Transcript Interpreting the Ethical Teaching of Jesus

INTERPRETING THE ETHICAL
TEACHING OF JESUS
pp. 85-89
“There are also many things that Jesus did; if every one
of them were written down, I suppose that the world
itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
John 21.25
Everyone has his or her own image of Christ, but no
image is complete. Each gospel presents its own
perspective of Christ and collectively they reveal
Christ to us.
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We find many moral teachings of Jesus throughout
the gospels.
How are we to interpret these teaching when Jesus
lived in a world very different from ours?
The Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7
contains the heart of Jesus’ ethical message.
Interpreting the Sermon on the Mount
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Why did Matthew write his gospel?
What does the “Kingdom of God” mean for
Christian ethics?
What does the Sermon on the Mount mean for us
in the 21st century.
Interpreting Scripture
Exegesis- the study of scripture texts in their original
context. In Greek, it means “to lead out”. It looks at
original language, historical context, religious tradition
and other writings that influenced the authors of the
text.
 Consider what the world within which Matthew
wrote his gospel and how his world influenced its
shape and form.
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Hermeneutics – the task of interpreting scripture.
Interpretations are made in reference to something
else.
 Matthew wrote in an era that was politically,
culturally and economically different from our own.
He used images and context that is unfamiliar to us
but through examining his gospel using different
lenses we can come to an understanding of the
message Matthew is presenting.
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We use exegesis to understand the context of
scripture, and hermeneutics to apply the findings of
exegesis to understand these texts in our time.
We will try to understand factors that influence the
context of Matthew’s gospel (exegesis).
We will use lenses like “apocalyptic literature” and
the “kingdom of God” to help further understand
Matthew’s gospel. (hermeneutics)
Matthew’s Gospel
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Written in 70-90 A.D. in Antioch (today’s Turkey), after
the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.)
It was written for a Jewish community that was
concerned with the division between Jewish followers of
Christ (Christians) and those who saw Christ as
subversive to Jewish tradition (Rabbinical Judaism).
The Pharisees and Rabbis refused followers of Jesus the
right to participate in synagogue.
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The community of Matthew’s followers had been living
the gospel as an oral tradition, before it was written
down.
The gospel was written down so followers could continue
the tradition after the apostles had died.
Matthew presents the gospel as a perspective or point
of view. He interprets Jesus’ words and deeds to
address the concerns of his community (hermeneutics).
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It is the only gospel where Jesus speaks of the
Church.
He wants followers to remain united and not judge
one another. He emphasizes Jewish tradition and
Jesus’ connectedness to the patriarchs and prophets
of the Old Testament.
Matthew’s interpretation has Jesus speaking to the
church of 70-90 A.D.
Matthew’s Jesus – The Ultimate Teacher
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For Matthew, Jesus will be a constant presence in his
Church as a teacher.
The Gospel starts with a genealogy of Jesus linking
Jesus to Abraham (1st Patriarch of Judaism) and King
David (the house from which the Messiah was to come)
The genealogy ends with Joseph. While Joseph is not
Jesus’ father, we are told Jesus’ origins are of God as
Mary conceives of the Holy Spirit.
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At the end of the Gospel, Jesus is risen and instructs
the apostles to teach the world about the him (make
disciples of all nations, baptize and teach them to
obey all that has been commanded.)
Matthew presents Jesus as the long awaited
Messiah, who brings the teaching of Moses to
perfection.
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Jesus took the Torah and its commandments and
gave them a more spiritual interpretation, rather
than a literal interpretation.
Jesus is seen as a fulfillment of the Torah and as the
new Torah.
Jesus’ life is often compared to that of Moses in
Matthew’ s gospel.
Jesus and Moses
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Both threatened as infants
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Moses was protected from Pharaoh; Jesus from Herod
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Moses leads Israel from Egypt to the promised land; the
Holy Family flees from the promised land to Egypt.
Both teachers of God’s Law
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Matthew inserted 5 teachings of Jesus into his account
which was otherwise very similar to Mark’s; Moses left 5
teaching (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy)
Moses taught the Torah to Israel; Jesus teaches the new
law to the Church. Jesus makes five direct comparisons
between his teaching and Moses’ teaching (Matthew
5.21-48 - teachings about anger, adultery, divorce,
oaths and retaliation)
Matthew passes on to us, Jesus’ authority as teacher.