Tuesday, August 8, 2023

ChoongJae Lee, "Righteousness (5:20) and τελειος (5:48) as the Contents of μετανοια"

  

Righteousness (5:20) and τελειος (5:48) as the Contents of μετανοια

 

The theme of righteousness in the sermon gives the contents of the opening commandment of turning (μετανοεω) (4:17). First, the focal point of the body of the sermon (5:17-20), which commands higher righteousness (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1, 33), a major theme in the sermon, denotes the contents of μετανοια. . . . the definition of μετανοια is to turn form sin to righteousness. As Ulrich Luz notes, the repentance is “the entry gate” to the greater righteousness of the sermon. (Luz, Matthew 1-7, 298) And as Robert H. Gundry argues, the worthy fruit of μετανοια is genuine righteousness. (Gundry, Matthew, 46-47) In other words, it shows μετανοια as to turn to have greater righteousness. In addition, since Matthew 5:17-20 shows that the demand for μετανοια is a demand both for righteousness and for higher righteousness, the fulfilment of all the law and the prophets through higher righteousness for entering the kingdom of heaven also denotes the demand for μετανοια and corresponding reward and judgment (4:17). Finally, Matthew 5:17-20 in the opening focal point of the body of the sermon indicates that the body of the sermon provides the contents of μετανοια.

 

Closely related idea to righteousness is “doing good” and “doing the will of the Father” in the sermon. They also give the contents of μετανοια in its proximity and conceptual connection to 4:17’s μετανοια commandment. For example, Matthew 5:16 commands to do good works referred to as “good fruits” and “worthy fruits of μετανοια” in 3:8, 10. These repeated and conceptually parallel terms and images indicate that good works in the sermon are the contents of good fruits worthy of μετανοια. Specifically, “good works” in 5:16 refer to the nine characters of the Beatitudes and indicate the contents and outward expression of μετανοια.

 

Also, in the final remark of the sermon (7:21) about entering the kingdom of heaven (6:10; 7:21), “doing the will of Father in heaven” is the same concept of good works and shows the contents and so the outward expression of the commandment of turning (μετανοεω). Luke 5:17-20, 7:21 mirrors the opening commandment of turning (μετανοεω) (4:17). Verses 5:17-20 and 7:21 are two different conceptual expressions of the one meaning of μετανοια (4:17). “Doing the will of God,” worthy fruit of μετανοια (3:8), good fruits (3:10), good deeds (5:16), and Matthean righteousness (5:17-20) are not different concepts. The opening and the ending of the body of the sermon include languages such as “the law and the prophets” (5:17; 7:12), “righteousness” (5:20), “doing the will of father in heaven” (7:21), and “entering into the kingdom of heaven” (5:20; 7:21), which all conceptually convey 4:17’s commandment of μετανοια.

 

Another important idea of the sermon is τελειος (5:48). It means “singleness” or “singular devotion” or “personal wholeness,” and this concept deals with the problem of one’s being before addressing one’s doing. For example, Jesus in the Antitheses rebukes the Israelites as double-minded, which means they externally followed God but internally did not (James 4:8), and calls them to turn to singleness of heart and life (τελειος), a change of both heart and deeds. As noted above μετανοια means turning one’s heart as well as one’s deeds from bad to good. This definition corresponds with the commandment of τελειος (5:48), a word that rebukes the wicked heart and deeds of the people of Israel and demands a single or whole Godward heart with corresponding deeds. (ChoongJae Lee, Metánoia (Repentance): A Major Theme of the Gospel of Matthew [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2020], 130-31)