Jesus and the Torah in Matthew Beyond Replacement Theology

Authors

Jordan Lavender

Keywords

Jesus, Torah, Judaism

Abstract

The book of Matthew is a first-century Jewish text that reflects the debates and concerns of Second Temple Judaism, a period of Jewish religious practice lasting from the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in the sixth century BC to its destruction by Roman forces in AD 70. The Gospel of Matthew’s position on the observance of the Torah, or Jewish law, has been the subject of scholarly debate, with some claiming that Matthew advocates for the observance of Jewish law and others arguing that the Gospel proposes abandoning the observance of Jewish law. This paper follows the scholars in the former camp, who claim Matthew believed that Jewish law was still in force, even if the legal conclusions presented in the Gospel differ from protorabbinic legal practice. This paper further posits that the Gospel of Matthew reflects the intrasectarian debates within Second Temple Judaism rather than the supersessionism characteristic of second-century Christianismos. The Gospel of Matthew’s antagonism toward certain Jewish groups and traditions, especially the Pharisees, was similar to the ways in which other Jewish groups of the time expressed their identities as distinct sects.

Recommended Citation

Lavender, Jordan (2024) "Jesus and the Torah in Matthew Beyond Replacement Theology," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 63: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol63/iss2/6