Author

Seung Ai Yang

Date of Award

5-1986

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

Of the Synoptic Gospels, the first Gospel shows the most distinctive Christology and ecclesiology. Matthew sees Jesus as the Messiah, the eschatological savior, in whom the prophesies of the Old Testament are fulfilled and the Kingdom of heaven which is to come at the end of the world is manifested. On this Christology Matthew thinks that the Kingdom of heaven of the eschaton has already been inaugurated with Jesus and that the Christian community is actualizing the Kingdom of heaven on earth until the eschaton is consummated.

Matt 9:1-8 is a good example of a single pericope in which Matthew's redactional themes are reflected. This pericope is a triple tradition (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26). This article is based on the presupposition of the two-source (Mark and Q) hypothesis, which I think poses the fewest problems in comparison with other proposed solutions.

My thesis is that in Matt 9:1-8 Matthew intends to emphasize (1) Jesus• eschatological authority to forgive sins, which is given by God the Father, (2) the growing opposition to his authority, (3) and the church's participation in both Jesus• authority and opposition. I shall develop this thesis, first with an investigation of the wide and narrow context of our pericope, and then with an investigation of Matthew's emendation of Mark 2:1-12 and of his emphasis.

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