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

discipleship in Matthew is related to community as at times obedience to God is livedout in the context of community. The significance of Jesus teaching of wealth withincommunity will be explored in other areas of this thesis.While Matthew is not exclusively a biography, it does contain biographical elements.Matthew’s biographical elements strengthen the argument of Matthew’s purpose indiscipleship. Biography also serves to remind the reader that the teachings cannotbe separated from the person Jesus. It will be shown later in the thesis that Jesus inthe Gospel of Matthew not only instructs disciples but impressively embodies Hisinstructions and so the reader is presented with a role model.Matthew proclaims the gospel for both Jew and Gentile. The proclamation of Jesusleading His people from slavery to sin will carry pertinence in the remainder of thisthesis. Matthew’s church was faced with the tension of reconciling their Jewishheritage with their new Christian faith. Matthew’s affirmation of the continuedrelevance of the Moral Law shows something of the continuity with the Jewish faith.It is significant in that a couple of the ten commandments have direct relevance tothe teachings of Matthew 6:19-34.25