Matthew, Disciple and Scribe

by Patrick Schreiner

  In a similar way, Matthew takes his readers on a journey through Jesus’s life, yet all the while we are looking at this figure who looks like David. He tells the Jews to “look harder.” See Jesus’s life. They too have forgotten who he is, who his father is. Matthew tells his readers, “This is David’s boy!” They have forgotten who David was, and they need to return to the Scriptures. They need to remember who David was, that this Jesus is David’s son, the one true wise king. David lives through Jesus. Like Simba, they need to “see,” and so Matthew has us peer into the pool so that we all can see the reflection with a crown on his head. He does not provide a simple, unadorned historical portrait of Jesus. No, he interprets each detail of Jesus’s life and looks to the past to show his readers that Jesus is the Davidic messiah.

  1. By chief metaphor, I am not arguing that Matthew sidesteps Moses, for Moses is also compared to Israel’s kings (see Deut. 18). However, Matthew begins by relating Jesus to Abraham and David, not to Moses.

  2. Support for labeling Jesus’s ministry in Galilee as an “exile” comes from Matt. 2. Jesus is born in the city of Bethlehem but must leave because of the rival king. He flees to Egypt (2:13–15). Then after Herod dies, Joseph brings his family back up to Judea but passes through and on up to Nazareth because of Archelaus (Matt. 2:22). Between these two movements, Matthew inserts a fulfillment quotation from Jer. 31:15, which speaks of Rachel weeping for her children at Ramah. Ramah is the place from which the people were taken into exile (Jer. 40:1). Matthew thus indicates that Jesus’s not being able to return to his birthplace is a type of exile, but he also points to the hope of a return from exile. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, 115.

  3. I will step outside this so-called exile to note some framing passages that instruct readers on how to view his exile.

  4. Samuel also fears the wrath of the king when he is told to anoint a son of Jesse (see 1 Sam. 16:1–2). Samuel has the children of Jesse parade before him, but David is brought to him and described as a man who knows psalms (εἰδότα ψαλμόν, usually translated as “skillful in playing”), a man of intelligence, a man of war, a wise and good man, and “the LORD is with him” (1 Sam. 16:18). David is described as being with the sheep and watching them.

  5. Sirach says, “Wisdom becomes known through speech, and education through the words of the tongue” (Sir. 4:24).

  6. Jipp, Christ Is King, 45. What follows applies to Jipp’s observations on messiah in Paul and to Matthew’s presentation of Jesus.

  7. Nolland (Gospel of Matthew, 218) dismisses the idea that “fulfill” means Jesus lives out the requirements of the law.

  8. Morris, Gospel according to Matthew, 108.

  9. Jipp, Christ Is King, 45.

  10. Thesleff, Pythagorean Texts, 33.8–13; Goodenough, “Political Philosophy of Hellenistic Kingship,” 59–60. See Jipp, Christ Is King, 49.

  11. Plutarch, Moralia 780B.

  12. The word “fear” and the phrase “fear of the Lord” are employed consistently in the wisdom tradition: Pss. 2:11; 5:7; 9:20; 15:4; 19:9; 22:23, 25; 25:14; 31:19; 33:8, 18; 34:7, 9, 11; 36:1; 40:3; 55:19; 60:4; 61:5; 66:16; 67:7; 72:5; 85:9; 86:11; 90:11; 102:15; 103:11, 13, 17; 111:5, 10; 115:11, 13; 118:4, 6; 119:63, 74, 79, 120; 135:20; 145:19; 147:11; Prov. 1:7, 29; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26–27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; 24:21; Eccles. 3:14; 5:7.

  13. Philo, Spec. Laws 4.160–64, quote from 164.

  14. See the lists in the following two books, from which my list is borrowed: Davies and Allison, Matthew, 3:715–16; Hood, Imitating God in Christ, 77–79.

  15. Jipp, Christ Is King, 216.

  16. Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 219.

  17. If that is all people mean by saying that Jesus transcends the law, then I agree, but I fear that most are not careful with their language and are asserting something different. Some seem to imply that Jesus transcends the law in that he contradicts the law and gives a new law that negates the Torah in certain ways.

  18. Hunziker-Rodewald, Hirt und Herde, 46. See Willitts, Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King, 53.

  19. Willitts, Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King, 3–4.

  20. This thesis is similar to Hedrick’s work. See Hedrick, “Jesus as Shepherd,” 7. The following section is in large part dependent on his work, since to my knowledge it is the most comprehensive treatment of this theme.

  21. Homer, Iliad 2.474–77.

  22. Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1–4.

  23. Zechariah 9–12 also contains many shepherd/sheep motifs where the good shepherd is contrasted to the existing shepherds who exploit the people.

  24. In some ways, we should not divide the actions of Jesus during his ministry in Jerusalem and his ministry in Galilee. In other ways, it enlightens and clarifies what sort of king this Jesus is going to be.

  25. Luz (Matthew, 1:162) even says, “The formula quotations are notably frequent in the prologue, because here the evangelist introduces those viewpoints and accents which are important for the whole Gospel and which the reader must keep in mind while perusing the entire Gospel. The formula quotations which are scattered in the rest of the Gospel are then reminders.”

  26. Heil, “Ezekiel 34,” 699–700.

  27. Davies and Allison, Matthew, 1:243.

  28. Davies and Allison, Matthew, 2:143. Matthew 9:35 closes off the narrative of chaps. 8–9, and the reader is introduced to the second block of instruction, the Mission Discourse in chap. 10. So together, 9:35–38 and 10:1–4 function as a hinge between the passages, introducing readers to the second major discourse.

  29. Hence, this is another argument for the Sermon on the Mount to be viewed under the banner of kingship.

  30. Heil, “Ezekiel 34,” 701.

  31. Willitts, Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King, 119.

  32. Identifying Jesus as the “Son of David” in this text opens up the possibility that Matthew could also be alluding to Ezek. 34:23–24, which prophesies that the Lord will set up over them one shepherd, “my servant David.” Ezekiel is also famous for the new-covenant passages that say Yahweh will pour out his Spirit on all people. No matter what interpreters decide to do with the allusion, the lost sheep of Israel implies the existence of a leadership crisis. With this shepherd metaphor, Jesus redefines his leadership style and defines his Davidic kingship.

  33. Several texts form the background to Jesus’s reference to the “lost sheep of . . . Israel” (Num. 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chron. 18:16; Ps. 119:176; Isa. 53:6; Jer. 50:6; Ezek. 24:23–25; 34:5; Zech. 13:7). Jeremiah 50:6 alludes to the theme of people as “lost sheep,” and in the context it is the shepherds who have led the people astray and caused them to be lost. Willitts (Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King, 219) argues that “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” refers to the northern tribes of Israel and that the Davidic messiah is going to them. He distinguishes going to them from gathering them (8:11–12; 24:30–31). This would be taking the genitive phrase “of the house of Israel” as a partitive genitive (the lost sheep are a subset of Israel), whereas taking it as an epexegetical genitive would indicate that the “lost sheep” refers to the whole nation.

  34. Hays (Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, 128–29) notes that the language of “lost sheep” echoes Jer. 50:6–7. Jeremiah 50 is a judgment oracle against Babylon and predicts the return of Israel from exile.

  35. Heil, “Ezekiel 34,” 705.

  36. Willitts (Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King, 146) argues that it is a composite quotation from Zech. 13:7 and Ezek. 34:31.

  37. One might think of David, who offers to sacrifice himself for his sheep. In 2 Sam. 24:17 when he sees the angel of the Lord who is striking the people, David speaks to the Lord and admits that he, not his sheep, has sinned and acted wickedly. So David pleads with the Lord for the angel’s hand to be against himself and against his father’s house rather than against his sheep.

  38. Carson, “Matthew” (1984), 540.

  39. Willitts, Matthew’s Messiani
c Shepherd-King, 150.

  40. Blomberg, “Matthew,” 91.

  41. Paffenroth, “Jesus as Anointed and Healing Son of David,” 548.

  42. Matthew 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; 22:42; Mark 10:47, 48; 12:25; Luke 1:32; 3:31; 18:38, 39.

  43. Novakovic (Messiah, the Healer of the Sick) also ties the healing Christ to Matt. 1:21, where she argues that their sins encompass both his atoning death and his healing ministry.

  44. See Duling, “Solomon, Exorcism, and the Son of David”; Davies and Allison, Matthew, 1:157.

  45. “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases’” (Matt. 8:16–17).

  46. Baxter, “Healing and the ‘Son of David,’” 37. Chae, Jesus as the Eschatological Davidic Shepherd.

  47. At the beginning of this book I noted how continuity and discontinuity exist together. Paffenroth, “Jesus as Anointed and Healing Son of David,” 553.

  48. The lame and the blind whom David attacks and does not welcome are Jebusites, who are Canaanites (Gen. 10:15; Josh. 18:16).

  49. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, 149.

  50. Loader (“Son of David”) argues that this sight and blindness parallels the blindness of Israel and the sight of gentiles.

  51. A second text concerns a similar healing, but the focus is on the crowd. A demon-oppressed man who is blind and mute is brought to Jesus in Matt. 12:22, and Jesus heals the man so that he can speak and see. However, unlike the text in Matt. 9, here the crowd is amazed and asks, “Can this be the Son of David?” (12:23, emphasis added).

  52. Yet Silva (NIDNTTE 5:746) notes that by the time of the NT, “Hosanna” had become a full “cultic cry,” like the LXX use of the loanword ἁλληλουïά, from the Hebrew.

  53. The text continues by saying, “Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples, honor wisdom, so that you may reign forever” (Wis. 6:21).

  54. Crowe, “Fulfillment in Matthew,” 48.

  55. The Lion King (Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Pictures, 1994).

  5

  Jesus and the Mosaic Exodus

  No NT author develops the portrait of Jesus as the new Moses quite like Matthew.1 My argument throughout this book is that Matthew is the discipled scribe who has learned from his teacher of wisdom to bring out treasures new and old. Part of the way he does this is through shadow stories: weaving the Hebrew Scriptures into his narrative as a seamstress would carefully and skillfully sew up a dress. While other NT writers have similar methods, Matthew stands above the rest in this respect.2 He clothes Jesus in the apparel of the old and presents his life in a way that invites comparison with those who came before him. As Matthew opens his treasure chest of wisdom, he continues the comparison of Jesus to OT events by linking Jesus figures associated with specific events.

  As in the previous two chapters, rather than merely focusing on the occurrences of the name “Moses” in the text, my approach will be to look at the narrative of Matthew and the narrative of Moses. But for some, questions about Jesus as a new Moses still remain.3 Questions such as “Does this Mosaic typology even exist, or have scholars begun to insert into the text what they are searching for?”4 To the surprise of some, Jesus in Matthew is never directly given a title such as “the prophet like Moses” or even “the new Moses.” Although Moses is explicitly mentioned only seven times in five passages in Matthew (8:4; 17:3–4; 19:7–8; 22:24; 23:2), I will argue that the Mosaic imagery is thickly laced throughout the Gospel and that it would be a mistake to observe only the explicit occurrences of Moses’s name.

  Take Matt. 19:7, for example. In this account the Pharisees come to Jesus, questioning him about divorce. Moses enters the dialogue when the Pharisees ask, “Why then did Moses command . . . ?” While we can learn a great deal about the Pharisees, their intentions, and what they thought of Moses through this text, the passage provides very little for reconstructing Jesus as the new Moses. It gives us some information, but to build a case on the explicit references to Moses doesn’t respect the more narratival and sometimes elusive nature of Matthew’s narrative. In the words of Gowler, there is a difference between “direct definition” and “indirect presentation” within a narrative. Matthew more commonly uses “indirect presentation” through the lens of speech, action, external appearance, environment, and comparison/contrast.5 It is not only the facts but also the form of the Gospel that contains Matthew’s witness to the messiah.

  Matthew can give a more indirect presentation because careful readers of the Jewish Scriptures would have already been waiting for the new Moses. Two foundations support this. First, in Deuteronomy God promises the coming of a prophet like Moses.6

  The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.” And the LORD said to me, “They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” (Deut. 18:15–18)

  The second foundation for the biblical hope of a new Moses is that the future age of salvation is molded in terms of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Redemption and exodus are the main terms to identify Jesus as the new Moses. Isaiah speaks of a future salvation in the imagery of a new exodus.

  “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isa. 43:15–19)

  Other prophetic writings continue this theme. In Hosea, Yahweh promises to bring Israel out “into the wilderness” so that the people will return to him as when they “came out of the land of Egypt” (Hosea 2:14–15). Jeremiah says the future deliverer will come who will bring them out of the land of Egypt. “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt’” (Jer. 23:7). Micah says restoration will be modeled after the exodus (7:14–15).

  These two foundations interconnect. The identity of Jesus as the new Moses and the shape of salvation as a new exodus cannot be estranged. Putting these two foundations together, we can say in advance: Matthew portrays Jesus as the new Moses who leads his people on the new exodus. While many focus only on Jesus’s relationship to Moses as the new prophet, Matthew gives a more expansive narrative view. Jesus has authority like Moses as a prophet, mediator, teacher, redeemer, and miracle worker.7 These roles don’t need to be put at odds but are brought into coherence by exodus themes and the establishment of a new covenant.8 Matthew renders Jesus as like Moses in that he is

  a redeemer who is preserved (Matt. 1–2),

  a prophet who delivers the new Torah (all of the Matthean discourses),

  a miracle worker who redeems his people (all of the Matthean narratives),

  a mediator who meets with God and shows the goal of the law (the transfiguration),

  a paterfamilias who explains the terms of the new covenant (the Last Supper), and

  a leader who instructs his people what to do when they enter the land (the Great Commission).

  Jesus is like Moses in many respects, but the discipled scribe’s goal in comparing Jesus to Moses is to show how Jesus escorts his people through new waters and liberates them through his death. According to one text
in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the coming of the eschatological prophet will coincide with the coming of a new priest and a new king.9 In this way the Davidic messiah, the new Moses, the coming kingdom, and the eschatological exodus cannot be disjointed, but they can be distinguished.

  A Redeemer Who Is Preserved

  Matthew wastes little time before he brings Moses into the picture.10 The story of Jesus’s birth echoes Moses’s birth and paints Jesus as the redeemer-king. Yet the comparison comes not in the form of a great act of Moses or of Jesus rescuing his people but a preserving act of God. Yahweh controls every detail in the life of both these figures; he sustains their lives and prepares the way for them to lead the people through the water. Even before Jesus is able to act on his own, the events surrounding his life have a strong sense of déjà vu. In Matt. 2, Jesus is born in a land where a jealous and anxious king resides. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king” (2:1). When Herod hears from the wise men about this Jewish king, he and all of Jerusalem are troubled (ἐταράχθη, 2:3). Herod proceeds to kill the children in Bethlehem to stamp out this upstart king.

  Like many of Matthew’s stories, this narrative echoes a previous story, Moses’s infancy. As Jesus is born under the power of a foreign king, so too was Moses: “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). When the Egyptians saw Israel increasing, they decided to act shrewdly with them: they made them work harder. When that failed, they told the Hebrew midwives to kill any son born to the Hebrew women (Exod. 1:16). However, the midwives feared God (like the wise men from the east) and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. The king of Egypt discovered their treachery and told them to cast every male newborn into the Nile. Into these circumstances, Moses was born.