The Matthean Gospel was written in a social context where the Jewish community was still under oppression by the Romans and this relatively new emerging following of Jesus was beginning to fade. The followers of Jesus were a marginalized group and caused tension even between various sects of Judaism, most notably the Pharisees. Matthew’s portrayal… Continue reading →
Before digging into the contextual nuances of the three related Gospel stories, we need to first look at the parable as a whole. The Wedding/Great Banquet parable originates form the Q source and is later modified by the Lukan, Matthean, and Gospel of Thomas authors. Each author modifies this particular story according to their particular… Continue reading →
In the Greco-Roman context, a divine man follows a systematic guideline, established by Ludwig Bieler in 1935. Stories have closely followed these idiosyncrasies of a divine man, such as those involving Jesus, Moses, and various other figures that have been emphasized for their significant value; although, the story of Apollonius parallels Bieler’s guidelines of a… Continue reading →
