Title: You are all brothers!
You are all brothers!
Matthew's Community
Matthew begins today's text with a statement that Jesus spoke to the crowd and his disciples. If we look only at the form of sentences, all the words from 23:1 to 39 are said to have been spoken by Jesus. Moreover, there are passages in the text that contradict the original Christian faith. For example, look at verse 2. “So do whatever they say and keep it. But do not imitate their conduct. They only talk, they don’t act.” Here Matthew makes a distinction between the teachings and practices of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Their teachings should be obeyed, but their actions should not be imitated. However, since Christianity is a law-free community, Matthew's statement as if we should keep the law by distinguishing the law from the works is not so accurate. Why does Matthew explain to keep the law?
To answer these questions, we must first understand the place of life in the Matthew community. At that time, they were being severely persecuted by Judaism. The Gospel of Matthew was written after 80 AD, similar to the book of Acts. It was a time when Christianity was blatantly persecuted by Judaism. The focus of their accusations was that the Christian community ignored the law. To show the unjustification of this accusation, Matthew argued that Christians also value the Law. Matthew makes this clear in verses 5:17-20. Let's look at one verse there. "listen carefully. Unless you live a better life than the teachers of the law or the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (verse 20).
This does not mean, however, that the Gospel of Matthew claimed anything different from the Gospel of Christianity for good relations with Judaism. In essence, Christianity kept principles, but in other respects it was very flexible, so it must be said that this happened. Moreover, it should be taken into account here that Christianity at that time did not have only one sect, but consisted of many sects, as today divided into Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Protestant, and theologically divided from the far left to the far right. They each presented their arguments by reinterpreting the words of Jesus in their own circumstances. One of them is the Gospel of Matthew.
Criticism of Jewish teachers
Unlike Paul, who was at the center of the Law debate, Matthew avoided it as much as possible. Instead, he fought the Jewish teachers who taught the law. To put it in today's terms, Matthew's main enemies were not the law, but the teachers of the law. So, as can be seen from the verse quoted above, Matthew argued that the Law and Christianity were not opposed at all, but rather that Christianity was accomplished by stricter observance of the Law, while he was in great opposition to the teachers of the Law.
Why did Matthew use this strategy to distinguish between the Law and the Law teachers? Verse 1 seems to be the answer to this. “At that time Jesus said to the crowd and his disciples: Matthew chose the audience of today's text to be the crowd and the disciples. It is especially important that it was aimed at the crowd, that is, the people. It was here that Matthew saw a way to escape the pressures of Judaism. I couldn't go with the leaders of Judaism, but instead, I would have thought that Christianity could appeal to the Jewish people. If so, what Matthew's strategy should be has already been answered. For the Jews, the Law is an absolute teaching, so Matthew cannot condemn the Law itself. But even to them, the teachers of the law did not seem to have much respect. This situation may be similar to that these days, we value the law, which is the identity of the Republic of Korea, but the lawmakers who enacted it do not respect it.
Matthew 23 consistently exposes the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. It sounds plausible, but it explicitly points to the fact that in reality, it's not at all like that. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites like you. You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside you are full of exploitation and greed. You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup. Then the outside will also be clean” (verses 25, 26).
Today's text is also one of the main criticisms of the entire 23rd chapter. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees who teach the law call themselves teachers. Look at verses 6 and 7, which are very clearly expressed. “And when I go to a banquet, I try to sit in the top seat, in the synagogue I look for the highest seat, and when I go out on the street, I like to be greeted and I want people to call me Master.
Matthew now describes the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees at that time, but this seems to apply to us today as well. Many people call themselves teachers and want to be treated that way. In principle, it is also essential for the maintenance of a community for a teacher to be treated as a teacher. If students do not recognize teachers as teachers, but think of them as just a business selling knowledge, will the school be maintained? Therefore, the relationship between a teacher and a disciple is essential for the maintenance and development of a society. But, as Matthew points out, the problem here lies in the fact that teachers pretend to be teachers. Just like scholars do.
Why is this a problem? If a teacher focuses only on being treated by his disciples rather than playing the role of a teacher in his studies and life, there is a possibility that science and life will eventually be destroyed, or at least their importance will be lost and only oppressive human relationships will come to the fore instead. high. In verse 3, Matthew points out that way. The scholars of the law only make their words plausible, but their lives do not follow them at all. They were replacing their role by holding a box in which the Word of God was written in their arms. The content of life disappears, and the fierceness of academics is destroyed. If you only want to be treated as a teacher without learning and life like this, such a community will collapse.
There is no master!
At this moment, Matthew solves the problem with a completely new Christian perspective. Although he criticizes the teachers of the law by emphasizing the law in the place of his life, he is fundamentally explaining the identity of Christianity very accurately. He declares it so bluntly: “You must not listen to the Master. You have only one teacher, and you are all brothers” (verse 8). Isn't that surprising? In one word, Matthew dismantles the vertical relationship between a teacher and a disciple that everyone thought was natural or inevitable. He insists that he never even think of being called a master. A human cannot be a teacher to a human being. The only teacher is Christ.
brotherhood
But, everyone, Matthew does not stay at the level of not having a teacher, he goes to a much more extreme level. He tells people not to see people in the world and call them father. Because the Father is the only God in heaven. No one wants to be a leader. Because there is only one leader who can lead people, Christ. Of course, these words cannot be accepted at the level of text. Actually, we have fathers and mothers, we have leaders, we have teachers. We need to build friendly relationships with such people. Matthew is not denying the form itself that constitutes society today. This is to say what is the essence of human relationships that can actually revive human life and fill the community with the spirit of life.
Its essence lies in the fact that God alone is the foundation of all relationships. This is because the power of life can be activated in individuals and communities only when everyone in this world faithfully enjoys their relationship with God. In this world, teachers should not consider themselves as teachers, but think of Jesus Christ as their teacher. The fathers of this world should not call themselves fathers in front of their children, but serve only God as their father. Children must also learn to serve God as their father, so that the power of life will be abundant in the family.
It may sound abstract to you that we serve only God and Christ as teachers, fathers, and leaders. It seems to be accepted as saying to believe in Jesus well. It basically refers to faith in Jesus Christ, but that faith must be embodied in our lives. Matthew has already explained it clearly. Let's read verse 8b again. “You have only one teacher, and you are all brothers.” The foundation of Christian human relations lies in 'brotherhood'.
That's right. We are all basically brothers. The characteristic of sibling relationships is horizontal, not vertical. Brotherhood is cooperation, not competition. And brotherhood is voluntary, not passive. From a slightly different point of view, the most important characteristic of a sibling relationship is that the individual's independent identity is guaranteed. In general, the personal independence of the disciples is undermined in front of their teachers, the independence of children is undermined in front of their parents, and that of the people is undermined in front of their leaders. But the brotherhood that Matthew describes brings to life each of us. In this very relationship, no one is defaced by the other person.
Today, we must live while seeking ways to materialize the words of Jesus preached by Matthew in our personal lives and in society. How can we embody the fact that a teacher and a disciple are essentially brothers? How can we embody the fact that parents and children are essentially siblings? How can we embody the fact that employers and workers are brothers? How can we further realize that all human relationships are based on this brotherly love?
The specific method must be found by members of the society, but the basic direction has already been explained by Matthew. Look at verse 12. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” The realization of these words will not be so simple because most families and societies have a high and low position, and humans are used to such a structure. But there is no other way. Only a life of humility can change this world from a structure of oppression to a structure of equality. We learned that from the cross of Jesus. No, I learned from the fate of Jesus itself. The Christian faith lies right here. It means accepting and living the world of lowliness through Jesus. When we reach this spiritual level, we will realize that we have reached the point where we no longer need to be exalted. Amen.