If you read yesterday's devotion and blog, you will notice that today's text contains the same admonition about the difficulties faced by the prophets, only this one is from the perspective of the writer of Matthew's gospel. Matthew is often referred to as the "most Jewish" of the four gospels, because it's writer and audience are assumed to include the Jewish community of the first century A.D. This is a group that would have been intimately aware of their own social and religious history, and so the treatment suffered by the prophets would have been familiar to them. Is it possible that Jesus' words are aimed at changing the people's behavior as much as they are at encouraging the prophets? Remember that choosing the disciples is the beginning of Jesus' creation of a new community--a nucleus that would reflect the kingdom of heaven on earth. How do you think these possibilities hang together?
Engaging the scriptures with you,
Pastor Paul
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