Hak Chol Kim, «The Worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew», Vol. 93 (2012) 227-241
The Gospel of Matthew can be characterized by its special emphasis on the worship of Jesus. In the scenes where Jesus is worshiped, Jesus was depicted as the king of the Jews, Christ/Messiah, the «I am» (e0gw/ ei0mi), and the Divine Being holding authority both in heaven and on earth, thus being worthy of worship. Matthew employed both Jewish and Gentile traditions in abundance so that both Jews and Gentiles of the Greco-Roman world might understand the religious and socio-political implications of the worship of Jesus. The worship of Jesus, practiced by the Matthean community, led to the community’s isolation from formative Judaism centered in the synagogues and facilitated the community’s position in relation to Roman imperial propaganda.
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THE WORSHIP OF JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
understood the titles king of the Jews 6 and Christ/Messiah in a socio-
political context 7. They encountered Matthew’s report that the birth
of Jesus, to which the Magi testified, was the fulfillment of the
prophecy of Micah (Mic 5,2; Matt 5,6). Those acquainted with
Jewish tradition clearly understood it politically as the subsequent
story in Matthew indicates. The character most disturbed (evtara,cqh)
by the OT prophecy and the visit of the Magi was Herod, the Roman
client king (2,3). Herod asked about the specific birthplace of Jesus
(2,4) and made plans to kill him (2,13) believing that the baby,
designated as ruler in Micah and born with the title king and Christ,
was a direct threat to himself.
Those unfamiliar with Jewish tradition might also have recognized
the tremendous political impact of the story of the Magi. The story of
the Magi, who followed the star from the East in order to worship the
king, might have reminded the audience of a historical event known
in the contemporary Mediterranean world. The event that took place
about 65 C.E. during the reign of Nero was as follows: The sons of
three Parthian rulers called “Magi†came together with an Armenian
ruler to visit Nero and paid homage to him (Pliny, N.H. 30.6.16-17)
and then went back “by another way†(Dio, 63.7; Suetonius, Nero.
13). J.A. Overman classifies this story, with its political implications
in the Near Eastern world, as “the tradition of embassy†8 and points
out the similarities with the story of the Matthean Magi who
worshiped the ruler and went back “by another way†(2,12). The story
of the Matthean Magi must have had an explosive political impact in
combination with a famous Mediterranean prophecy about the rise of
the rulers from Judaea. According to Tacitus: “… in the ancient
Individual Conversion and/or Systemic Transformation?â€, JSNT 263 (2004)
259-282. The present writer holds the opinion that the Matthean community was
indeed involved in the Gentile missions and that it was a multiethnic community
that included Gentile constituents. Nonetheless, this aspect will not be discussed
because it surpasses the boundary of the present study.
In order to understand the Jewish tradition about the “king of the Jewsâ€,
6
see R. VINSON, “‘King of the Jews’: Kingship and Anti-Kingship Rhetoric in
Matthew’s Birth, Baptism, and Transfiguration Narrativesâ€, RevExp 104 (2007)
243-268.
W. CARTER, “Contested Claims: Roman Imperial Theology and Matthew’s
7
Gospelâ€, BTB 29 (1999) 56-67.
For further discussions, see J.A. OVERMAN, Church and Community in
8
Crisis. The Gospel according to Matthew (Valley Forge, PA 1996) 45.
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