8/31: Matthew Impressions, Inclusio and Parallelism, Shadow of Herod

Great job today sharing your impressions and outlines after reading through Matthew!!
Hang on to those notes for the rest of the semester.
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We noted in particular (and see more info on all these in Hauer and Young, pp, 269-272

A repeated emphasis on "this happened to fulfill...."

An "inclusio"  or "inclusion"

Ever notice Matthew starts with "His name will be called Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.'
And ends...very last sentence...with "I will be with you."?

No accident.
And neither is the midpoint and message of the gospel: "I will be with you" (18:20).
In Jesus, God is with us.
Jesus is the With-Us God.

That's an INCLUSIO.
You knew God was with us in Christ.. But now you see it as you look at Matthew structurally..

Links with more info:

• Inclusio
• inclusio: an intro

A parallelism or :reprise:

ometimes a repetition can be called parallelism..Here is a 5fold  structural parallelism in Matthew:

"Jesus is the new Moses."

Matthew could have said that,   or even said that five times..but instead he embedded thematically five times in the literary structure/fabric of his book;

It is no accident that 5 times Matthew offers an almost identical sentence to close off his five teaching blocks..

                        "When Jesus had finished saying these things, he moved on..."

..shows up in

1. 7:28
2. 11:1
3. 13:53
4. 19:1
5. 26:1

diagram credit

See  page 269  of your Hauer/Young textbook (the three paragraphs underneath the "Higher Righteousness" section)  for more on this..

There is huge  signicance of fiveteaching blocks in Matthew, how they are identified, and what they likely symbolize.

Why 5?

Jewish people reading Matthew would say
"Oh, I get it.  Matthew is trying to tell us  (5 times, no less( that Jesus is the New Moses (or the fulfillment of Moses)!" 
Why? The answer has to to with the obvious intentionality of the5 "teaching blocks" in Matthew..Five being a hugely significant  number for Jews...it's the number of books in the Torah, AKA the Five Books of Moses, AKA The  Pentateuch "(Five Books in One.") .  Moses=5ness.

More "New Moses" symbolism in Matthew:

• Jesus as the new Moses in Matthew
• Jesus as New Moses, 

 BTW: Note an inclusio in that the first and last teachings happen on a mountain..hmmmm

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>>Afternoon class did this next video, morning class will see it next time

to get the power of HISTORICAL WORLD..
We looked at  Matt. 2:1a, and the historical world image of the Herodian fortress, in whose shadow was  Jesus).  YOU CAN WATCH our VanDer Laan  "In the Shadow of Herod" video HERE in two parts:

 

VanDer Laan writes:

THE MASTER BUILDERThere was another side to Herod. His visionary building programs, his ingenious development of trade with the rest of the world, and his advancement of the interests of his nation are legendary. Many of his building projects were designed to strengthen the loyalty of his subjects, a goal he never achieved. Most seem to have been built to strengthen his relationship with Rome and to establish himself as the greatest king the Jews had ever had. Herod built on a magnificent and grandiose scale. His building projects included:

The Herodion: This mountain fortress overlooked the town of Bethlehem. Standing on a high hill, the upper fortress was round and more than 200 feet in diameter. Originally, it was seven stories high, with an eastern tower that stood more than 40 feet higher. Packed dirt covered the first four stories, giving the upper fortress a cone shape. Inside were a peristyle garden, reception hall, Roman baths, and countless apartments. The lower palace included an enormous pool, a colonnaded garden, a 600-foot-long terrace, and a building more than 400 feet long. The Herodion was the third-largest palace in the ancient world....

....The visitor cannot help being impressed with Herod's vision and ingenuity. However, all that remain are spectacular ruins, because Herod lived for Herod. By contrast, another builder, a humble carpenter born in Bethlehem, used a different material than did Herod (Matt. 16:18; 1 Peter 2:4-8). Jesus' buildings continue to grow because He built for the glory of God. Like David (1 Sam. 17:46), Elijah (1 Kings 18:36), and Hezekiah (Isa. 37:20), He lived so that the world may know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is truly God. His construction projects will last forever because He built for the glory of God the Father. -link                                        

VanDer Laan's website is a great resource..it's here.

 

HOMEWORK HELP:

See the syllabus:: "Who is Jesus to Me?"  But read carefully the "submitting assignments" secti9on of sullabus, noting this is to be turned into ASC beforehand, so be sure to save plenty of time.

For next class, have read Hauer and Young, pp. 239-259, 269-272