not shown to be a quick fix. The literary analysis as noted in 7.2.1 but inmore detail here, encourages disciples to katamanthano nature in order to learn.Katamanthan is a word which was shown to require some reflection and pondering.Further this kind of reflection would have been done, as suggested by chapter two, inthe context of a people that were suppressed by the Roman Empire and many ofwhom would have been exploited by their own countrymen. I.e. God’s cure to thealleviation of this kind of worry may not meet the expectations of people who arelooking for swift justice on their enemies.One could also say that the alleviation of anxiety related to human survival and it’scure, were counter the culture of the day. Chapter two showed the ruling Romanpower to be extremely rich. This came about by conquest. Jesus on the other handadvocated trust in God. Further it was noted that philosophies of the day may haveadmired people who live a life free from the lure of wealth, but in practice did notadhere to such a world view.96
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