The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel

The social setting of the Gospel according to Matthew remains a much debated issue. The theory of a gentile setting with historical roots within Judaism was met with much opposition in recent times. The expression “the parting of the ways” as introduced by Dunn and popularised by Stanton effectivel...

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Main Author: F. P. Viljoen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2006-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2128
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author F. P. Viljoen
author_facet F. P. Viljoen
author_sort F. P. Viljoen
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description The social setting of the Gospel according to Matthew remains a much debated issue. The theory of a gentile setting with historical roots within Judaism was met with much opposition in recent times. The expression “the parting of the ways” as introduced by Dunn and popularised by Stanton effectively marks this discussion. However, the relation between the Christian community of Matthew and Judaism remains a much debated issue. Some studies have argued that the Matthean community was sectarian in nature, being in conflict with a larger Jewish social context. From the Gospel it is clear that there was a struggle between the Matthean community and local Jewish communities and leaders. This indicates a distance between a Jewish background and a gentile presence within the community. Matthew views the new People of God as distinct from the nation which rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Within the discussion with regard to the Matthean community, the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20) is often seen as the key to understanding the whole book and particularly the community. However, the importance of the beginning of the Gospel is often neglected in this discussion. In this article I attempt to show the importance of the opening narrative in defining this community.
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spelling doaj-art-31905e972ac847fc863570fab0d7986f2025-02-11T10:10:00ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892006-12-0126210.38140/at.v26i2.2128The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospelF. P. Viljoen0North-West University The social setting of the Gospel according to Matthew remains a much debated issue. The theory of a gentile setting with historical roots within Judaism was met with much opposition in recent times. The expression “the parting of the ways” as introduced by Dunn and popularised by Stanton effectively marks this discussion. However, the relation between the Christian community of Matthew and Judaism remains a much debated issue. Some studies have argued that the Matthean community was sectarian in nature, being in conflict with a larger Jewish social context. From the Gospel it is clear that there was a struggle between the Matthean community and local Jewish communities and leaders. This indicates a distance between a Jewish background and a gentile presence within the community. Matthew views the new People of God as distinct from the nation which rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Within the discussion with regard to the Matthean community, the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20) is often seen as the key to understanding the whole book and particularly the community. However, the importance of the beginning of the Gospel is often neglected in this discussion. In this article I attempt to show the importance of the opening narrative in defining this community. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2128
spellingShingle F. P. Viljoen
The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
Acta Theologica
title The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
title_full The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
title_fullStr The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
title_full_unstemmed The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
title_short The Matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
title_sort matthean community according to the beginning of his gospel
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2128
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