19
contrasting enthymemes , and a maxim.
65
The second section is renowned for its seven
woes directly addressed to the scribes and Pharisees. Seven is, of course, a significant
number indicating fullness especially relating to the theme of judgment. The word "
oujaiv
"connotes a powerful denunciation, a judgment akin to a curse, and a prophetic warning of
imminent calamity.
66
Verse 34 marks a change of addressees. Jesus now broadens His censure to the
whole nation. He begins ominously with
Dia; tou`to ijdou;
, "behold, because of this." The
two previous sections are now concluded with this section, which clinches the verdict--his
judgment.
67
Though Jesus speaks with the authority of Judge, his comments reveal that
further evil will be worked against the righteous but that his followers would endure.
Finally a lament--23:37-39--Jesus' cry "
jIerousalh;m jIerousalhvm
" has the ring of a funeral
dirge. The pathos of this culminating section is of tremendous gravity, for his lament is
both tender, sorrowful, and judgmental. Jesus tenderness is found in the simile he
employs: "
posavki" hjqevlhsa ejpisunagagei`n ta; tevkna sou, o}n trovpon o[rni" ejpisunavgei ta;
nossiva aujth`" uJpo; ta;" ptevruga"
." Yet Jerusalem was not willing to be gathered tenderly
as chicks. In consequence of their rebellion and shedding of innocent blood, Jesus
proleptically sees their house desolate. The heavy air of judgment will not be lifted until
Israel says "
eujloghmevno" oJ ejrcovmeno" ejn ojnovmati kurivou
" at the sight of the return of
Jesus, the Messiah-King. The repetition of Psalm 118:25-26 provides an inclusio
bracketing the whole of chapter 21-23 from the triumphal entry to the lament and exit.
Conclusion
The arrangement of the Temple Conflict Scene is highly rhetorical. Two questions
over authority, at the beginning by the chief priests and the elders and at the end by
65
J. Daniel Wilson, "Jesus' Rhetoric of Authority in the Temple Conflict Narrative: A Rhetorical
Analysis of Matthew 21-23," Ph.D. Diss., Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 2001, 160-67.
66
David Garland, Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Gospel
(Crossroad, 1995), 87.
67
Davies and Allison, 3.315.