The worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

Commentarii Periodici Pontificii Instituti Biblici

BIBLICAVol. 93

Fasc. 2

Hak Chol KIM

The Worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

ESTRATTO

The Worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew *

The Gospel of Matthew reports a scene in which Jesus was testedbefore his public ministry. After being baptized by John the Baptist(3,13-17), he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tested by theDevil (4,1-10). Having failed with his first two tests, the Devilbrought Jesus to the summit of a very high mountain, showed himall the kingdoms and their glory, and said, “All these I will give you,if you will fall down and worship (proskunh,sh|j) me” (NRS, 4,9).However, Jesus refused the Devil’s offer, saying, “Away with you,Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship (proskunh,seij) the Lord your God,and serve only him’” (NRS, 4,10).

Various people, however, appear to have worshiped Jesus (2,2.8.11;8,2; 9,18; 14,33; 15,25; 20,20; 28,9.17) rather than “the Lord yourGod” whom Jesus declared to be the only object of worship in theGospel of Matthew. In the Gospel of Matthew, people glorified God(9,8; 15,31; cf. 5,16), and Jesus also gave thanks to God publicly(11,25). But the term worship, except for 4,10, is applied only to Jesus.It is even more interesting that, having declared that only God shouldbe worshiped, Jesus did not in any way refuse to accept people’sworship. Is it because proskunei/n indicates only the act of kneelingdown before a benefactor that Jesus accepted proskunei/n of peoplewithout compunction? Or is it possible that with the worship of JesusMatthew is revealing his Christology and the socio-political situationof the Matthean community?

This study attempts to analyze the characteristics of the worshipof Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and to explain the Christologyand the socio-political implications of the Matthean community thatthe worship of Jesus points to 1. In doing so, I try to expand the

BIBLICA 93.2 (2012) 227-241

* This work was supported by National Research Foundation of KoreaGrant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2011-332-A00059).

1 C.H. Talbert recognizes the tension between Jesus’ quote “Worship theLord your God, and serve only him” and Jesus’ acceptance of worship in theGospel of Matthew. C.H. TALBERT, “Imperative and Indicative in MattheanSoteriology”, Bib 82 (2001) 533. And he comments insightfully on thepassages about the worship of Jesus. C.H. TALBERT, Matthew (Paideia; Grand

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understanding not only of the Christology of the Gospel of Matthew,but also concerning the Matthean community that practiced theworship of Jesus 2.

I. The Worship of Jesus: A Distinguishing Characteristicof the Gospel of Matthew

The worship of Jesus is a distinguishing characteristic of theGospel of Matthew. This becomes evident when the Gospel ofMatthew is compared with the other Synoptic Gospels, i.e., the Gospelof Mark and the Gospel of Luke. The word proskunei/n is employedeighteen times in the Synoptic Gospels. Except for two times in theGospel of Mark (5,6; 15,19) and three times in the Gospel of Luke(4,7.8; 24,52), all of the other appearances (thirteen times) belong tothe Gospel of Matthew.

Both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke do notemphasize the worship of Jesus, and worship is performed only bysuspicious characters in the former Gospel. The first “worshiper” ofJesus was a demon-possessed Gerasene man in the Gospel of Mark(5,6). Jesus does not seem to have accepted his worship (5,8-9).Then the next group of worshipers was the Roman soldiers who

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Rapids, MI 2010) 23, 35-36, 186, 189, 311, 312. He, however, does notelaborate on this theme with regard to the Christology and the socio-politicalimplications of the Matthean community.

2 Although there have been hot debates over the Christian worship ofJesus, there are not many studies concentrating on the Gospel of Matthew.M.A. POWELL, God with Us. A Pastoral Theology of Matthew’s Gospel(Minneapolis, MN 1995) 28-61; id., “A Typology of Worship in the Gospelof Matthew”, JSNT 57 (1995) 3-17. The research dealing with the earlyChristian worship of Jesus can be listed as the following: J.D.G. DUNN, Didthe First Christians Worship Jesus? The New Testament Evidence(Louisville, KY 2010); R. BAUCKHAM, Jesus and the God of Israel. GodCrucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of DivineIdentity (Grand Rapids, MI 2008); L.W. HURTADO, Lord Jesus Christ.Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI 2003); R.T.FRANCE, “The Worship of Jesus: A Neglected Factor in ChristologicalDebate?”, Christ the Lord. Studies Presented to Donald Guthrie (ed. H.H.ROWDON) (Leicester 1982) 17-36. Although these studies are very useful inunderstanding the early Christian worship of Jesus, they do not take a speciallook at the Matthean worship of Jesus.

The Worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew *

The Gospel of Matthew reports a scene in which Jesus was testedbefore his public ministry. After being baptized by John the Baptist(3,13-17), he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tested by theDevil (4,1-10). Having failed with his first two tests, the Devilbrought Jesus to the summit of a very high mountain, showed himall the kingdoms and their glory, and said, “All these I will give you,if you will fall down and worship (proskunh,sh|j) me” (NRS, 4,9).However, Jesus refused the Devil’s offer, saying, “Away with you,Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship (proskunh,seij) the Lord your God,and serve only him’” (NRS, 4,10).

Various people, however, appear to have worshiped Jesus (2,2.8.11;8,2; 9,18; 14,33; 15,25; 20,20; 28,9.17) rather than “the Lord yourGod” whom Jesus declared to be the only object of worship in theGospel of Matthew. In the Gospel of Matthew, people glorified God(9,8; 15,31; cf. 5,16), and Jesus also gave thanks to God publicly(11,25). But the term worship, except for 4,10, is applied only to Jesus.It is even more interesting that, having declared that only God shouldbe worshiped, Jesus did not in any way refuse to accept people’sworship. Is it because proskunei/n indicates only the act of kneelingdown before a benefactor that Jesus accepted proskunei/n of peoplewithout compunction? Or is it possible that with the worship of JesusMatthew is revealing his Christology and the socio-political situationof the Matthean community?

This study attempts to analyze the characteristics of the worshipof Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and to explain the Christologyand the socio-political implications of the Matthean community thatthe worship of Jesus points to 1. In doing so, I try to expand the

BIBLICA 93.2 (2012) 227-241

* This work was supported by National Research Foundation of KoreaGrant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2011-332-A00059).

1 C.H. Talbert recognizes the tension between Jesus’ quote “Worship theLord your God, and serve only him” and Jesus’ acceptance of worship in theGospel of Matthew. C.H. TALBERT, “Imperative and Indicative in MattheanSoteriology”, Bib 82 (2001) 533. And he comments insightfully on thepassages about the worship of Jesus. C.H. TALBERT, Matthew (Paideia; Grand

understanding not only of the Christology of the Gospel of Matthew,but also concerning the Matthean community that practiced theworship of Jesus 2.

I. The Worship of Jesus: A Distinguishing Characteristicof the Gospel of Matthew

The worship of Jesus is a distinguishing characteristic of theGospel of Matthew. This becomes evident when the Gospel ofMatthew is compared with the other Synoptic Gospels, i.e., the Gospelof Mark and the Gospel of Luke. The word proskunei/n is employedeighteen times in the Synoptic Gospels. Except for two times in theGospel of Mark (5,6; 15,19) and three times in the Gospel of Luke(4,7.8; 24,52), all of the other appearances (thirteen times) belong tothe Gospel of Matthew.

Both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke do notemphasize the worship of Jesus, and worship is performed only bysuspicious characters in the former Gospel. The first “worshiper” ofJesus was a demon-possessed Gerasene man in the Gospel of Mark(5,6). Jesus does not seem to have accepted his worship (5,8-9).Then the next group of worshipers was the Roman soldiers who

HAK CHOL KIM228

Rapids, MI 2010) 23, 35-36, 186, 189, 311, 312. He, however, does notelaborate on this theme with regard to the Christology and the socio-politicalimplications of the Matthean community.

2 Although there have been hot debates over the Christian worship ofJesus, there are not many studies concentrating on the Gospel of Matthew.M.A. POWELL, God with Us. A Pastoral Theology of Matthew’s Gospel(Minneapolis, MN 1995) 28-61; id., “A Typology of Worship in the Gospelof Matthew”, JSNT 57 (1995) 3-17. The research dealing with the earlyChristian worship of Jesus can be listed as the following: J.D.G. DUNN, Didthe First Christians Worship Jesus? The New Testament Evidence(Louisville, KY 2010); R. BAUCKHAM, Jesus and the God of Israel. GodCrucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of DivineIdentity (Grand Rapids, MI 2008); L.W. HURTADO, Lord Jesus Christ.Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI 2003); R.T.FRANCE, “The Worship of Jesus: A Neglected Factor in ChristologicalDebate?”, Christ the Lord. Studies Presented to Donald Guthrie (ed. H.H.ROWDON) (Leicester 1982) 17-36. Although these studies are very useful inunderstanding the early Christian worship of Jesus, they do not take a speciallook at the Matthean worship of Jesus.

worshiped Jesus to mock him (15,16-20). In these two scenes it isappropriate to render proskunei/n as simply “to bow” (NAU) ratherthan “to worship” (KJV).

Although Luke knew the Gospel of Mark, he did not record anyoneworshiping Jesus. The Gospel of Luke reports that the act of thedemon-possessed Gerasene man before Jesus was not “proseku,nhsen”but “prose,pesen”, that is, “prostrated” (8,28). The only possibleexception to the Lukan principle that Jesus was not to be worshipedis in Luke 24,52 where the disciples of Jesus are reported to haveworshiped the resurrected Jesus. However, some importantmanuscripts (D, sys) omit the phrase “proskunh,santej auvto,n”. If ashort reading is preferred, the pericope should be reconstructed on thebasis of the manuscripts omitting the phrase, although the pericope isnot determined yet and still under debate. The Gospel of Luke showsthat Jesus was faithful to his words at his test, that is, “worship theLord your God, and serve only him” (4,8). Furthermore, it isinteresting to compare the Gospel of Matthew with the Gospel ofLuke in terms of their usage of glory and worship. Whereas the Gospelof Matthew ascribes glory to God and worship to Jesus respectively,in Luke we find that Jesus “was glorified” (doxazo,menoj, 4,15) andthat God should be worshiped (4,8). Luke does not attempt to describethe worship of Jesus.

The characteristic of the Matthean worship of Jesus alsobecomes apparent in comparison to the Gospel of John, which hasbeen considered as demonstrating a preeminently high Christology.In the Gospel of John, except for one occasion (9,38), worship isapplied only to God (4,20.21.22.23.24; 12,20) 3. However, theGospel of Matthew reports eight different times where peopleworshiped Jesus.

In view of the textual loci of the worship of Jesus, it is evidentthat Matthew regards the worship of Jesus as very important.Matthew begins and ends his Gospel with the worship of Jesus. Thefirst instance in which Matthew introduces the worship of Jesus isplaced early on in the Gospel. Even before Jesus was of age, hewas worshiped as an infant (2,11). The last scene of the worship ofJesus is found in the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel

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3 D. Lee argues that the worship of Jesus was at the heart of the Johannineworship. See D. LEE, “In the Spirit of Truth: Worship and Prayer in the Gospelof John and the Early Fathers”, VigChr 58 (2004) 277-297.

(28,17). Evidently, the Gospel is framed at the beginning and theend with the theme of the worship of Jesus. This framework iscoterminous with the inclusio of “Emmanuel” (God with us) as theidentity of Jesus, which encircles the beginning and the end of theGospel (1,23; 28,20). In addition, in the same way that Emmanuelappears in the middle of the Gospel (18,20), so does the worshipof Jesus. The worship of Jesus indicates the attitude of the peopletowards Jesus who were involved in Jesus’ various ministries, andthis can be understood as a literary-theological device of Matthewused to reveal the identity of Jesus.

II. Jesus’ Identity Revealed in the Worship of Jesus

There are eight scenes of the worship of Jesus in the Gospel ofMatthew. Among them, the four scenes classified as “epiphanicworship” (2,2.8.11; 14,33; 28,9.17) 4 clearly unveil the pivot ofMatthean Christology. The first scene is the story of the Magi whocame from the East and worshiped the infant Jesus (2,1-13). Jesus isidentified in the story as the “king of the Jews” and “Christ/Messiah”(2,2.4). It is highly possible that the firsthand audience of the Gospelof Matthew, consisting of Jews and Gentiles in the Roman Empire 5,

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4 POWELL, God with Us, 42, defines “epiphanic worship” as “a participa-tion in divine revelation that clarifies and expresses the worshiper’s percep-tion of the one who is worshiped”.

5 There have been heated debates with regard to the ethnic composition ofthe Matthean community and to its Gentile missions. D.C. Sim argues that theMatthean community was hardly involved in the Gentile mission and that therewere few in it. D.C. SIM, “Matthew, Paul and the origin and nature of the gentilemission: The great commission in Matthew 28:16-20 as an anti-Paulinetradition”, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 64 (2008) 377-392; D.C. SIM, TheGospel of Matthew and Christian Judaism. The History and Social Setting ofthe Matthean Community (Edinburgh 1998). However, there are objections tohis opinion. For example, B. BYRNE, “The Messiah in Whose Name ‘TheGentiles Will Hope’ (Matt 12:21): Gentile Inclusion as an Essential Element ofMatthew’s Christology”, AusBR 50 (2002) 55-73. Then Sim and Byrne continueto criticize each other. D.C. SIM, “Matthew and the Gentiles: A Response toBrendan Byrne”, AusBR 50 (2002) 74-79; B. BYRNE, “Brendan Byrne Respondsto David Sim”, AusBR 50 (2002) 79. There are more balanced opinions. D.SENIOR, “Between Two Worlds: Gentile and Jewish Christians in Matthew’sGospel”, CBQ 61 (1999) 1-23; W. CARTER, “Matthew and the Gentiles:

worshiped Jesus to mock him (15,16-20). In these two scenes it isappropriate to render proskunei/n as simply “to bow” (NAU) ratherthan “to worship” (KJV).

Although Luke knew the Gospel of Mark, he did not record anyoneworshiping Jesus. The Gospel of Luke reports that the act of thedemon-possessed Gerasene man before Jesus was not “proseku,nhsen”but “prose,pesen”, that is, “prostrated” (8,28). The only possibleexception to the Lukan principle that Jesus was not to be worshipedis in Luke 24,52 where the disciples of Jesus are reported to haveworshiped the resurrected Jesus. However, some importantmanuscripts (D, sys) omit the phrase “proskunh,santej auvto,n”. If ashort reading is preferred, the pericope should be reconstructed on thebasis of the manuscripts omitting the phrase, although the pericope isnot determined yet and still under debate. The Gospel of Luke showsthat Jesus was faithful to his words at his test, that is, “worship theLord your God, and serve only him” (4,8). Furthermore, it isinteresting to compare the Gospel of Matthew with the Gospel ofLuke in terms of their usage of glory and worship. Whereas the Gospelof Matthew ascribes glory to God and worship to Jesus respectively,in Luke we find that Jesus “was glorified” (doxazo,menoj, 4,15) andthat God should be worshiped (4,8). Luke does not attempt to describethe worship of Jesus.

The characteristic of the Matthean worship of Jesus alsobecomes apparent in comparison to the Gospel of John, which hasbeen considered as demonstrating a preeminently high Christology.In the Gospel of John, except for one occasion (9,38), worship isapplied only to God (4,20.21.22.23.24; 12,20) 3. However, theGospel of Matthew reports eight different times where peopleworshiped Jesus.

In view of the textual loci of the worship of Jesus, it is evidentthat Matthew regards the worship of Jesus as very important.Matthew begins and ends his Gospel with the worship of Jesus. Thefirst instance in which Matthew introduces the worship of Jesus isplaced early on in the Gospel. Even before Jesus was of age, hewas worshiped as an infant (2,11). The last scene of the worship ofJesus is found in the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel

3 D. Lee argues that the worship of Jesus was at the heart of the Johannineworship. See D. LEE, “In the Spirit of Truth: Worship and Prayer in the Gospelof John and the Early Fathers”, VigChr 58 (2004) 277-297.

(28,17). Evidently, the Gospel is framed at the beginning and theend with the theme of the worship of Jesus. This framework iscoterminous with the inclusio of “Emmanuel” (God with us) as theidentity of Jesus, which encircles the beginning and the end of theGospel (1,23; 28,20). In addition, in the same way that Emmanuelappears in the middle of the Gospel (18,20), so does the worshipof Jesus. The worship of Jesus indicates the attitude of the peopletowards Jesus who were involved in Jesus’ various ministries, andthis can be understood as a literary-theological device of Matthewused to reveal the identity of Jesus.

II. Jesus’ Identity Revealed in the Worship of Jesus

There are eight scenes of the worship of Jesus in the Gospel ofMatthew. Among them, the four scenes classified as “epiphanicworship” (2,2.8.11; 14,33; 28,9.17) 4 clearly unveil the pivot ofMatthean Christology. The first scene is the story of the Magi whocame from the East and worshiped the infant Jesus (2,1-13). Jesus isidentified in the story as the “king of the Jews” and “Christ/Messiah”(2,2.4). It is highly possible that the firsthand audience of the Gospelof Matthew, consisting of Jews and Gentiles in the Roman Empire 5,

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4 POWELL, God with Us, 42, defines “epiphanic worship” as “a participa-tion in divine revelation that clarifies and expresses the worshiper’s percep-tion of the one who is worshiped”.

5 There have been heated debates with regard to the ethnic composition ofthe Matthean community and to its Gentile missions. D.C. Sim argues that theMatthean community was hardly involved in the Gentile mission and that therewere few in it. D.C. SIM, “Matthew, Paul and the origin and nature of the gentilemission: The great commission in Matthew 28:16-20 as an anti-Paulinetradition”, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 64 (2008) 377-392; D.C. SIM, TheGospel of Matthew and Christian Judaism. The History and Social Setting ofthe Matthean Community (Edinburgh 1998). However, there are objections tohis opinion. For example, B. BYRNE, “The Messiah in Whose Name ‘TheGentiles Will Hope’ (Matt 12:21): Gentile Inclusion as an Essential Element ofMatthew’s Christology”, AusBR 50 (2002) 55-73. Then Sim and Byrne continueto criticize each other. D.C. SIM, “Matthew and the Gentiles: A Response toBrendan Byrne”, AusBR 50 (2002) 74-79; B. BYRNE, “Brendan Byrne Respondsto David Sim”, AusBR 50 (2002) 79. There are more balanced opinions. D.SENIOR, “Between Two Worlds: Gentile and Jewish Christians in Matthew’sGospel”, CBQ 61 (1999) 1-23; W. CARTER, “Matthew and the Gentiles:

understood the titles king of the Jews 6 and Christ/Messiah in a socio-political context 7. They encountered Matthew’s report that the birthof Jesus, to which the Magi testified, was the fulfillment of theprophecy of Micah (Mic 5,2; Matt 5,6). Those acquainted withJewish tradition clearly understood it politically as the subsequentstory in Matthew indicates. The character most disturbed (evtara,cqh)by the OT prophecy and the visit of the Magi was Herod, the Romanclient king (2,3). Herod asked about the specific birthplace of Jesus(2,4) and made plans to kill him (2,13) believing that the baby,designated as ruler in Micah and born with the title king and Christ,was a direct threat to himself.

Those unfamiliar with Jewish tradition might also have recognizedthe tremendous political impact of the story of the Magi. The story ofthe Magi, who followed the star from the East in order to worship theking, might have reminded the audience of a historical event knownin the contemporary Mediterranean world. The event that took placeabout 65 C.E. during the reign of Nero was as follows: The sons ofthree Parthian rulers called “Magi” came together with an Armenianruler to visit Nero and paid homage to him (Pliny, N.H. 30.6.16-17)and then went back “by another way” (Dio, 63.7; Suetonius, Nero.13). J.A. Overman classifies this story, with its political implicationsin the Near Eastern world, as “the tradition of embassy” 8 and pointsout the similarities with the story of the Matthean Magi whoworshiped the ruler and went back “by another way” (2,12). The storyof the Matthean Magi must have had an explosive political impact incombination with a famous Mediterranean prophecy about the rise ofthe rulers from Judaea. According to Tacitus: “… in the ancient

Individual Conversion and/or Systemic Transformation?”, JSNT 263 (2004)259-282. The present writer holds the opinion that the Matthean community wasindeed involved in the Gentile missions and that it was a multiethnic communitythat included Gentile constituents. Nonetheless, this aspect will not be discussedbecause it surpasses the boundary of the present study.

6 In order to understand the Jewish tradition about the “king of the Jews”,see R. VINSON, “‘King of the Jews’: Kingship and Anti-Kingship Rhetoric inMatthew’s Birth, Baptism, and Transfiguration Narratives”, RevExp 104 (2007)243-268.

7 W. CARTER, “Contested Claims: Roman Imperial Theology and Matthew’sGospel”, BTB 29 (1999) 56-67.

8 For further discussions, see J.A. OVERMAN, Church and Community inCrisis. The Gospel according to Matthew (Valley Forge, PA 1996) 45.

records of their priests was contained a prediction of how at this verytime the East was to grow powerful and rulers, coming from Judaea,were to acquire universal empire” (Hist. 5:13, cf. Josephus, J.W.6.312; Virgil, Ecl. 4; Suetonius, Vesp. 4). Thus, it is probable that thestory of the Matthean Magi combined with both “the tradition ofembassy” and the prophecy introduced by Tacitus so that the audiencewas privy to the meaning of the birth of Jesus as the new king whowould fulfill the prophecy.

Consequently, regardless of their ethnic background, the audienceof Matthew could have recognized the birth of a new ruler in thescene where the infant Jesus is worshiped. The opinion of G.Theissen is persuasive, affirming the “link between Jewish messianicexpectations and pagan hopes” 9. The audience of Matthew came tohear the proclamation that the newborn baby was the ruler anticipatedby both Jews and Gentiles.

The Gospel of Matthew reports the second scene of the worship ofJesus (14,22-33) in which Jesus walked on the stormy Sea of Galilee.Matthew reworks the story of Mark (Mark 6,45-52) and describes howthe disciples were greatly terrified (evtara,cqhsan) like King Herodwhen they saw Jesus walking on the stormy sea, and they shouted “It’sa ghost!” (14,26). Then Jesus identified himself simply: “I am” (evgw,eivmi, 14,27). On the surface, the expression informed the disciples ofthe fact that it was not a ghost but Jesus himself. Nonetheless, theaudience of Matthew knew that the expression was used for the self-designation of YHWH in the OT 10. The implication of Jesus’self-designation was even more amplified with the halting of the wind(14,32) when Jesus climbed into the boat. Just like the God of the OT(Job 9,8; Ps 77,19; Isa 42,16), Jesus not only walked on the sea butalso controlled the world of chaos or the demonic powers symbolizedby the stormy sea. It is rare to find in both the Jewish and Greco-Romanreligious traditions that a human being walks on water. Such a deedwas considered to belong to the divine realm and stem from divine

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9 G. THEISSEN, “Vom Davidssohn zum Weltherrscher. Pagane und jüdischeEndzeiterwartungen im Spiegel des Matthäusevangeliums”, Das Ende derTage und die Gegenwart des Heils. Begegnungen mit dem Neuen Testamentund seiner Umwelt. Festschrift für Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn zum 65. Geburtstag(eds. M. BECKER – W. FENSKE) (Leiden 1999) 145-164.

10 U. LUZ, Matthew 8-20 (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN 2001) 320. 11 J.P. HEIL, Jesus Walking on the Sea. Meaning and Gospel Functions of

Matt. 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, and John 6:15b-21 (AnBib 87; Rome 1981)37-56; LUZ, Matthew 8-20, 319-320.