Synoptic Gospels and Acts

Director: Rev. Randy Soto

Student: Johnson Lopez

April 4, 2008

Journal on the Gospel of Matthew

Jesus as Son of David and Abraham: Jesus is the king that announces the Old Testament, and he is also the heir of the promises made by God to the house of David. At the same time, he is the Messiah who comes from Bethlehem to leads God’s people to the Father. As Son of Abraham, Jesus goes beyond his chosen people bestowing God’s blessing to all nation. As the Master and Shepherd, Jesus’ compassion goes beyond reaching the poor and suffering.

Bosetti asks if the calling of Jesus Christ had resonance in the heart of the Jews. But it seems that Jesus’ work of salvation was not heard by the nations, even more, by the chosen people. There is not, however, a completed refusal to Jesus word, “In the sense ‘the Church is not the new people of God, and neither is the new Israel, because the people of God is and remains only one: those gather around Jesus, the Christ and Lord, in whom the hopes and promises of Israel come to the complete fulfillment.” Notice that the salvific event of Jesus, at the first moment, had been rejected by God’s own people and nation. Nonetheless, there were a group of people who received the message.

The complete revelation is done by Jesus’ event. One can ask, however, how can one speak of a universal revelation if the reception of the message remained, from the beginning, only among a select group? The apostles did not represent, literal speaking, the entire people of Israel or the other nations. We can speak of fulfillment, nonetheless, in the scatological event through the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. The process of communicate Jesus’ revelation to all nations, however, was just starting.   

After Jesus’ death, the upspring Church begins to preach the Gospel across the Mediterranean Coast. Hard persecutions by hand of the Romans accompanied the spread of the Gospel. These persecutions did not only center on the followers of Jesus but also upon those Jews who did not believed in the Messianic event of Him.   

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ He said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do’ (Acts 9: 3-6).

Saul of Tarsus, a Roman citizen who from the beginning persecuted the Church of Christ, surprise in the way of Damascus had a vision: inspected to Saul, the risen Christ spoke to him and argue about his persecution. Since Saul converted to Christianity and took the name of Paul the Apostle. The word of God announced by a Roman citizen took a different shaped. The fact that a Gentile announces Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah had a powerful impact among the other nations. Christianity is not any more a religion of a select group but the religion of love which bears salvation to all mankind.

In the way how the genealogy of Jesus ended in Matt’s Gospel has a important insight in it, “The genealogical tree ends, in fact, by affirming that of Mary ‘was born Jesus, called the Christ” (Bosetti 49) In ancient Judaism the figure of man determine the role the family. The genealogy of a family was count named the line of the father. Matt, however, says ‘and was born of Mary’ Matt point out a woman as Jesus’ descendant. Jesus Chris has not father on earth. Our modern society critics the mystery of the incarnation so much, at the same time, tries to create the perfect man. Modern science strives to create the perfect human race and did not realized that the perfect man, perfect because his human nature was not corrupted by sin, was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 “He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? where did this man get all this?’" (Bosetti 52; Matt 13: 54-56) The people identified Jesus as the man from Nazareth, the Son of Mary and Joseph, but did these people know indeed Jesus? How much time did they spend with Him?

It is clear that the people were able to identified Jesus’ family and friends. But, how long did Jesus live among them. We know that right after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph went down to Egypt to save the child from the Emperor’s threat. Also the Gospel says that Mary and Joseph came back to Nazareth after twelve years. Jesus was twelve years old at that time! His education in Judaism could be quite different from the Jerusalem’s Judaism. The point is that those peoples of Nazareth did not know Jesus very well because they were not Jesus’ followers. Even the apostles seem to strive to understand Jesus’ mysteries.

Jesus, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, spoke always in behalf of the women. “It was also said, 'whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ 'But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’” (Bosetti 113; Matt 5: 31-32)  There is nothing about machismo in the divine plan of salvation as some modern theologies say. In this passage, Jesus teaches on behalf of the women, the weaker part in the family structure of Judaism.

Stressing the scene of Jesus’ Baptism, Bosetti asks, “If John’s baptism was for conversion, then, why did Jesus, who was without sin, asks to be baptized” one of the two answer that the author proposes is Jesus’ phrase Jesus to John the Baptist, “It is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” (Bosetti 65) What did Jesus means with this phrase? The adjective righteousness has two connotations. First, righteousness means to act in accord with divine or moral law, second, to be free from guilt or sin. The sacrament of Baptism makes us free from sin according with the divine law…  

The question why did Jesus received the sacrament of Baptism is still complete not answer. What that means ‘fulfill all righteousness’ in the words of Jesus? Jesus did not need to be baptized because he is free of sin. I can see in this phrase a sense of divine justice. God could have a different way in the plan of Salvation. But rather, God chose the incarnation of His Son, his baptism in the Spirit, His passion and resurrection, His Church in order to extend salvation to all generations, because God loves us. God respect our human nature and He is going to save us with our human Nature.

Salvation through Jesus Christ, his Church, and the Holy Spirit is vital to man. “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” ( Bosetti106; Matt 5:20) The Trinitarian plan of salvation exalts man’s nature that is a being with a soul and body, furthermore, a brother. Man has to be saving as a community, as the people of God gather together around the Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharistic covenant, a greater justice than that of the Pharisees, brings about salvation to every human being. 

Bosetti highlights the many miracles performed by Jesus throughout his public life. “Jesus personifies the figure of the humble servant of whom the text in Isaiah speaks. He is not afraid of contracting our impurity. The hand that riches out to touch the wounds of the leper says more about the compassion of God than any treatise.” (Bosetti 156) I see in this expression of Bosetti, a good insight about Jesus proclamation of the kingdom. We don’t talk about evangelization during the life of Jesus very much. However, that was exactly what Jesus did. Jesus evangelization was marked by his deep compassion for the weak and suffers. He did not hesitate to heal so many people of different ages and places. Some were cure of corporal diseases and others from ills that damage the spirit. Our evangelization has to have the character of Jesus’ compassion with the weak. More than hold with theological arguments, our evangelization has to be rooted in love and charity for those who do not know yet Jesus.