from Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes
by David B. Capes
Wherever Jesus preached and healed in Galilee, crowds gathered. His fame and reputation grew and appears to have done so quickly (4:23–24). He preached in synagogues in Galilee, and his message about the good news to the kingdom spread to Syria and the land of the Gentiles, the Decapolis, in accordance with the prophecy (4:14–16).
5:1–2 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. As crowds gathered, Jesus ascended an undisclosed mountain in Galilee (5:1). By sitting, he assumed the posture of a teacher, and his disciples approached him. The crowds also gathered to overhear what he had to say in this, the first of five major discourses in Matthew (see Table 0.1). Once again, Jesus takes on the role as a new Moses. He has cheated death, gone down to Egypt and returned, and spent time being tested in the wilderness. His story has paralleled that of Moses. Now he ascends the mountain like Moses did on Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:1–3; and see “Matthew 4:8 Through Old Testament Eyes: Mountains”).
Matthew 5–7 Through Old Testament Eyes: A Prophet Like Moses
The expectation that a prophet like Moses would appear is ancient. It goes back to Deuteronomy 18:18–19:
[The Lord said to Moses] I will raise up for them a prophet like you [Moses] from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
God decreed that Moses would not be able to go with Israel into the land of promise, so the prophet of Sinai did everything he could to prepare the people for what was ahead. God promised them another prophet, a prophet like Moses who would arise one day from the people. Like Moses, the prophet would speak for God. Over time the prophecy took on an eschatological cast, that is, the expectation of a future coming of a prophet like Moses at the end of days. We see this reflected in literature from roughly the same period when Matthew was writing: Philo (De Spec Leg 1.65) and the Pseudo-Clementine Preaching of Peter (Recogn 1.43). The author of Acts clearly makes a connection between Jesus and the endtime prophet, intensifying the threat that those who do not listen to him will be rooted out of God’s people (Ac 3:22–23; cf. Mt 7:21–23). Matthew makes the case that Jesus is the eschatological prophet like Moses not by stating the obvious but by paralleling their lives’ stories. Now Jesus opens his mouth and speaks for God, as Moses had done before him.
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The first part of this famous sermon consists of nine sayings, referred to as the Beatitudes (from the Latin beatus, “blessed, happy, fortunate, flourishing”[1]).
First, Jesus pronounces a blessing upon “the poor in spirit” (5:3). While not identical and translations vary, the notion owes its substance to Old Testament passages like Isaiah 61:1 (LXX) quoted regarding Jesus elsewhere (Lk 4:16–30):
The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to summon the acceptable year of the Lord
and the day of retribution,
to comfort all who mourn
so that to those who mourn for Sion
be given glory instead of ashes,
oil of joy to those who mourn,
a garment of glory instead of a spirit of weariness.
They will be called generations of righteousness,
a plant of the Lord for glory.
They shall build the desolate places of old;
they shall raise up the former devastated places;
They shall renew the desolate cities,
places devastated for generations. (Isa 61:1–4, LXX)[2]
The unnamed prophet described in Isaiah 61 has a distinct mission to preach to the poor and captives, heal the brokenhearted and blind, and call for the year of jubilee and the release of slaves from bondage. He is anointed directly by God and has the spirit of the Lord upon him. In this oracle we notice the confluence of several ideas regarding the people who are created through his mission. They are the poor and brokenhearted who mourn for Zion, whose mourning is comforted and, eventually, turns to joy. They are known for their righteousness. Their task is to rebuild the ancient ruins and renew destroyed cities: in other words, to erase the stain and shame of defeat at the hands of their enemies. The prophet’s mission brings to mind another figure from earlier chapters, the servant of the Lord, who is also endowed with the Spirit and is God’s delight (“in whom I delight,” Isa 42:1–4; cf. Isa 49:1–7; 52:13–53:12). His task is to bring justice and righteousness to the nations. The reference to the “poor in spirit” recalls Isaiah 61 and other passages like it.
God’s disposition toward people with humility is similar to his disposition toward the poor (e.g., Zep 2:3). For example, Isaiah 66:2 (LXX) reads:
And to whom will I look
but to the one who is humble and quiet
and trembles at my words?
God’s favor rests on those who are humble, quiet, and tremble at his word. The opposite are the lawless who sacrifice to YHWH but mock God through disobedience. This is not the way of the poor in spirit.
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Isaiah 61 may well shape the second beatitude too, for it announces comfort for those who mourn, particularly those who mourn over Jerusalem and the land of Judah. They are called the poor and the righteous. But in the beatitude the promise of comfort is for the future, not necessarily the present: “They will be comforted.” It is eschatological, awaiting its complete fulfillment in the age to come.
In Jesus’ “Bible,” mourning has a variety of associations, but two are primary. First, there is the grief of loss and death (e.g., Ge 23:2; 50:11; Nu 14:39; 1 Sa 25:1). Second, the survivors mourn the plight of Jerusalem and those Jews who suffered death and exile because of their enemies (Ne 1:4; Isa 66:10). There are triumphant notes as well. When God ends the exile and gathers his people home to Zion, mourning will turn to dancing and joy (Jer 31:13).[3]
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. This third beatitude has obvious links to Psalm 37:11: “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.” Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm built on the acrostic form. It makes various promises associated with the land and its abundance to the righteous, contrasting those who trust in the Lord with the wicked. The wicked will fade like the grass and vanish like smoke, while those who trust in the Lord and do good will live in the land and enjoy security. Five times the promise to inherit the land is made to: (1) those who hope in the Lord (37:9); (2) the meek (37:11); (3) those blessed by the Lord (37:22); (4) the righteous (37:29); and (5) those who hope in the Lord and keep his way (37:34). When the psalm was composed, the “land” referred to the territories traditionally settled by the children of Israel. But in the beatitude Jesus universalizes the blessing to extend to all the earth: the meek will inherit the earth. When the kingdom comes—“will inherit”—it will stretch to the four corners of the earth. So the meek, as described in Psalm 37, are the righteous, those who trust and wait on the Lord and follow his teachings. In keeping with the wisdom theme, the meek then are the truly wise (Pr 16:18–21).
5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. We have already seen how important Isaiah 61 was to the first and second beatitude regarding the poor in spirit and those who mourn. It is likely significant as well to the fourth, for in this oracle the poor and mournful are further described as the “oaks of righteousness” (61:3).
The dominical saying—“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”—is unique to Matthew (cf. Lk 6:21). There is no phrase precisely like this in the Old Testament, but the wise do “pursue” justice and righteousness.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
but he loves the one who pursues righteousness.
(Pr 15:9 NRSV, italics added)
Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life and honor. (Pr 21:21 NRSV, italics added)
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
(Isa 51:1 NRSV, italics added)
In Isaiah 51:1 the pursuit of righteousness is parallel to seeking the Lord. Each of these phrases interprets the other. Likewise, often “justice” parallels righteousness in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 29:14; Ps 36:6; Am 5:24). God’s people are commanded by Moses, and therefore by God, to pursue justice so they will live well in the land God is about to give them (Dt 16:20). Such passages likely inform anyone with ears attuned to the Hebrew Scriptures.[4]
In Sirach 24:21, Wisdom claims that “those who eat of me will hunger for more, and those who drink of me will thirst for more” (NRSV). The language of hungering and thirsting is clear and parallels Jesus’ beatitude. Although Sirach is not an Old Testament book, there is a good chance that Wisdom sayings like this circulated in instructional settings so that people would have been broadly familiar with hungering and thirsting for something (like wisdom or righteousness).[5] Those who hunger and thirst for more wisdom are commended and promised implicitly that there is more to come. Yet wisdom is identified with the book of the covenant, the law delivered to Moses and passed on to the people (i.e., Torah; Sirach 24:23). Therefore, knowing and following God’s teaching is broadly construed as wisdom. In addition, trusting God and doing the commandments is widely interpreted as righteousness. Ultimately, God’s law codifies justice.
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[1] Jonathan Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), makes the case that the best translation of the Greek makarios may be “flourishing,” but it is unlikely that it means all that moderns mean when they use the term.
[2] Quoted from the LXX. Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright, eds. A New Translation of the Septuagint: And the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under That Title, trans. Moisés Silva (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). All LXX translations are taken from this source unless noted otherwise.
[3] For a helpful explanation of this and other Beatitudes see Steve Stewart, The Beatitudes for a Time of Crisis (Rio Rancho, NM: Impact Nations, 2020).
[4] See Psalm 107, a thanksgiving psalm, that describes the exiles’ joy in God’s provision on the way back to the land. In vv. 6–9, they are described as hungry and thirsty, and yet God satisfies them.
[5] David deSilva and James Charlesworth, Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), offers a useful introduction to the apocryphal literature and its potential importance in reflecting Jewish perspectives in the Second Temple period.
This post is adapted from Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes by David B. Capes. This title was released on March 26, 2024. If you are interested in adopting this book for a college or seminary course, please request a faculty examination copy. We will also consider requests for your blog or media outlets.
Through Old Testament Eyes is a new kind of commentary series that illuminates the Old Testament backgrounds, allusions, patterns, and references saturating the New Testament. The structure and content of the Old Testament were second nature to the New Testament authors and their audiences, but today’s readers have no reference point for understanding their intricate role in the New Testament. Bible teachers, preachers, and students committed to understanding Scripture will gain insight through these rich Old Testament connections, which clarify puzzling passages and explain others in fresh ways.
The Gospel of Matthew contains both overt and subtle connections to the Old Testament, capitalizing on the scriptural literacy of the work’s original, first-century Jewish audience. These complex and multifaceted connections are not always recognized by today’s readers, meaning significant ideas can be easily missed or misappropriated. David B. Capes elucidates these extensive backgrounds, echoes, quotations, ways of thinking, and patterns of living, showing how God’s plan–introduced in the Hebrew Scriptures–is revealed through the very person, work, life, and ministry of Jesus.
