Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE MISSION OF JESUS §13.3
his disciples: 'Do not be afraid, little flock; because your Father is pleased to give
you the kingdom' 111 — where again the allusion is evidently to Israel as the
flock protected by its divine shepherd. 112 Elsewhere the image of Israel like scattered
sheep lacking direction, as in the wilderness (Num. 27.17) or under failing
leadership, 113 is evoked by the depiction/(memory?) of people straggling round
the shore of the lake to hear more from Jesus (Mark 6.34). Matthew has moved
the allusion to introduce his version of the commission of the twelve (Matt.
9.36). Both are the work of the narrator, but the fact that Jesus' mission evoked
such imagery can count as a strengthening of the likelihood that the imagery was
prompted by what Jesus himself said and did.
In short, the imagery of Israel as Yahweh's flock had an irregular role within
the Jesus tradition, but it is more likely that the extent to which the imagery is
played upon was prompted by memory of Jesus' own usage than otherwise.
d. Inheriting the Land
In §12.4c we observed that Matthew's third beatitude ('Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the land/earth') clearly alludes to Ps. 37.11 ('The meek shall
possess the land'). More to the point here, the allusion is clearly a play on the ancient
covenant promise that Abraham's descendants would inherit the land. 114
Although Matthew probably took the beatitude's promise in a spiritual sense
(§13.4b), we should at least be aware of the underlying strand of thought: in
some sense 'the meek' would enjoy the fulfilment of the ancient covenant promise
to Israel's patriarchs.
e. A New Covenant
As we saw above, it is likely that the last supper tradition recollects Jesus' final
meal together with his disciples (§8.5c). Here we need simply observe that Jesus
is recalled as describing it as a covenant meal, indeed, in the version common to
Luke and Paul, as 'the new covenant in my (Jesus') blood' (Luke 22.20/1 Cor.
owing of his own fate. A similar understanding of Zech. 13.7 is reflected in CD 19.6-10 (see
below, § 17.5c).
111. Its isolated attestation puts Luke 12.32's status as a word of Jesus in question for
most, though we can at least say that it is consistent with the rest of the motif (see also Beasley-
Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom 185-87; Hampel, Menschensohn 39-40).
112. Is there also an allusion to Dan. 7.27 (Jeremias, Proclamation 181)?
113. 1 Kgs. 22.17; 2 Chron. 18.16; Jer. 50.6; Ezek. 34.5-6; Zech. 10.2; Jdt. 11.19.
114. Gen. 12.7; 13.15; 15.18; 17.8; 24.7; 26.3; 28.4, 13; 35.12; 48.4.
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