synoptic gospels exam 3

1. What role do the infancy narratives play in Mark’s Gospel?

1. Genealogy: Abraham to David to Joseph

   1. Jesus with King David credentials

   2. This establishes his connection to the history of Israel 

2. Jesus meets prophetic expectations, and the genealogy connects him to the royal line (divinity) 

   1. Fulfills the Hebrew Bible, stronger emphasis on the fulfillment of all scripture this way

3. Divine conception with Mary | Jesus born in Bethlehem

   1. Saved from a king and called out of Egypt

Compare the opening of Matthew and Mark and the impact they made in the respective narratives.

1. Mark: fuck the origin and childhood because apocalyptic narrative – this audience was prepared for the parousia to happen tomorrow and his narrative reflects that urgency

2. Matthew: here’s jesus’ bloodline

   1. Very detailed infancy narrative that involves the birth, the angels, and the visit of the Magi

   2. Legitimizing Jesus for a Jewish audience

1. How does Matthew’s Gospel portray Jesus in chapters 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount)?

1. Jesus is the New Moses. The Messianic interpreter of the Torah

   1. Hes shown as the fulfillment of the prophecy 

   2. Also the authoritative figure meant to promote the law 

   3. Matthew’s gospel mainly frames him as a teacher for his followers, unbelievers, and the disciples

      1. Challenges the social norms 

   4. The sermon on the mount specifically structures his core teachings (again with him being portrayed as a teacher) meant to help the reader understand his points about God’s kingdom

2. Jesus tells Matthew’s community to show up for those who are poor

1. What are the basic differences in the portrayals of Jesus in Mark and Matthew?

1. Mark: Messianic secret, ambiguous 

   1. Demons recognize him as the “Holy one of God”

2. Matthew: There is no secret surrounding the identity of the Messiah

   1. Also all of the disciples understand him, he does not have to explain things to them the way he does in Mark

   2. Matthew writing for Jewish audience, framing everything in Jewish context

1. How is Torah central to the symbolism of Matthew

a. matthew’s audience/community = the jewish peiple who see christ as messiah | they don’t like the pharisees and the saducees

b. jesus doesn’t abolish the law but fulfills it

c. jesus becomes the embodiment/interpreter of the torah, he doesn’t oppose it in any way

1.  Is Matthew anti-Jewish? Discuss what evidence exists in the Gospel for this claim as well as how one might defend Matthew against this charge.

1. Matt 23 was like FUCK THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES 

   1. Sure hey might tell you what the Law of Moses says but don’t follow them as examples to ts

   2. These mfs are also guilty of killing every single good person in the OT, especially the prophets

   3. He talks a lot about hypocrisy of the Pharisees too

2. But on a real note Matt wasn’t anti-jewish but moreso I gotta establish the authentic Israel

   1. After the war it was only the Pharisees (who didn’t see Jesus as the messiah) and Jewish Christians left; these two groups are trying to define the true and “authentic” Israel centered around Jesus

3. Matt uses Jewish tone + rabbinic tradition = Jesus is fulfilling the Old Law, he uses the Jewish language and scripture constantly. He always repeats the law of the Torah to intensify its importance to the narrative

4. 
   

   1. In the canvas doc it specifies that he uses more scripture than any other gospel writer

matthew

a. written around 70 ce (destruction of jerusalem)

b. audience: jewish christians suffering from persecution

c. strong emphasis on urgency and imminent suffering

matthew

a. written roughly 10 years after the destruction of the temple

b. audience: non-beliebers and those who are within his community because he was tough on them.

c. matthew still holds onto the hope of imminent parousia — the idea of always being prepared that pops up in a bunch of the parables here is an example of this

d. his final parable (section 229) is titled the last judgement and focuses on the separation of goats vs sheep. those who served and helped others (especially more vulnerable people and those who follow him as believers) were helping him and those who did not did not help him and therefore will not inherent the kingdom. the audience here is again non-believers and those in the community.

Compare the respective portraits of Peter in Mark, and Matthew

Review the Canvas docs, plus the following parallels:

113, 122, 203 (which is a parable that could pertain to Peter), section BB in Parallels.

Mark: Denies Jesus and does not understand him at all, is meant to represent overall human weakness (part of that Jesus is divine thing)

Matthew: i do remember peter walking on water 😍; peter didn’t get rebuked by jesus. He is also given special authority and has a nicer portrayal than in Mark

Compare the respective portraits of the 12 apostles (aka the disciples) as a group in Mark, and Matthew

Review the Canvas docs, plus the following parallels:

#s 92, 125, 127, BB.

Mark: these disciples don’t know SHIT. Hearts were hardened type shit. These mfs have no faith.

Matthew: The main difference is the disciples understand Matthew’s Jesus very clearly. They have little faith? Which is better than none, which is like pretty cool.

#92: Blessedness of the Disciples: God has blessed the disciples. Their eyes and ears are blessed for they can see and hear. Many prophets and godly people wanted to see what the disciples see, but they didn’t. Many prophets and godly people wanted to hear what the disciples hear, but they didn’t. (you don’t see ts in Mark)

#125: Coming of Elijah: Matt’s Jesus commanded the disciples to not tell anyone about the vision. Mark’s Jesus charged the disciples to not tell anyone about the vision.

#127:  Second Prediction of the Passion: Matt’s disciples were like “Greatly distressed” while Mark’s disciples were like “they did not understand the saying and they were afraid to ask him”.

#BB: The disciples worshiped him, but some doubted.

Name some specific ways in which the Sermon on the Mount establishes the foundation for the ethos of Matthew’s community.

Forgiveness is essential but so is mercy and respecting those around you; this means both the poor and vulnerable but also nonbelievers because regardless they are supposed to be following Jesus’s teachings

Also the eschatological concept of the kingdom coming is super important because it reminds people that its soon

Provide some specific examples of how the ethos of the Sermon on the Mount percolates through M’s parables.

-The goat and sheep parable talks about final judgement between those who were righteous and those who did not support their neighbors

-The pearl parable shows that the kingdom is worth total sacrifice, something he talks about also in the sermon on the mount when he says that we should be getting rid of all treasures because essentially we can either be materialistic or we can be fully and truly devoted to God

-Parable of the net fits the concept from the sermon on the mount where he is talking again about separating those who are true believers who care for those around them from those who did not. This is the most common theme and most important answer here

-Also… back to PREPAREDNESS which is really the main point in all of them. Be prepared and ready for the final judgment and be ready to give everything up for the kingdom

Summarize and explain the following parables from Matthew

Parallels sections:

96 & 100

#96 & 100: Parable of the Weeds & Explanation(Matt 13:24-30 & Mt. 13:36-43)

• sower = Jesus; weeds = people who belong to the devil; wheat = those belong in god’s kingdom; enemy = devil

• The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire; just like the Parousia

101

#101: Parable of the Hidden Treasure and of the Pearl (Mt. 13:36-43)

• God’s kingdom is a treasure hidden in a field. Once he found the treasure, he hid it again and sold everything to buy the field. God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. One day he found a very fine pearl and sold everything to buy it.

• Those who find the Kingdom shall sell everything to be with it.

102

#102: Parable of the Net (Mt. 13:47-50) 

• God’s kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake → fisherman caught different fish and put all the good fish in the basket and threw the bad fish away; angels will throw away the evil people from the good people. just another Parousia parable.

136

#136: Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Mt 18:23-35)

• Forgiving our debtors → recognition of the Lord’s Prayer

• Mt’s Jesus is holding his community to that high standard. 

• All about forgiveness – the ethos’ bedrock is the community.

190

#190: Parable of the Laborers…

• GOD’S GOOD GRACE!!!!

  • Regardless of when you become a believer you are still deserving of salvation 

• God’s love is equitable amongst all and is not a competition 

• This parable also warns against jealousy because it shows how the laborers get mad when they work longer and receive the same pay

226

#226: Faithful and Wise servant (Mt. 24:45-51)

• The wise and faithful servant is the one who expects the master to come back and do the work he gave him. The unfaithful servant is the one who beats other servants and hangs out with drunk people while also not expecting the master to come back

• ^^Those who expect the Parousia will be blessed, in other words…?

227

#227: Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids:

• Be prepared for the end times guys,.,,

• Five bridesmaids bring enough oil while the other 5 are foolish and do not 

• The bridesmaids who are not prepared end up missing the wedding because it was delayed and they had no oil. They asked the others to share and they said no, placing emphasis on the importance of individual responsibility when it comes to a relationship with God and being prepared for the parousia

• Kind of like how we had to immediately pick up on immediately in Mark, everything in Matthew is about being prepared

228

#228: Parable of the Talents:

• A master entrusts property and money to servants based on ability. 

  • One servant gets 5 talents, one gets 2, one gets 1

• The first two are smart and are able to double the investments and receive rewards

• The last one hides the money and does nothing with it, telling the master later that he did it because the master is cruel. The master then says he clearly knows nothing about him 

• This is again that idea of being prepared and using resources for the betterment of the kingdom ? maybe something like that

229

#229: Judgement of Nations:

• This is the final one about the the sheep and the goats

• Jesus as a King who separates humanity directly based on treatment of the needy. 

  • Did you help the needy? You’re sheep and you will be welcomed into the Kingdom. Did you not? Ok well you suck so youre a goat and you will not be because you neglected not only the poor but also Jesus himself

• Any actions taken, or not taken, are directly against him as well 

• Emphasizes that true faith is not individualistic and is not based on competition or jealousy, as shown through the other parables as well

How would you summarize the ethos of Matthew’s community? 

• The poor shouldn’t have to wait for Parousia to seek mercy. The community must provide mercy and justice to the poor. 

  • “Righteousness means acting with justice” – Aspan

• The last will be first, and the first will be last (eschatological reversal). 

• Part of Matthew’s ethos is defining the community and separating itself from those defying the community

  • In junctions with piety vs. righteousness

Matthew may be inspired (depending upon one’s religious beliefs), but is it thoroughly consistent in its ethos?  Explain.

It mainly is but it does have some tension. Like it combines compassion and God’s love with some warnings about what not to do. Calls for inclusion of the poor but then also calls for strict boundaries and separation of those who are not deemed righteous 

It is not thoroughly consistent in its ethos…?