8
challenger's riposte or defense of his claim. Finally comes the public's verdict of success
awarded either to the claimant or challenger.
30
Neyrey concluded that the honor-shame game:
seems to have occurred whenever Jesus stepped into public space. The very
pervasiveness of this challenge-riposte game indicates that Jesus was both
claiming prestige and worth (as God's agent) and achieving a splendid reputation
as a prophet, teacher, and healer. Hence, the fact that Jesus was so regularly
challenged indicates, at least on the narrative level, that he was a very honorable
person who was worthy of allegiance and loyalty. It is to his credit that he was
both envied (Matt. 27:18) and challenged.
31
Matthew 21-23 is, therefore, a splendid example of this "game." By incorporating the
Temple conflicts into his account of Jesus' final Judean ministry and passion, Matthew
aimed to depict Jesus winning/achieving honor and reputation in his challenge-riposte
incidents with Israel's religious and political leaders in the Temple conflicts. This winning
of honor and shaming of enemies was received by Matthew's audience in a way that
heightened their appreciation of the worth and value of Jesus as Messiah.
Initial skirmishes 21:12-22
After a bold and royal entry in the City, Jesus next action is even more aggressive
and antagonistic. His overturning of the tables of the moneychangers and scattering the
animal sellers is a challenge that the leaders of Jerusalem could never ignore Jesus. Out
of the commotion of this violent exercise of authority he self-consciously quotes Isaiah
56:7, "
JO oi\ko" mou oi\ko" proseuch`" klhqhvsetai
," indignantly adding "
uJmei`" de; aujto;n
poiei`te sphvlaion lh/stw`n
," which echoed Jeremiah 7:11. Of course this critique of the
Temple system included his ire against the naked commercial exploitation of pilgrim
worshippers but was much more than that. He was not attempting merely to censure or
set up a reform of the Temple and its traditions. The cleansing was enacted parable of
30
Jerome Neyrey, Honor and Shame in the Gospel of Matthew (Westminster/John Knox, 1998), 20.
Neyrey maintained, "The game of honor and shame is played out in the ordinary social intercourse of the
agonistic world of antiquity" (46).
31
Ibid., 21.