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Browsing by Author "Nel, Marius Johannes"

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The conceptualisation of sin in the Gospel of Matthew
(AOSIS Publishing, 2017) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article focuses on the conceptualisation of sin in the Gospel according to Matthew. It builds on the work of Nathan Eubank who describes the sin of Israel as a debt to be repaid by analysing other Matthean metaphors of sin as a substance, stain and stumbling block. The article argues that the replacement of the conceptualisation of sin as a burden by that of a debt in Second Temple Judaism has not fully occurred in Matthew. It also argues that the metaphor of sin as a burden is not the same as that of a stain, for the latter evokes the complex relationship between sin and impurity. It is suggested that Matthew’s use of specific metaphors for sin was not just due to Aramaic linguistic influences on Second Temple Judaism, but also to the socio-historical context in which his Gospel originated. In this regard it is important to note that Matthew’s conceptualisation of Israel’s sin as a debt not only refers to their sin in the period before the birth of Jesus, but also to their rejection of him as the Messiah.
The folly of preaching the cruciform God
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2019) Nel, Marius Johannes
This chapter engages with Johan Cilliers’ claim, made along with Charles Campbell, that “The gospel is foolish ness. Preaching is folly. Preachers are fools” (Campbell and Cilliers, 2012:1–2) from the perspective of the work of Michael Gorman1 on the cruciform God (2001, 2003, 2009, 2015). The chapter will specifically focus on the kenosis of Christ (Phil 2:6–8) since, while all preaching should be Trinitarian, because God is the redeeming God, preaching that focusses on his works of salvation, according to Cilliers (2004:20–21), will always be Christological. It is for this reason that Paul himself declares that he wants to preach about nothing else than Christ, and specifically about him being Christ crucified. The reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ kenosis and crucifixion according to Gorman, will be undertaken in order to respond to Cilliers’(2018:433–437) question of how preaching can help the church fulfil her missional calling within South African society.
He who laughs last – Jesus and laughter in the Synoptic and Gnostic traditions
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2014-05) Nel, Marius Johannes
The aim of the article is to examine the meaning of references to laughter in the Synoptic Gospels and a number of Gnostic texts. Whereas Jesus is depicted as an object of ridicule (Mk 5:40 par.) and as condemning those who laugh in the Synoptic Gospels (Lk 6:25), it is he who often laughs derisively at the ignorance of others in Gnostic texts. The meaning of laughter in the Synoptic Gospels and a number of Gnostic texts is examined in the light of the general Greco-Roman attitude towards laughter and, more specifically, in regard to the archetypical distinction between playful and consequential laughter in Greek culture.
The influence of dwelling in the word within the Southern African partnership of missional churches
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2013-09) Nel, Marius Johannes
‘All of creation dwells within the Word of God, the Word who created us, the Word who redeems us’ (Ellison 2009:91). The article evaluated the influence that the communal spiritual practice of dwelling in the Word had in the missional transformation of congregations that formed part of the Southern African Partnership of Missional Churches. It investigated the background, hermeneutic and methodology of dwelling in the Word on the participating congregations. The article concluded that the practice had a profound effect on the theology and missional practice of most of the participating congregations as it had a positive influence on the attitudes and beliefs, minimum knowledge base, and skills of a number of churches leading to spontaneous missional activity, the discernment of a specific missionary calling, and the integration of theory and practice. However, it had not always led to the formation of new faith communities.
Interpersoonlike vergifnis in Matteus 18:15–35
(AOSIS Publishing, 2015) Nel, Marius Johannes
Die artikel ondersoek die omskrywing van interpersoonlike vergifnis in Matteus 18:15–35 ten einde die argument van David Konstan, naamlik dat interpersoonlike vergifnis, volgens die moderne verstaan daarvan, nie in die Ou of Nuwe Testament voorkom nie, te evalueer. Interpersoonlike vergifnis is, volgens Konstan, die hantering van ’n daad deur ’n individu wat direk en intensioneel ’n ander persoon benadeel het. Dit veronderstel twee handelende agente: ’n oortreder en ’n benadeelde wat albei die skadelike aspek van ’n daad erken en bereid is om ’n morele transformasie te ondergaan om dit reg te stel. Die artikel argumenteer dat Matteus 18:23–35 na die vergifnis van morele skuld verwys en nie, soos Konstan beweer, na die afskryf van finansiële skuld nie. Dit handel dus wel oor interpersoonlike vergifnis en word Matteuse se etiek van interpersoonlike vergifnis daardeur verbreed. Indien hierdie gedeelte in ag geneem word in die beskrywing van Matteus se etiek, wil dit voorkom asof Matteus meer elemente onderliggend aan die moderne verstaan van interpersoonlike vergifnis hanteer as wat Konstan identifiseer.
Matthean atonement rituals
(University of the Free State, Faculty of Theology, 2017) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article focuses on rituals in the Gospel of Matthew that affect forgiveness between God and human beings, as well as between human agents. It argues that rituals play an important role in signalling and affecting forgiveness. It gives an operational definition of a ritual and identifies possible atonement rituals in the Gospel of Matthew up to the crucifixion of Jesus. These rituals are analysed to determine how they affect atonement through the forgiveness of sins. Since access to these rituals is only possible through the text of Matthew, Strecker’s taxonomy of how rites and text are interwoven in the New Testament is used to order the analysis of Matthew. Finally, concluding remarks are made on the relationship between ritual and authority in Matthew.
The motive of forgiveness in the Gospel according to Matthew
(AOSIS Publishing, 2015) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article explores the importance of the motif of forgiveness in the Gospel according to Matthew. It takes the arrangement (τάξις) of Matthew as an ancient biography (βίος) of Jesus as its point of departure for describing its ethics of forgiveness. The importance of the motif of forgiveness for Matthew is apparent from the relative frequency with which it is addressed in his Gospel and from the manner in which it is interwoven with his narration of the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. Thereafter the social-historical setting of the Gospel’s initial readers is briefly described in terms of the external (a growing schism with formative Judaism) and internal challenges (intrapersonal conflict) they faced in an attempt to understand the reason for the prominence of the motif of forgiveness in it. Finally, Matthew’s view of forgiveness is systematised by describing the different agents (God, Jesus and the disciples) of forgiveness in his Gospel. The article argues that the birth, life and death of Jesus as well as his words and deeds are integrated in a clear and compelling manner into Matthew’s ethics of forgiveness. For Matthew the confession that God had forgiven his people through Jesus, is the main reason why they are compelled to forgive others.
The presence of religious virtuosi and non-virtuosi in the Matthean community
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2014) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article analyses the Gospel according to Matthew in the light of Max Weber’s social-scientific model of virtuoso religion. It attempts to determine if the Matthean community reflected in the Gospel had a two-tier social structure comprised of followers who strictly obeyed the demanding commands of Jesus to renounce both their families and their possessions (virtuosi) and more temperate members who did not (non-virtuosi). The article firstly attempts to clarify what is understood by the Matthean community, before giving a brief overview of Weber’s understanding of virtuoso religion that is then utilised to analyse the Gospel according to Matthew. The article comes to the conclusion that the Matthean community was comprised of both virtuosi and non-virtuosi followers of Jesus.
Reading the New Testament stereoscopically
(Department of Old and New Testament, Stellenbosch University, 2021-09) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article investigates how the reading of the Bible in the segregated spheres of church, society and academy has been institutionalised in the way Biblical Studies is taught at most state universities and seminaries in South Africa. It proposes that the way students are trained for ministry should be restructured so that they are encouraged to intentionally use the hermeneutical insights they have obtained in their biblical studies to create stereoscopic readings of the Bible for use in ecclesiological settings. A stereoscopic reading of the Bible directly challenges the clear distinction that is often made between the way in which the Bible is read in the sphere of the church in contrast to that of the academic sphere. Students must not only be taught the theory of source criticism, redaction criticism, tradition criticism, narrative criticism and other approaches to the study the Bible; they must also be taught how to create material with which to help others gain a deeper understanding of the biblical text by reflecting on its inter- and intra-texts, as well as the various pre-texts, final-texts and post-texts that all form part of what the church considers to be scripture.
The relationship between the Markan ἀφίημι-chreia and the historical Jesus
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2016) Nel, Marius Johannes
The theme of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin has always been a contentious one within historical Jesus research. This article gives a brief overview of the debate on the authenticity of various forgiveness logia in the Jesus tradition, as well as the different criteria that have been used in the past in an attempt to validate them. It focuses on two specific forgiveness logia in the Markan tradition (2:1-12, 3:20-35) in order to assess whether the manner in which they have been crafted as chreia can provide insight into how the ἀφίημι logia of Jesus have been preserved in the pre-Markan tradition.
The renouncement of possessions according to Matthew 19:16–30
(AOSIS Publishing, 2015) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article focuses on the renouncement of possessions in Matthew 19:16–30 in terms of three related questions. Firstly, it asks if the renouncement of possessions was, according to Matthew, a general requirement for following Jesus or for membership of the Matthean community. Secondly, it investigates if this requirement did not lead to a distinction within the Matthean community between those who adhered to a stricter ethic of Jesus and those who did not (i.e. between religious virtuosi and non-virtuosi)? Finally it enquiries as to what would have compelled followers of Jesus or members of the latter Matthean community to comply with it? The article concludes that at least some of the followers of Jesus are depicted by Matthew as having renounced their possessions as a sign of their unconditional commitment to him. The Matthean community could thus have been a two-tiered community comprised of virtuosi who had renounced all their possessions, as was demanded of the rich young man, and those who had not. The renouncement of their possessions could have been part of their initiation into the Matthean community and have been motivated by the promise of an incomparable eschatological reward. It further appears that while not all who were considered to be followers of Jesus had surrendered their possessions, all would share in God’s eschatological reward if they provided hospitality to those who did.
The role of Matthew’s ἀφίημι-logia in the decisions of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in post-apartheid South Africa
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2016) Nel, Marius Johannes
This article investigates the use of the verb ἀφίημι in selected pericopae in the Gospel of Matthew and the decisions of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) on forgiveness in the post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that while forgiveness is an important topic in Matthew that is interwoven with a number of other important theological themes, it has been a neglected theme in the decisions taken by the General Synod of the DRC since 1994. Not only are there no explicit references to Matthew’s understanding of forgiveness, but are neither of the two references to forgiveness in the Acta of six General Synod’s references to asking forgiveness by the DRC for its active participation in apartheid. The article concludes with a number of suggestions on how Matthew’s ethic of forgiveness can inform the South African reconciliation process without it being reduced to a timeless fixed formula.
Die semantiese faset van die taal van die Nuwe Testament
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1991) Nel, Marius Johannes; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of . Dept. of .
Vergifnis en versoening in die evangelie volgens Matteus
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002-12) Nel, Marius Johannes; Combrink, H. J. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The goal of this study is to analyse the motifs of reconciliation and forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew from a socio-rhetorical perspective. The first two chapters expound the chosen methodology, define its aim and identifies relevant pericopes using a heuristic definition of each motif. The third chapter gives an overview of Matthew's inner texture. The next seven chapters interpret the inner, inter- and argumentative textures of the different pericopes by utilizing the recourses of classical and modem rhetoric, anthropology and sociology. The concluding chapter focuses on Matthew's social and cultural texture in an effort to systemize his interpretation of Jesus' teaching of forgiveness and reconciliation. The realities of internal conflict, Roman oppression and a growing, if not yet permanent, separation from Formative Judaism are all taken into account. It is proposed that reconciliation with the Romans and Jews was not seen as a desirable strategy by Matthew, whereas it was non-negotiable for the relationship between members of his church. The concluding chapter also reads Matthew as a narrative In order to provide an answer to the question if it possesses an unified theology of forgiveness and reconciliation. Consideration is therefore given to the occurrence of key peri copes in regard to the development of the Gospel's narrative. It concludes that the dishonourable nature of being crucified in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world compelled Matthew to redefine Jesus' death as a honourable one, before he could link it with God's atonement of sinners. The relative importance of both motives is also confirmed by their inner textual placing in Matthew instead of by the frequency with which they occur. A reviewed definition of both motifs, and their relevance for the contemporary church, is given at the end of the last chapter. This study proposes that whereas forgiveness was seen as dishonourable in the first century Mediterranean world, Jesus not only mediated God' forgiveness in words (e.g. 6: 12-15) and deeds (9: 1-8), but also realized it through His death for many (20:28 and 26:28). For Matthew Jesus is the ultimate broker of God's forgiveness while deeds of forgiveness by followers of Jesus are seen as the honourable imitation of God action, as the ultimate benefactor, in forgiving His clients their sins. While Matthew gives a partial indication of the process by which forgiveness and reconciliation should be pursued in the everyday life of the church (e.g. in 5:23-24 and 18:15-20), he refrains from giving an exhaustive outline. The following can however can be deduced. Grace received, as a gift, demands reciprocal deeds of grace. Those who have experienced, or who seek, God's grace are thus under an obligation to forgive others (6:12, 14-15). Within the first century milieu of Matthew forgiveness and reconciliation was not an internal private affair, but a communal one. It is clear that according to Matthew not al people are automatically forgiven and thus reconciled with God. God's judgement remains a reality for those who opposed His will (21 :33-45; 25:31-46) and who blaspheme the Holy Spirit by continuously opposing His saving work through Jesus (12:31-32).

Browsing by Author "Nel, Marius Johannes"

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