Part III - The social setting of the Matthean community and the function of apocalyptic eschatology in the gospel of Matthew

Summary

It was demonstrated in Part II that Matthew had fervently embraced a developed apocalyptic-eschatological perspective. In Part III of this study we shall attempt to provide an explanation for this state of affairs. Given that such a pronounced apocalyptic-eschatological scheme does not arise in a vacuum but has a concrete social setting, precisely what conditions or circumstances prompted Matthew to construct his symbolic universe? To put this matter another way, does the gospel of Matthew provide any clues to the social situation of the author and his community and, if so, were these circumstances serious enough (or perceived to be serious enough) to warrant the embracement of apocalypticism by the evangelist and his group? In order to answer these questions, chapter 8 will offer a reconstruction of the Matthean community's historical and social situation. It will be argued that the Matthean community faced a number of related crises occasioned by the Jewish war, and that these provided sufficient cause for its adoption of apocalyptic eschatology. The following chapter will then attempt to identify the function of the gospel's apocalyptic eschatology within the context of that community's social setting as identified in chapter 8. How does the evangelist use his apocalyptic-eschatological material to respond to the problems occasioned by his group's social setting? By pursuing these particular questions, Part III builds upon our findings in Part II and completes the discussion of apocalyptic eschatology in Matthew's gospel.