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

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cannot be said where exactly Matthew originated. The most common view is thatMatthew originated in Syria, and perhaps in Antioch (Allison 2005:xiii; Keck 2005:48;Long 1997:3). Antioch is the most common suggestion, because of the “prominenceof that city in the early church (Leske 1998:1255).” Antioch was a fairly large cityand was occupied by a cosmopolitan mix of people (Long 1997:3).The early church Fathers’ said Matthew was more likely written in a Palestiniansetting (Leske 1998:1255). This would probably have been in Galilee, as the antipharisaictone of the book would be somewhere where the Pharisees wereprominent. However, Leske acknowledges that Antioch, which is much further north,is still a possible alternative. Those who argue for Palestine are in the camp ofscholars who argue for a dating of Matthew before 70 A.D. Those who assume a latedating will find a Palestinian origin hard to accept (Davies & Allison 1998: 140).Even though scholars are unable to settle on Matthew’s place on origin, what isconsistent is that scholars believe the church was probably located in a prosperousurban area (Long 1997:2). As Green (2000:37) notes, a great city must haveembraced Matthew in order to account for its popularity in antiquity.2.4.3 Jesus ContextWhile it was noted that finding the original audience of Matthew is difficult, the textdoes give the reader information about the context of the original hearers of theSermon. Further, as this thesis is assuming that the apostle Matthew is the author, itcould be that some of the original hearers of the Sermon would have heard or readMatthew’s Gospel.2.4.3.1 AudienceThe question has been asked as to whom the SOM was sermon addressed.Matthew 5:1-2 tells the reader that Jesus, after seeing the crowds, ascended themountain and that Jesus’ disciples went to him and he began to teach them.However when the Sermon ends the author mentions that the crowds were amazedat Jesus’ teaching (Mtt. 7:28). I.e. there were both crowds and disciples being13
addressed.Jesus says things in the Sermon that clearly can only be for His disciples: forexample telling them they are the salt of the Earth (Ervast 1983:12). The question isthen how Matthew 7:28 is reconciled with the Sermon being addressed to thedisciples, as in 7:28 the reader is told that the crowds were amazed at the Sermon(p.13)?Several suggestions have been put forward. For Ervast (1983:15) it is not either or,but the SOM is addressed to both the disciples and the crowd. Senior (1997:102)sums up his position by affirming that “Matthew conceives of the Sermon asaddressed through them to the crowds.” It is not however necessary to reconcileMatthew 5:1-2 to 7:28.Clearly Matthew 5:1-2 tells the reader that Jesus is addressing the Sermon todisciples and Matthew 28:20 drives the point home that the discourses found inMatthew are for training in discipleship. The fact that the crowds heard, does notmean that they were in any way the intended recipients. So while he may haveaddressed the crowds and the disciples, the disciples were the intended recipients.2.4.3.2 LocationMatthew 5:1 teaches that Jesus went up on a mountainside to teach the SOM. TheGreek noun has been translated as mountain in the NKJV. It could also be translatedas hill or mountain range (Lioy 2004:90-91). While there are several suggestions asto where the SOM was preached, “…the exact location where Jesus taught HisSermon remains uncertain.”Lioy (2004:90-91) highlights three possible reasons as to why the SOM wasproclaimed on a mountain;a) Speaking on a mountainside would have acoustic value, in that Jesus voicewould have carried well.b) Going up the mountain could give the listener the feel that they are in an14
Page 1 and 2: A BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF
Page 3 and 4: ACKOWLEDGEMENTSI am eternally grate
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER 1: Introdu
Page 7 and 8: 6.2.5 Discipleship and Community…
Page 9 and 10: sinfulness and pushes people toward
Page 11 and 12: discourses in Matthew, is meant to
Page 13 and 14: Christian disciple and money was an
Page 15 and 16: NT text actually did occur and did
Page 17 and 18: to have used it as a source (France
Page 19: almost no evidence outside of the N
Page 23 and 24: The Jewish community was taxed very
Page 25 and 26: finding the origin and purpose of M
Page 27: instruction for the believing commu
Page 31 and 32: Matthew will have continued pertine
Page 33 and 34: Chapter 3Literary Analysis - Struct
Page 35 and 36: etween 6:19-24 and 7:1-11 that is c
Page 37 and 38: would not have ever found such a li
Page 39 and 40: and 7:7-11 are worth noting:a) Both
Page 41 and 42: appealing. He seems to at times ack
Page 43 and 44: three parts.While the literary appr
Page 45 and 46: Chapter 4Literary Analysis - Matthe
Page 47 and 48: common to a teacher like Jesus woul
Page 49 and 50: treasures would be, but agrees that
Page 51 and 52: Blomberg (1992:123) shows that the
Page 53 and 54: Talbert (2006:122) argues this by r
Page 55 and 56: for God’s kingdom, it is in a bad
Page 57 and 58: The statement that one cannot serve
Page 59 and 60: Chapter FiveLiterary Analysis - Mat
Page 61 and 62: Moses. Even more significant is tha
Page 63 and 64: ightly notes that humans are more v
Page 65 and 66: Secondly, Henry’s argument that o
Page 67 and 68: Perhaps the point is not to cast So
Page 69 and 70: The second reason related to this p
Page 71 and 72:
the scriptures that even the great
Page 73 and 74:
more than what one eats and wears.
Page 75 and 76:
CHAPTER SIXTHEOLOGICAL MOTIFS OF MA
Page 77 and 78:
6:19-34 and that this chapter would
Page 79 and 80:
It has now been established that Th
Page 81 and 82:
Kingdom requires its citizens to ha
Page 83 and 84:
“our Father,” i.e. the Father o
Page 85 and 86:
It must be noted that the Father-So
Page 87 and 88:
Matthew 25:31-36 presents Jesus as
Page 89 and 90:
unanimous among scholars. These rea
Page 91 and 92:
Unger and White (1985:171) note tha
Page 93 and 94:
interdependent interpersonal relati
Page 95 and 96:
examples of how a disciple may prov
Page 97 and 98:
Chapter SevenConclusion7.1 Introduc
Page 99 and 100:
the accumulation of wealth over and
Page 101 and 102:
them. The historical analyses highl
Page 103 and 104:
preparedness to give up monetary pu
Page 105 and 106:
e for the benefit of the believing
Page 107 and 108:
captivity to sin. The SOM itself wa
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
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