How is Jesus described in Matthew's Gospel as the fulfillment of Essay

How is Jesus described in Matthew's Gospel as the fulfillment of Jewish hope - Essay Example In addition, he expected, in some respects that the gentiles would adhere to some aspects of the Torah beyond the laws that were formed for status or social distinction. Therefore, any portrayal in the 1st century of Jesus, obviously, would reflect Jesus as a Jew as was the case. However, it is the Gospel of Matthew, among all the other Gospels, that stresses the Jewish origins of Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew, it is evident that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the scriptures of the Jews in more than a dozen citations of fulfillment. Matthew starts by presenting Him as David’s son and an anointed king. Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, is presented as the new coming of Moses, for example, in the birth narrative. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew alludes to the continued theme contending that Jesus was the prophet whom the Jews had been expecting like Moses, and this is addressed in Matthew chapters 5 to 73. Here, Jesus continues to affirm the validity of the Torah to h is followers. He exemplifies that his intention is not to abolish Moses’ law or the earlier prophets but that he had arrived to fulfill them. He also claims that not an iota will pass from the Torah until it is accomplished in its totality. Jesus also teaches that anyone who relaxes these laws, even the least of them, and causes other men to do so will be the least in heaven and vice versa. He finishes by stating that unless the righteousness of his followers exceeds the Pharisees and scribes, they will not see heaven. The followers of Jesus, therefore, were required to obey the Torah in a manner that was better than the Pharisees were. The Pharisees had a reputation, both in the Gospels and outside it for following the Torah carefully in their everyday life beyond what was practiced by other Jews4. This comes through as a key to the elucidation of the following material that Jesus quotes Moses’ law and interprets the law in a manner, which affirms in the strongest ter ms the laws’ original intent as Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew comprehended it. These do not seek to replace Moses’ law but, instead, present a radicalization of why God gave the laws in the view of Matthew. Some of those in the community that Matthew wrote the Gospel for, as well as Matthew himself, evidently went on placing importance on adhering to the Jewish law and continue being Jewish in this manner5. The Gospel of Matthew was written around the year 80-85 CE, which was about twenty years following the death of the apostle6. It is, therefore, clear that another person and it wrote this Gospel is likely that this person was trained in the law of the Jews as Matthew was. As with the rest of the Gospels, Matthew possesses a unique perspective since it interprets Jesus’ life for a specific audience. Matthew’s first readers constituted of Jews and Christian converts, who previously gentiles were living in Antioch. The first Christians were converts from Judaism, although when the church began to accept gentiles, conflicts abounded. For instance, they had to decide whether the later converts would be required to convert to Judaism first on being accepted into the Christian faith7. The argument was as to whether they would have to observe traditional customs of the Jews and follow the Law of Moses. The argument also