Abstract:
Matthew’s Gospel has much to say about ‘suffering violence’. As Jesus comments (11:12,
NRSV), ‘From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered
violence, and the violent take it by force’. Through his narrative rhetoric Matthew offers
multi-layered perspectives on life lived vis-à-vis ongoing violence. These perspectives reflect
(1) the experiences of the righteous as they encounter violence, (2) the words of Jesus depicting
or predicting the sufferings of himself and others, (3) the words of Jesus calling people to
faithful responses to violence, and (4) Matthew’s own narrative rhetoric offering theological
reflection on the suffering of the righteous. This study examines the Matthean theme of
‘suffering violence’; the first section focuses on the nature and cause of the violence faced by
the righteous; the second section focuses both on Jesus’ call to faithful responses to violence
and on actual lived responses to violence; the final section focuses on the rhetorical strategy of
Matthew’s narrative in relation to the question of violence and assesses Matthew’s theological
reflections on the suffering of the righteous. The study concludes with brief reflections on the
present-day implications of Matthew’s text for life ‘in a time of war’.
