Monday Morning Gospel QB - Its a Banquet. Happy Thanksgiving
Channel: Spirit Moves 4-2-1
Date: 2020-11-16

Biblical Criticism - means to examine or look closely . . . Not to criticize or make fun of.

When I was young and heard a story, I'm like ok but doesn’t really fit . . . As  I got older those questions grew as did dismissal at times . . . Just doesn’t make sense . . .  

When I began "study scripture" in school and do a little textual criticism or "Exegesis" I got to discover some of the why behind some of these stories - the sub plots / the redaction as it applies to the Gospel authors and their audience and the small emphasis they used to connect or open up  the stories, and Jesus himself, to their audience.   I also learned about some of the social and historical context that influenced the writings and its like the "the Scales Came Down" . . . I can see and the text opened up in a whole new way.  The cool thing about scripture and "studying" -  is it continues - its constantly unfolding as I age and my perspective broadens . . .  There are so many layers to understanding these stories it really makes it into A "Live document" continually unfolding and speaking to me and others as well as our changing world.   


This applies to the story we hear this weekend in Matthew's Gospel.  Again - Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience . . . He's one of the 12 and the one who before following Jesus, was a tax collector - not an insignificant piece of information I would add.   

So Matthew is trying to link Jesus to the Jewish idea of the Messiah - the anointed one from God, the one sent to free Israel . . . So naturally the Jewish people think he would be a king / an earthly king like David who would over throw the Romans and return Israel to its prominence . . . But we know now, this wasn’t the case or the type of Messiah Jesus was but . . . Matthew has to convince his audience - so he links Jesus to David through his birth line and to the prophets of old when he places Jesus' teachings of say the beatitudes on a Mountain - because of course if these teachings come from a mountain they come from God - right, like Moses coming down the mtn with the 10 commandments or Elijah meeting God on the mountain top . . . 

Matthew has to connect his audience to Jesus so the imagery, references, context he uses speaks to a Jewish audience and their cultural perspective . . . It also challenges that perspective as Jesus confronts not only the Jewish Leaders and their interpretation of the Law but their cultural biases and "Blind Spots" of how to live out the Law or the Covenant.  Jesus came to turn everything upside down and shift or change people's perspective.