Interpretation in the Gospels of Matthew and of Thomas

Gail B. Sherman

Hum 110

1 April 2005

 

I. What is a gospel? Generic expectations

A. What are the synoptic gospels of the New Testament?

B. What is the relation of the Gospel of Thomas to the synoptic gospels?

C. Who wrote these works?

D. Why - and how - does the structure of these texts matter?

II. What kind of figure is Jesus in Matthew and Thomas?

A. The significance of titles: Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham, cf. Isaiah  29:        

      18-19 and 61.1; son of Man and son of God, cf. 2 Sam 7:14 and Psalms 2:7.

B. The significance of sayings

1. "His disciples said to him: 'Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel and all of them spoke in you.' He said to them: 'You have omitted the one living in your presence and have spoken (only) about the dead." (52)

2.  "Jesus said, 'Take heed of the living one while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so.'"(59)

3. "Jesus said, 'The heavens and earth will be rolled up in your presence.  And the one who lives from the living one will not see death." (111a)

4. "...Simon Peter said to him, 'You are like a righteous angel.' Matthew said to him ,'You are like a wise philosopher.' Thomas said to him, 'Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like.'  Jesus said, "I am not your (sg.) master.  Because you (sg.) have drunk, you (sg.) have become intoxicated from the bubbling stream which I have measured out.' " (13)

C. Models: Jesus as Wisdom (Thomas); Jesus modeled on Moses, prophets (Matthew)

III. Further questions: What does the absence from Thomas of any reference to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus tell us about Thomas' idea of an immanent "kingdom" (i.e., one that is (already) here)?  What differences do you see between the two gospels' versions of the parable of the mustard seed?

 

Terms:

Immanent: 1. Indwelling, inherent; actually present or abiding in; remaining within. (Oxford English Dictionary). [not the same as imminent: 1. Of an event, etc. (almost always of evil or danger): Impending threateningly, hanging over one's head; ready to befall or overtake one; close at hand in its incidence; coming on shortly (Oxford English Dictionary).] 

 

Gospel (trans. Greek, evangelion): "good news"

Synoptic: from the Greek for "seen together"

Apocalypse: from the Greek for "an uncovering, revelation, disclosure"

Eschatology: teaching about the end of things (from the Greek logos; eschatos, "furthest")

 

Texts:

A. Kingdom [of God]: "a new state of affairs, a definitive outpouring and sending of powers of deliverance and salvation, a restitution of mankind, a fulfillment of the world or the beginning of the fulfillment... a realm or a community." Malina, 147.

 

B. "Justin Martyr (d. 165 CE) was the first to refer to "gospels" in the plural, meaning literary texts rather than oral proclamation....After the middle of the second century, the singular noun evangelion often refers to a written gospel.... Christian authors through the fifth century pinned the "gospel" label to nearly fifty compositions....To the ancient Christians, "gospels" were Jesus literature, that is, compositions which contained accounts of the words and/or actions of Jesus...[in contrast to] acts of apostles, apocalypses, acts of martyrs, letters, and sermons or homilies." Aune, 18

 

C. "The gospel of Matthew ... is very much a "church book," written specifically to meet the needs of the church as a developing organization...The evangelist "Matthew" reveals himself to be a man who stands in the tradition of the Hellenistic Jewish Christian mission. He has a deep concern for the mission of the church to the world at large. The climax of his gospel is the scene of the Great Commission, where the risen Jesus commands his disciples to 'make disciples of all nations." Nevertheless, there is no doubt that his concern tends to focus on the mission of the church to the Jews. Moreover, in developing his own understanding of the Christian faith, he is in constant dialogue with what is going on in Judaism at the same time." Perrin, 169.

 

D. "To say that Matthew, because he accords Jesus such a high status, is not Jewish but Christian, in his teaching about Jesus, anachronistically imposes on the late first century the clear identity that most Christians created for themselves during the second century, often in contrast to Judaism. To say that Matthew's emphasis on Jesus as Son of God is incompatible with Judaism is to ignore the varieties of Judaism current in the first century. Granted the apocalyptic, mystical, political, sectarian, revivalist, and reformist movements within Palestinian and diaspora Judaism in the first century, matthew's Christology makes claims that fit within the broad parameters of Judaism as it actually existed. Matthew did not claim for Jesus divinity in the way that Greek Christian theologians two centuries later did....Jesus is understood in his relationship with the God of Israel, known in the Bible, and in the experience of the community. Though Matthew's narrative would later be used to support ontological theories of the Son's relationship to the Father, Matthew remains firmly in the orbit of Judaism." Saldarini, 193.

 

E. " The closest that GosThom comes to fulfilling any of the usual categories for a definition of Gnosticism is in its teaching that salvation comes through knowing one's true identity. ...Jesus insists on the need to look inward and outward (in creation) to achieve enlightenment, not upward toward the world of light. GosThom understands Jesus' redemptive role to be that of a teacher who shows the way to others....the light is within and it shines within the world itself. Jesus himself takes a role akin to the figure of Jewish Wisdom, descended to call her children to their created purpose." King, 197.

 

Works cited:

Aune, David. The New Testament in its Literary Environment. Philadelphia: Westminster

       Press, 1987.

Kraemer, Ross Shepherd. Her Share of the Blessings: Women's Religions among Pagans,

       Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World. N.Y.: Oxford UP, 1992.

King, Karen. What is Gnosticism? Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2003.

Malina, Bruce. The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels. N.Y.: Routledge, 1996.

Neusner, Jacob. William S. Green and Ernest Frerichs. Judaisms and Their Messiahs at

      the turn of the Christian Era, N.Y.: Cambridge UP, 1987.

Patterson, Stephen J. The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus. Sonoma CA: Polebridge P, 1993.

Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief: the Secret Gospel of Thomas. N.Y.:Random House, 2003.

Perrin, Norman. The New Testament: An Introduction. N.Y.: HBJ, 1974.

Saldarini, Anthony J. Matthew's Christian-Jewish Community. Chicago: UofCP, 1994.

Stegemann, Ekkehard and Wolfgang Stegemann. Tr. O.C. Dean. The Jesus Movement: A

      Social History of its First Century. Minneapolis: Fortress P, 1999.