Text: Matthew
26:14-27:66 (emphasis on verses 27:15-26)
Date: March 24, 2002
CJM
Step I - (Initial) Acquaintance
A. Comparison of English or
other published translations
·
Verse
19 – “innocent man” (NRSV, NIV) vs. “righteous man” (NASB) vs. “just man” (KJV)
vs. “upright man” (New Jerusalem)
·
Verse
23 – “crime” (NIV, NLT) vs. “evil” (NRSV, KJV) vs. “harm” (New Jerusalem)
B. Greek/Hebrew Textual
Criticism
·
Verses
27:16 and 17 – “Barabbas” vs. “Jesus Barabbas”
·
Origen’s
disapproval
·
No
sinner called Jesus
·
Verse
17 – word “Jesus” added /deleted because “to you” present before it
·
Majority
opinion includes double name
·
Deliberate
suppression as reverential consideration
·
Enclose
in brackets?
·
Verse
24 – “of this man”
·
Accretion
·
Accentuates
Pilate’s protest
·
Jesus’
innocence
·
“Now
at a feast was accustomed the governor to release one to the crowd prisoner
whom they wished. And they had then
prisoner a notable one named Barabbas.
Therefore having assembled them said to them Pilate: whom do you wish I
may release to you, Barabbas or Jesus the Christ? For he knew that because of envy they delivered him. Sitting now him on the tribunal sent to him
the wife of him, saying: Nothing to you and just man to that; for many things I
suffered today in a dream because of him.
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they
should ask Barabbas and Jesus should destroy.
So answering the governor said to them: which do you wish from the two I
may release to you? And they said
Barabbas. Says to them Pilate: what
then may I do to Jesus called Christ?
They say all: let him be crucified.
But he said: why what evil did he?
But they more cried out saying: Let him be crucified. And seeing Pilate that nothing is gained but
rather an uproar occurs, taking water he washed the his hands in front of the
crowd saying: Innocent I am from the blood of this man; you will see to
it. And answering all the people said:
The blood of him on us and on the children of us. Then he released to them Barabbas but Jesus having scourged he
delivered that he might be crucified.
Step II -
Disposition
A. Genre - How the text says what
it says
·
Three
episode scene
·
Jesus’
confession
·
People’s
choice
·
Choose
Barabbas
·
Reject
Jesus
·
Pilate’s
proclamation
·
Crowds
in Matthew
·
What
role do they play?
·
Are
they simply pawns in a larger game
·
Manipulated
by other evil schemers
·
Are
they responsible for their actions
·
And
for Jesus’ death?
·
Moving
from the Palm Sunday lection to the Passion lection
·
How
do the crowds change
·
How
does Jesus change, if at all
·
How
quickly things change
·
Cheers
turn to boos
C.
Organization
- Where the elements of "B" are located
·
Some
elements located in Palm Sunday lection (Matthew 21:1-11)
·
People’s
choice contains the significant elements of change
·
Opportunity
to free Jesus lost
Step
III - Composition
A. Immediate Context -
preceding/following pericope
·
Follows
Jesus’ betrayal, desertion; account of Judas’ death
·
Further
follows Jesus’ triumphal entry in chapter 21
·
Precedes
Jesus’ crucifixion
B.
Organization
of the Compositional Whole
·
Follows
Mark’s account
·
Adds
elements that emphasize the crowd’s decision and Jewish responsibility
C.
Issues
of Authorship
·
Matthew’s
concern for Jewish audience vs. Matthew’s experiences
·
Matthew’s
experience one of Jewish rejection of Christian message
·
Tension
between Roman innocence and Jewish guilt
·
Heightened
by Matthew’s description of Pilate’s absolution
·
Only
in Matthew
·
Not
Roman symbolism, but biblical
Step IV - Context
A. Primitive Christianity
·
No
evidence of annual custom of prisoner release (v. 15)
·
Luke
omits
·
Luke
probably more sophisticated and/or familiar with Roman ways
·
Used
to heighten contrast between sons
·
Jesus
Barabbas – son of father
·
Jesus
Christ – Son of Father
B.
Old
Testament and Judaism
·
Absolution
– washing of blood
·
Deuteronomy
21:1-9
·
Isaiah
1:15-16
·
Crowd
accepts guilt
·
Leviticus
20:9-16
·
2
Samuel 1:16
C.
Hellenistic
World
·
Confrontation
between two kingdoms
·
Not
Rome vs. God’s kingdom
·
Confrontation
is between power expressed through violence (both Gentile and Jewish rulers)
and power expressed through meekness (Jesus)
Step V - Distillation
A. Summary of Salient Features
·
Jesus
identifies himself
·
Confession
·
Silence
·
People
choose
·
Perhaps
manipulated, perhaps not
·
Crowd
as potential disciples
·
“all”
the people – Matthean addition
·
Pilate’s
absolution
·
Miscalculation
·
Expected
people to overrule those who have plotted against Jesus
B.
Smooth
Translation
C.
Hermeneutical
Bridge
·
How
quickly things change
·
In
our personal lives
·
Traffic
death
·
In
our world
·
September
11, 2001
·
In
our life of faith?
·
How
do we respond to changing world?
·
Back
to confrontation of two kingdoms
·
Respond
with power through violence
·
Respond
with meekness through belief?
·
Jesus
as model
·
Responds
to thief with compassion
·
Takes
on human suffering
·
Responds
to God with obedience
·
Takes
on self-worship; self-reliance
Step VI - Contemporary Address
A. Description of Audience
·
United
Methodist congregation
·
Medium
size, mostly rural
·
Palm
Sunday
·
Many
people won’t be back before Easter Sunday
·
Won’t
hear Holy Thursday, Good Friday stories
·
Need
to bridge gap between triumph of Palms and resurrection of Easter
·
Lift
up change
·
Happens
quickly
·
Lift
up choice
·
Response
to changing world
·
Lift
up Christ
·
Model
for dealing with dramatic/traumatic change