2. Concrete Situation

The concrete situation addressed by Matthew's Gospel can be described as follows:

First, Matthew wrote for a group of predominantly but not exclusively Jewish Christians.

Secondly, his work can be dated about fifteen years after the Jewish war which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Thirdly, he and his community were situated in a place where recent developments within Judaism, especially the growth of Jamnia Pharisaism, largely determined the religious environment.

Fourthly, the evangelist faced confusion, tension, conflict, and the destructive influence of false prophets within the community.

To substantiate these statements, we must look at the Gospel of Matthew itself. How does it mirror and hence reveal this situation?

Matthean scholars broadly agree that the Christians in Matthew's community were largely, but not exclusively, converts from Judaism. They argue from the obvious "Jewishness" of the first gospel. The Matthean Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, promised in the Old Testament, and eagerly awaited by the Jews. Furthermore, Matthew rooted Jesus' origin and his ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing in the Jewish past through several explicit quotations, of the Old Testament and even more indirect allusions. He is also more concerned than the other evangelists with the Christian attitude toward the religious institutions of Judaism, especially the law and the cult. Consequently, the Christians for whom Matthew wrote his Gospel must have had the religious and cultural background necessary to understand his portrayal of Jesus and the disciples. They must have, for example, been familiar with the Old Testament and the practices of Jewish piety. In a word, they must have been to a large extent converts from Judaism.

Even though the Jewish War (A. D. 66-70) and the destruction of the Temple (A. D. 70) did not profoundly influence Christianity as a whole, these events did in fact have a profound impact on Matthew and his community. Matthew directly refers to these events in Mt 22:7: "The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. " Again, in his indictment of the scribes and Pharisees: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... your house is forsaken and desolate" (Mt 23:37-38). Other indications also reveal Matthew's concern with the city of Jerusalem (Mt 16:21; 21:10-11; 27:53; 28:11). All these data suggest that the Gospel was written at a time when the events of the Jewish War, especially the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, had already caused Matthew's largely Jewish Christian community to reflect on their identity.(6)

Central to the Matthean Community's struggle to understand themselves as Christians in a changing world was the question of how they should relate to recent developments within Judaism, especially the emergence of Jamnia Pharisaism. At Jamnia the Pharisees assumed exclusive power after discrediting the Sadducees and containing the traditionally powerful priesthood. They transferred a part of the Temple ritual to the synagogue, and linked the synagogue service to that of the now defunct Temple. They concentrated on the problem of the canon of Scripture and instituted the Rabbinate as the authoritative interpreter of the law. They also consciously confronted Christianity.

Such dramatic changes in Judaism profoundly disturbed the Matthean community. Their self-understanding had been rooted in Jewish tradition. But now they were forced to question their relation to Judaism and even their own identity. Matthew wrote his Gospel in large part to awaken in them a new self-understanding in the light of recent circumstances. He wrote in dialogue with the recent developments in Jamnia, to show his community what it meant to be Christians in the changing milieu of postwar Judaism.

Within the community confusion and doubt prevailed; for what the Matthean Jesus predicts as future events describes the present experience of Matthew's community: "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most people's love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Mt 24:9-13). Matthew and his community, then, had to confront important issues: persecution from non-Jewish sources, scandal caused by mutual betrayal, hatred between members, the divisive influence of false prophets, and widespread wickedness causing love itself to grow cold.

In dialogue with Jamnia Pharisaism and in response to these tensions within his community, Matthew retold and translated the story of Jesus. He so selected, arranged and composed his material that his readers might find and recognize themselves in the narrative. He created a distinctive portrait of Jesus, his followers, and his opponents. Members of the community could identify with the disciples and see the opponents as surrogates for the sages at Jamnia. Matthew could address them through the words and actions of Jesus.

6.Eugene A. LaVerdiere and William G. Thompson, "New Testament Communities in Transition: A Study of Matthew and Luke", Theological Studies 37 (1976) 571-572.