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

Christian disciple and money was an important one that needed to be addressed intheir generation and in generations to come (Schmidt 1988:171). This is attested toby the fact that over twenty percent of Jesus parables refer to the relationshipbetween the disciple and wealth. “The subject accounts for just over ten percent ofthe total content of Luke and about five percent each of Mark and Matthew.”Finally, the many years of attention given to the Sermon by the church, world andtheologians testifies that the richness of this biblical well seems to be too deep to getthe bottom. So while the approach to interpretation may not be new, there is alwayson-going value in exegesis of the text.1.4 HypothesisA biblical-theological analysis of Matthew 6:19-34 will show that money is presentedas a god that daily challenges the Christian disciple’s allegiance to Christ.Furthermore, the passage will teach that choosing to serve money leads to adegenerate experience for the disciple, while choosing to serve Christ will bring tothe disciple a liberating experience in the present, and a rewarding experience in thefuture.1.5 Design and MethodologyTo solve the main problem, there will firstly be an exploration of the historical contextof the passage in question. The goal will be to see how the historical context willaffect the understanding of the passage. An examination of the historical contextaims largely at two tasks; firstly, to find the occasion that brought about the writing ofthe book (Lategan 2009: 65; Smith 2008:172). To embark on an exegesis of the NT,attention must be paid to the religious, cultural and sociological context of the originof the text (Lategan 2009:65). The second task is to find the purpose of the book(Lategan 2009: 65; Smith 2008:172).Secondly, a literary analysis of the passage will be conducted. Attention will be paidto the structure and rhetoric of the text, as both will affect the understanding of thepassage (Smith 2008: 172-173). Other literary features that may affect the meaning6