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A number of scholars agree that it is likely Matthew divided up his gospel into
sections that ended with the words "After Jesus had said these things" 23
Some scholars also include the phrase which is "After Jesus had finished these parables." This phrase is a bit different from the others and doesn't seem to fit the RealitySearch analysis of Matthew! (You may have some suggestions!) According to the breaks made by "After Jesus had said these things" there is a next Section E in the gospel to follow Matthew's Section D. But what would Matthew be likely to write about here?? Recall his situation. He was trying to encourage his community to follow the spirit of the law as Jesus had taught his disciples (50 years before). Matthew and his community, were conscious that leadership of the Jews and their heritage was being taken over by the Pharisees. Pharisees were one of the few groups mentioned in the gospels who managed to survive the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Roman army. These people were meticulous observers of the Jewish Law and as the emerging leaders of Judaism they were putting extra stress on this for ordinary Jews. Jesus was critical of the Pharisees during his life and now in the 80's CE,, Matthew would want to repeat the general warnings that Jesus gave about over-stress on external law. Have a look at a next possible section and how it divides up into paragraphs that start with a time statement made or implied. Also most paragraphs have a highlight on the words 'Jesus said' as if as a reminder these warnings came from him. Suggestions for a "warning" is given for some of these paragraphs. |
Looking for a Possible Section E