Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 05:16 (Dec 2001)
Article: Hermeneutics and Matthew 13 Part II
Author: Michael D. Stallard

CTJ 5:16 (December 2001) p. 324

Hermeneutics and Matthew 13
Part II

Mike Stallard

Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA

This article is the second in a two-part series dealing with the prickly issue of the parables of the kingdom given in Matthew chapter thirteen. Familiarity with the first article is assumed in this particular presentation.1 Reviewing briefly, the first article dealt with the preliminary hermeneutical concerns of literal interpretation, the resulting Old Testament understanding of the kingdom, the place for a harmony of the Gospels in interpretation, and the development of a biblical theology of Matthew. It was suggested that a proper handle on these issues must be in place before an accurate understanding of Matthew 13:3–52 can be approached.

Specifically, the idea of literal interpretation as grammatical-historical interpretation, an approach that takes into account figures of speech and elements of literary genre, was seen as crucial to understanding the text on its own terms. Second, any interpretation of Matthew’s kingdom parables must understand at the outset the concrete essence of the kingdom as taught by the Old Testament. The Jews did not usually think in abstract terms about such things.

CTJ 5:16 (December 2001) p. 325

Therefore, the literal, earthly, political, and ethnic nature of the kingdom as understood in such passages as Amos 9, Daniel 7, Isaiah 11, and Ezekiel 36–48 form a backdrop to one’s reading of Matthew, the most Jewish of Gospels. Third, the harmony of the Gospels must be taken into account. When that is done, it is really impossible to argue for a distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God relative to the kingdom parables. Fourth, a review of the biblical theology of Matthew, that is, Matthew’s text on its own terms, reveals the same understanding of the kingdom as that of the Old Testament with its offer by Christ to the nation of Israel.

This kingdom reality is accompanied by the presentation of two related truths: (1) rejection of Christ by Israel, especially its leaders, and (2) the resulting theme of surprise for Israel and the idea of newness. It is especially the latter point which takes us to the heart of the matter for interpreting Matthew 13:3–52. Even apart from the kingdom parables in Matthew thirteen, this impression is clear in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew...