Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew

Abstract

This 1996 study reconstructs the apocalyptic eschatology in Matthew's Gospel so that we may understand his time and concerns. Sociological analysis of apocalypticism in Judaism and early Christianity shows that such a comprehensive world view, which emphasized the final judgement and its aftermath within a dualistic and deterministic framework, was adopted by minority of sectarian groups undergoing a situation of great crisis. The Matthean community, after the first Jewish war against Rome, came into conflict with Judaism, gentiles and the larger Christian movement. Matthew's distinctive and often vengeful vision must be set against both his acute need to enhance his community's sense of itself and his pastoral concern. Dr Sim offers for the first time in English an extended and comprehensive comparison of Matthew's outlook with contemporary eschatological literature.

The Eschatological Conversion of ‘All the Nations’ in Matthew 28.19-20: (Mis)reading Matthew through Paul

“…Matthew is not pro -Pauline, but anti -Pauline. In his earliest work, Sim argued that the Matthean community was estranged from the majority Gentile church (1996a: 210-18). He understood the ‘workers of lawlessness’ in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (13.36-43) and the ‘false prophets’ who cry out ‘Lord, Lord’ on the last day (7.13-27) as Gentile Christian missionaries trying to influence the Matthean community away from Torah-observance, but concluded that ‘whether these missionaries belonged to a resurgent Paulinism or to another stream of law-free Christianity is difficult to say’ (1996a: 215, 217).…”

“…In his earliest work, Sim argued that the Matthean community was estranged from the majority Gentile church (1996a: 210-18). He understood the ‘workers of lawlessness’ in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (13.36-43) and the ‘false prophets’ who cry out ‘Lord, Lord’ on the last day (7.13-27) as Gentile Christian missionaries trying to influence the Matthean community away from Torah-observance, but concluded that ‘whether these missionaries belonged to a resurgent Paulinism or to another stream of law-free Christianity is difficult to say’ (1996a: 215, 217). However, by his second monograph, Sim had become convinced that the elevation of Peter in Matthew (16.17-20), which was written from Antioch where Peter and Paul had had such a public dispute over Torah observance, meant that it was indeed positioned specifically against Paul’s circumcision-free gospel (1998: 165-213).…”

Is Matthew 28:16–20 the summary of the Gospel?

“…As I have argued in a detailed monograph, the Gospel of Matthew is dominated by an apocalypticeschatological perspective (Sim 1996). At the heart of the evangelist's apocalyptic-eschatological scheme lies the final and universal judgement, which Matthew describes in a number of passages 7:22-23; 19:28; 25:31-46) (Sim 1996:123-127) and which he refers to constantly throughout his text using a variety of terms and metaphors -the judgement (12:41-42), the day of judgement (10:15; 11:22-24; 12; 36), the coming wrath (3:7), that day (7:22; 24:36), the end of the age (13:39, 40, 49, 50; 24:3; cf.…”

The pacifist Jesus and the violent Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

“…I have examined the Gospel's complex social setting in the decades following the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE in a number of previous studies (Sim 1996(Sim :181-221, 1998) and all that is necessary here is a summary of those discussions. First and foremost, it is generally agreed that the Matthean community came into conflict with Formative Judaism, a coalition of forces led by the Pharisees and their scribal associates (Overman 1990;Saldarini 1994;Repschinski 2000).…”