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
powers 11. Therefore, the disciples ascertained the divinity of Jesus
from witnessing his walking on water, worshiped him, and confessed
with praise that he is the “Son of God†(qeou/ ui`o,j, 14,33).
The two-word “Son of God†(qeou/ ui`o,j) formula in 14,33 needs
to be brought to attention. Although Matthew placed the meaning of
the two-word “Son of God†formula under the meaning of the four-
word “the Son of God†(o` ui`o.j tou/ qeou/) formula 12, Matthew’s
firsthand audience must have known that the two-word title was
related to Roman imperial propaganda. The expression qeou/ ui`o,j
occurs only three times in the New Testament and all of them are
found in the Gospel of Matthew (14,33; 27,43.54). The phrase was
the title for the Roman emperor as widely attested in the inscriptions
from Roman Syria where the Matthean community was located. The
official title “Son of God†with the same word order was applied to
Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Titus, and Domitian 13. However, the Gospel
of Matthew reports that the disciples did not attribute divinity to the
Roman emperors but rather to Jesus after observing him walk on the
sea, and that they worshipped and praised him as the “Son of Godâ€.
It must have been quite natural for both Jewish and Gentile audiences
of Matthew to see the divine sovereignty of Jesus in this story.
Finally, Matthew concludes his Gospel with the story of the
disciples worshiping the resurrected Jesus. The story shows the setting
and the attitude with which the disciples met the resurrected Jesus. At
the place of worship, Jesus clearly revealed his identity once again
and claimed to have “all authority in heaven and on earth†(28,18).
His claim is surprising since no Jewish messianic tradition claimed
that a human being can have “all authority in heaven and on earthâ€.
M.O. Wise and J. D. Tabor maintain that 4Q521 describes the Messiah
as having authority both in heaven and on earth 14. However, 4Q521
Some argue that the ‘Son of God’ played a pivotal role in the formation
12
of the Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. J.D. KINGSBURY, Matthew. Struc-
ture, Christology, Kingdom (Philadelphia, PA 1975); J.D. KINGSBURY, Matthew
as Story (Philadelphia, PA 1986); W.D. DAVIES - D.C. ALLISON, Jr., A Critical
and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Matthew (ICC;
Edinburgh 1988) I, 339; J. NOLLAND, The Gospel of Matthew. A Commentary
on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI 2005) 1220-1221.
R.L. MOWERY, “Son of God in Roman Imperial Titles and Matthewâ€,
13
Bib 83 (2002) 100-110.
M.O. WISE – J.D. TABOR, “The Messiah at Qumranâ€, BAR 18 (1992) 60-
14
63, 65.
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