| Abstract
|
:
|
Christology is one of the most important theological themes in Matthew. Jesus is introduced as the Son of David, the Son of God, King, Lord, Messiah, the Son of Man, Teacher, Judge, Shepherd, and Servant in Matthew's Gospel. In the first century, the predominant, fervent Jewish view of the Messiah was the one would be the Son of David, the kingly Messiah. He is only a human Messiah, but he would restore the life of Israel in freedom and justice, so that the Jews can worship their God without fear and live in their own land without the control of the Gentiles. Nevertheless, Matthew presents Jesus, the Messiah as the divine Son of God, who is actually God with man (1:23). The whole life and ministry of Jesus are out of the Messianic expectation of the Jews, for Jesus actually lives and serves as the suffering Son of Man or as the suffering Isaianic Servant. Though Jesus is the Son of God, he is really the Servant of God whose purpose is to deliver his people from sin (1:21), instead of being a mighty, political deliver. Humility is the hallmark of Jesus' life and his ministry. Jesus not only comes from above to take the form as a man, but he also teaches humility by his own word and his own deed. Jesus' humility and obedience can be known in the incidents of the baptism, the temptation, the passion predictions, the Gethsemane prayer, the passion and the cross. Disciples need to follow Jesus' footsteps as the humble Son who fully trusts in and obeys to the will of his Father. Before Jesus goes to the cross, he needs to prepare his disciples to be the faithful people of God who can join his mission to preach the news of the arrival of the kingdom of God that is through Jesus to the world, and to ask people to repent, because Jesus is the only way for their salvation. Humility is central to Jesus' discipleship. For humility is an essential quality for a believer to be obedient to the will of God and to have a sacrificial love for the benefit of others. Whoever wants to be first must be last of all. Jesus, who suffers and sacrifices for the forgiveness of the sin of all, therefore, is the greatest of all. In God's rule, humility is the only way to enter the kingdom and future glorification. Though humility is not the most theological theme in Matthew's Gospel, it is the most important theme in Matthew's christology and ecclesiology. The motif of humbleness runs through the whole Book of Matthew. This dissertation will use six chapters to study and conclude the significance of the motif of humbleness in the passages involved with the lexeme ταπειν—as well as without the presence of these words in the whole Book of Matthew.
|