CHAPTER - 6
సాక్ష్యం 18.
WHAT IS GOSPEL?
The book “What is Jesus Meant?” was at the outset drawing our attention indiscriminately from all four gospels to find out true Jesus. It was objected by some people that differing Gospels are formed from different traditions or different layers of translations. Among such books some are more authentic than others and some are truer or closer to historical reality. The church has every authority to consider such gospels how far they are genuine or true and authentic.
The gospel are no way concerned to history at all. They are not drawn from the first hand testimonies or documents. They were composed in about four to seven decades after the persecution of Jesus Christ. They were culminated from an oral preachings and other process. They used the methods that symbolized the theology of writings and their authors to be “par excellence”. It is like second history of Jewish recorded in their sacred writings. Scraphai is a Greek word which means scripture.
So as to understand this clearly and correctly, we must have to go back to the earliest record of the New Testament and Paul’s seven genuine letters. Some writers were of the opinion that without Paul’s letters, there is no existence of the New Testament. One must have to record the “proto-creed” of the followers of Jesus. Paul said “as my first concern, I pass on to you what had been passed on to me that the Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the “Sacred writings”. Then He was buried and rose on the third day according to the sacred writings”.
The author is of the opinion that this basic announcement seems to be that of orthodoxy. This is the “nucleus” from which the gospels were built up. Paul and his predecessors in the thirties of the first century preached from the Jewish sacred writings that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. The gentiles who believed in Jesus were by birth the seed of Abraham. According to the prophesy, he would be the father of many nations and that was the fulfillment.
The description of preaching in the first gathering was followed by litergical sequel
Quest for the Living God “Euchdriect”. First Jesus moves as if pass on beyond the disciples, which is a sign of the divine un-approachability in the sacred writings. When Moses asked the Lord to show His glory, He replied, “My face you cannot see, for no mortal man may see me and live.”
"Here is a place believe me
take your stand on the rock and my glory passes by,
I will put you on a cravel of the rock and cover you with my hand,
and you shall see my back but my face shall not be seen”.
This passage would take us to the place to the era of Moses of promise. But in the era of Jesus the promise was fulfilled and the Messiah revealed himself. The disciples urged the stranger (Jesus) to linger with them. The same night was coming on the time for celebrating the Passover (and the Lord’s meal). As He stayed with them that night He broke the bread and offered it to the disciples. Immediately their eyes were opened and recognized Him as Jesus. After they ate the bread of union, they rejoiced in merriment. Then they questioned among themselves whether their hearts were in fire as the stranger spoke to them along the road and opened the sacred writings.
In the gathering of these days the gospels were “gestated..” Then the oral memories of what Jesus had said and done were turned over and over two principles of selectivity looking forward towards the Jewish history. The concern was for both where Jesus was and where he comes from (It is the whole Jewish development of the promise).
We must look backward from the passion of gospel. Mark reached back from the Baptism of Jesus. When the last prophet John the Baptist, played the role of a precutor to the Messiah, the link with the time of sacred writings is carried back even further in tow gospels that described the birth of Jesus. Matthew had the child re-enact the “Exodus” from Egypt and Luke had the child who would fulfill the priestly hopes in the temple.
Then John’s gospel travels even further back beyond the birth of Jesus where the “Word” is seen as God’s wisdom according to sacred writings. The gospels are not biographical history books or treatises. They would be determined by the people who read them; by their places in their lives, then their memories and prayers of the early believers. Their biographical memories were present from the onset, but we were put in order only as they confirmed most important fact abut Jesus; his resurrection period and also he was the Messiah.
This had been experienced by some of the critics as a surprise at the “Catcombs” and “Mouesileums” art at the early centuries which was first almost completely taken from the Jewish sacred writings, but not from the New Testament. What is Gospel ?
Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jonah, these men were the first and the Daniel the patriarch, Joseph and Job were more popular figures in the Bible for their special activities. Initially, the Old Testament persons flooded Christian art and documented certain period. The believers of the early centuries did not picture the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But some of them and their friends happened to see the risen Christ (more than five hundred of them saw Him according to the early records).
"But what is that fact mean?
If fulfilled the sign of Jonah
risen after three days from the belly of a whale”
Any way, the importance of the meaning of baptism was carried by Moses striking water from a rock. The sacred writings were not taken as “proof” text to establish biological facts about Jesus. The believers need to know that and believe the facts about Jesus’ life history.
Therefore, the importance of the fact was established by the formation of the Cannon of authoritative gospels. In fact they are commentators on the continuation of the sacred writings. The cannon was not up to distinguish the trustworthy books from “Gnostic” writings which were completely different from Jewish sacred writings.
The main purpose of this canon was not to replace the Jewish sacred writings, but to defend them from those which were attacking them. And the “Gnostics” were as a matter of fact the commentators on the continuation of sacred writings. So this canon was formed only to distinguish good from the bad.
“Canon” means ‘the authentic principle’
The Gnostic gospels were also considered to be part of the ‘Kerygem’ which described real death of Jesus and the need for Him to be resurrected. The four gospels were called “Canonical” which were completely defended against those which would have dismissed them from existence.
WHAT IS A GOSPEL?
It is a meditation on the meaning of Jesus in the light of the sacred history as revealed in the sacred writings. Those four gospels reflect not only the past events of the life of Jesus but also his experiences about community in which he lived. Jesus would be saying “If he were in the community and if it was suffering or persecuted, or if He was in trouble or doubt or of any one in the community, he took the strength in the fact that was the suffering of Jesus. He was known for any kind of suffering as we know about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and Golgotha. We know also divisions among his followers who had fallen betrayal.
Quest for the Living God
As far as we could understand, each gospel is a sophisticated symbolic contribution of communal experiences and joint questioning of Jewish scripture. The gospels were also about communal self criticism and exhortation of themselves. If we compare the four gospels with one another St Mark’s appears to be more simple than the other three gospels. But his gospel was a complete document of Christian suffering and hope. It was a voice of persecuted church staying true to the “Divine Leader”.
Its members were revealing out towards Jesus and towards Jews in one another. We have to enter into a gathering which was very different from modern church. It may be necessary at first to stress how strange the gospels appear to be to the modern reader.
* * *
సాక్ష్యం 19.
INTRODUCTION TO MARK’S GOSPEL
As a disciple of Jesus, Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt. He was dragged by the horses in the streets till he died a cruel death by the Romans.
Regarding his gospel, among the four gospels, the gospel of Mark is the smallest one with 16 chapters and 678 verses. His gospel was neglected by readers for many years due to defects in the gospel. Added to that he used Greek here and there which are more clumsier and more uglier than that is used by the other evangelists. Therefore, the early Christians looked down upon this gospel for its irregularities.
Then to add insult to this, incoherent writings was one of the most quoted parts of this gospel. A later addition to it (this is called Mark an appendix twelve verses added to it) from the collection of Mark one fourth of the passages were with spurious ending. But a single verse by Luther’s “small catechism” “whoever believes and baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16) is far away from the spurious ending.
In spite of the irregularities in that gospel, in its later days, became the first gospel setting pattern for others. After the truth is discovered more people studied it and finally it became popular.
Then Mark, prepared some oral teaching which was important and necessary for the people of his time and especially to his own community. These became useful as a part of concerted effort, to remind, to strengthen and to control his people in their desperate condition and persecution.
1.MESSIANIC SIGNS
The gospel of Mark was mixed with crude Greek and simple linking of clause to clause. His writings were treated at one time as artless and even naïve. His collections were treated as pre-existing elements and which were added on his own. This was the impression about
Quest for the Living God Mark, then all gospels were assumed to be pre-Pauline of theological knowledge.
They were more biographical than doctrinal. Paul and John supposed to have added a “High Christology” (attributing divinity to Jesus) to the story of simple inherent preacher from Galilee whose acts were recorded by the simplies.
We know that Paul’s letters were written before the gospels and with that a high Christology was exercised to Christian circle even before Paul. It is not surprising then, that Mark happened to arrange his entire gospel to emphasis Jesus in fact the Messiah with divine powers.
That we have seen already putting himself forwards with God in Genesis. The gospel opens with a Messianic sense of John the Baptist as the herald of Messiah. When John said, “a stronger one is coming after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not able to untie”. As soon as Jesus is baptized in the Jordan river he was identified as Messiah. And then while he was coming from the water, he saw the heavens being torn up and the spirit coming down on Him as it were a dove. (1:10).
The dove coming over the water recalled the spirit hovering above the waters at the creation. Why didn’t those not rend the heavenly and come down when the divine voice from heaven says “you are my son, my beloved son in whom I delight”
Unlike Matthew, Mark did not normally make his references to the Jewish scripture explicit. He assumed that his hearers knew what he was referring to.
This is not that sense, Paul the emissary of gentiles preached that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish history or the law and the prophets. The brothers (as the Christians were known during Marks time) began their lives in synagogues and continued there, until gradually from place to place they were expelled. Jesus had frequently preached in the Synagogues and Paul kept up that practice.
There was not a separate religion actually, as Christianity in those days. The so called brothers were Jews who accepted Jesus as Messiah. When the gentiles were brought to accept Messiah, Paul preached about the fulfillment of Jewish experiences and prophesies. And Paul preached Jews and gentiles equally.
The brothers while meditating upon the life of Jesus saw it in the context of Jewish destiny. There was only one Bible in their sight when they heard separate verses of the sacred writings. But they could not depend upon them and called them they were not “proof texts” for apologetic purpose.
Then we see in the next episode of Mark after the baptism and straight away the spirit cast him out into the desert. Where he was with the animals (1:12-13). Satan to tempt Jesus as he came to be the first man and the woman telling them as they listed in the premature Introduction to Mark's Gospel world with the first animals. But where the original human being failed the test and the whole course of fallen humankind began its great rewards.
The Messianic meaning of Jesus came out in every aspect of Mark’s story. For instance Jesus' selection of twelve disciples, he went up into the mountain and called forward that were found. He made number to be near him, and then made them emissaries for preaching and also they were given authority to cast out even the demons or devils.
The words "he spoke on the mountain” and this is repeatedly used for Moses ascended mount Sinai. In Exodus 24, Moses called the tribes to come up the mountain after him and then he saw the twelve sacred pillars as symbolic of the twelve tribes.
For Jesus the apparent twelve was to Mark as eschatological forecast of recovery of the lost ten tribes – they were to be united with the other two at the end. This will happen, when the Revelation would be preached to the humanity with the presumption all doubts must be cast out. It was no doubt a great task for which Jesus dedicate no doubt.
THE NEW EXODUS
This is a regular item for believers among Jews and gentiles was the meditation of the sense for the calibration of liberation. As Moses had freed the Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh and led them through the wilderness in spite of their temptations and defections along the way. In the same way, Jesus was leading all humanity in the new reign of heaven.
This is also evident how Jesus fed five thousand people who came to hear his preaching in a new wilderness, re-enacting the Messiah of the miraculous bread called Manna. Jesus had withdrawn into a desert space and the crowd followed him.
Jesus was moved by the crowd deeply as so many sheep who liked a shepherd that the community of the Lord might not be the sheep without shepherd.
At that time, Jesus felt it as His responsibility to feed them. So he enquired the multitude if they had anything to eat. Then they found a person had five loaves and two fish. Here the writer is giving a beautiful comparision. The five loaves of bread would recall the five books of Moses, the “Pentateuch”.
Since the word of Law, was supposed to be nutralize, the two fish were compared to the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.
This would recall how Moses during his separation of people into upsets of a thousand of a hundred of fifty or of two. These were the units within each of the twelve tribes. As Jesus chose twelve close followers, so the excess food after the feeding remained twelve baskets.
The same kind of excess Jesus showed with his first miracle in Cana where he changed
Quest for the Living God one hundred gallons of water into pure and perfect wine in the marriage party. It is a sign of references to the eschatological fullness. This is the point of an excessive delight in God’s kingdom the New Jerusalem.
Then Jesus went to a mountain to pray, while the disciples started out across the sea of Galilee. Early in the morning there came a severe wind that disturbed them and they were afraid of the situation. They lost their confidence in Jesus as the Israelites lost their confidence in God and turned to golden calf, while Moses was on the mountain in the presence of God. Jesus knew of their ordeal.
In the Exodus pattern in the sequence of Mark’s gospel, we should give full force to Jesus' words, “take heart, I AM” This is divine word in Exodus 3:13-14.
There can be higher chronology upon this. Indeed, probably we should give full weight to that “I AM” in Jesus response where He was investigated by the chief priests and when witnesses were given against Him because of inconclusive evidence the high priests reduced the whole procedure to a simple challenge.
At this point the priest asked Jesus “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” But Jesus gave his answer “I AM” and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power and arising with the clouds of heaven.” But the high priest ripping his mantle says at this, “what need there of witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy.”
One can say that the high priest had a reason to the reaction. He is clear to the truth more than all those who speak of gentile. Jesus was commented as meek, mild and a simple ethical teacher.
According to a popular writer, Cestirton said in his book “The Everlasting Man” that “there is more of the wisdom that is one with surprise in any simple person full of sensitiveness of simplicity, who shall order the grass to wither and the birds to drop out of the air. When a strolling carpenters apprentice and calmly almost carelessly like one looking over his shoulders before Abraham was "I AM.”
Anyone raising the claim Jesus is going to be opposed what is the real reason for the persecution that Marks gospel revealed? As the members of the mystical body of Jesus the Markan disciples were themselves provoking others wrath of the blasphemy for their claim.
About Persecution – Mark pointed out some salient points about the practice of persecution in his gospel in his time. We have to think seriously as why those persecutions had taken place. The zealots (rebellious Jews) who drew Jesus followers out of Palestine in the late sixtys were violent in their rejection of Messiah, who did not bring worldly ruler as they expected.
The night time hearing of Jesus by the Jewish authorities showed central as the continuing Introduction to Mark's Gospel cause of discard, that was not only from those outside community within the brotherhood. There were disciples who fell away from Jesus’ Messianic claims under the pressure of persecution. The disciples disbelieved as being rebuked by Jesus in the gospel had inner counterparts, among Marks people.
The reading of situation may also explain one of the characteristics of Marks gospel that often puzzled the reader. Jesus repeatedly instructed those who were healed by Him, not to reveal the nature of what he had done. He also ordered the devils not to reveal His identity. What must be the reason to keep himself secret? One of the most influential interpretations of Mark was formulated in its first year of the twentieth century and it echoed throughout the succeeding year.
William Wrich’s “The Messianic Secret” in 1901, gave his opinion that Jesus was not recognized as the Messiah, as long as he was alive. But Mark argued that made an attempt to explain this point by saying that “Jesus ordered people to keep silent on this subject.”
This was accepted as the best explanation. So long as the people were still thinking of the gospel as an attempt to cope with the biographical facts of Jesus’ life. However, now it is more probable that the secret reflects difficulties within the Markan community.
Mark people had to face the fact that their opponent Jews or gentiles did not see what they see that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God and divine agent. This is the service of persecution just as Jesus was plotted against by his own Israelites driven them to Syria, because He made claims that were blasphemy. So were his followers in Mark’s community persecuted because they honoured those claims. Jesus explained this “mystery” in the parable of Marks gospel that is one mysterious. That mysterious parable riddle is about the sower who went out to sow.
And Jesus was alone with his followers and disciples. They kept worrying at the riddle and he said to them. The mystery of God’s reign is entrusted to you, but to ourselves all comes by way of riddles so that looking they look and see not and listening, they listen, and hear not lest they turn back and be realized.
Then Jesus speaks out the meanings of the riddles. He says to them, “do you not understand this riddle? Then how do you understand any other riddle?”
The sower sows the word. Those beside the road where the word is sown and where they hear the word and straight away satan comes and takes away the word that was sown there. In the same way, the word, they straight away take it with joy; but they will have no roots and are shallow. And they are miserably persecuted because of the word, straight away they are trammeled.
Then the others that are sown in the thorn porch are the ones up hear the word and
Quest for the Living God their temporal worries and the condition of their wealth and some other kind of longings enter into their minds and struggle themselves with the word. Because of the permanent problems, the word will not crop in him. The word that is sown in the soil, in good soil are the ones who hear the word taken it in, and bear the crop.
Different scholars have wondered, why Jesus makes such a faint understandability of riddles. It seems plain on his faces. But the modern readers try to tend to recall the passage in terms of individual persons who receive (or do not receive) the word.
Jesus is speaking here as through out the gospel in eschatological terms or the coming of the reign of heaven, moving to the fulfillment of history.
As the writers say, the riddle is not a story of each soul’s reaction to Jesus, but an out line of the entire history of the world. The seeding takes place in stages as we can see. By the time it takes for the fulfillment of each one, the first seeds that are sown on outside of the road, are at once snatched up by birds. The seeds put on the rocky land do have certain development. They first receive the word “with joy” and send down roots, but the roots are not from deep enough to withstand the persecution.
The seeds in the thorn porch will go further and actively send deep crop. But it is chocked by the worldly desires. But only the seeds sown in the rich and fertile land, move through all stages it takes to produce an abundant and harvestable crop.
What puzzles Mark’s people is the fact that God’s reign is supposed to have come with the redemption of death and the triumphant resurrection of Jesus. Then why do people still doubt and fight the reign? Jesus is telling them that the advent of the reign is both diachronic and synchronic. The reign is busy established but in some people even those within the brotherhood the word of reign is till strangled by thorns, just as those outside the brotherhood are proved to be stony ground which is not responsible at all.
The Messianic triumph is still hidden not so much in Jesus, not so much in His life time but in His life as that is being lived out by the members of Marks gathering. That is the secret message entrusted to the insiders no matter what outsiders say or think.
JESUS WAS NOT ACCEPTED AS MESSIAH
The main reason why Jesus was not accepted as Messiah is that he was the wrong kind of Messiah. The true Messiah was supposed to be a triumphant, royal, and earthly ruler. When Jesus said he must be dying and defeated Messiah, the original followers could not take this into their hearts.
Peter denied that this could not be true – and Jesus called him “Satan” the one who throws an obstacle in his leaders path (8:23). There was a further scandal added to the first one. It was bad enough to Jesus to claim to be the Messiah. It is simply insane for Him to Introduction to Mark's Gospel say that He would suffer death for being the Messiah. This is the reason why Paul called the cross of Jesus an affront to “Greeks ignorance”.
The call of Messiah is a call to suffering. Later Christians will be ruling, crusading and triumphant bodies sitting on the papal and imperial thrones sending armies to slay the heathens. It preachers want to say that needs you to be rich and the revolution is a path to success. Mark’s gospel could not go further from such distortion, of what Jesus said and did and meant. The Messianic community not only suffered because like Jesus, it suffered because it was Jesus Himself.
Mark's Gospel which sets the pattern for future ones spends a third of its words on passion narrative. It devotes the whole second part of the test to the preparations of the disciples for the “affront” of the cross. It then has the simplest structure of all the gospels. The first half is spent in the Northern part of Palestine namely around Galilee, a moving reign of heaven. He happened to cast away devils and did the healing of the sick.
The mood darkness as Jesus moves in the South to Judah and towards Jerusalem (his only visit in Mark) and predicts three times that he must suffer and die in order to rise. The disciples who had been with Jesus always could not accept the prediction.
Raymond Brown another famous writer gave his impression about the gospel of Mark. He argued that John’s gospel was closer to history, when it shows Jesus is going to Jerusalem every year, just at the end of his life. But Marks gospel sees the time of others by aiming everything towards its earliest statement of Jesus. In this context, Paul quotes Revelation that Messiah died for our sins according to the “sacred writings” and Mark hid that climax always in his mind which is quite suitable to a community that is releasing the passion of Jesus.
The writer Christerton captured well the dramatic shape of the synoptics.
It is a story that begins in the paradise of Galilee, a pastural and with beautiful landscape having some resembles of the garden of Eden. Then that scene gradually climbs the rising country into the mountains that are near to the storm clouds and the stars as to a mountain of purgatory.
It may be as if staying in strong places or stopped on the way for discussion or dispute but his face set towards the mountain city. That is the meaning of that great culmination. He crested the ridge and stood at the road and suddenly cried aloud lamenting over Jerusalem, the final place.
సాక్ష్యం 20.
MATTHEW AND HIS GOSPEL
The greatness of Matthew was that he recorded the highest number of prophesies of Jesus Christ than any other apostle. He suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia. He was killed by the wound of a sword. Regarding his writings - both Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels only after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the latest date estimated for the writing of Matthew's gospel was presumed by the letter to Ignatious of Antioch and Didache. The date was around 100-110 A.D. Both spoke about the knowledge of Matthew.
Matthews gospel showed the community for which he wrote, followed the plan of both Paul and Mark. He collected all the sayings of Jesus at the time of the "Sermon on the Mount", primarily five long discourses. Each discourse had its own theme planned for a separate consideration. The personal behaviour and actions of Jesus Christ were distributed among the people, especially among the disciples to follow individual discourses. The most popular and important discourse was ofcourse "the Sermon on the Mount."
The emphasis on the Biblical references made many people to believe in what was said. Matthew was a Jewish believer in Jesus. Matthews Jewish faith made the readers to claim whether he wrote the gospel or translated an earlier version of the gospel in Aramaic. He believed for example both pharisees and sadducees were united though they actually divided in certain matters.
John Meir, a popular writer said, "Matthew was an educated gentile who studied Jewish scripture like all early brothers and sisters expected to do so."
SERMON ON THE MOUNT
The Sermon on the Mount of Jesus contained the three chapters (5,6,7) of Matthews gospel. This seemed to be the greatest of all sermons. We can also say, it was the cream of all his preachings or teachings. This made even the disciples to open their eyes and examine themselves their past life and the present. It was an occasion for self examination Matthew and His Gospel (introspection).
According to Matthews gospel Jesus after taking Baptism, wandered in the wilderness for symbolic 40 days and then began to collect the disciples around Galilee. The sermon on the mount was in five long discourses contained many instructions in general and ethical primarily applicable to His disciples. They thought of themselves so seriously. They thought how difficult to live a real Christian life from the spiritual point of view. The sermon influenced the disciples and finally decided to live the true Christian life how difficult it might be.
Matthew took some source of information from the gospel of Mark and mixed up with the traditions. Those 3 chapters were considered more important than any other in the entire New Testament. They were often quoted by the preachers because they contained moral instruction and also beatitudes which means beautiful attitude. Then Lord's Prayer, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the lilies of the field, the tree known by its fruit, and about the house built on the rock instead of on the sand.
According to some scholars, those three chapters contained not only the essense of the greatness of Matthew but also the essense of Christ's greatest sermon. Many people were of the opinion that even if the entire New Testament was destroyed people would be happy with these three chapters. which had the essense of Matthew and the essense of Jesus' sermons.
We can see how John the Baptist heralded in his preaching about the coming of Messiah and Matthew in his gospel pointed out how Messianic era begins. For that purpose he gave us a comparison of Jesus how he ascended the mountain then Moses ascending the mount Sinai. He started his saying with comforted felicitations from the word “happy” which was used in the beatitudes.
BEATITUDES (5:3-10)
The felicitation of Moses came as a series of prohibition like “there shall not” while Jesus began His sermon on the mount with messages of comforting addresses to those who were afflicted, neglected or persecuted for example - Happy are the poor in spirit... He said 8 sentences like that and then explained them. But it is said they were all providential statements. They turn expectation, and normal values, upside down. The same revealing of values are sounded through out the gospel as the last word would be first and the same would be a master piece. People who were throwing away their lives would save them and suffering Messiah would win the glory.
1.Happy are the poor in their own mind...
Literally in Greek it is said.. “poor in spirit.” What does it mean? It is clearly not spiritually impoverished or those who were poor in spirit. Those interpretations were not paradoxical
Quest for the Living God but contradictions. What Jesus said was about simple physical condition of poverty but not a blessed state. But that does more than jealous of the rich or becoming rebellious towards them.
Then Jesus said they have their own reward and also those who were physically poor can have the attribution of poverty,. that Jesus was blessing them here. They considered poor in the sight of God, who were neither arrogant nor oppressive like the rich. But Jesus called the poor as those who enter the reign of heaven or those who feed the hungry, clothed the naked and welcome the foreigner. For that kind of people beatitudes promised passport to enter the kingdom of God.
2.Happy are the sad...
In this Jesus said about happy and unhappy; not about physical affliction or loss but He was exploring the spiritual condition of the individual. It was about the suffering of a person on spiritual reason.
Augustine, a popular critic says, grieving over a material thing is a sin. The only lamentable thing is lamenting their loss or rather not to lament those said for right thing or reason were engraved in a victorious act.
3.Happy are those who yield...
Here the yielding people in this statement were often translated as the meek, mild, gentle etc., But it might just refer to those who were unable to be assertive. Actually Jesus praised those people who were aggressive. The full force of paradox came from the reward of ‘yielding’. Since acquisition of world was normally the prize of conquest. The only lasting possession was not the one that is seized but the one that is given away.
4.Happy are those who hunger or thirst...
The contrast between physical condition and spiritual intention is again made clear. The optic for right is not the same as body’s need for a survival; but it is correctly compared with it. The providence of right is not a luxury but an absolute need.
5.Happy are those taking pity on others...
According to the inference of beatitude the needs of a person should not be directly addressed. But by understanding the condition of a person or others one can find a suitable response that covers one’s own position.
6.Happy are those who are pure...
Pure within means pure in heart. This is quite against the “Jewish Holiness Code.” That made one unclean according to external things. One dealt with Jesus continuously broke Matthew and His Gospel through to taboos of the “Holiness Code” embracing all kinds of unclean persons. For example, like Samaritan leper, prostitutes, menstruating women, tax collectors etc.,
Matthew later quoted what Jesus was saying. What a man takes into his mouth does not make him unclean. It is the internal purity that the beatitudes facilitates. That purity looks at God strait, but not all the internal ceremonies, set up to have him off from the profane.
7.Happy are those who bring peace to others...
This again tells about the right priority. By looking at the pathetic condition of people and by restoring their good relations, one should act like God’s emissary and earn the right to be called the son of God.
8.Happy are those punished for their virtue...
Persecution of people may be accepted for certain reasons because it might clear them from wrong doings. It may be like baptism with fire. The first and last beatitudes form the book ends “because both promise to some reward like the promises of the kingdom of God." This statement clearly shows that the eighth beatitude is the final one.
But some people took the statement that followed as the ninth beatitude because it also begins with the same adjective “happy”. If we think seriously about it, we can conclude that it is nothing but an expansion and commentary on eighth blessing. Its different function is shown by the fact that it shifts from third person to second person. So it is said a “happy are you” and continued with an advice on how to conduct themselves.
Happy are you - When they ridicule you to punish and make everything against you because of me, but be of good cheer and joyful, since your recompense is plentiful in heaven. It was in this manner they punished the prophets before God (5:11-12).
ABOUT THE ANTITHESIS
The beatitudes are nothing but a kind of overture to the whole long sermon. The statement of the main theme is introducing the new law which is not to replace the old law but fulfilling it. It goes beyond the old law and lay an obligation which is more internal than ceremonial. The disciples of Jesus must have observed them more seriously than others. But their observation is different. It is according to Paul “the circumcision of the heart” (Romans 2:29).
Jesus Christ new law is pronounced in six commandments and these six commandments are called six antithesis; because they take the form, “you have heard... but I tell you”.
These new obligations are not relayed from God like the ten commandments, He gave to Moses, but only Jesus Himself on His own immediate authority.
Quest for the Living God
The First One:
I tell you, “you have heard the directives to those of the old order. You shall not murder because the murderers will be subject to trial. But any one who calls his brother an idiot, will be subject to “Sunhedrine” (court). Again if any one calls his brother subhuman will be brought to “Gehenna” which means fire. The hyperbole of this passage is the obverse side of the command of love in the gospel. If love plays the supreme obligation then it departs from that swiftly by escalate the direction of that standard.
Jesus expressed this concept by saying that one cannot pray to God if one had offended another and in such case he must leave the altar immediately; then he must make recompense for wrong doing. Love for the fellow human being is the pre-requisite for any profession of love for God.
The old order was handed down from the height of mount Sinai and it first looked to God to submission to Him. The new order works from the bottom up since Jesus is now down among those who love and teaches us to love.
The Second rule:
This second antithesis deals with the “inner purity.” This is already clearly discussed in the sixth beatitude, which is now fleshed out with more details, “you have heard the directive” that you shall not commit adultery. But in the words of Jesus if it is so that if any body looks at a woman with a desire for her it amounts to committing adultery within himself. "If your right eye makes you feel about some abnormal desire, then you must rip it out and cast away because it is better for you to take one out of your body than from all about to be cast into Gehenna. And if your right hand makes you fall, chap it off and cast it away because it is better for you to lose one part of your body than all of it cast into Gehenna (fire)." Purity is only a matter of ceremonial usage in the old system. Jesus is not fulfilling that with a conciliation but with a stricter code. It is completely internal. There is no doubt, purity is a matter of intention.
The Third rule:
This third antithesis is also introduced as a stricter rule. It is directed whoever dismisses his wife must give her a separation document. “But I tell you that anyone dismissing a wife except for unchastity makes for committing adultery and if he marries a dismissed woman he is an adulterer."
Matthew reported this directive letter, to the patrician society. This demands chastity among women, as the only guarantee of the legitimacy of children. If the wife is unfaithful to her husband she may give her husband a child who is not his own. In such case, Jesus supports and demands divorce as the complete conception.
The Fourth rule:
Matthew and His Gospel
This continued the emphasis on the personalism. According to the making, truthfulness is not a judicial concept; but a matter of ones inner integrity.
Once again let us think about the directive and the old order, “Be no oath breaker, but honour oath to the Lord. But I tell you, serve no oath at all, not by heaven (since it is God’s throne) and also not by earth (because it is His footrest) not by the mention of Jerusalem (because it is king David’s city) not by your own head (since you cannot change a single hair of it either to black or to white. Let your word for “yes” and be for yes only and never for no. This is like giving beyond that is towards the evil end.
Why should people consider oath taking is to be treated as supported by the evil one? because oaths were so frequently end in “magic.” To take oath by ‘stars’ is to invoke their power. This is why Jesus says that those are the dwelling places of one God to be disposed of only by Him not to be invoked for the swearers of own purposes.