The Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3)

Among the assignments this last quarter I wrote an exegetical paper on the Baptism of Christ.  It wasn't too difficult, just had to translate the original text, read through three (or more) commentaries, and figure out what is happening.

Just the translating alone revealed a lot, and the more I do, the more I wonder what the translators for the various "alphabet soup Bibles" are thinking.  Matt. 3:9 is a good example of that.

It is equally frustrating how far too many think (incorrectly) that Matthew is a copy of Mark, instead of just accepting that, first, similarities of style does not automatically mean "copy," and second, that Matthew references places and events that demand the writing occur before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

The false idea that baptism, even Christ's baptism, is an act of obedience is equally incorrect.  Using the "logic" and "reason" of some theologians who think this would lead to having Christ as an inferior being to God the Father.  Oh, the heresies that were born of that faulty notion.  Adoptionism, Arianism, Monarchianism, Nestorianism, Sabelianism (aka: Modalism), even Pelagianism.

Read through it.  Let me know what you think.





For those who are interested, I've included the list of resources I used.  Some of these resources (like the lexicon) were really useful and good, while others (like Luz's work) was hit and miss.

Bibliography:

Danker, Frederick W, Walter Bauer, and William F Arndt. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3Rd ed. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Engelbrecht, Edward, and Paul E Deterding, eds. The Lutheran Study Bible : English Standard Version. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015.

George, Augustin. Baptism in the New Testament : A Symposium. Baltimore: Helicon, 1964.

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1-11:1. Concordia Commentary. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House, 2006.

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 11:2-20:34. Concordia Commentary. St. Louis. Mo.: Concordia Pub. House, 2010.

Nestle, Eberhard, Erwin Nestle, and Universität Münster. Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. Novum Testamentum Graece. Edited by Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Karavidopoulos Iōan. D, Carlo Maria Martini, Bruce M Metzger, and Holger Strutwolf. 28. Revidierte Auflage = ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.

Luz, Ulrich, James E Crouch, and Helmut Koester. Matthew 1-7 : A Commentary. [Rev. ed.]. ed. Hermeneia--A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.

Mays, James Luther, Harper & Row, Publishers, and Society of Biblical Literature. Harper's Bible Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.

Scaer, David P. Discourses in Matthew : Jesus Teaches the Church. Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2004.

Voelz, James W. Fundamental Greek Grammar. 2nd ed. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 1993.

White, R. E. O, Stanley E Porter, and Anthony R Cross. Baptism, the New Testament, and the Church: Historical and Contemporary Studies in Honour of R.e.o. White. Journal for the Study of the New Testament. Supplement Series, 171. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.