In comparison to Mark and Luke, the First Gospel contains a striking preponderance of economic la... more In comparison to Mark and Luke, the First Gospel contains a striking preponderance of economic language in passages dealing with sin, righteousness, and divine recompense. This study analyzes Matthew's economic language against the backdrop of other early Jewish and Christian literature and examines its import for the narrative as a whole. Careful attention to this neglected aspect of Matthew's theology reveals that some of the Gospel's central claims about atonement, Jesus' death and resurrection, and divine recompense emerge from this conceptual matrix.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2020
One of the main findings of John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift is that divine grace was everywhere ... more One of the main findings of John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift is that divine grace was everywhere in ancient Judaism, but not everywhere the same. Though Barclay does not emphasize this point, something similar could be said about the worthiness or merit of the recipients of grace. Human worthiness is everywhere in Judaism and Christianity, but not everywhere the same. This article situates Barclay’s account of human worthiness relative to other possible configurations. According to Barclay’s Paul, the Christ-gift is given without regard for the worth of the recipients, but this same gift remakes those to whom it is given, enabling them to become worthy of God. This account of human response places Barclay in surprisingly close proximity with non-Protestant Augustinian streams of interpretation.
Scholarship on Matt 5.25–26 has focused on the question of whether the saying offers mundane wisd... more Scholarship on Matt 5.25–26 has focused on the question of whether the saying offers mundane wisdom or threatens divine judgment, with the majority concluding that the saying refers to eternal punishment in hell. This article examines debt-prison and related phenomena before turning to the illuminating history of ancient interpretation. The article concludes that the 'eternal damnation' gloss widely favoured today is an over-interpretation first inspired by the exigencies of 4th and 5th century doctrinal controversy. Instead of eternal perdition, Matt 5.25–26 and its parallels suggest a time of straits followed by possible release.
For centuries before and after Paul, Jewish sages taught that charitable deeds are among the supr... more For centuries before and after Paul, Jewish sages taught that charitable deeds are among the supreme acts of fidelity to God. Paul himself taught what might be called a traditional Jewish theology of charitable giving. He describes generosity to humans as an act of service for God that will bring happy returns in the future. He uses the cultic and financial metaphors that are common in other Jewish discussions of charity, and he also quotes biblical texts that speak of God’s protection of the generous. This article concludes by noting the implications of this largely unrecognized point of continuity between Paul, Jesus, and the prior biblical tradition for situating the collection on the larger landscape of Paul’s theology and for understanding how Paul develops his understanding of charity in light of the Christ.
This article examines the reception-history of Mark 15,39 to shed new light on this pivotal and d... more This article examines the reception-history of Mark 15,39 to shed new light on this pivotal and disputed verse. Mark’s earliest known readers emended the text to clarify the centurion’s feelings about Jesus and to explain how the centurion came to faith. Copyists inserted references to Jesus’ final yell around the same time that patristic commentators were claiming that this yell was a miracle that proved Jesus’ divinity, an interpretation which was enshrined in the Byzantine text and the Vulgate. The article concludes that a “sarcastic” reading is a more adequate description of 15,39 as found in B NA28 etc.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, Jan 2014
In his commentary on the Song of Songs, Gregory of Nyssa describes a three-step progression of th... more In his commentary on the Song of Songs, Gregory of Nyssa describes a three-step progression of the soul to God, an ascent which ends in the darkness of God's ineffability. Though some of Gregory's most prominent interpreters understand Moses' ascent into the darkness to be the definitive encounter with God in De vita Moysis as well, it is here argued that in De vita Moysis Gregory of Nyssa makes the culminating moment, not the apophatic experience of the darkness, but the encounter with the celestial tabernacle, Christ. Gregory thereby suggests that the mystical ascent to God ends in the encounter of God as both unknowable and known, transcendent but also incarnate.
Discussions of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt. 20.1-16) tend to rely on two key a... more Discussions of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt. 20.1-16) tend to rely on two key assumptions: (1) the parable eliminates ‘merit’ and replaces it with ‘grace’. (2) The parable is the hermeneutical key to all of Matthew’s other discussions of rewards, if not the entire New Testament. This article challenges these assumptions and offers a reassessment of divine recompense in Matthew. Mt. 19.16-20.16 does not set aside ‘merit’ in place of ‘grace’ but contrasts generous wages faithfully repaid by God with even more generous wages. The Gospel as a whole emphasizes that disciples must earn treasure in heaven and forgive others their debts to enter the kingdom; those who refuse to work and who refuse to forgive will be damned. At the same time, however, God’s repayment of deeds is not according to strict desert, but goes far beyond what workers have earned.
This article argues that ‘the commandment’ in 1 Timothy 6.13-14 refers to almsgiving. This shows ... more This article argues that ‘the commandment’ in 1 Timothy 6.13-14 refers to almsgiving. This shows that verses 11-16 are not an intrusion into a discussion of the proper use of wealth, but an integral part of the author’s argument in 6.6-19.
In comparison to Mark and Luke, the First Gospel contains a striking preponderance of economic la... more In comparison to Mark and Luke, the First Gospel contains a striking preponderance of economic language in passages dealing with sin, righteousness, and divine recompense. This study analyzes Matthew's economic language against the backdrop of other early Jewish and Christian literature and examines its import for the narrative as a whole. Careful attention to this neglected aspect of Matthew's theology reveals that some of the Gospel's central claims about atonement, Jesus' death and resurrection, and divine recompense emerge from this conceptual matrix.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2020
One of the main findings of John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift is that divine grace was everywhere ... more One of the main findings of John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift is that divine grace was everywhere in ancient Judaism, but not everywhere the same. Though Barclay does not emphasize this point, something similar could be said about the worthiness or merit of the recipients of grace. Human worthiness is everywhere in Judaism and Christianity, but not everywhere the same. This article situates Barclay’s account of human worthiness relative to other possible configurations. According to Barclay’s Paul, the Christ-gift is given without regard for the worth of the recipients, but this same gift remakes those to whom it is given, enabling them to become worthy of God. This account of human response places Barclay in surprisingly close proximity with non-Protestant Augustinian streams of interpretation.
Scholarship on Matt 5.25–26 has focused on the question of whether the saying offers mundane wisd... more Scholarship on Matt 5.25–26 has focused on the question of whether the saying offers mundane wisdom or threatens divine judgment, with the majority concluding that the saying refers to eternal punishment in hell. This article examines debt-prison and related phenomena before turning to the illuminating history of ancient interpretation. The article concludes that the 'eternal damnation' gloss widely favoured today is an over-interpretation first inspired by the exigencies of 4th and 5th century doctrinal controversy. Instead of eternal perdition, Matt 5.25–26 and its parallels suggest a time of straits followed by possible release.
For centuries before and after Paul, Jewish sages taught that charitable deeds are among the supr... more For centuries before and after Paul, Jewish sages taught that charitable deeds are among the supreme acts of fidelity to God. Paul himself taught what might be called a traditional Jewish theology of charitable giving. He describes generosity to humans as an act of service for God that will bring happy returns in the future. He uses the cultic and financial metaphors that are common in other Jewish discussions of charity, and he also quotes biblical texts that speak of God’s protection of the generous. This article concludes by noting the implications of this largely unrecognized point of continuity between Paul, Jesus, and the prior biblical tradition for situating the collection on the larger landscape of Paul’s theology and for understanding how Paul develops his understanding of charity in light of the Christ.
This article examines the reception-history of Mark 15,39 to shed new light on this pivotal and d... more This article examines the reception-history of Mark 15,39 to shed new light on this pivotal and disputed verse. Mark’s earliest known readers emended the text to clarify the centurion’s feelings about Jesus and to explain how the centurion came to faith. Copyists inserted references to Jesus’ final yell around the same time that patristic commentators were claiming that this yell was a miracle that proved Jesus’ divinity, an interpretation which was enshrined in the Byzantine text and the Vulgate. The article concludes that a “sarcastic” reading is a more adequate description of 15,39 as found in B NA28 etc.
International Journal of Systematic Theology, Jan 2014
In his commentary on the Song of Songs, Gregory of Nyssa describes a three-step progression of th... more In his commentary on the Song of Songs, Gregory of Nyssa describes a three-step progression of the soul to God, an ascent which ends in the darkness of God's ineffability. Though some of Gregory's most prominent interpreters understand Moses' ascent into the darkness to be the definitive encounter with God in De vita Moysis as well, it is here argued that in De vita Moysis Gregory of Nyssa makes the culminating moment, not the apophatic experience of the darkness, but the encounter with the celestial tabernacle, Christ. Gregory thereby suggests that the mystical ascent to God ends in the encounter of God as both unknowable and known, transcendent but also incarnate.
Discussions of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt. 20.1-16) tend to rely on two key a... more Discussions of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt. 20.1-16) tend to rely on two key assumptions: (1) the parable eliminates ‘merit’ and replaces it with ‘grace’. (2) The parable is the hermeneutical key to all of Matthew’s other discussions of rewards, if not the entire New Testament. This article challenges these assumptions and offers a reassessment of divine recompense in Matthew. Mt. 19.16-20.16 does not set aside ‘merit’ in place of ‘grace’ but contrasts generous wages faithfully repaid by God with even more generous wages. The Gospel as a whole emphasizes that disciples must earn treasure in heaven and forgive others their debts to enter the kingdom; those who refuse to work and who refuse to forgive will be damned. At the same time, however, God’s repayment of deeds is not according to strict desert, but goes far beyond what workers have earned.
This article argues that ‘the commandment’ in 1 Timothy 6.13-14 refers to almsgiving. This shows ... more This article argues that ‘the commandment’ in 1 Timothy 6.13-14 refers to almsgiving. This shows that verses 11-16 are not an intrusion into a discussion of the proper use of wealth, but an integral part of the author’s argument in 6.6-19.
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that are common in other Jewish discussions of charity, and he also quotes biblical texts that speak of God’s protection of the generous. This article concludes by noting the implications of this largely unrecognized point of continuity between Paul, Jesus, and the prior biblical tradition for situating the collection on the larger landscape of Paul’s theology and for understanding how Paul develops his understanding of charity in light of the Christ.
that are common in other Jewish discussions of charity, and he also quotes biblical texts that speak of God’s protection of the generous. This article concludes by noting the implications of this largely unrecognized point of continuity between Paul, Jesus, and the prior biblical tradition for situating the collection on the larger landscape of Paul’s theology and for understanding how Paul develops his understanding of charity in light of the Christ.