Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- I General Remarks on the Nature of the Conflict between Jews and Christians
- II Survey of the Data of Jewish Persecution of Christians in Sources other than Matthew
- III References to Jewish Persecution of Christians in the Gospel according to St Matthew
- IV Matthew's Understanding of the Causes of Persecution
- V The Christian Response to Persecution by the Jews as Evidenced by Matthew
- VI Summary and Conclusions
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Indices
IV - Matthew's Understanding of the Causes of Persecution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- I General Remarks on the Nature of the Conflict between Jews and Christians
- II Survey of the Data of Jewish Persecution of Christians in Sources other than Matthew
- III References to Jewish Persecution of Christians in the Gospel according to St Matthew
- IV Matthew's Understanding of the Causes of Persecution
- V The Christian Response to Persecution by the Jews as Evidenced by Matthew
- VI Summary and Conclusions
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Indices
Summary
In our examination of the relevant Matthean passages we discovered that for Matthew Jewish persecution is directed primarily against missionaries of the Gospel. This indicates the occasion of persecution but not the cause. In chapter 1 a sociological explanation was offered: persecution occurred when Christians challenged the symbols of ethnic solidarity so sharply that they placed themselves beyond the tolerance-limits of the Jewish community. Almost every point of friction mentioned in that chapter can be documented from the Gospel according to St Matthew. Our concern here is not to identify the historical causes of the conflict as they are reflected in this gospel but rather to discover which elements are perceived by Matthew as the primary causes of persecution.
ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης (5: 10)
The significance of δικαιοσúνη (‘righteousness’) in Matthew has been greatly debated. The fact that Deutero-Isaiah has elsewhere influenced Matthew has inclined some scholars to regard Δικαιoσúvζ as a reference to God's saving righteousness. Thus Lohmeyer argues that in 5: 10 δικαιοσúνη refers not to a human condition of righteousness but to the reality (Wirklichkeit) of God in which the disciples live. Lohmeyer's view has not been widely accepted. Schlatter, noticing the absence of the definite article, insists that ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης must be taken as a reference to human conduct (Verhalten). The present writer is convinced that in every instance Matthew intends Δικαιoσúvζ to denote the God-demanded behaviour which is characteristic of those who are to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1967