4 - Discipleship and family ties in Matthew

Summary

Introduction

In the previous chapter, we saw that the evangelist Mark gives considerable prominence to Jesus' relations with his own family and to the implications of discipleship of Jesus for family ties. In general terms, we saw that Mark's Gospel evinces a counter-cultural ethos. Jesus as the divine agent of the kingdom of God engages in a prophetic mission which brings him into conflict with his own family and fellow-countrymen. Disciples of Jesus have to subordinate family ties in order to be with him and (especially in the post-Easter period) to engage in mission for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. Following Jesus, even at the cost of household-based security and identity, brings the disciple into a new kind of family not determined by blood-ties, the eschatological family of Jesus open to ‘whoever does the will of God’. This radical reordering of values and social identity generates fierce resistance, especially from the disciple's kinship group. Mark's story of Jesus serves to legitimate the Christian community's counter-cultural stance and to provide a theodicy for the persecution it suffers in consequence.

Now we turn to Matthew's story of Jesus in order to see how Matthew understands the implications of discipleship for family ties. We do so for the following reasons. First, even a superficial glance reveals that this gospel shows no diminution of interest in the theme of discipleship and family ties.