First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the completion of this thesis to my faculty advisor, Dr. I am forever grateful to the living God for the opportunity to pursue theological education and for giving me the grace to persevere.
INTRODUCTION
Porter, “The Concept of the Covenant in Paul,” in The Concept of the Covenant in the Second Temple Period, ed. However, McKnight does not dismiss the validity of the covenant concept for gospel studies.
Brief History of Research
The rare allusions to the new covenant in the New Testament writings are not due to the lack of importance of this concept. Furthermore, what is implied in Matthew's narrative, as the thesis will argue, does not mean that it is irrelevant to his theology. 42.
Thesis and Methodology
Matthew presents Jesus as the interpreter and writing of the Torah in the hearts of the people in fulfillment of the covenant promises. In summary, chapter 2 examines the titles for their conventional significance (the de facto titles of the covenant); chapter 3 analyzes Matthew's narrative for its covenant framework (Passover, Exodus, covenant); chapter 4 investigates the only clear reference to the covenant in Matthew 26:28 (the blood of the covenant) and chapter 5 examines Matthew's focus on the interior (the reality of the covenant).
CHRISTOLOGICAL-COVENANT: THE SOLIDARITY OF THE COVENANTS IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Second, the chapter argues that the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants are synthesized in Matthew's narrative.6 As such, the covenants can be stated as hypostatically united in one activity of "Christological covenant conclusion."7 God's promises to Abraham (to bless all the nations through him) and David (to establish an eternal kingdom) is fulfilled in the sacrificial death of the one who appears as the new Moses (sacrifices his covenant blood) and as true Israel (recapitulates the history of Israel).8 In this new Christological covenant God's promise becomes about creating a new covenant people fulfilled.9.
The Abrahamic Covenant in Matthew
The title Son of David indicates that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenant with David. The reference to "Abraham's children" in Matthew 3:7-10 relates to Jesus' role as "Abraham's son".
The Davidic Covenant in Matthew
By opening his gospel with the title "son of Abraham" and further developing the theme in Matthew, he indicated the continuity and discontinuity of the Abrahamic covenant in the new. France notes: “There seems little doubt that the dominant concern in the first-century Jewish hope was with their political submission, with the restoration of the kingdom of David as the messianic goal.
The Synthesis of the Covenants in Matthew
39 Several scholars point out that the OT shows a strong coherence and synthesis of all covenants in the new covenant promises of the prophets. For example, Jeremiah's influential New Testament text in 31:31-33 belongs to the "book of comfort" in ch.
Conclusion
Suffice it to say that the covenant concept in Matthew resonates more strongly than is often recognized.
ALLUSIVE-PATTERNS AND EVOCATIONS TO PASSOVER, EXODUS, AND COVENANT IN
MATTHEW’S NARRATIVE
4 Scholars note that in the passion story Matthew pays special attention to the portrayal of Jesus' control over the events that are unfolding. See for example Ulrich Luz, who pays particular attention to how Matthew portrays Jesus as sovereign Lord through the passion narrative.
Proleptic Symbols and Actions prior to the Institution Narrative
Allusive Pattern: The Symbol of Banquet
Jesus' message of the Kingdom of God is the proclamation in word and deed that God is active and dynamically manifesting his redeeming will in history. It becomes a dispute between the haberim and the 'amme ha-arets, and Jesus strikes a blow against the details of the former. This misses the point of the accusation: that Jesus was accused of associating with and offering the kingdom to those who were wicked by the normal standards of Judaism.
Allusive Pattern: The Symbol of the Feeding Miracles
The banquet is "the middle expression of comparison between the Passover and the Lord's Supper."22 The meal indicates the coming eschatological exodus and is. The dining episodes are reminiscent of the provision of manna in the exodus tradition.28 Jesus, as the new Moses, sustains his people and produces theirs. It seems obvious to us that Matthew intended 14:13-21 to be closely connected with the institution of the Eucharist." W.
Summary
Thus these conceptual and verbal associations were, as Allison ably puts it, "for [Matthew] superimposed images, and all three reproduced a basic pattern of Jewish religious experience, one involving redemption, bread, and covenant."33.
Evocations and Significations in 26:1-16
Discourse Features of 26:1-30
Interlude to the Passion Narrative (26:3-16)
Plot Episode 1, 26:3-5
Anointing at Bethany
Judas’ Plot Episode 3, 26:14-16
Interpretation Narrative (26:17-30)
Passover Preparation
Judas’ Plot Episode 2, 26:20-25
The Last Supper Episode 3, 26:26-30
Evocation: The New Moses and the New Exodus in 26:1
As such, the new Moses theme throughout Matthew is "assembled into a pattern, a structure of meaning."46 Matthew sets the stage for the passion story with Jesus as the new Moses, the new teacher and deliverer, who "would be the final undergo". act of liberation on behalf of his people."47 So "the story of Jesus is the story of a new exodus."48. The entire sequence of events in Matthew is not only around two "parallel personages (Jesus and Moses)", but also "parallel plots" which are borrowed from the book of Exodus.49 Jesus is therefore the new Moses whose "new salvation event" is told within the plot. I am not referring to the face of Moses, but rather to a picture of which he is only a part, even if it is a very important one." Allison, The New Moses, 195.
Evocation: The Fourth Passion Prediction and the Passover (26:2)
The passion-Easter association signals that Jesus intended his death to accomplish what the paschal lamb had done on the night of the first exodus. The observation is further confirmed by the futuristic-contemporary use of the verbs in "τὸ πάσχα γείνα" and "ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπουδαισταιιι" certainty of these two events. Senior rightly notes, "ὁδός" functions to emphasize the Isaiah's new exodus motif that began in 3:3: 'prepare the way of the Lord.' Thus, when the Baptist came 'ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνη:32'), (so on 21:32'), just.
Evocation: Jesus’ Sovereignty and Significations (26:3-16)
Plot
Explicit passages of fulfillment, as Wright observed, are then “simply the tip of a very large iceberg.” 65 The next section builds on this conclusion and argues that these implicit prophetic symbols and parabolic actions culminate in Jesus' verbal explanation. a story about the bread and the cup in the institution.
Prophetic and Verbal Interpretations in 26:17-30
Passover Preparation
Signification: Passover and the Motif of Betrayal (26:17-19)
Signification: The Interpretation Narrative (26:28-30)
The OT records acts of God which are seen to correspond to the experience of the early church, with the important proviso that the new act overcome the old.” Marshall, The Last Supper and the Lord's Supper, 147. 42:2 and 42:6, see Pitre, who notes: "In this text, written centuries before Jesus' day, we find the first mention of wine as an integral part of Easter. meal. For this thesis, this observation appears as a significant clue to the overall design of the gospel in which the Passover, the exodus, and the covenant are—to borrow Allison's phrase—“superimposed images” that underlie the narrative.82 Before the chapter ends, "the Last Supper was a meal of the Jewish Passover", is briefly explored.
Was the Last Supper the Jewish Passover Meal?
Pitre notes, "This reference to the sacrifice of the lambs is one of the clearest chronological indications that the Synoptic Gospels date the Last Supper to the same night as the regular Jewish Passover meal." Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper, 256. He also proposes: "The apparent contradiction between John and the Synoptics regarding the date of the Last Supper is the result of the misinterpretation of ancient Jewish Passover terminology and chronology in the Gospel of John." Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper, 331. 96 For example, Jeremias admits that "the Last Supper would still be surrounded by the atmosphere of the Passover, even if it had taken place on the evening before the feast." Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, 88.
BLOOD OF THE COVENANT
JESUS AS COVENANT SACRIFICE
Jesus as Passover Sacrifice: The Bread Saying
Important are 23:30 and 23:35[3x] where four times αἷμα is used in conjunction with ἐκχυννόμενον to denote the violent death of the prophets, which "anticipates that Jesus will also suffer a violent death." Ham, “The Last Supper in Matthew,” 67. Followed by 26:28, where Jesus' blood would be shed for the establishment of the new covenant and forgiveness of sins. The last 5 cases "all imply that Jesus is innocent". In all three descriptions of the Supper, blood must be present.
Jesus as Covenant Sacrifice: The Cup Saying
- ἐκχυννόμενον 2. Jesus identifies his blood to be sacrificially “poured out”
- τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης (Ratification of the Covenant)
- τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης (Messianic Victory)
- τὸ περὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυννόμενον (The Servant as Covenant)
- εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν (Forgiveness as the New Covenant)
Unlike Moses who sprinkles the blood on the people, (1) Jesus invites his disciples to drink it, (2) unlike Moses who takes the blood of oxen (Exodus 24:5), Jesus pours out his own blood (τὸ αἷμά μου) for establishing the covenant. As a result, "the volume of the echo is slightly less noticeable." Ham, "The Last Supper in Matthew", 63. As recipients of the gift of Jesus, the disciples are representatives of the new people of God.
Summary and Conclusion
Jesus implements the sign of the new Passover and the new covenant, the constituent elements of the new exodus. 112. The Passover meal reminds Jews of the deliverance from Egypt and the covenant at Mount Sinai that followed. In other words, what Jesus is offering is either a renewal of the covenant or a new covenant altogether.
INTERIORITY AND THE NEW COVENANT IN MATTHEW
6 Gorman summarizes the reality of the new covenant in nine adjectives: "Liberated, restored, forgiven, sanctified, faithful to the covenant, empowered, missionary, peace-filled, and lasting." See also Müller, who notes four characteristics that emerged from the prophetic announcement of the new covenant in the first gospel: The new covenant is the center of a greater hope that includes a new act of salvation, a new Zion, and a new Davidic king.” Lundbom, Jeremiah.
Interiority in Matthew
Jesus as the Interpreter and Inscriber of Torah
New Heart, and the Internalization of Torah
Circumcision of the Heart in Leviticus and Deuteronomy: Divine Means for Resolving Curse and Bringing Blessing,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 18, no. Those who fail to understand the message of the kingdom are those who "ἁρπάζει τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ" (13:19). This forgiven and forgiving community of the new covenant embodies, indeed fulfills, the two tablets of the law."37.
Reception of the Spirit
CONCLUSION
As such, the new covenant in Matthew is the culmination of a narrative progression from Abraham to the Messiah. Jesus is the ideal covenant partner who is at the same time the one who inaugurates the new covenant and the one who, by interpreting and fulfilling the law and the prophets, enlightens and transforms the heart. 3 Mogens Müller, “The Hidden Context: Some Remarks on the Concept of the New Covenant in the New Testament,” in Texts and Contexts: Biblical Texts in Their Textual and Situational Contexts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Hidden Context: Some Observations on the Concept of the New Covenant in the New Testament." In Texts and Contexts: Biblical Texts in Their Textual and Situational Contexts. The Theological Interpretation of the Figure of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: Some Main Features of Matthean Christology." New Testament Studies 45, no. The Last Supper in the Fourfold Testimony of the Gospels." In the Lord's Supper: Remember and proclaim Christ until he comes.
IVP, 2013
Community, Kingdom, and the Cross: Jesus' View of Covenant.” In The God of Covenant: Biblical, Theological, and Contemporary Perspectives.
ABSTRACT
MY BLOOD OF THE COVENANT: REVERBERATION OF THE NEW COVENANT IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
As such, the (new) covenant was proleptically symbolized in the feeding miracles and envisioned. To that effect, the chapter will argue that Matthew seems to interpret the meaning of Jesus' death within the conceptual framework of Passover commanded to draw out, command to covenant. Here, Matthew's particular interest in the heart is examined against the new covenant realities of the prophetic promises as a sign of the inauguration of the (new) covenant.
VITA Samson Tilahun
