Matthew

Chapter 16

In chapter 16, Matthew places into the heat of the polemic with a discourse between Jesus, the Pharisees, and Sadducees. Their identification is important because of the connection to the Torah and their emphasis upon the righteousness of the law the urgency of doing the law correctly.

First, a reminder definition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees:

· Both parties were formed around the time of the fall of the Temple and its structures in 70AD. A third party formed was the Essenes, a group of reclusive monks who separated themselves from society. Most people know them as the keepers of the monastery and book repository at Qum Ran (Dead Sea Scrolls).

· Pharisees believed that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the law there were two Torahs. One was the written code on the stone tablets; the other was a more oral tradition and understanding of the law to explain it and enhance it so that people could know how to keep the law correctly.

· Sadducees believe that Moses came down from Sinai with the written Torah only. Therefore, thought they honored the Torah and strove to keep it, there were differences in understanding exactly what was contained in the Law.

The presence of both parties aligned against Jesus probably represented one of the few times that both parties aligned. The line that separated many parties and many people was the belief in Jesus as the Messiah.

They want a sign from Jesus that he is the Messiah according to his claim. The only sign he says that they will get is “the sign of Jonah” that was in the belly of the fish three days before he was spit out. The obvious reference is that the sign that will validate all Messianic claims will be Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

The disciples themselves were still slipping and sliding along the path of distinction between the lines of the argument. Jesus warns them of the “yeast of the Pharisee.” They believe that Jesus is talking about their lack of foresight in bringing bread along on their trip, while Jesus was talking of the danger of the spread of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees alike. Don’t you get it, he implied to them. Don’t you remember the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000? If it were only about bread, I could take care of that in an instant. Jesus warning of the disciples is the warning about faith in him. That is where everything lay. The entire question of which side of the line any individual lays on is dependant upon faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Caesarea Philippi

Their faith is about to be severely challenged. Jesus asks the question about the scuttlebutt, “Who do people say that I am?” The opinions varied greatly from John the Baptist returned from the dead, to a prophet, to Elijah the primary prophet to signal the end of all things. Jesus is not satisfied with the general question. There came the moment when the disciples’ faith was on the line. “Who do you say that I am?” The answer was crucial as it placed the listener on the dividing line. Peter nailed the answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was waiting for that answer. It is the first time in the telling of the story that disciples get it right.

The turning point in Matthew’s story proceeds. Jesus explains what being the Messiah means and it is not the answer that the disciples want to hear and certainly not the answer that they were looking. “Messiahship” for Jesus meant that he was going to be handed over the authorities (both religious and civil); he was going to be crucified, and then God would raise him from the dead on the third day. (The Sign of Jonah) Peter, the great man of faith whom God had given great insight into the identify of Jesus was not on the side of Satan the great tempter telling Jesus that such a thing could and should never happen to the Messiah. This is the truly human perspective. Human runs from trouble, especially trouble that spells death and suffering. That is not to say that God encourages death and suffering. Nonetheless, self-giving love that will not stop at death and suffering is the kind of love that he showed to the world. Jesus loves even if those he loves do not understand him, and find him criminal, and even if they feel he needs to be eradicated to save the “faith,” Jesus is willing to do what needs to be done for the good of the world.

Then he asks his disciples to be willing to do the same thing. Jesus asks his disciples to take up their crosses and to follow him even if their faith in him leads to death and suffering, or rejection by everyone around them. In the Messianic age that has arisen with the presence of Jesus, life is defined by the willingness to face the possibility of death; and death is defined by choice to save our own bacon at the expense of others.

Repayment

Verse 27 opens the important question of repayment in the end when the judge returns and the sheep will be separated from the goats (an image from chapter 25). The glory of the Lord’s coming will bring good news and bad news depending upon. Our Lutheran ears have a hard time hearing that passage because of our belief that we are not saved by works, but by faith in Christ.

We have to look contextually at this idea:

Remember Jesus teaching about the good fruit. Good fruit cannot be born on bad tree, just as bad trees cannot bear good fruit. The fruit is the sign of the quality of the tree. A person’s works reflects their faith. Lack of any of the works that Jesus asks reflect that maybe the faith is not there in the first place.
Remember the parable of the wheat and the weeds in which there is good and bad existing in the field at the same time. The slaves were not allowed to pluck up the weeds because they were ill equipped to tell the good from the bad and their process might destroy the good with the bad. The sorting out belongs to those who will come who are far more eminently qualified to do the job.
Remember the parable of the sower and seeds. The seeds fall on all kinds of ground and the produce is different.

In all of these instances, there is evidence of the price that will be exacted at the end of the age when the judgment comes, but in every instance, God is the one who is to sort out. We are called upon to be the disciples that Jesus has asked us to be and that entails taking up the cross as he did and becoming servant to all. Our concern is to keep watch that we remain on the right side of polemic. Keep also in mind that those who were on the wrong side were those who believed that righteousness was a matter of law, not the gracious presence of the Messiah who invites us to live in the Messianic Age.

The Reverend Kipp W. Zimmermann

Wednesday, October 25, 2006