APOCALYPTIC, THE POOR, AND THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Author(s): C. C. Rowland
Source: The Journal of Theological Studies, NEW SERIES, Vol. 45, No. 2 (OCTOBER 1994), pp. 504-
518
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23967636
Accessed: 18-01-2016 16:16 UTC

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 APOCALYPTIC, THE POOR, AND THE
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

In the last twenty years there has been a growing recognition that
the form and contents of the Book of Revelation offer more to the

exegesis of the New Testament than has usually been thought. Of

course, apocalyptic has for a century or more featured in discus

sion of the New Testament.1 It has been considered an essential

ingredient in any explanation of the origins of Christianity, but

has been understood almost exclusively as heralding the end of
the world. Early Christianity has thus been characterized as a
movement eagerly awaiting the Parousia and the winding up of

history.2 More recently there has been a long-overdue questioning

of this consensus, which has so pervaded the interpretation of the
New Testament, and serious doubts have been raised about the

understanding of apocalyptic which undergirds it.3 Ancient apoca

lypses (of which Revelation is the prime example) can no longer
be seen as little more than a collection of predictions about the
end of the world. First and foremost apocalypses unveil secrets,
some of which relate to the future.4 They are not, therefore, solely
concerned with the end of the world. Their chief task is to reveal
truths about God and the universe, and in these attempts they
come close to one understanding of mysticism: the perception of
truths which exceed the capacity of human reason and are medi
ated by means of divine revelation. It is that kind of religious
outlook we find in an apocalypse.5
1
The centrality of apocalyptic for Pauline theology has often been stressed. See
e.g. J. C. Beker, Paul The Apostle (Edinburgh, 1980).
2
The influence of the approach to apocalyptic and eschatology pioneered by
J. Weiss (e.g. his Die Idee des Reiches Gottes in der Theologie (Giessen, 1901)) and
others still pervades treatment of the subject.
3
T. F. Glasson has for a long time been a persistent critic of this consensus,
see 'Schweitzer's Influence—Blessing or Bane?' JTS, ns 28 (1977), pp. 289 ff.
4
See Rowland, The Open Heaven (London, 1982), p. 9 ff.
5
Apocalyptic and mysticism are usually distinguished as distinct religious phen
omena. But, given that apocalyptic is in large part concerned with the secrets of
heaven, there is a considerable degree of overlap between the two. In his treatment
of the kabbalah Gershom Scholem has argued for that continuity between the
apocalyptic tradition of the Second Temple period and the hekaloth tradition (see
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (London, 1955), Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah
Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition (New York, 1965), also I. Gruenwald, Apoc
and Merkavah
alypticalyptic Mysticism (Leiden, 1978)). Apocalyptic and mysticism thus
serve as heuristic devices to denote different phases of the tradition of belief and
practice associated with speculation about the heavenly world and its mysteries
(see further on the problems of definition, John Barton, Oracles of God (London,
1986)). The continuity between apocalyptic and early rabbinic mysticism has been

© Oxford University Press 1994

[Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol. 45, Pt. 2, October 1994]

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 505

In an apocalypse, what happens in heaven corresponds to what

happens, or will happen, on earth. It is a kind of overview from

an altogether other perspective. It is not a literal representation
of reality—past, present, or future—for it tells us more about the

reality which it seeks to portray than any literal representation

could do. The language which Jewish tradition uses to speak of
God's mysteries in the apocalypses enables the reader to under
stand the meaning of history more profoundly than would be

possible from a straightforward narrative. So, if apocalyptic is not

only about the end of the world, neither is it mere prediction. Of

course, it speaks about the future, but it is a future—as well as a

present—viewed in the light of the God who now reigns and will
be seen to reign on earth. John on Patmos is commissioned to
write 'what is now, and what is to take place hereafter' (Rev. 1:

19). It is like a drama happening on two levels in which the

'higher' level in some sense interprets what takes place on the

'lower' level.6 That which takes place in heaven, or is reported as

having its origin in heaven, offers an insight into the perplexing

story of the world. By this means an understanding of the mystery
of existence is given a new dimension. Events on the earthly stage
are enigmatic. One who looks at them from the 'lower' level can
nevertheless be offered another perspective on reality through the

eye of vision. It is that which is the basis of the apocalypse. It is

not that the 'higher' level determines the way in which events
below work out. Human beings are not puppets at the end of the
divine strings. They can be confronted with the reality of God
and the coming kingdom, and with inexorable truths which
demand understanding and action, but they possess freewill and
can make choices about the way they will respond. The vision of
the apocalyptic writers enables the reader with eyes to see and
ears to hear to make sense of events and interactions which,
without that added perspective, would seem utterly enigmatic. It
is such a perspective which can transform understanding so that
what appears to be confusion and folly may be apprehended as
the wisdom of God.
This applies also to the Jewish mystical tradition, with which
the revelations vouchsafed to apocalyptic seers have several affin
ities.7 The mystical tradition behind Jewish mysticism has an

challenged by D. Halperin, The Faces of the Chariot (Tubingen, 1988) (on which
see C. Morray-Jones' forthcoming monograph and his review of Halperin's book
in JTS, NS, 41 (1990)).
6
See the pertinent comments in J. L. Martyn, History and Theology in the
Fourth Gospel (New York, 1968).
7
See further Rowland, op. cit. pp. 269 ff.

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506 C. C. ROWLAND

obscure history but it is generally thought to have had its origins

early in the Second Temple period and to have owed much to the
exile. One of its principal subjects is the meditation on the

chariot, the merkabah, of Ezekiel. The vision of the glorious God

enthroned on the cherubim-chariot was a source of wonder and

fascination, as is evident from the early rabbinic literature which

much scholarly work in recent years has made available to us

together with the discovery of related texts among the Dead Sea
Scrolls.8 In the mystical account, the vision of the divine throne
chariot in heaven was the goal of a heavenly ascent. For example,
in the account of the ascent to heaven by Enoch (1 Enoch 14),
the seer is granted a sight of God enthroned and enrobed in glory.
Here the beatific vision, the supreme goal of life, is possible in
the midst of the vicissitudes of earthly existence.
There has been, in recent years, a greater appreciation of the
rich potential offered New Testament theology by the apocalyptic
and mystical texts of Judaism when viewed not merely as a means
of elucidating eschatological themes but also of shedding light on
a range of texts less obviously related to such themes. The themes
in particular which have been the object of study from the per
spective of mysticism are transformation, Christology, and cosmo

logy. Concerning the first of these, the occasional hint in Paul's

letters about a transformation of the believer in the midst of
the present life, in addition to the eschatological change at the

Parousia, provides an opportunity to apply the frequent references

to bodily transformation of the apocalyptic seer to passages like
2 Cor. 3.9 Concerning the second, the development of Christology
and the existence of exalted mediatorial figures in the heavenly
world has been the subject of fierce debate: was early Christianity
merely taking over a theology in which the existence of divine

beings wielding divine authority was part of the fabric of Jewish

belief? Or were early Christians responsible for a significant muta
tion of the beliefs of Second Temple Judaism about angels, in
which their convictions concerning Jesus as messiah acted as a

catalyst?10 Thirdly, a typical feature of apocalypses is the way they

divide heaven into various levels, the highest being occupied by
God and the most exalted angels, and the lowest by lesser angelic

8
See C. Newsom, The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (Atlanta, 1985) and on
the expositions of the chapter in the apocalyptic tradition see Rowland in JSJ 10
(1979), PP· 138 ff.
9
See the forthcoming study by James Barlow of Oriel College, Oxford.
10
See A. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven (Leiden, 1978) and L. W. Hurtado, One
God, One Lord (London, 1990).

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 507

powers and demons.11 The ascent of Christ into the heavens, his

conquest of the powers, and the relationship of all these to his

death 'outside the gate' in a text like Hebrews,12 have all been
illuminated by the thought-world of apocalyptic and mysticism.13
The heavenly world and its relationship to God's saving purposes
and to human history are matters of concern to the New
Testament writers.
The exploration of the relationship of the New Testament to
the world of Jewish mysticism has concentrated on theological
themes in the more obviously theological writings of the New
Testament. On the whole, the narrative texts have not seemed so

susceptible to this kind of treatment. But John Ashton's examina

tion of the relationship between the gospel and the apocalyptic
and mystical tradition in his work on the Gospel of John, in which
he distils the scholarship of a generation, suggests that the narrat
ive texts of the New Testament may also repay careful study in
the light of this material.14 It is a similar perspective which under
lies what follows on the Gospel of Matthew.
As with many other New Testament books there is an apocalyp
tic and mystical thread running through Matthew's narrative.
From the dreams of Joseph and the Magi, which protect the infant
son of God, to the dream of Pilate's wife before the crucifixion,
which serves to comment on the miscarriage of justice taking
place, knowledge through dreams and revelations of a kind familiar
to us from the apocalyptic tradition are a significant element in
this gospel, notwithstanding that several of such accounts are held
in common with the other two synoptics. Of course, the first is
the account of the Baptism in which there is a clear allusion to
Ezekiel 1: 1 in all three gospels. The heavens are opened, just as

they were to the prophet Ezekiel by the river Chebar, thus fulfil

ling the prophetic longing for God to rend the heavens and reveal
the divine purposes (cf. Isa. 64: i).15
And there are other links between the Baptism and the Jewish
mystical tradition. The descent of the Spirit on Jesus is compared
with that of a dove, and it may be possible to see hints of ma'aseh

bereshith, the 'work of creation', here by linking the baptismal

11
See Α. Τ. Lincoln, Paradise Now and Not Yet (Cambridge, 1980).
12
E.g. O. Hofius, Der Vorhang vor dem Thron Gottes (Tubingen, 1972).
13 which in its present
In this regard, the Ascension of Isaiah, an apocalypse
form comes from the late first or early second century AD, reflects the blend of
apocalyptic cosmology and soteriology which may have contributed to passages
like ι Cor. 2: 9; Col. 2: 14 f. and 1 Peter 3: 22.
14
Understanding the Fourth Gospel (Oxford, 1991), pp. 337 fit.and 381 flf.
15 The Open Heaven pp. 358 ff.
See further Rowland,

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508 C. C. ROWLAND

accounts with a rabbinical story concerning the early second

century teacher, Simeon ben Zoma." In this story hen Zoma

meditates on the first chapter of Genesis and in particular on the
words at 1: 6f., and he sees a small gap separating the upper and
lower celestial waters which he connects with the Spirit of God

hovering on the face of the waters four verses earlier.17 This small

gap he compares to the small gap which exists when a bird hovers
over its nest, and in the version of the story in the Babylonian
Talmud the hovering of the Spirit of God is compared to a dove

hovering over its young. Such ideas could have arisen from a

comparison of Gen. 1: 2 with the only other occurrence of the

verb rahaph, 'to hover', at Deut. 32: 11, where the bird hovers
over her young. Whereas in the story of ben Zoma the meditation
was a detached piece of cosmological speculation on the nature of
the heavenly waters, in the story of the Baptism the creative Spirit
hovers over the head of the Son of God.

Similarly the Τransfiguration, particularly in its Matthaean ver

sion, has several points of contact with ancient Jewish theophanies

and the traditions which developed from them. It especially
resembles the Christophany of Rev. 1: 13 ff.18 where the risen
Christ appears to the exiled seer on Patmos, and where the links
with the throne-theophany tradition based on Ezekiel are widely
acknowledged. In the Transfiguration, alone of all the synoptic
texts (and surprisingly so, given the nature of the post-resurrection

appearances), we come closest to the heavenly appearance of an

exalted angelic figure.
One of the oldest of the throne-theophany scenes provides some

connections, 1 Enoch 14: 20 f. (cf. Testament Abraham Rec. 12),

where several words are found in common with the Greek of the

synoptics: sun, face, snow, clothing (ιμάτια in the gospels, cf.

περιβόλαιον in 1 Enoch), while έξαστράπτων at Luke 9: 29 is

reminiscent of 1 Enoch 14: 11 and 17. In Matthew, at 17: 6, the

disciples fall on their faces, a typical reaction to a theophany

(cf. Ezek. 2: ι and Dan. 10: 9), while also in Matthew, at 17: 9,
the event is described as a δραμα 'vision' (cf. Acts 7: 31 and 9: 12).
According to Mark, the experience on the Mount of

Transfiguration hardly enables Peter to understand the signific

ance of what he is seeing, for we are told he does not know what
to say on account of his terror (Mark 9: 6, cf. 16: 8), a theme

repeated in Luke at 9: 33 but absent in Matthew where, arguably,

the request to build three σκηναί is understood to indicate a true

Rowland, op. cit. pp. 323 and 361.

17
Tosefta Haggah 2.6; jHag. 77b; bHag. 15a and Ber. R. 2.4.
18
See Rowland, JTS, ns, 31 (1980), pp. 1 ff.

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 509

perception of the significance of what is happening. Similarly in

Matthew the suggestion of clearer perception on the part of the

disciples is confirmed by their ensuing question concerning Elijah.

Jesus' enigmatic reply is understood by the disciples as a reference
to John the Baptist (17: 13). Here their interpretative wisdom is
marked. It is of great moment to attach the mystery of the proph
ecy of Elijah to John the Baptist, a flash of insight parallel to
Matthew's version of Peter's confession which is said to be the
result of divine revelation (16: 17 ff.).
Wisdom and insight about the nature of things, particularly
concerning the mysteries of the future, are typical of the apocalyp
tic and mystical tradition, and it is often after a throne-theophany
that they are granted to the mystic. In the Apocalypse of Abraham,
for example, the patriarch is shown the meaning of the story of

humanity from creation to eschaton. In the Hebrew Book of

Enoch (3 Enoch) the ascent to heaven includes angelogical myster
ies as well as the secret of God's failure to act on behalf of the

Jews. That kind of insight about a problem is paralleled in

the enigmatic passages which follow the account of the ascent
of the Four to the heavenly Paradise in the Babylonian Talmud
version.19 In that version in particular there is little doubt that
what is described is a heavenly journey with all its perils and pri
vileges.20 At its conclusion ben Zoma, one of the four, is asked
difficult halakhic questions which he is able to answer in con
sequence of his heightened awareness and insight. It is a feature
of the later mystical tradition that such insight is vouchsafed to
the mystical adept who safely makes the heavenly journey and is

thereby able to consult with sar Torah,21 the 'Prince of Torah'

(one of the angels), about the mysteries of Torah interpretation.

In Matthew's account of the Transfiguration, the points of
contact with Jewish mysticism make such a background likely.
We are not then surprised to find that at the climax of the gospel
(28: 18) the risen Christ claims all authority not only over the
earth but in heaven too. Other passages relate directly to our
theme of the poor and outcast, and in these it is possible to detect
a polemic against a preoccupation with heaven. For Matthew, the

glorious Son of man on his heavenly throne has descended to

earth and is to be located among 'the least'. Blessedness is not,
we are to understand, attained by searching the heavens but, in
the phrase Matthew uses after the adoration of the Magi, 'by
another way' (2: 12).

bHag14b.
20
See Rowland, The Open Heaven pp. 309 ff.
21
G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (London, 1955), pp. 77·

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510 C. C. ROWLAND

The first of these passages to be considered is the conclusion

of the eschatological discourse (25: 31—46) where we find a judge
ment scene, commonly called the Parable of the Sheep and the

Goats, with a parallel not in the other synoptics but in a Jewish

text, 'The Similitudes of Enoch' (1 Enoch 37—71), where the

heavenly Son of man sits on God's throne of glory, exercising

judgement and vindicating the elect. A new element in the
Matthaean scene, however, is the astonishment with which the

righteous learn that they have, in fact, ministered to this glorious

Son of man in the persons of the naked, the poor, the hungry,
the sick, the stranger, and those in prison. Their destiny, they
discover, was determined at the moment of responding to the
needs of those who appeared to be nonentities, those who were

apparently the farthest removed in every respect from this heav

enly judge who now claims that what the righteous had done to
them they had done to him.
There are parallels to all this in the Jewish tradition where

respect for the human person created in God's image, irrespective

of nation or religious affiliation, is to be found. Most akin to
Matthew's sheep and goats is 2 Enoch 42: 8 ff., where clothing
the naked, feeding the hungry, looking after widows and orphans,
and coming to the aid of those who have suffered injustice, are
criteria for blessedness. But Matthew's links with the throne

theophany tradition are revealed in other, more surprising ways.

In chapter 18 the disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest in the

kingdom of heaven. He answers by taking a child and declaring

to the disciples that the one who 'humbles himself as this little
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven'. The child must
be their measure of true greatness. In the next verse (18: 6) Jesus
is portrayed as speaking of the children as 'these little ones',
another key term in Matthew's gospel. Response to the child or
the little one is the same as response to Jesus. Just as fulfilling
the needs of the hungry and thirsty means fulfilling the needs of
the heavenly Son of man, so receiving a child means receiving
Jesus himself (v 6). A woe is pronounced on those who cause one
of them to stumble, for 'these little ones' are they 'who believe in
me' (ibid.).22 There is something special about the child. Once
again, echoing the language of the apocalyptic tradition, we are
told their angels have the privilege of beholding God's face, the

22
This phrase ενα τών μικρών τούτων των πιστευόντων εις έμέ is found only
here in Matthew and most likely refers to the privileged insight given to the least
as compared with the wise and sophisticated (Matt. 11: 25 f.). Certain groups are
privileged to be in receipt of the divine mysteries vouchsafed in Jesus' teaching
(13: 35 cf. ι Peter 1: 11 f.).

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 511

highest of all privileges. The climax of the heavenly ascent is the

vision of God enthroned in glory, something normally denied not

only to mortals but also to angels. The angels of Matthew's little

ones stand in close proximity to the throne of glory and share in
that destiny which is vouchsafed to the elect in the new Jerusalem,
described in Revelation (22: 4), of seeing God face to face: 'His
servants shall worship him, and they shall see his face, and his
name shall be on their foreheads.' The little ones in Matt. 18: 10
have a particular privilege, just as in Matt. 11: 25 it is 'the babes'
to whom the significance of Jesus' ministry is revealed while it is
hidden from the wise.
Matthew 18: 10 presupposes some kind of link between the
little ones and their angels. Such a connection is found in the

Jewish Haggadah where the ancestors are regarded as the embodi

ment of the mysteries of God's throne and person. So one source

says: 'The patriarchs are the merkabah, the throne-chariot'.23

Accordingly we find in another passage angels competing with

one another to catch a glimpse of Abraham and Jacob whose
features are engraved on the throne of glory.24 Perhaps it is some

thing similar which lies behind Paul's assertion in 2 Cor. 3: 18

that life under the new covenant means that 'we all, with unveiled

face, are beholding the glory of the Lord and being changed from

glory to glory'.
Earlier in Matthew, in the Beatitudes at the beginning of the
Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares that the pure in heart will
see God. Once again we have terminology familiar from the mys
tical tradition in which the seer is vouchsafed a glimpse of the
divine kabod, glory, after the heavenly ascent. Just as in the Jewish
mystical tradition such a privilege comes only after a thorough
grounding in Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud, so here too in
Matthew an ethical dimension is similarly stressed.
Less obviously connected with the apocalyptic and mystical
tradition is Jesus' exposition of the significance of John the

Baptist's person and activity in Matthew 11. All the Synoptic

Gospels link John with the messenger who is to precede the great
and terrible day of the Lord: 'Behold, I send my messenger to

prepare the way before me' (Mai. 3: 1). John's position is indeed
exalted in so far as the marginal figure baptising at the Jordan is

identified with Elijah returned from heaven to announce the

imminence of that great and terrible day. The significance of the

allusion to the verses in Malachi, lost in our English translations,

23
E.g. Bereshith R.47.6; 69.3; 82.6.
24 Tormim Menfiti nn ΠρηΡβΙί ‫־ל׳ר‬

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512 C. C. ROWLAND

is the occurrence of the word άγγελος, usually translated 'messen

ger'. Even allowing for some flexibility of usage, due account

needs to be taken of the fact that elsewhere in Matthew άγγελος
refers to a heavenly emissary from God. Moreover, the verse from
Malachi applied to John is an allusion to Exod. 23: 30 which

speaks of God's angel going before the people as they journey out
of Egypt.
Exodus 23: 20 is a passage of some importance within Jewish
mystical literature. It is used to support the belief in an exalted

angel named Metatron whose greatness derives from the

indwelling of the divine name in him (see b. San 38b). Although

references to that angel who bears the divine name are found only
in texts later than the New Testament, there is sufficient evidence
to suggest that such beliefs were current at the end of the first

century when early Christians were formulating their beliefs about

Christ. One example of this comes in an apocalypse which is dated
towards the end of the first century ad. In it there appears an

angel, the description of whom bears remarkable similarities to

the vision of Christ in Revelation as well as with other Jewish
texts (Apoc. Abr. 10 f.: '1 am called Jaoel by him who moves that
which exists with me on the seventh expanse of the firmament, a

power in virtue of the ineffable name that is dwelling in me').25

There is more to be said on this subject in connection with the
elucidation of New Testament Christology. Though this material

may not at first sight seem to be relevant for the interpretation of

the reference to John the Baptist in Matthew 11, the identification
of John with an angel belongs to an ancient tradition (and, in the
Orthodox East, a continuing one). It is discussed by Origen who,
in his commentary on the Gospel of John (ii.31 on 1: 6), interprets
'there was a man sent from God whose name was John' with a

quotation from the important Jewish pseudepigraphon The Prayer

of
Joseph.26of
Joseph.26 He offers this as an example of the belief that a human

being could be an incarnation of an angel:

I Jacob who am speaking to you am also Israel an angel of God and a
ruling spirit. Abraham and Isaac were created before any work. But I
Jacob . . . whose name is Israel . . . am he whom God called Israel, which
means a man seeing God, because I am the first-born of every living
thing to which God gives life ... I descended to earth and tabernacled
among humanity, and I was called Jacob.

The importance of this Jewish work, which is quoted only

partially by Origen, is that in it we learn that the patriarch Jacob
25
See Rowland, JSNT 24 (1985), pp. 99 ff.
26
The authenticity and theological provenance is discussed by J. Z. Smith in
Religions in Antiquity, Supplements to Numen, J. Neusner (ed.) (Leiden, 1968).

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 513

is the incarnation of the exalted angel Israel. The terminology

used here is reminiscent of that used of the incarnation of the

Logos in John 1: 14 and (if authentically Jewish) is testimony to

a Jewish writing envisaging the possibility of a heavenly being
becoming incarnate in human form. After the quotation there is
a lengthy digression in which Origen argues for the belief that

John the Baptist was an angel and took human form in order to
bear witness to the light of the divine Logos,
There may be hints in Matthew (and in Luke) that there was
an awareness of an identification of John with an angel. Not only
does the passage in Matthew (11: 7-11) contain the application of
Malachi to John but the ensuing discussion suggests that John is
no ordinary human being. His extraordinary character is stressed
here—'he is the greatest among those born of women'. That could
be interpreted as an implicit polemic against more exalted claims
for John such as are reflected in Origen's discussion. There may
have been those who held that he really was an angelic mediator,
the angel who would go before the face of the Lord. He would
thus be a figure like the angel Israel in the Prayer of Joseph. The

angelic origin of John is not denied in Matthew, and indeed may

be the reason why he is the greatest of those born of women. But,

despite John's greatness, the least in the kingdom is greater than

he. Who then is 'the least'? This is a matter of debate. It could
refer to Jesus himself. Jesus would then be the one who followed

John, not in the role of a mighty figure but as the one who is

meek and lowly of heart. The superior position is thus

given in
Matthew and Luke to the Son of man who had nowhere to lay
his head (Matt. 10: 32, cf. Luke 12: 8). Those who identify with
this 'little one' are themselves thereby given a significant status.

Response to 'little ones' is response to the one who is 'least' in

the kingdom (Matt. 10: 42). Or it may be a reference to the sort
of person who identifies with Jesus. If we suppose that the least,
ό μικρότερος, is a reference to the humble disciple, we have an
elevation of the 'least' to a position which exceeds that of John.
So much, in brief survey, for possible connections with the

apocalyptic tradition. Debate, however, has raged over the identity

of Jesus' brethren in the parable of the sheep and the goats, Is it

right to see in the verse, 'As you did it to one of the least of these

my brethren, you did it to me' (25: 40) a reference to all the poor,
naked, hungry, sick, and imprisoned, or is it not the case that, in

Matthew's Gospel at least, they are references to followers of

Christ, particularly to those Christian missionaries who might

need shelter and care? Powerful arguments have been marshalled

for the view that Jesus' brethren refers exclusively to poor

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514 C. C. ROWLAND

Christians and not to the poor in general.27 And such arguments

adduce the fact that Jesus' disciples are referred to as 'brethren'
elsewhere in the gospel. Moreover the related verse at 10: 42,
which speaks of service to one of these little ones, has been taken
to mean that a reward goes to anyone offering a drink of water to
a disciple, the parallel verse at Mark 9: 41 lending support to this
view.28 But even if Matthew's ενα των μικρών τοϋτων in place of
Mark's ΰμάς can be taken as referring to the disciples (and it is
not certain they can, since Matthew's change of wording here
could represent an intention not to confine the recipients of acts
of mercy to Christians only), the debate over the identity of the
'brethren' of 25: 40, or of 'the least' at 25: 45, however it is

decided, should not blind the reader of Matthew's gospel as a

whole to the fact that, throughout Matthew's narrative, the Son
of man identifies himself with a much wider group than the

disciples who are in need of succour, who are 'like sheep without
a shepherd' (9: 36; cf. 4: 23).29
There is one issue which I believe has not received enough
attention in the debate about the identity of Jesus' brethren. While
an identification of the disciples with the μικροί, the little ones,
may indeed be found earlier in the gospel, the picture of the

disciples becomes progressively less

positive.30 After the revelation

granted to Peter at 16: 17 concerning the true nature of Jesus,

Peter becomes an embodiment of Satan and a σκάνδαλο ν to Jesus,
while his remonstration with Jesus at 26: 33, 'Though they all fall

away because of you, I will never fall away', is followed by his

emphatic denial of Jesus later in the same chapter. After the

descent from the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples who
failed to heal the epileptic boy are reproached by Jesus for being
a faithless generation (17: 17; cf. 16: 4 and 21: 20). And despite
the words of Jesus about the blessedness of children, the disciples
rebuke the children who come to Jesus (19: 13), they are indignant
27
For an example of this see G. Stanton, Gospel of a New People (Edinburgh,
1992), pp. 207 if. and S. Gray, The Least of My Brethren (Atlanta, 1989).
28
Most translations of Matt. 10: 42 identify the little ones as the disciples. But
the Greek is more ambiguous, a fact well brought out in the Authorized Version's
rendering And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup
of cold water only in the name of a disciple . . .'. The phrase εις όνομα μαθητού
may well be a Semitism but we are not in a position to decide whether the act is
carried out because the recipient is a disciple, because the donor is a disciple, or
because the donor acts on the basis of the injunction or example of a disciple.
29
For an approach to Matt. 25: 31 if. which takes seriously the wider literary
context and questions the priority of the original meaning of the text see F. Watson
in The Open Text. New Directions for Biblical Studies? (London, 1993), pp. 57 if.
30
Cf. the classic treatment of discipleship in Matthew by U. Luz in G. Stanton
(ed.), The Interpretation of Matthew (London, 1983).

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 515

with the woman who anoints the head of Jesus (26: 8), and they
are astounded by the implications of Jesus' teaching on divorce
and wealth (19: 10 and 19: 25). They are blind to the humble way
of the Messiah and desire places of honour in the kingdom (which
is not disguised by their mother acting as their agent, 20: 20 ff.).
They remain attached to the old order (24: 1) and, like the

Pharisees, want to know what signs will usher in the new (24: 3;
cf. 16: 4). Judas betrays Jesus; his closest disciples fail to watch
with him (26: 40-45); while their readiness to use the power of
the old order to resist Jesus' arrest is rebuked by Jesus in a
statement of spiritual principle peculiar to Matthew's account:
'All who take the sword will perish by the sword.' Even after the

resurrection, when the eleven disciples go to Galilee to meet Jesus

on the mountain, 'some of them doubted' (28: 16).
So a case can be made for seeing the second half of the gospel
as being one in which the ideal of discipleship ceases to be embod
ied in the group of disciples, with the result that other paradigms
are needed. This is seen most clearly in chapter 18, where the
child is set over against the twelve as the type of true greatness.
Although Peter has had his moments of insight it is the crowd
which hails Jesus as he enters Jerusalem (21: 9), the blind and the
lame who come to him in the temple (21: 14), and the children
who cry out, 'Hosanna to the son of David!' (21: 15). These are

the νήπιοι, babes, of whom the Psalmist speaks and Matthew

quotes: 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast per
fected praise' (21: quoting16 Ps 8). The νήπιοι referred to at
11: 25, where Jesus gives thanks to his heavenly father for hiding
these things from the wise and intelligent and revealing them to

babes, includes the disciples,31 but as the gospel proceeds the

adult disciples are those who are seen to slip over onto the side

of Satan, betraying, denying, and abandoning the Son of man.

This shift is in line with much else in Matthew's Gospel which,

like the Book of Revelation, is directed to challenging compla

cency.32 Certainty concerning salvation is not offered by these

works, not even to those who can claim to be disciples.

In the light of this shift I want to question the widespread

31
On the possibility that a wider circle is suggested see U. Luz, Das Evangelium
nachnach
Matthaus (Zurich, 1990), p. 205 f.
32
Stanton's argument in The Gospel of a New People, 10c. cit., that Matthew's
eschatology is typical of the promise of vindication for a beleagured sect, and so
is lacking in concern for non-members, seems to me to ignore the ambiguities
which pervade the gospel's portrayal of 'insiders'. When the disciples are
addressed, it is often with words of warning about their imminent failure (24: 5,
6; 25: 42; 25: 15)—something which actually takes place in 26: 24 and 31.

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516 C. C. ROWLAND

assumption that the child in Matthew's Gospel is merely a cipher

for the Church member. Children are mentioned elsewhere in the

Synoptic Gospels and are important in the Bible generally. They

continue the race and are a sign of hope and, in the case of
Immanuel at Isa. 7: 14, of judgement. But, whatever their signi
ficance as symbols, their rights are limited, their obligation being
to continue in the tradition of the fathers. The ideal child is one
who is obedient. A rebellious son like Absalom is no role model.
The instructions to sons in Proverbs epitomize the subordinate

position of the child. His task (and it is instruction directed to

males rather than to females) is to be an empty vessel ready to
receive the wisdom of his father (13: 1; cf. 5: 1; 6: 20; 4: 10;
4: 1—4; 4: 20; 1: 8). A fool on the other hand spurns his father's
correction (15: 5). Folly is deep-rooted in children and only a
good beating will drive it out of them (22: 13). It is the task of
the parent to set the child on the path he should go. Being a child
is to be an inferior who needs to have the emptiness of immaturity
filled with adult wisdom.
All this contrasts with the themes of Matthew's Gospel. There,
the privilege of the apparently insignificant and of children is
given added importance by the mystical tradition which forms
part of the background of Matthew's account. It is a surprising
perspective. The child moves to centre stage. To place a child in
the midst of the disciples is to challenge the that the
assumption
child has nothing of worth and can only be heeded when it has
received another's wisdom. The ordering of things which charac
terizes the adult world is not the embodiment of wisdom, and
may in fact be a perversion of it. Here is a perspective which
challenges the traditions of older generations. To be as a child is
a mark of greatness, in terms of the values of the for it
kingdom,
is the children and those able to identify with them who have
solidarity with the humble—and therefore with Jesus.
The characteristic of the child, the little one, the least, is that
such are peculiarly able to have the kind of insight to
appropriate
those whose angels always behold the divine face. The position
of children in the ancient world was much inferior to the more
child-centred world of today.33 They were often, as a matter of
course, treated brutally by our standards. On the other hand
children were widely believed to be in close contact with the
divine world and in the light of this it is possible to understand
33
See e.g. Τ. Wiedemann Adults and Children in the Ancient World (London,
1989), S. Legasse Jesus et I'Enfant (Paris 1969), but note the cautionary remarks
of Peter Garnsey in D. Ketzer and R. Sailer (eds.) Child Rearing in Italy (New
Haven, 1989).

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 APOCALYPTIC, POOR, AND GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 517

why Matthew suggests that children possess an insight which

disciples must emulate, not despise. Theirs is an intuition into

the nature of God which seems to belong especially to those who
are in some sense at a disadvantage in relation to the wise and

prudent of this world (11: 25). It is too simple to say that those
who have such insight are the 'poor'. It might be more appropriate
to call them the 'marginal'. They are, in any case, the 'humble',
both in terms of status and natural endowment.34 In Matthew's

Gospel there is a privilege for this group in regard to the under

standing of divine mysteries; a privilege which is to be seen as a

grace rather than as a right. And the disciples share in it, but they
have imbibed the dominant ideology and their vision is limited in
consequence.
At the heart of Matthew's Christology is the deliberate identi
fication of Immanuel—'God with us'—with the powerless and

weak, an identification which is maintained consistently through

out the gospel: 'He took our infirmities and bore our diseases'

(Isa. 53: 4 quoted at 8: 7), 'He will not break a bruised reed or

quench a smouldering wick' (Isa. 42: 3 quoted at 12: 20), and '1
desire mercy and not sacrifice' (Hos. 6: 6) which Matthew quotes
twice (9: 13 and 12: 7), the second time being a significant addition
to the story of the disciples plucking ears of corn (cf. Mark 2:

23—28; Luke 6: 1-5). The privilege of being called into the king
dom is no longer confined to the seer or mystic, but is granted to
the sheep who follow the Shepherd in identifying with the poor
and humble and who respond to those making claims on them
from positions of weakness. But, quite as much as the goats, the

sheep are misled by appearances. They do not know that in minis

tering to the naked, poor, hungry, sick, stranger, and imprisoned

they have ministered to the heavenly Son of man on his throne
of glory.
So in Matthew's Gospel we have a narrative in which another
dimension to ordinary life is revealed, a strategy typical of the

apocalyptic and mystical tradition. It gives us another perspective,

a divine dimension of which apocalyptic enables us to catch a

glimpse. It is impossible to understand human existence or the

hidden nature of individuals unless one is also aware of another,

hidden story. The apocalyptic dimension to ordinary life is especi
ally pronounced in Matthew. The little ones are really the ones

whose angels are able to gaze on the divine kabod. The hungry
and the imprisoned are really the ones who are, in some sense,

representations of the divine Son of man. We may speak perhaps

Similarly Κ. Wengst, Humility. Solidarity of the Humiliated (London, 1986).

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518 C. C. ROWLAND

of a story on two levels which cannot be understood without

regard to both levels of the narrative. Not much of the second

level is available to us, but occasionally the curtain is raised on it
and we catch a glimpse. One might even say that the gospel is a
kind of allegory and that it is not so much the plain meaning of
the text but that other story which alone can make sense of the

plain meaning. There has to be an apocalyptic dimension to it in

order to open our minds to its true meaning and thereby to read
it aright.
I hope I have said enough to suggest that there are sufficient
indications in the Gospel of Matthew to warrant a closer consid
eration of its indebtedness to the Jewish apocalyptic and mystical
tradition, and that what has been said with regard to Matthew
can be said, mutatis mutandis, for other parts of the New
Testament. These reflections on the first gospel are representative
of the possibilities which study of this aspect of the Jewish tradi
tion can yield for the interpretation of the New Testament as a
whole. There is hardly a book in it which cannot be illuminated

by the esoteric world of mysticism and apocalyptic—a challenging

prospect for the student of Christian origins.35
C. C. Rowland
35
This is an abbreviated version of the 1992 Manson Memorial Lecture, given
in the University of Manchester.

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