bias

August 10, 2018

The guards tell the chief priests (Mt 28:11-28:11)

“While they were going,

Some of the guards

Went into the city.

They told

The chief priests

Everything

That had happened.”

 

Πορευομένων δὲ αὐτῶν ἰδού τινες τῆς κουστωδίας ἐλθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἅπαντα τὰ γενόμενα.

 

This is unique to Matthew, who said that while the 2 women were going to the disciples of Jesus (Πορευομένων δὲ αὐτῶν), some of the custodial guards at the tomb went into the city (ἰδού τινες τῆς κουστωδίας ἐλθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν).  These guards told or reported to the chief priests (ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν) everything that had happened (ἅπαντα τὰ γενόμενα).  Remember these were not the Roman soldiers, but the custodial guards hired by the Jewish leaders.  Once again, Matthew showed his bias against these Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

July 19, 2018

His blood be on us (Mt 27:25-27:25)

“Then the people

As a whole answered.

‘His blood be on us

And on our children!’”

 

καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς πᾶς ὁ λαὸς εἶπεν Τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν.

 

This is another unique passage to Matthew, not found in the other gospel stories.  Matthew has the Jewish crowd admit their guilt as the people as a whole answered (καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς πᾶς ὁ λαὸς εἶπεν) that the blood of Jesus would be on them (Τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς) and their children (καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν).  Thus, this passage has been cited as the source of much anti-Semitism that has the Jews as Christ killers throughout Christian history.  The Christians at the time of this writing may have seen this as the cause for the destruction of the Jewish Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE.  The bias of Matthew was completely on display.