L
luciasclay
Guest
I have been studying the use of the dueterocanonical works for a while now. And I was slowly putting the pieces together. I had an eureka moment last night. My eyes were opened.
My question is twofold :
Thanks!
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In Matthew the heading in my RSV says “request for a sign”. And the answer is “no sign but that of the prophet Jonah”. Well there is a lot more hiding in plain sight right there. And it is as plain as plain could be. Christ is teaching directly from the Dueterocanonical work of Wisdom of Solomon.
I have blogged on this before but tonight I was up praying and reading. I looked back over my Christ using the Wisdom of Solomon post. My eyes must have been opened because suddenly it all connected in a way that words cannot express.
First the passage from Matthew.
Continuing linearly, not proof texting, not jumping around, just reading the Word. Read the rest of Matthew 12 verses 39-42
Christ is teaching from Jonah, the writings of Jonah, where he speaks of the type of his burial and resurrection. In precisely the same manner he names the Wisdom of Solomon, the very work that he is teaching from here. But what must be realized clearly is that the sign of the Prophet Jonah and the Wisdom of Solomon are part and parcel the same sign. Indeed even the asking for a sign is part and parcel of the crucifixion.
To see this lets just keep right on reading, again linearly not jumping back and forth from the Wisdom of Solomon, the very passage that Christ begins teaching from in Matthew 12:34. I will for brevity pass over six versus of Wisdom and continue from Wisdom 1:16 and continue straight through until the end of the second chapter.
And just so we can be fully convinced lets pass on in the gospel of Matthew to the crucifixion. Reading from Matthew 27 we first hear the words of the passers by and then the words of the chief priests, scribes and elders.
Christ teaching from virtually all of the first two chapters of Wisdom of Solomon and applying it to the rulers of that day. Christ applying the prophecy of the second chapter of Wisdom of Solomon to himself combined with the prophecy or sign of Jonah. Christ even calling out the source of his teaching by name, just like he called out Jonah. The broader aspects of asking for a sign and testing connecting Wisdom 1 and 2. When Matthew gave his account of the crucifixion he carefully noted how those who called out to Christ did in fact do everything he prophesied and that was prophesied so clearly and so explicitly in Wisdom of Solomon. On and on.
Is it any wonder that in the post Christian era these books would be expunged from the canon of the Jews ? Why does the Church include them in her canon ? Because they were included by Christ and by his Apostles. There are many more examples of the use of these books by the authors of the new testament. There is much to divert from the clear and obvious point.
Christ taught from Wisdom of Solomon as prophecy of himself and in other ways, the Gospel records the manner in which it was fulfilled.
Remember where it says “cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree” and how “he suffered a shameful death even death on a cross” and so on and so forth in the epistles and possibly acts ? This wasn’t a peripheral concept it was core. And it came from Wisdom of Solomon.
This isn’t a new thing, some novel teaching, that I am observing here. There is a Church which has preserved the deposit given it for 2000 years. And on this point the Church both East and West are unanimous. Only the protestants, out of sincere ignorance I hope, reject this prophecy of Christ, used by Christ, used by the Gospel writers and the apostles etc. And their reason is the Jews don’t accept it and they base this on a post Christian era council or school of Rabbis.
We have the Wisdom of Solomon, we have the Words of Christ, we have the words spoken to Christ on the cross as recorded by Matthew. We have Christ saying the Wisdom of Solomon will condemn you and it was accepted by the Queen of the South. It could not be any more clear.
Lord Have Mercy!
Lord Have Mercy!
Lord Have Mercy!
My question is twofold :
- What alternate sources in the rest of the old testament exist, outside the dueterocanonicals, for these teachings of Christ ?
- What are the earliest sources in the Church that we have where these passages of Wisdom of Solomon are applied to Christ ?
Thanks!
==============================================================
In Matthew the heading in my RSV says “request for a sign”. And the answer is “no sign but that of the prophet Jonah”. Well there is a lot more hiding in plain sight right there. And it is as plain as plain could be. Christ is teaching directly from the Dueterocanonical work of Wisdom of Solomon.
I have blogged on this before but tonight I was up praying and reading. I looked back over my Christ using the Wisdom of Solomon post. My eyes must have been opened because suddenly it all connected in a way that words cannot express.
First the passage from Matthew.
Consider that what Christ says in versus 34-39 comes from Wisdom of Solomon. Like so many Biblical quotes its not a literal word for word its a summarization and restatement of exactly the same teaching. And I see no where else where this same teaching is articulated together in any spot of scripture.
It is all there. In versus 34-39, speaking to the rulers, the wicked ask for a sign, God is not found by those who test him, and there is a deeper meaning to putting him to the test that I will demonstrate in a moment, the words come from the heart and convict and we will have to answer for them in that day, etc. I am not articulating it as clearly as it should be done. But who its speaking to, the overall topics and their application is parallel.
Continuing linearly, not proof texting, not jumping around, just reading the Word. Read the rest of Matthew 12 verses 39-42
Everyone knows who has spent any time in study in any protestant, as well as Catholic or Orthodox, environments what this means. As Jonah was in the belly… Christ here prophecies of the death and resurrection of himself. Verse 41 The men of Nineveh will arise and condemn and something greater than Jonah is here. But what is verse 42 here speaking of ? What is the meaning of the queen of the south hearing the Wisdom of Solomon and something greater than Solomon being here ?
Christ is teaching from Jonah, the writings of Jonah, where he speaks of the type of his burial and resurrection. In precisely the same manner he names the Wisdom of Solomon, the very work that he is teaching from here. But what must be realized clearly is that the sign of the Prophet Jonah and the Wisdom of Solomon are part and parcel the same sign. Indeed even the asking for a sign is part and parcel of the crucifixion.
To see this lets just keep right on reading, again linearly not jumping back and forth from the Wisdom of Solomon, the very passage that Christ begins teaching from in Matthew 12:34. I will for brevity pass over six versus of Wisdom and continue from Wisdom 1:16 and continue straight through until the end of the second chapter.
Do you hear that ? The righteous man is against us and exposes our ways. He calls himself a child of God, he boasts that God is his Father, let us test him because if he is God’s son then God will save him. And the way we will test him will be by insult, torture and a shameful death. This is the continuation of the linear teaching from Wisdom of Solomon and the linear continuation in Matthew 12. Its directly intertwined with the sign of Jonah. In fact Jonah’s sign is actually the smaller part of the parallel. It deals only with the amount of time he is in the tomb.
And just so we can be fully convinced lets pass on in the gospel of Matthew to the crucifixion. Reading from Matthew 27 we first hear the words of the passers by and then the words of the chief priests, scribes and elders.
What did they say ? They said you said in three days you would rebuild your temple in 3 days. You said you were the Son of God. If thats true prove it. Come down from the cross and we will believe. We still want a sign we still want to test you. Granted the 3 days isn’t stated as Jonah rather its a differnet example of Christ prophesying of the exact same thing.
Christ teaching from virtually all of the first two chapters of Wisdom of Solomon and applying it to the rulers of that day. Christ applying the prophecy of the second chapter of Wisdom of Solomon to himself combined with the prophecy or sign of Jonah. Christ even calling out the source of his teaching by name, just like he called out Jonah. The broader aspects of asking for a sign and testing connecting Wisdom 1 and 2. When Matthew gave his account of the crucifixion he carefully noted how those who called out to Christ did in fact do everything he prophesied and that was prophesied so clearly and so explicitly in Wisdom of Solomon. On and on.
Is it any wonder that in the post Christian era these books would be expunged from the canon of the Jews ? Why does the Church include them in her canon ? Because they were included by Christ and by his Apostles. There are many more examples of the use of these books by the authors of the new testament. There is much to divert from the clear and obvious point.
Christ taught from Wisdom of Solomon as prophecy of himself and in other ways, the Gospel records the manner in which it was fulfilled.
Remember where it says “cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree” and how “he suffered a shameful death even death on a cross” and so on and so forth in the epistles and possibly acts ? This wasn’t a peripheral concept it was core. And it came from Wisdom of Solomon.
This isn’t a new thing, some novel teaching, that I am observing here. There is a Church which has preserved the deposit given it for 2000 years. And on this point the Church both East and West are unanimous. Only the protestants, out of sincere ignorance I hope, reject this prophecy of Christ, used by Christ, used by the Gospel writers and the apostles etc. And their reason is the Jews don’t accept it and they base this on a post Christian era council or school of Rabbis.
We have the Wisdom of Solomon, we have the Words of Christ, we have the words spoken to Christ on the cross as recorded by Matthew. We have Christ saying the Wisdom of Solomon will condemn you and it was accepted by the Queen of the South. It could not be any more clear.
Lord Have Mercy!
Lord Have Mercy!
Lord Have Mercy!