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

Matthew will have continued pertinence throughout this thesis as the examination ofthe main problem of this thesis continues. It cannot be said where the originalaudience lived. The most common suggestion is Antioch in Syria.Jesus addressed the SOM to both the crowds and the disciples. However thedisciples were the intended recipients. As a reader and a disciple the reader wouldhave recognised that the teaching at hand carried the expectation of responding inobedience to the teaching.It is significant that the SOM happened on a mountainside specifically as it creates aparallel to Moses. Jesus in the SOM affirms continuity of the Decalogue given toMoses for the Christian church. Of special interest to this thesis will be the continuedrelevance of the tenth commandment which instructs God’s people to abandoncovetousness. Of further significance is that the Decalogue instructs theabandonment of idolatry which is of course of interest to the hypothesis of this thesis.The economic climate of Jesus day was one where money was in use by all classesof people and there was a fair amount of financial education. There were varyingworld views surrounding the use of money, and the disposition of people with orwithout money. The Jewish people were suppressed by a wealthy Roman Empireand exploited by tax collectors. There were also poor people within the Jewishcommunity that would have been exploited by rich land owners. It was to thefinancial advantage of some Jewish religious figures to maintain the social statusquo as instituted by the Roman Empire. Thus Jesus teaching on money waspresented to all classes of people.Several views on the purpose of Matthew were examined, namely Matthew asLiturgy and Catechism, as Instruction for Discipleship, as Biography, as definition forthe Christian Movement, and as a gospel to all people. It cannot be said withcertainty that Matthew was created with a liturgical or catechistic use in mind, but aliturgical and catechetical use of the book could be a bi-product of the writing style ofMatthew.It was noted that Matthew did have discipleship as a purpose in mind. Further24