Matthew’s Gospel and Jewish–Christian Relations

Abstract

Matthew’s Gospel is a minefield for Jewish–Christian relations, and the issues raised for preachers involve wider questions about reading and interpreting troubling scriptural passages. The article first examines the Gospel in its first century context (reading it historically), and then explores the interpretation of Matthew in today’s contexts (reading it theologically). In both halves, it focusses on two specific topics: the depiction of Pharisees, and the so-called ‘blood curse’ of Matthew 27:25. It argues that Matthew’s vilification of the Pharisees is based on their unresponsiveness to the message about Jesus, their refusal to recognise him as the torah interpreter par excellence. This raises the question of how we ought to speak of those with whom we disagree. The reappraisal of Christian language about the Pharisees requires more than setting the historical record straight. It involves giving them theological weight, such as taking the Pharisaic habit of questioning, probing, and debating as a positive example. In 27:25, Matthew ties together the significance of Jesus’ death and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem with the offer of forgiveness available in Christ, but at the expense of the Jewish people. Rather than trying to rehabilitate the verse, it is suggested that it be allowed to stand in judgement over us, for all the ways in which we have put words into other people’s mouths, denied their right to self-definition, and imposed our frameworks of meaning upon them. The article ends with a series of guidelines for avoiding anti-Judaism.