Reading the Gospels Together The Storyline of Matthew’s Gospel – Part 6 Matthew is about to interrupt his use of Mark with a second discourse. He sets up this discourse by adding to one of Mark’s summary statement the words of Jesus who looks around and sees a great harvest awaiting but laments the lack of harvesters. Matthew shares this story with Luke, but he also shares it with John. All three versions are somewhat different from one another. Perhaps all three found this story independently in the traditions of Jesus that were available to them. Matthew leads into this discourse by telling his readers about the selection of the twelve from among the followers of Jesus. Matthew is following Mark at this point though his list differs slightly. Matthew has moved Andrew up to be listed with his brother, Peter; and most significantly, Matthew has noted the Matthew is the tax collector who was called as the fifth disciple. Matthew now tells his readers that Jesus sends these disciples on a missionary venture. Matthew is following Mark in the sending of the disciples on a missionary venture though Mark will tell of that mission a while later in his gospel and in a much shorter version. Matthew expands Mark’s story significantly. In fact, the story changes from a report about the mission to a discourse on being a missionary. What will it be like to witness for Jesus? This is Matthew’s deep concern. In his discourse Matthew pulls some material forward that he will find near the ending of Mark’s gospel when Jesus is commenting to his disciples about the destruction of the Temple. Matthew adds some material he finds in the material he shares with Luke and ends by taking some more material found much later in Mark to conclude the discourse. This is the second time Matthew has interrupted the flow of the story to provide his readers with an expanded teaching of Jesus. If we are correct in thinking that Matthew is writing for a community of mostly Jewish Christians who are tension with Jewish who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah, then we can see how this material reflects that context. In the final analysis it is clear that being a missionary for Jesus will be a challenging and even dangerous calling. Where Mark has been leading his readers to the awful reality that Jesus’ own disciples do not understand and will be total failures, Matthew is leading his readers to become sympathetic toward the disciples who are faced with an incredibly difficult task. Matthew will still need to deal with the weakness of the followers of Jesus, but Matthew is far more sympathetic toward them and wants his readers to be so too and even to identify with them. Matthew’s readers were also likely challenged by the task of witnessing in a dangerous situation. Mark had told his readers that the disciples’ mission had been a success, perhaps in spite of the ineptitude of the disciples. Matthew does not mention anything about success or failure. Mark had also inserted into his story of the mission of the disciples the story about the fate of John the baptist and the awful story of John’s murder by Herod. Matthew will tell that story later, but he does follow Mark’s lead by bring John the baptist into his story at this time. This is material about John the baptist that Matthew shares with Luke but is not found anywhere in Mark. The first story Matthew tells is of John the baptist sending some of his followers to Jesus to ask if Jesus is the Messiah or if they should look for another. Mark had so compressed the ministry of John the baptist that his readers would hardly have noticed him. By telling this story Matthew, as he did in the story of the baptism of Jesus, suppresses John the baptist as inferior to Jesus by portraying him as one who doubts. The evidence Jesus provides for those who come from John to ask is to look at the miracles that Jesus has done. The words Matthew uses allude to the very words that the prophet Isaiah had spoken about the one who was to come. As we will see when we look at Luke, Luke will make much more of this, but we should not miss Matthew’s connection of the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of the coming one as spoken of by Isaiah. Matthew goes on to evaluate the ministry of John the baptist using words from the material he shares with Luke. Matthew makes it abundantly clear to his readers that John the baptist is Elijah who was to come at the end of the age to usher in the time of the Messiah. Jesus is superior to John but John is an important figure in the story. Matthew has set a scene in which being a missionary is difficult and dangerous. Many will not respond. Matthew now tells his readers that many had not responded to Jesus either. In material he again shares with Luke, Matthew tells his readers of Jesus condemnation of the cities where most of his deeds of power had been done. The language is not pleasant. But the situation into which Matthew was writing was also likely not pleasant and was filled with much rejection from people who would not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew’s community should not be surprised at the tension between them and their neighbors. It was like that in the ministry of Jesus and it is like that now. Matthew now turns to an interesting comment regarding the disciples. The words are now tender and assuring. In words that Matthew shares with Luke and words that also sound distinctly like the way in which the writer of John speaks of Jesus, Matthew tells his readers that God has chosen to reveal God’s self to the lowly and the weak and that no one can come to the Father except through the Son. This sounds so much like John that one can’t help but wonder if some of the early material from John was not circulating amid the traditions about Jesus in an oral form. We will need to examine this connection later. For Matthew, these words and his words about coming to Jesus and taking his yoke upon them are words addressed as much to Matthew’s community as they are to the context of the story Matthew is weaving for his readers. And they are words that bring comfort to us as we seek to witness for Jesus in our world as well.