O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...

discourses in Matthew, is meant to be applied by believers. Like Carson (1994:166-167) argues, it is acknowledged that conformity to the sermon is expected now, evenif perfection will not be achieved until the consummation of Christ’s Kingdom. TheSermon is addressed to, and expected to be practiced by the Christian Community(Hendrickx 1984:8; Lloyd-Jones 2006:20). The sermon is meant for the Christian(Lloyd-Jones 2006:20).The work of the exegete is to find out what it is that Jesus taught, and, importantly,what is the implication for the Christian disciple? With this in mind, attention isturned to the passage in question, Matthew 6:19-34. Even when settled on thechosen approach of interpretation to the SOM, there are several factors which makeunderstanding what Jesus taught in this passage difficult.First, today’s readers are far removed from the historical context which would haveshaped the teaching of the passage. To grasp the passage the historical setting ofthe text and its origin needs to be examined. I.e. we ask the question how thehistorical setting of the original hearers of the Sermon would affect theirunderstanding of the Sermon.Second, following the structure and rhetoric of the passage is not easy. For example,it looks as if Jesus is saying that money is primarily a moral issue and not aneconomic issue. Further, at times it looks like Jesus is advocating that the discipleshould put good sense aside in order to trust God (Carlston 1987:179). It even looksas if the passage suggests work is a bad idea. If that is so, how does the believerreconcile Bible stories such as Joseph who prudently worked in order to avert afamine?Third, the passage contains and is surrounded by theological motifs and themes inMatthew. These theological themes and motifs contained in Matthew will affect theunderstanding of the passage.Thus, to read Matthew 6:19-34 in order to understand the nature of the relationshipbetween the Christian disciple and money, a biblical and theological analysis isnecessary.4