Lesson 5 Flashcards
- What are the main options for understanding the Six Antitheses as a whole?
Matt 5:17-48
1. Anabaptist
a. Jesus is contrasting Himself with the OT.
b. Jesus is getting rid of the OT law and this is brand new.
c. “You’ve heard it said” = OT law
2. Broadly Evangelical/Roman Catholic
a. Jesus is transending the OT law
b. Superset of the OT law
c. Expands (raising the bar) on the OT law.
3. Reformed
a. Jesus is re-establising the original intent of the OT.
b. Jesus is contrasting His view of the OT law with the miss-interpretation / distortions of the OT law by the Pharasees and Saducees.
c. Did not come to abolish the law or to expand the law but to re-establish what the law always meant.
d. The law always had a spiritual dimention to it.
e. Raising the bar back to its original intent.
The Case for the Reformed View of the Six Antitheses
a. Jesus says he is not abrogating OT law (5:17-18)
b. The “law and the prophets” is a reference to the whole of the OT”
c. “Fulfill” here primarily means to “validate, uphold, confirm, establish.”
d. In regard to Ceremonial Law:
i. Jesus’s view of OT scriptures (5:18)
ii. Jesus does not condemn the OT law but those who “relax” the OT Law (5:19)
- Discuss and know all 6 of the Antitheses
1. Antithesis 1
A. Matt 5:21: Murder
B. You’ve heard it said, you shale not murder.
C. Even if you hate your borther in your heart.
2. Antithesis 2
1. Matt 5:27 - Adultery
2. Should be lust in your heart.
3. Antithesis 3
1. 5:31 - Divorce.
2. Wrong views of Divorce was wrecking people’s live - specifically women.
3. Only for sexual imorality.
4. Deut 24:1 - changed to allow divorce for any reason as long as you got your paperwork correct.
5. If you divorce her unlawfully, you forced her to commit adultery
6. Jesus explains Deut 24:1 and it’s original meaning.
4. Antithesis 4
1. 5:33 - Oaths and Vows.
2. People were abusing oath taking by swaring by earth, heaven, or Jerusalem and not by God.
3. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.
4. Did not ban oath taking.
5. Jesus is banning oaths designed distort, decive, and cheat.
5. Antithesis 5
1. 5:38 - Law of retaliation
2. eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.
3. Distortion = missunderstanding “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth”. Misunderstanding in fairness
4. People were taking person vengence and not going through courts.
5. This passage was meant for judicial fairness - not for personal vengence.
6. 5:43 - Antithesis 6
1. You’ve heard it said that you should love you neighbor and hate your enemy.
2. “hate your enemy” was added from OT quote.
3. Prov 25:21 - If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat.
4. The OT law meant to love your enemy and Jesus is explaining it and countering distortions
- What is the “rock” that Christ builds his church upon? Give all the views.
Option 1: Rock = Christ
A. Strengths:
i. Fits with usage of rock for Christ in other texts (Matt 7:24; 1 Pet 2:8)
ii. It is theologically true that Christ is the foundation of the church (1 Cor 3:11)
B. Weaknesses
1. Why bring Peter into the conversation if Jesus is talking about Himself.
2. Why talk about Peter having the keys to the kingdom.
3. Does not due justice to the play on words of Petras and Rock
4. Assumes all metaphores are applied in the same way.
4.1 Jesus is the light of the world
4.2 Diciples are the light of the world
Option 2: Rock = Confession of Peter
A. Strengths
i. Explains why Peter is mentioned so plainly
ii. It is theologically true that the identity of Christ is the foundation of the church
iii. The person of Peter and his confession cannot be separated
B. Weaknesses
1. If Jesus wanted to say “the confession of Peter,” the text is awkward.
2. Does not due justice to the play on words of Petras and Rock
Option 3: Rock = Peter as the First Pope
A. Strengths
i. The “you” throughout v. 17-19 are in the singular, namely a reference to Peter.
ii. The play on words between “Peter” and “rock” is difficult to avoid
iii. If Jesus originally spoke in Aramaic (which he likely did), then the word for Peter and the word for Rock would have been identical.
iv. The only reason they are slightly different here is because the Greek word for rock is a feminine noun and has to be made masculine to apply to a male individual
B Weaknesses
1. Peter’s role was not over and above the other Apostles.
2. Peter is more a representative of the 12 instead of a head of the 12.
3. Zero suggestion that Peter has a special office above the Apostles.
4. No external cooberation
5. No evidence that the office is perpetual.
Option 4: Rock = Peter as Representative of the 12
A. Strengths
i. Acknowledges the obvious linguistic connections that point to the person of Peter
ii. Recognizes that Peter is not over the 12, but representative of the 12
iii. Fits with keys passages like Eph 2:20
iv. Recognizes that it is not just Peter as a person, but also his theological confession. In other words, the church is not founded on the apostles as individuals but is founded on the apostles and the apostolic teaching together. The two cannot be separated.
- What are the various views of the usage of “Son of Man”? What is the background in which these usages occur?
Some believe that Jesus uses the phrase “Son of Man” but was not connected to Daniel 7.
* Jesus used phrase only when NOT referring to Daniel 7.
* Phrases referring to Daniel 7, Jesus did not say.
* When Jesus uses “Son of Man” in the Gospels - it is used with a definite article “The Son of Man” and not just Son of Man.
Meaning to “Son of Man”
1. Just a human (What is Man)
2. Dividic King Ps 80:17
3. Daniel 7 - Eternal King - Antient of Days
Every passage outside of the gospels that use the phrase “Son of Man” all link it to Daniel 7.
View 1: Jesus meant someone else (Bultmann)
A. Description
1. Some other person - some third party
2. Son of Man is in 3rd party
B. Analysis
1. Jesus never explains who this 3rd person is.
2. Jn 8:28, Jesus is talking about Himself on the cross when speaking of the Son of Man.
3. No early christian interpreted Jesus this way
View 2: Aramaic idiom of self-reference (Geza Vermes, Barnabas Lindars, and Maurice Casey)
A. Description
1. Jesus was speaking Aramaic
2. Another way of saying “A Man Like Me”
3. Jesus was saying I do this
4. Gramatical and not redemptive / apocaliptic / Daniel 7
B. Analysis 1. Some validity -- in part 2. Some passages where the phrase does function as "I" 3. Mk 8:27 vs. Mt 16 ( I and Son of Man are used interchangeably) 4. Lk 12:8 vs. Mt 10 ( I and Son of Man are used interchangeably) C. Problems 1. Have to argue that passages referring to Daniel 7 were added to Gospels late. 2. Has been refuted and no longer considered valid. D. Conclusion: 1. Parallel passages in the Synoptic gospels indicate that the phrase “Son of Man” can be swapped out with “I”. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27, ESV). He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt 16:13 ESV). “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8 ESV). “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10:32 ESV). 2. The phrase may funtion as "I" without meaning "I". 3. Can be Syntactically "I" without Semantically "I" C. Critiques
View 3: Reference to the Dan 7 figure (Davies and Allison and most evangelicals)
A. Description
1. Primary way Jesus uses “Son of Man” is echo of Dan 7.
2. Jesus is presenting Himself as the Divine Judge of the world.
3.
B. Analysis
1. Parables of Enoch - represent Jewish thought as Dan 7
2. Jesus uses the definite article. Functions as “That” Son of Man” meaning Dan 7 Son of Man.
3. Jesus expressly links the phrase to Dan 7 unless you think the Gospels made it up.
4. Other passages (outside Gospels) link phrase to Dan 7
Conclusion
A. The phrase Son of Man was Jesus’s way of identifying Himself with the Judge of the world figure in Dan 7 thus presenting Himself as a Divine figure alone side the Antient of Days who would be the judge of the world.
B. Claim of Divinity.
C. Stands in contrast to people saying
1. Son of God = Divine
2. Son of Man = Human
3. Jesus was both Man and God.
4. Both Phrases refer to Divine figure.
5. Dan 7 refers to a human figure who is Divine (Jesus)
Give the outline of the book of Matthew
- The Person of Jesus the Messiah (1:1 - 4:16)
- Proclamation of Jesus the Messiah (4:17 - 16:20)
- Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah (16:21 - 28:20)
