Reading the Gospels Together The Storyline of Matthew’s Gospel – Part 7 Matthew now returns to Mark and picks up a couple of stories he had omitted earlier. Both of these stories are centered on the Sabbath. The first is Mark’s story of the disciples “harvesting” on the Sabbath which leads to conflict with the religious leaders. The second is of Jesus healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. This last story had been the final blow in Mark’s exposure of the deadly opposition of the religious leaders to Jesus. Matthew has let it be known that the religious leaders were in opposition and here and in the material that follows Matthew will make that abundantly clear. They are out to destroy Jesus. Matthew is also aware as was Mark that the crowds have welcomed the ministry of Jesus and are pitted against the religious leaders. Matthew finds in the OT a proof text to back up this observation. Using his formula, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet …,” Matthew quotes one of what have become known as the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Another of those Servant Songs had been used in the words of God at the baptism of Jesus. Following the exposure of the religious leaders as the deadly opposition in the stories Mark had brought together culminating with the story of the man with the withered hand, Mark had proceeded to tell his readers about the selection of the twelve and he was moving into the uncomfortable task of unveiling the tragic opposition of Jesus’ family and eventually his own disciples. Matthew has already told us about the selection of the twelve so he moves forward to tell of the religious leaders’ accusation that Jesus is a tool of Satan. It was at this point that Mark had dropped the bomb on his readers that Jesus’ own family thought he was “out of his mind” and came to take him home. Matthew eliminates any mention of this and he will not speak of it later. Like modern readers, and perhaps even Mark’s first readers, Matthew likely finds this talk of Jesus’ family thinking he is crazy as unacceptable, maybe even offensive. We will discover that Luke makes the same omission. Neither one will touch this revelation in Mark! Matthew does not spare his harshness toward the religious leaders however, calling them a brood of vipers. In words he shares with Luke, Matthew tells his readers that the religious leaders ask Jesus for a sign. How inappropriate. Matthew has related plenty of stories of the mighty deed of Jesus. Jesus’ response is harsh and enigmatic. The only sign they will get is that of Jonah and the people of Nineveh will rise in judgment against them. The religious leaders do not understand the connection between Jonah in the belly of the sea monster and Jesus in the tomb, but Matthew’s readers surely do. Not only will the Gentiles of Nineveh bear witness against the religious leaders, so will the Gentile queen of the South who came to visit Solomon. We hear once again Matthew telling stories of how the Gentiles can recognize and receive Jesus while Jewish people cannot. Again using words he shares with Luke, Matthew tells of an unclean spirit that goes out of a person only to return when he finds the person empty and brings with him seven more spirits that are even more evil than the first. Matthew aims his words at the Jewish people who do not welcome Jesus as Messiah. We have noticed how Matthew omits Mark’s words about Jesus’ family thinking his is crazy, but Matthew is not unaware of what Mark had written. Now, following Mark he tells of the mother and brothers of Jesus standing outside wanting to speak to him. Matthew will tell his readers that Jesus expands his family to include his disciples, in fact anyone who does his Father’s will. They are all his family. But Matthew has stripped the story of its controversial elements. Though Matthew is somewhat vague we might conclude that Jesus is not speaking against his family but simply expanding the understanding of family.