Topic 13 Jesus

1
Topic 13 Jesus Ethical Teaching

• Jesus and the Jewish Law
• Jesus attitude to Torah is ambiguous.
• Lives as a Jew within Jewish law.
• Great respect for Scripture, synagogue, temple,
  feasts, etc.
• Does not replace Judaism with new religion
  (Christianity).
• Subjects Torah and Jewish tradition to rigorous
  critique.
• Antitheses (Mt. 521-48).
• Woes against scribes and Pharisees (Mt. 23).
• Conflicts with scribes and Pharisees (Mk. 2-3,
  7).
• Fasting disregards Pharisaic rules.
• Sabbath criticized for violating.
• Ritual purity disregards in favor of ethical
  purity.

2

• Jesus and the Jewish Law cont.
• Ways in which Jesus critiques the law
• Jesus simplifies the law.
• Love commandment fulfills whole law (Mk.
  1228-34).
• Presumes law is valid and must be observed.
• Jesus intensifies the law.
• Antitheses murder, adultery, love of neighbor.
• Implies written code is too weak.
• Jesus relaxes the law.
• Sabbath rules are bent in favor of
  mercy/compassion.
• Picking grain ( 69 Mk. 223-28 par.) Sabbath
  was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
• Healing withered hand ( 70 Mk. 31-6) Is it
  lawful to do good or harm on Sabbath? (cf. Mt.
  1211-12).
• Woman with infirmity ( 163 Lk. 1310-17) Ox or
  donkey is untied to get water daughter of
  Abraham should be loosed from bondage.
• Man with dropsy ( 168 Lk. 141-6) Ox in well.

3

• Jesus and the Jewish Law cont.
• Closer look at Jesus critique of the law
  (cont.)
• c. Jesus relaxes the law cont.
• Tithing/sacrifice subordinated to justice/mercy.
• Justice and mercy are weightier than tithing
  (Mt. 2323).
• I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hos. 66
  quoted in Mt. 913 127).
• Sacrifice vs. reconciliation (Mt. 523-24).
• Jesus abrogates the law at certain points.
• Disallows divorce, oaths, retaliation, which law
  allows.
• Disregards ritual purity practices ( 115 Mk.
  71-23).
• Tradition of elders ( oral law) was used to
  circumvent Gods commandments (v. 8-9).
• Corban vow (v. 10-13) legal fiction which
  circumvented duty to parents by declaring funds
  devoted to God.
• Emphasizes ethical over ritual purity not what
  goes in but what comes out defiles (v. 14-23).
• Sets aside kosher food laws, which were deeply
  embedded in Scripture (v. 19b cf. Lev. 11, 17,
  19, etc.).
• Conclusion
• Jesus takes law seriously but does not apply it
  literally.
• What principles guided his critique?

4

• 3. Possible interpretations of Jesus teaching on
  law
• Jesus rejected the oral law but not Torah
  itself.
• Does treat oral law more severely (Mk. 78-13).
• But also critiques Torah as well.
• Jesus rejected ritual law but affirmed ethical
  law.
• Does reject some rituals (purity) subordinates
  ritual to ethics.
• Does not reject all ritual ethical aspects also
  critiqued.
• Better intensifies ethics relaxes (or
  subordinates) ritual.
• Resembles prophets (cf. Hos. 66 Amos 521-24
  Mic. 68 Isa. 110-17).
• Jesus relativized the law by bringing its
  fulfillment.
• Jesus brings final, full revelation of Gods
  will, to which the law pointed in an incomplete
  way.
• Law is not ignored, but transcended Ethic of
  kingdom of God transcends ethic of the law.
• Law must be interpreted in light of Jesus
  revelation of its true intention to help people
  as an instrument of justice and mercy.
• Toward that end he can intensify, relax,
  abrogate, etc.
• Recalls prophetic use of law to protect rights of
  powerless (see texts above).
• Eschatological view of law Gods will no longer
  written on stone but on the heart (Jer. 3131-34
  Ezek. 3624-28).

5

• B. The Love Commandment ( 208 Mk. 1228-34)
• Double love commandment fulfills whole law.
• Simplifies law to its essence both love
  commands are in OT
• Love God with all your heart (Dt. 64-5 the
  Shema).
• Love neighbor as yourself (Lev. 1918).
• Not unique to Jesus rabbis also simplified
  Torah
• Hillel Do not do to another what seems to you
  to be hurtful that is the whole Torah. All the
  rest is commentary. Go and learn. (Cf. Golden
  Rule in 39 Mt. 712 par.)
• Other Jewish writings also bring together the 2
  love commands.
• Most major religions have some form of the love
  commandment.
• Jesus this is everything all Scripture comes
  down to this.
• On these two commandments depend all the law and
  the prophets (Mt. 2240).
• There is no greater commandment than these (Mk.
  1231).
• All commandments must be interpreted through
  these.
• Unburdens poor who had no resources to master
  complex demands of scribes/Pharisees.

6

• B. The Love Commandment ( 208 Mk. 1228-34)
• 2. Love of God must be wholehearted and
  undivided.
• Puts whole person under total obligation.
• Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and
  strength.
• No one can serve two masters for a slave will
  either hate the one and love the other, or be
  devoted to the one and despise the other (Mt.
  624).
• What God wants is not performance of
  rules/rituals but a life wholly devoted to God.
• Not burnt offerings and sacrifices but love of
  God and neighbor (Mk. 1233).
• Not meticulous tithing but justice and love (Lk.
  1142).

7

• B. The Love Commandment ( 208 Mk. 1228-34)
• 3. Love of God and neighbor are inseparably
  united.
• Love of God requires love of neighbor.
• To love God we must love those whom God loves.
• Right worship requires reconciliation with
  neighbor (Mt. 523-24).
• Loving God without neighbor ends up in
  mysticism.
• Love of neighbor expresses ones love for God.
• We love God by loving our neighbor.
• This does not mean using the neighbor as a means
  to show our piety love takes the neighbor
  seriously as a person with needs.
• Golden Rule love of neighbor comprises the whole
  (cf. Gal. 514).
• Parable of Sheep and Goats (Mt. 2531-46).
• Righteous ministered to Christ by ministering
  to needy.
• Not calculating reward took needs of neighbor
  seriously.
• Love of neighbor not motivated and informed by
  love of God ends up in humanism.

8

• The Love Commandment cont.
• Love of neighbor must be unlimited.
• Includes all situations to love neighbor as
  yourself is all-encompassing.
• Undercuts all casuistry and loopholes dont
  need list of rules to tell how to treat others.
• Treat others as we want to be treated (Mt. 712).
• Includes all people no one is excluded, even the
  enemy (Mt. 544).
• Context of Lev. 1916-18 implies fellow
  Israelites.
• Tendency in Jesus day toward further restriction
  (cf. Qumran).
• Jesus expands to include foreigners, enemies,
  persecutors.
• Parable of Good Samaritan ( 143-144 Lk.
  1025-37).
• Scribe And who is my neighbor?
• Not priest or Levite (fellow Israelites) but
  Samaritan (despised enemy) acted as neighbor.
• Love of neighbor knows no boundaries.
• Not how can I restrict my obligation? but who
  is willing to see human need and respond in love?

9

• The Love Commandment cont.
• Love of neighbor is not an emotion but an action.
• Synoptics love nearly always a verb.
• Doing for another what is in the best interest of
  the other.
• Christian love is a response to Gods love
• Gods grace and forgiveness transforms the heart
  response to forgiveness is love.
• Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven
  hence she has shown great love (Lk. 747 cf. 1
  Jn. 419).

10

• Some individual areas of life
• Possessions
• Detachment from possessions and generosity toward
  the poor.
• Rich young man ( 189 Mk. 1017-31 par.).
• Sell what you have and give to poor (v. 21).
• Easier for camel to go through eye of needle (v.
  25).
• No one can serve two masters ( 34 Mt. 624).
• Mammon Aramaic for wealth, money.
• Incompatibility of two kingdoms.
• Do not lay up treasures on earth ( 32 Mt.
  619-21).
• Sell possessions and give alms ( 32 Lk. 1233).
• Parable of Rich Fool ( 156 Lk. 1213-21).
• Hoards excess crop instead of sharing fails to
  reckon with death.
• Danger of assuming life consists of accumulating
  stuff possessions give false sense of security.
• Parable of Rich Man and Lazarus ( 177 Lk.
  1619-31).
• Rich man feasted in luxury did nothing for poor
  Lazarus who sat at his gate in misery.
• At death, their fortunes are reversed Hades
  vs. bosom of Abraham.
• Danger of not using possessions to help others.

11

• Possessions cont.
• Detachment from possessions and generosity toward
  the poor.
• Jesus motives.
• Not that material things are evil in themselves.
• Concern for first commandment.
• Compassion for plight of the poor.
• Kingdom of God brings new order in which no one
  suffers in poverty while others have more than
  enough.
• Disciples anticipate new order by living as
  community in which compassion and sharing
  prevail.
• Women
• Prohibition of divorce is aimed at protecting
  women.
• Place of women is expanded.
• Women in Jesus culture were treated as 2nd
  class, excluded.
• Jesus includes women and treats with dignity (Mk.
  334-35 Lk. 81-3 1038-42).
• Children
• Blessing of the children ( 188 Mk. 1013-16
  par.).
• Valued in their own right.
• Models of those who belong to kingdom of God.
• Dispute about greatness ( 129 Mk. 933-37 par.).

12

• Family
• Positive
• Permanence of marriage (Mk. 101-12).
• Value of women and children.
• Negative
• Family solidarity is subordinated to cause of the
  kingdom.
• Jesus true relatives those who do will of God
  ( 85 Mk. 321 89 Mk. 331-35).
• Warning of division within families ( 61 Lk.
  1251-53 par.).
• Cost of discipleship ( 171 Lk. 1425-35 par.).
• Disciple must hate family (or love less than
  me).
• Parables of Tower and King Going to War
  counting the cost.
• Warnings to would-be disciples ( 138 Lk. 957-62
  par.).
• Discipleship takes priority even over burial of
  father and saying farewell to family.
• Perrin Jesus most radical saying on
  discipleship.
• Eunuchs for sake of kingdom ( 187 Mt. 1910-12).
• Tradition that seems to value voluntary celibacy.
• Was Jesus married? Was Paul, Peter, Jesus
  brothers, other apostles (1 Cor. 95)?
• New family of God ( 189 Mk. 1028-30).
• Commitment to kingdom threatens family
  solidarity.

13

• Prestige
• Equal value and dignity for all persons.
• In Gods kingdom there is no superior and
  inferior.
• Invite the poor and outcasts who cant invite
  you back ( 169 Lk. 1412-14).
• The marginalized (women, children, poor,
  sinners, outcasts) are treated with respect and
  dignity.
• Denounces seeking of honor and practice of piety
  to win admiration.
• Parable of Places at Table ( 169 Lk. 147-11).
• Choose lower place to be called up higher.
• For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
  and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
• Denounces Pharisees ostentation broad
  phylacteries and long fringes ( 210 Mt. 235-7).
• Do almsgiving, prayer, fasting in secret (
  28-31 Mt. 61-18).
• No place in kingdom for status-seekers.
• Unless they repent and become like children but
  it is hard for them (as for the rich).
• Radical stance in honor-shame society.

14

• Politics and power
• Question about taxes to Caesar ( 206 Mk.
  1213-17 par.).
• Imperial poll tax was despised as reminder of
  pagan rule had sparked rebellion (6 AD) could
  do so again.
• Question was calculated to put Jesus in a bind.
• Image (eikon) of Caesar on coin is significant
• Recalls human creation in image of God (Gen. 1)
  and prohibition of idolatrous images (2nd
  commandment).
• Pharisees are already deeply compromised with
  Romans.
• Jesus answer is famously enigmatic Give to
  Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is
  Gods.
• Traditional view pay the tax (Caesars image is
  on coin), but recognize higher loyalty to God
  (his image is on you).
• - Repudiates zealot rebellions against Rome.
• - Duty to both church and state (even
  separation?).
• Recent trend veiled repudiation of Roman tax
  what belongs to Caesar nothing advocating
  nonviolent resistance.
• In kingdom of God, domination/oppression are
  replaced by service/love.
• Request for positions of power ( 192 Mk.
  1042-44) whoever would be great among you
  must be your servant
• Dispute about greatness ( 129 Mk. 933-35)
  whoever wants to be first must be last of all
  and servant of all.

15

• Forgiveness
• Repudiates judgmental attitude toward others (
  36 Mt. 71-5).
• Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
• Easier to see speck in neighbors eye than
  log in our own.
• Necessity of forgiveness Only by forgiving
  others can we hope for Gods forgiveness ( 30
  Mt. 614-15 par. Mk. 1125).
• Mt if we forgive others, God will forgive us if
  not, he wont.
• Mk. forgive others so that God may forgive you.
• Spirit of forgiveness opens us to receiving Gods
  forgiveness.
• Spirit of unforgiveness prevents our receiving
  Gods forgiveness.
• Forgiveness must be unlimited (Mt. 1821-22)
  not seven times but 77 times.
• Parable of Unmerciful Servant ( 136 Mt.
  1823-35).
• Servant is forgiven a huge debt refuses to
  forgive a trifling sum his forgiveness is
  revoked.
• Not that God revokes our forgiveness but that our
  failure to forgive reveals that we have not
  really accepted our own (Via).

16

• Fatherhood of God
• Father is Jesus most frequent and distinctive
  term for God.
• 65x in Synoptics 100 in Jn. all sources.
• Every prayer addresses God as Father.
• Fatherhood of God before Jesus (not new or unique
  to Jesus)
• Greek thought universal by nature natural
  kinship.
• Jewish thought exclusive to Israel by
  election.
• Jesus potentially universal as gift of grace.
• Not universal by natural kinship as in Greek
  thought.
• Not exclusively limited to Israel or to the
  specially righteous (God sends rain/sunshine on
  righteous and unrighteous alike Mt. 545).
• Eschatological gift of grace all who humble
  themselves as children have privilege of calling
  God Father.
• Jesus use of Abba expresses his special intimacy
  with God.
• Aramaic familiar term for father originally
  was a childs word.
• Jeremias childs word expressed childlike
  quality essentially Daddy.
• G. Vermes J. Barr not only childs word used
  also by adults (Abba Isnt Daddy).
• Still retained a sense of warmth and familiarity
  (dear father) in Jewish usage, rarely used of
  God never as address in prayer.
• Abba is retained in Gk. text of Mk. 1436
  elsewhere, translated pater.
• Jesus use in prayer conveys sense of intimacy
  (Mk. 1436 cf. Mt. 1125-27).

17

• Fatherhood of God cont.
• Jesus taught disciples to call God Abba/Father.
• Lords Prayer (Mt. 69 Lk. 112) behind Greek
  pater probably lies Aramaic abba.
• Gal. 46 Rom. 815-16 show Abba as part of
  early churchs prayer tradition.
• Fatherhood of God removes anxiety for oneself.
• Certainty of future salvation (Lk. 1232 157)
  Fear not, little flock, for it is your Fathers
  good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
• Assurance of everyday needs (Mt. 625-33 par.
  35)
• Consider the birds of the airlilies of the
  field argues from lesser to greater.
• Removal of anxiety about personal needs frees us
  for the risks of kingdom living (v. 33).
• Fatherhood of God brings summons to sonship.
• Love your enemies (Mt. 544-45 par. Lk. 635
  27).
• Loving enemies as God does makes us sons of
  God.
• To be a son (child) of ____ to bear the
  character of ____.
• Be perfect/merciful as heavenly Father is (Mt.
  548 par. Lk. 636).

18

• Prayer
• Teaching on prayer ( 29-30 Mt. 65-15 38 Mt.
  77-11).
• To be in secret (Mt. 65-6).
• To be brief (Mt. 67-8).
• To be in trust (Mt. 77-11).
• To be in spirit of forgiveness (Mt. 614-15).
• To be persistent.
• Parable of Friend at Midnight (Lk. 115-8).
• Parable of Unjust Judge (Lk. 181-6).
• The Lords Prayer ( 30 Mt. 69-13 par. Lk.
  112-4)
• Comparison of two versions (Jeremias)
• Mt. and Lk. probably each recorded the prayer as
  prayed in their own churches.
• Lk.s length is probably more original.
• Mt.s wording is more original (at points), in
  spite of secondary expansions.
• Jeremias reconstruction of original Lords
  Prayer (next slide).
• Analysis of familiar Matthean version (last three
  slides).

19

• Jeremias Reconstruction of Lords Prayer
• Address Father,
• Two Thou petitions Hallowed be Thy name,
• Thy kingdom come.
• Two we petitions Tomorrows bread give us
  today.
• Forgive us our debts as we herewith forgive
  our debtors.
• Closing petition Do not let us fall victim to
  the trial.

20

• The Lords Prayer (Matthew)
• Address Our Father who art in heaven.
• Lk.s simple Father probably more original
  prob. was Abba.
• Mt. combines transcendance and immanence of
  God.
• Three Thou petitions
• Three lines in synonymous parallelism
• Hallowed be thy name.
• Thy kingdom come.
• Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Prays for coming of Gods kingdom.
• Similar to Kaddish (Jewish synagogue prayer).
• Kingdom of God is on earth overcomes every form
  of evil.
• Involves our obedience with this prayer we sign
  up for duty in Gods battle against evil and
  injustice (Wright).

21

• The Lords Prayer (Matthew) cont.
• 3. Three we petitions (note plural communal
  nature of prayer)
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• Translation of daily (epiousios) is uncertain
• Our bread for subsistence (just what we need
  and no more).
• Bread that pertains to the day ( daily cf.
  Lk.s each day).
• Our bread for the coming day ( tomorrows),
  i.e., a foretaste now of the eschatological bread
  of life which is to come (so Jeremias).
• Prays for needs, not wants that God would supply
  daily that which is sufficient (cf. manna in
  wilderness).
• Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
  our debtors.
• Mt.s debts is probably more original than
  Lk.s sins.
• Only by Gods mercy can we hope to stand when
  Gods reign destroys evil.
• To pray for forgiveness in measure we have
  forgiven is a frighteningly dangerous prayer!
• Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
  evil.
• Peirasmos can mean temptation (enticement to
  evil) or trial, time of testing Do not
  bring us to the time of trial (NRSV).
• Evil can be translated the evil one (NRSV).
• Could refer to final tribulation which precedes
  the End of the Age.
• Or to daily trials of discipleship.
• Prays for divine strength/protection in times of
  testing.

22

• The Lords Prayer (Matthew) cont.
• Doxology For thine is the kingdom and the power
  and the glory, forever. Amen.
• Doxology is not present in oldest, best
  manuscripts.
• Short form of doxology appears in Didache (late
  1st or early 2nd century).
• Long form of doxology begins to appear c. 8th
  century.
• Doxology was apparently modeled on 1 Chron.
  2911-12 appended to adapt the prayer for
  liturgical usage.