THEO 202 Final Exam

Relationship Between The Call of Abraham, Nathan’s Oracle, and Messiannic

Expectations in the Gospel of Matthew.

It was no secret that the Jewish people living in the period that the Gospel of Matthew
was written about were awaiting a messiah. Beginning with expectations that stemmed from the
call of Abraham written about in the Torah, to the promise made to King David in the prophet
Nathan’s oracle, the Jewish people believed that God would send someone to deliver them from

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oppression.

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Abraham, described in the book of Genesis, is a character that had major implications on

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the biblical story. Another title that Abraham is referred as is the father of all nations. In Genesis

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12.1-3, God makes a key promise to Abraham that He will make him into a great nation, bless
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him, make his name great, and through him be a blessing to all of the earth. Later in the chapter
God also promises him land (Canaan) where his future ancestors will eventually rest. It is here
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that we see the beginning of God’s nation formed and a promise for it to be great. Jewish people
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reading this passage would have expected God to make them a prosperous people living in a
secured land.
Fast forward in the biblical story and we meet a man named David who was Israel’s great
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king, the model for all kings after him, and whose descendants would always be on the throne.
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King David wanted to build a temple for the Lord; a permanent place for the arc of the covenant.
The prophet Nathan received a word from God which is known as Nathan’s Oracle concerning
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this decision. God first promises in 2 Samuel 7.10-11 that Israel will no longer be oppressed and
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will have rest from their enemies. Described in 2 Samuel 7, God tells David that he will not be
the one to build him a temple, but that he will have a descendant whose kingdom will be secured
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and that this man will be the one to build the temple for the Lord. In verse 16 God makes a key
promise to David that his house and his kingdom will endure forever and that his throne will be
established forever. God also used the language “I will be his father, and he will be my son”
which had great significance as the relationship between father and son in that society was often

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 used to express the special connection between the dynastic deity and the king, who was
regarded as the adoptive son of the Lord. Adoption was irrevocable and therefore this language
affirmed to David the promise of his everlasting throne. This promise was later expanded upon
and developed by the prophets which gave the Jewish people a messianic hope for a great king to
rule, liberate and lead the Israelite kingdom.
The Gospel of Matthew makes every effort to connect the New Testament to the Hebrew
Bible and give the people an answer to this messianic hope that they had. There are more than
sixty references to the Hebrew Bible giving the book a theme of promise and fulfillment. It had
been over 500 years since the exile to Babylon and the Jewish people had been under constant
ruling of other nations. Their current oppressor, the Romans, kept very tight control on the land,
taxed the people heavily, and performed many executions, specifically crucifixions, if certain

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Roman customs were not followed. The vast majority of people were peasant farmers and

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fishermen just trying to survive, while only a minimal amount were wealthy and enjoying the
benefits of the Roman Empire. These conditions made the Jewish people long for a messiah, the

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term of which often referred to a king, which alludes to the expectations of a political or military
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figure that would come and liberate the Jewish people. The Gospel of Matthew addresses this
expectation directly, beginning with the first verse of the book. Matthew 1.1 says, “This is the
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genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham”. From this statement
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Matthew is connecting the promise to Abraham of being a great nation and blessing to all, to the
promise of a Davidic king always on the throne and ruling over their enemies, to this coming
about in the person of Jesus. Matthew portrays Jesus as a great king like David and is
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announcing the Kingdom of God, which contrasts the Empire of Rome that they were living in.
This new kingdom addressed the poor and needy, and the outcasts of society, as that was what
the majority of Jewish people were at that time.
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The Gospel of Matthew distinctly addresses the hope of a messiah that the Jewish people
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were expecting. The people were anticipating a great king like David, as promised in Nathan’s
Oracle, who would free them from oppression and make them a great nation, as was promised to
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Abraham concerning the Israelites. Through the Gospel of Matthew’s literary form and
references to the Hebrew Bible, it is clear that the book is portraying this longing for a messiah
as being fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

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 Differences between the Gospel of John from the Synoptic Gospels.

It is no mystery that the Gospel of John differs greatly from the other three gospel
accounts, known as the Synoptics because of their shared similarities. The Gospel of John serves
us a much more advanced and distinct theology and message of Jesus, as well as different
literary style and chronology.
John’s primary message that he is trying to relay to his readers is the divinity of Jesus and
how faith in Jesus will lead to salvation and eternal life (John 20:30-31). The Synoptics are very
focused on the arrival of the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ healings and exorcisms which
demonstrate the power of this kingdom. They are making many connections to the Hebrew Bible
to demonstrate that Jesus is fulfilling numerous prophecies, as well as portraying him as being

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from the line of David to convey Jesus as the awaited Messiah. The general message of the

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Synoptics is to repent and believe in the Kingdom of God and you will be saved. While the
Gospel of John is not rejecting that message, it stresses a different topic. John’s primary concern

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is that people would understand that Jesus is one with God, while also being fully human. John
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wants to convey that Jesus was with God from the beginning of creation and is the
personification of divine wisdom. The beginning of the book opens with connections to the first
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sentences of the Hebrew Bible, as well references to the topic of Lady Wisdom found in the book
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of Proverbs. The word ​logos​ is used which was known as the intelligent force that orders and
sustains the universe. By calling Jesus ​logos​ in the first verse of John, it is conveying Jesus as the
embodiment of God’s creative wisdom and replacing/being greater than Lady Wisdom from
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Proverbs. John also incorporates seven ‘I Am’ statements which make claims about who Jesus is,
as well as connects Jesus to Yawheh, as that was how Yahweh revealed himself to Moses in the
Torah. John wants his readers to walk away believing that Jesus is the Son of God, being fully
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divine as well as fully human, and that only by going through Jesus can one have a relationship
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with God which brings eternal life.

The literary form and style of the Gospel of John also differs quite greatly to the other
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gospel accounts. The Synoptics describe Jesus as often teaching through parables or short stories
which describe the Kingdom of God. These books also contain much of the same material. Mark
is encompassed almost completely in the books of Matthew and Luke, and there is also a large
shared portion known as the Q source in Matthew and Luke. This Q source is composed of

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 sayings of Jesus, which many scholars agree is most likely from the historical Jesus. The Gospel
of John, on the other hand, does not use the book of Mark or the Q document as the source. This
is one reason why scholars believe this gospel account is not so much concerned with the
historical Jesus, as it is with serving specific and targeted theology; it has become common to
think of John as the ‘spiritual Gospel’. The Gospel of John does not have Jesus speaking in
parables, but instead Jesus gives long theological speeches, often about his divine nature.
Lastly, the Gospel of John showcases a contrasting chronology of events and geography.
The Synoptics describe Jesus as being baptized by John the Baptist and then going into the desert
where he is tempted by the devil. In the Synoptics, Jesus’ public ministry lasts for about a year
and starts out in the north near Galilee. Jesus then goes to Jerusalem for Passover where he is
arrested, crucified, and raised from the dead. In the Gospel of John there is no birth narrative, no

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baptism, and no temptation from the devil. Jesus is portrayed as travelling often between the

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north and the south for various religious festivals which outlines his ministry as being at least
three years in length. Jesus’ ministry is described as starting at the same time as John the

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Baptist’s, while in the Synoptics Jesus begins after John. Many of the events written in the
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Synoptics are not included in John’s Gospel, and similarly the majority of the signs and miracles
performed in John is not included in the other Gospels.
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It is clear that the Gospel of John serves a different perspective than the other gospel
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accounts. John’s message is one of faith in Jesus’ divinity and unique relationship to God which
brings eternal life to those who believe. It is widely accepted that John is the latest written
Gospel, which may explain this differing theology as its purpose was to address the problems of
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that period. While the Synoptics served to answer the people’s expectation for a Messiah, the
Gospel of John provided correction for those who may have been questioning Jesus’ full deity or
full humanity. Through a unique message, literary style, and chronology, we understand a
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different view of Jesus and the theology surrounding him.

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