Have you ever wondered if the writers of Scripture can relate to us today?
We live in a complicated political landscape in America. Every new issue and situation that rises in the news cycle and social media creates lines in the sand. I feel as though I have heard the word “tribal” more often in the last six months to describe our context than the previous few years.
It can seem like the Bible has lost an immediate connection to our times. How can a writer in the Ancient World understand the twenty-four news cycle, scrolling tweets, and incessant debates? Not to mention the unprecedented anxiety and worry about what the future holds.
This next Sunday, the church I serve will begin the book of Matthew. Little did I know this decision made in the spring would play out today.
Most scholars believe the writer of this Gospel completed this book in the midst of political upheaval. The main event centers around the Jewish Temple getting destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD. The original readers knew something about a complicated political landscape.
In preparing to teach a class on the context of the Gospel of Matthew, I came across these two insights about the of the Gospel in Church and Community in Crisis by J. Andrew Overman that describe the reaction to Rome and the destruction of the Temple.
For Matthew and his church this meant most immediately that they were not in charge of certain aspects of their lives. For some reason the empire may have meant opportunity, for others it meant terror and death (pg. 7)
Matthew lived and wrote in a time when there was a crisis of leadership and identity. The questions about how to relate to Rome, and who would do it, remained strong after 70. Who was in charge, and how would they order their lives in the wake of the temple’s destruction? The author believed he had the answer to many of these questions that plagued his and other communities in the post-70 period. (pg. 11)
Can you sense the connection with the ancient audience of Matthew? We find ourselves asking very similar questions about a crisis in leadership and identity.
As you engage this book, you begin to find the practical reality of living out the Gospel in combative times. First and foremost, Matthew unabashedly communicates life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and how that shapes our lives. The Sermon on The Mount (Matthew 5-7) will create a vision of what it means to live in response to the Gospel. Jesus invites us to love our enemies, offer mercy, introspect our own lives, and exchange our worry and anxiety to seek His Kingdom. In the midst of these practical implications, Matthew offers sharp critiques of the human structures throughout the book.
Perhaps, Matthew has a better grasp of this moment in history than CNN or Fox News. Matthew moves us from a horizontal perspective to a vertical view in Jesus in these moments. When we come in contact with Jesus as Matthew describes, we discover the power of the Gospel — the death and resurrection of Jesus transforms us.
What if today you found yourself engaging the Gospel of Matthew? You may find hope in knowing that this biography of Jesus speaks to us today and understands our times.
Photo by Gift Habeshaw