The Gospel of Matthew and the Gentiles

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

“…He is clear about the content of this apostolic teaching: the preservation of everything that he had commanded his disciples earlier in the Gospel (τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν). That included his programmatic call to observe every ‘letter and stroke of a letter’ of the Torah in the Sermon on the Mount (5.17-20) (Sim 1995: 45). It was a message delivered not only to Jewish crowds, but in front of Gentiles from the Decapolis (4.25).…”

“…Because of Matthew’s decidedly negative view of Gentiles, Sim believes that the Matthean community ‘largely avoided contact with its Gentile neighbors’ (Sim 1995: 30, 35). This withdrawal was the result of anti-Jewish persecutions in Antioch, described by Josephus, just before and after the first Jewish war against the Romans.…”

“…These persecutions were undifferentiated for Christ-believing and non-believing Jews. After the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, Matthew’s community faced further persecution from within ‘formative Judaism’, as Pharisaic factions sought to ‘impose some uniformity within Judaism’ (Sim 1995: 37). This chain of events accounts for both the anti-Gentile as well as the anti-Pharisaic rhetoric of Matthew’s Gospel.…”

“…This aspect of Sim’s reading of the Great Commission seems unnecessary, particularly in light of his claim that there were former Gentiles in Matthew’s community. These Gentiles, by joining the community and taking on the Jewish Law, ‘to all intents and purposes had ceased to be Gentiles’ (Sim 1995: 44). Sim suggests that these former Gentiles had stumbled into Matthew’s community.…”

“… 3. Sim 1995, 1996a, 1998, 2002a, 2002b, 2007, 2008, 2009. Before Sim, cf.…”