1. HRE 4M1
CHAPTER 5 INTRODUCTION

2. Who is “You” in this poem?
You faced injustice, hate and strife. You fought for what should be. You risked and finally gave your life, So others could be free.
You could have hated, but you chose To love and understand, Rejecting violence to oppose An evil in our land.
You'd not inflame, but still inspire, With hope that wouldn't yield. You called for boycotts, not for fire, With faith your only shield.
You marched in protest for the poor Of every shade and hue. So many hardships you'd endure For those who needed you.
You stirred a nation's heart and mind; Your message still is clear: That color's not how we're defined. Your memory's always near.

3. What if this was the hidden verse? Then who is the ‘you’?
Each year your birth's a holiday. The nation honours you, And wonders when we'll see the day Your dream at last comes true.

4. Exegesis
Analyzing texts in their ORIGINAL context (history, culture, linguistics, etc.) to discover the original intent of the author
Connections stay within the time period it was written
The discipline of exegesis has existed for over 2000 years

5. Hermeneutics Takes exegesis one step further
Way of interpreting texts & events to help us understand what they mean for us in the 21st century
Discover meaning in the Bible for our lives and era

6. MATTHEW’S GOSPEL (80-90 CE)
What was going on when Matthew was writing?
Temple in the City of Jerusalem is destroyed (70 CE)
Division deepened between Jews who followed Jesus and Jews who didn’t
Followers of Jesus became known as Christians (the Early church), and the non-followers formed Rabbinic Judaism
Apostles were getting old too; needed to preserve Jesus’ teachings

7. MATTHEW’S GOSPEL (80-90 CE)
Interpreted Jesus’ words and actions to address the concerns of his (Matthew’s) community
Focused on: remaining united, refrain from judging one another, accept sinners, accept stable structure (church)

8. Matthew’s Jesus – “I am with you always, to the end of age”
Jesus is the Church’s ultimate teacher
Matthew shows Jesus’ authority to teach through:
A powerful genealogy
An even more powerful origin (God)
Why?
To show that Jesus was a legitimate teacher who’s words were meant to be followed

9. Jesus as the new Moses

10. Jesus as the new Moses Jesus Moses
Infant life threatened by the Pharaoh
Commandments from Mt. Sinai
The Ten Commandments
Saviour of the Israelites
The five books of the Torah
Infant life threatened by King Herod
Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes
Saviour of Humanity
Five Teachings of the new Torah
THE KEY DIFFERENCE: Jesus doesn’t only teach Israel, He teaches all nations with authority. Matthew attempts to pass on to us the truth of Jesus’ authority as a teacher. In doing so, we are expected to pass this truth on to future generations.

11. Why compare Jesus to Moses?
Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience
Moses was a greatly respected figure in Jewish history
Moses taught the Torah to Israel; Jesus teaches the new Torah
In showing connections to Moses, it would have been easier for the Jews to see Jesus as a person sent for their salvation (much like Moses helped them out of slavery)

12. APOCALYPSE
By definition, is a universal destruction causing the end of existence

13. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
Where Did It Come From?
Jewish society felt loss of identity and hopelessness
Ruled by Romans
High priests of the Temple were corrupt
Forced to adopt Greek Culture
Memory of ancestors being exiled
Jewish society wondered if God abandoned them or is simply testing them

14. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
Came to the conclusion that the bad events will lead to the coming of God
God will arrive soon to overpower evil (Hope is in God)
Apoc. writers showed the end as a huge catastrophe (wars, earthquakes, disasters, etc.)
End = Good over Evil

15. MATTHEW’S APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
How does Matthew differ?
God’s arrival is not a frightening sight
He arrives with goodness , “the blind receive sight, the lame walk”
God comes as a free gift of salvation (a way to be saved)

16. FROM APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE TO ‘KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’
Kingdom of heaven or Kingdom of God = symbol/metaphor for God
Kingdom of God has come to you = God is now among you
Jesus portrays God as being near
Through Jesus and His teachings, God has entered into history

17. SO WHAT’S THE POINT?
God’s arrival is no longer filled with doom but filled with....LOVE
All people, esp. the sick, sinners, and outcasts experienced generosity
Jesus starts the Kingdom of God in human history (without earthquakes, wars, fires, disasters)

18. The Church and the Kingdom of Heaven
The Church = people who follow Jesus; accept God’s offering of salvation
The Church = “first fruits” or “first result”; community where Kingdom of God is at work

19. “I am with you always, to the end of age”
Through Jesus, God’s kingdom has come and is present in history
God’s Kingdom continues to break into history through the Holy Spirit in the lives of the just
God’s kingdom will come in fullness when Jesus returns at the end of time