What Is The Community In The Gospel Of Matthew

Community in the Gospel of Matthew

In the Gospel of Matthew, the community is apart of the larger Jewish community; similar to the Qumran, with their own interpretations of the Law of Moses. Matthew seems to be much more concerned about the Ten Commandments, the matters discussed in the Law of Moses, and the common Jewish regulations. The community members evidently share a number of Jewish characteristics, follow the Law of Moses while having faith in God, and Matthew uses literary indications to offer the readers with an open interpretation of his community’s relationship to Judaism.

Matthew’s community demonstrates numerous Jewish characteristics shown in his Gospel. The most outward characteristic is the celebration of the Sabbath. The people of the synagogue asked Jesus when he was healing the man’s shrunken hand, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” (Matthew 12:10). They are under the influence that it is not acceptable because of a verse in Exodus that says the following, “You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for

There are qualities in Matthew’s writing that differ from Mark’s writings. Regarding divorce, Mark says “whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her and if she divorces her husband and remarries another, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10:11-12). Mark discusses adultery and divorce in his Gospel by involving the two with each other. In views to adultery, it states, “if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell” (Mark 9:43-44). Whereas Matthew covers divorce and adultery but also the additional conversations about court, dietary restrictions, loving one’s enemies, retaliation, and the Golden Rule in Matthew 5 in greater detail than