Friday, September 29, 2023

"Lord, Lord" (κυριε κυριε) in Matthew 7:21-22 as Evidence of Early High Christology

 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses κυριος twice to refer to himself:

 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord (κυριε κυριε), shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord (κυριε κυριε), have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (Matt 7:21-22)

 

When one examples the double use of κυριος in the LXX, one will see that this is used of YHWH, showing that, in Jesus’ self-designation of himself, we have potentially a very high Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. Consider the following representative examples from the LXX (using the NETS translation):

 

"O Lord, Lord (HEB: אדני יהוה), you have begun to show your attendant your strength and your power and your strong hand and your high arm. For what god is there in the sky or on the earth who will do as you have done, and according to your strength?" (Deut 3:24)

 

And I prayed to God and said, "O Lord, Lord (HEB: אדני יהוה), king of the gods, do not utterly destroy your people and your possession whom you redeemed by your great strength, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with your great strength and with your strong hand and your high arm. (Deut 9:26)

 

For this is what the Lord (LXX reads κυριος κυριος; HEB: אדני יהוה) says: The city out of which a thousand were going forth, there shall be left a hundred, and out of which a hundred were going forth, there shall be left then to the house of Israel. (Amos 5:3)

 

And it will be, if they finish to devour the grass of the land-and I said, "O Lord, O Lord (LXX: κυριος κυριος; HEB: אדני יהוה), be gracious. Who will raise up Iakob, because he is very small? (Amos 7:2)

 

And I said, O Lord, O Lord (LXX: κυριος κυριος; Heb: אדני יהוה), do cease! Who will raise up Iakob, because he is very small? (Amos 7:5)

 

And you will say, 'O Lord, O Lord (LXX: κυριε κυριε; HEB: יהוה), it was you who spoke against this place to destroy it utterly and so that neither human nor animal inhabitants in it, because it shall be an annihilation forever.' (Jer 28:62 [English: 51:62])

  

And you shall say to them, This is what the Lord (LXX: κυριος κυριος; HEB: אדני יהוה) says: Behold, I am taking the whole house of Israel from the midst of the nations, there where they went, and I will gather them from all those around them and bring them into the land of Israel. (Ezek 37:21)