It really is mind-boggling to see how Matthew's gospel shows all the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus and yet still some Jews rejected Christ as the promised Messiah. I wonder if those that rejected Jesus as Messiah ever read the gospel of Matthew in light of all the Messianic prophecies or if they ignorantly rejected Him.
Seeing as Matthew takes the time to package his account for this very purpose and target audience, there would have most definitely been. I’m sure one can dig a bit deeper to try and search out such individuals. The siege and destruction of 70 AD was an intense event and the effect of that also should be looked at. Matthew is for certain a relevant Gospel to turn to in order to find the places that can reintroduce Jews of today to their Messiah. As Michael Card mentions, “Matthew has done our homework for us!” Just an interesting side-note: when thinking about the religious parties who rejected Jesus as Messiah so strongly, we have to bear in mind that Matthew's gospel conveys the Pharisees for e.g. as Jesus' main opponents. But, in Jesus' own times, the Pharisees weren't that prominent a group. Why does Matthew tell the story this way, so that a group that was less consequential during Jesus' own life time now becomes the main opponent? Again, it has to do with life post-70 - i.e. this is what's going on in the life of Matthew's community after the war. Around this time, two Jewish groups develop, Matthew's Christian Jewish group and the local Pharisaic groups in tension over what would be the future of Judaism. Naturally, they have very different answers. Blessings:)
As I understand it, the Sadducees were at the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, the more prominent politically until their prominence faded with the destruction of the second temple seeing as their role was connected with temple service. They were the elitest, aristocratic group with wealth. The Pharisees were a social movement on the other hand and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism with a focus on refraining from hellenization. Where the Pharisees controlled the synagogues, the Sadducees controlled the temple. The former did have influence among the masses in Jesus' time on earth. After the temple's destruction, however, Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism and much of Judaism’s doctrine today is founded on their thought. Matthew was written within that period of crisis of Jewish identity. These are my reflections and how far I've come to understand it. There do remain different arguments to this day to what extent Pharisaism was prominent in Jesus' day. Matthew was believed to have been written in Antioch in Syria. Hope this helps:)
@@ShannaVisagie-Relevance This makes sense then why after 70 AD, though there were sects that remained... Sadducees remained to be the the least to no existence since their lifestyle revolved around the temple which was destroyed. Thank you for this good response. Blessings :-)
Any thoughts? Comment down below!
Looking forward to the next one😃
Interesting to note how the blessings from the sermon on the mount are juxtaposed to the curses introduced in the benedictions of the synagogues
It really is mind-boggling to see how Matthew's gospel shows all the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus and yet still some Jews rejected Christ as the promised Messiah. I wonder if those that rejected Jesus as Messiah ever read the gospel of Matthew in light of all the Messianic prophecies or if they ignorantly rejected Him.
Seeing as Matthew takes the time to package his account for this very purpose and target audience, there would have most definitely been. I’m sure one can dig a bit deeper to try and search out such individuals. The siege and destruction of 70 AD was an intense event and the effect of that also should be looked at. Matthew is for certain a relevant Gospel to turn to in order to find the places that can reintroduce Jews of today to their Messiah. As Michael Card mentions, “Matthew has done our homework for us!”
Just an interesting side-note: when thinking about the religious parties who rejected Jesus as Messiah so strongly, we have to bear in mind that Matthew's gospel conveys the Pharisees for e.g. as Jesus' main opponents. But, in Jesus' own times, the Pharisees weren't that prominent a group. Why does Matthew tell the story this way, so that a group that was less consequential during Jesus' own life time now becomes the main opponent? Again, it has to do with life post-70 - i.e. this is what's going on in the life of Matthew's community after the war. Around this time, two Jewish groups develop, Matthew's Christian Jewish group and the local Pharisaic groups in tension over what would be the future of Judaism. Naturally, they have very different answers. Blessings:)
As I understand it, the Sadducees were at the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, the more prominent politically until their prominence faded with the destruction of the second temple seeing as their role was connected with temple service. They were the elitest, aristocratic group with wealth. The Pharisees were a social movement on the other hand and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism with a focus on refraining from hellenization. Where the Pharisees controlled the synagogues, the Sadducees controlled the temple. The former did have influence among the masses in Jesus' time on earth. After the temple's destruction, however, Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism and much of Judaism’s doctrine today is founded on their thought. Matthew was written within that period of crisis of Jewish identity. These are my reflections and how far I've come to understand it. There do remain different arguments to this day to what extent Pharisaism was prominent in Jesus' day.
Matthew was believed to have been written in Antioch in Syria. Hope this helps:)
@@ShannaVisagie-Relevance This makes sense then why after 70 AD, though there were sects that remained... Sadducees remained to be the the least to no existence since their lifestyle revolved around the temple which was destroyed. Thank you for this good response. Blessings :-)