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.
239
THE WORSHIP OF JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
also 1,23; 12,6). Probably, it was this situation that led the Matthean
community into breaking with formative Judaism.
It is obvious that the worship of Jesus had socio-political
implications for the Matthean audience under the influence of Roman
imperial propaganda. Some careful studies have demonstrated that
the Gospel of Matthew was written with a clear awareness of the
Roman Empire 29. Although they have not paid special attention to
the significance of the worship of Jesus, it must have had a significant
influence on the attitude of the Matthean community towards Roman
imperial propaganda. Since the Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as
the true ruler whom both Jews and Gentiles had anticipated, it
became inevitable for the members of the Matthean community to
compare their worship of Jesus with the Roman imperial cult 30, since
it was not at all strange in Roman Syria.
The Roman imperial cult spread quite rapidly in the eastern part of
the Roman Empire, and it had political, religious, and social
implications at the same time. While there are a number of definitions
of the Roman imperial cult, it primarily refers to “the honors offered to
the Roman emperorâ€, as M. Naylor explains 31. Through the cult, the
Roman emperor was proclaimed to be a divine manifestation having
pertinent sovereignty over the world and virtues of the ruler. As a divine
agent, the emperor granted heavenly resources to petitioners.
In fact, this element can be found in the image of Jesus that the
Gospel of Matthew presents. As Emmanuel, the manifestation of the
Among the works explaining the Gospel of Matthew in the milieu of
29
the Roman Empire, see D.M. COX, “The Gospel of Matthew and resisting
Imperial Theologyâ€, Perspectives in Religious Studies 36 (2009) 25-48; W.
CARTER, “Matthew’s Gospel: An Anti-Imperial/Imperial Readingâ€, Currents
in Theology and Mission 34 (2007) 424-433; id., Matthew and Empire. Initial
Explorations (Harrisburg, PA 2001); J. RICHES – D.C. SIM (eds.), The Gospel
of Matthew in its Roman Imperial Context (London 2005).
Several studies have illustrated it. C. BRYAN, Render to Caesar. Jesus,
30
the Early Church, and the Roman Superpower (New York, NY 2005); D.
CUSS, Imperial Cult and Honorary Terms in the New Testament (Paradosis
23; Fribourg 1974); S.R.F. PRICE, Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial
Cult in Asia Minor (New York, NY 1984).
This includes honors “such as the construction of temples and altars,
31
the offering of various kinds of sacrifice, the establishment of priesthoods,
the attribution of certain qualities, and the use of various titles that may be
seen as having religious overtonesâ€. M. NAYLOR, “The Roman Imperial Cult
and Revelationâ€, Currents in Biblical Research 8 (2010) 208.
© Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati