The Making of the New TestamentBacon, Benjamin Wisner
Religion
The Making of the New Testament
Bacon, Benjamin Wisner
Bible. New Testament -- Introductions
There is probably no more of intentional opposition to Paul or to his
gospel in all this than in James or Luke. We cannot for example regard
it as more than accidental coincidence that in the phrase "an enemy hath
done this," in the parable of the tares, we have the same epithet which
the Ebionite literature applies to Paul. But enough remains to indicate
how strongly Jewish-Christian prejudices and limitations still affected
our evangelist. With respect to date, the atmosphere is in all respects
such as characterizes the period of the nineties.
It does not belong to our present purpose to analyze this gospel into
its constituent elements. The process can be followed in many treatises
on gospel criticism, and the results will be found summarized in
_Introductions_ to the New Testament such as the recent scholarly work
of Moffatt. We have here but to note the general character and structure
of the book as revealing the main outlines of its history and the
conditions which gave it birth.
Matthew and Luke are alike in that both represent comparatively late
attempts to combine the ancient Matthæan _syntagma_ with the
'Memorabilia of Peter' compiled by Mark. But there is a great
difference. Luke contemplates his work with some of the motives of the
historian. He adopts the method of narrative, and therefore subordinates
his discourse material to a conception (often confused enough) of
sequence in space and time. Matthew, as the structure of his gospel, no
less than his own avowal shows, had an aim more nearly corresponding to
the ancient Palestinian type. The demand for the narrative form had
become irresistible. It controlled even his later Greek and Aramaic
rivals. But Matthew has subordinated the historical to the ethical
motive. He aims at, and has rendered, just the service which his age
demanded and for which it could look to no other region than Jerusalem,
a full compilation of the commandments and precepts of Jesus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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