Blood curse

Biblical narrative

reads:

Interpretation

This passage has no counterpart in the other Gospels and is probably related to the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. German Protestant theologian Ulrich Luz (b. 1938) describes it as "redactional fiction" invented by the author of the Matthew Gospel. Some writers, viewing it as part of Matthew's anti-Jewish polemic, see in it the seeds of later Christian antisemitism. In the view of the late Graham Stanton, a British New Testament scholar in the Reformed tradition, "Matthew's anti-Jewish polemic should be seen as part of the self-definition of the Christian minority which is acutely aware of the rejection and hostility of its 'mother' Judaism." Howard Clark Kee has written, "The bitter words he [Matthew] attributes to the Jews have caused endless harm in arrousing anti-Jewish emotions." Donald A. Hagner, a Presbyterian New Testament scholar and theologian, has written, "It cannot be denied that this statement, unfortunately, has been used to promote anti-Semitism. The statement is formulaic, and the reference to 'our children' does not make them guilty of the death of Jesus, let alone children or Jews of later generations."

Anglican views

N. T. Wright, an Anglican New Testament scholar and theologian, has stated, "The tragic and horrible later use of Matthew 27.25 ('his blood be on us, and on our children') as an excuse for soi-disant 'Christian' anti-semitism is a gross distortion of its original meaning, where the reference is surely to the fall of Jerusalem."

Anglican theologian Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Wales, and who would soon become Archbishop of Canterbury, has written of Matthew's Gospel being made "the tool of the most corrupt and murderous misreading of the passion stories that has disfigured the Church's record".

Catholic views

In the Roman Catechism which was produced by the Council of Trent in the mid-16th century, the Catholic Church taught the belief that the collectivity of sinful humanity was responsible for the death of Jesus, not only the Jews. In the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the Catholic Church under Pope Paul VI issued the declaration Nostra aetate, which repudiated the idea of a collective, multigenerational Jewish guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus. It declared that the accusation could not be made "against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today".

The late Franz Mussner, a German Catholic New Testament scholar and theologian, has stated, "No Christian can with a good conscience call upon Matt. 27:25 as a justification of his anti-Judaism. If the blood of Jesus comes upon the children of Israel, it comes upon them as a savior's blood."

Pope Benedict XVI in his 2011 book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week wrote:

Pilate's need to declare his innocence, "I am innocent of this man's blood", has been interpreted as a reversal of roles: although historically, Jesus was on trial before Pilate, Pilate is also on trial before Jesus.

Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom delivered a series of eight homilies to his Antioch congregation directed at members who continued to observe Jewish feasts and fasts. Critical of this, he cast Judaism and the synagogues in his city in a critical and negative light. His homilies were expressed in the conventional polemical form.

As quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Catena Aurea (1263), Chrysostom said:

References

References

1. Craig A. Evans, ''Matthew'' (Cambridge University Press, 2012) page 455.
2. Ulrich Luz, ''Studies in Matthew'' (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005) page 58.
3. Graham N. Stanton, ''A Gospel for a New People: Studies in Matthew'', T & T Clark, 1992; Westminster John Knox Press, 1993. p. 157. {{ISBN. 9780664254995 On Matt. 27:25, in the note on p. 148, Stanton cites the work of German Protestant Karl Heinrich Rengstorf and American Jesuit [[Joseph Fitzmyer. J.A. Fitzmyer]], among others.
4. Howard Clark Kee, "The Gospel According to Matthew," ''The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary On the Bible'', Abingdon Press, 1971. p. 642.
5. Donald A. Hagner, "Anti-Semitism", ''Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels'', 2nd ed., Joel B. Green et al., eds., IVP Academic, 2013. p. 20. {{ISBN. 9780830824564
6. N. T. Wright, ''Jesus and the Victory of God'', London: SPCK; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. p. 546, n. 26. {{ISBN. 9780800626822
7. Rowan Williams, ''Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgement'', London: HarperCollins, 2000. North American ed. co-published by Eerdmans and the Anglican Book Centre, 2003. p. 32. {{ISBN. 9780802824967
8. Springer]], 2017 p.115.
9. Fumagalli, Pier Francesco. "Nostra Aetate: a milestone". Vatican.va.
10. Mussner, Franz (1984). ''Tractate on the Jews: The Significance of Judaism for Christian Faith''. Philadelphia: Fortress Press; London: SPCK. pp. 196-197. ISBN 0-8006-0707-4
11. Ratzinger, Joseph. (2011). "Jesus of Nazareth. Part two, Holy week: from the entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection". Ignatius Press.
12. Heschmeyer, J., [https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/herod-and-pilate-on-trial Herod and Pilate - on Trial], ''Catholic Answers'', published on 28 March 2018, accessed on 24 November 2024
13. See Wilken, p.xv, and also "John Chrysostom" in ''Encyclopedia Judaica''
14. Quoted in Thomas Aquinas, [https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-34.shtml#_Toc384506934 ''Catena Aurea'' (Golden Chain) on Matthew]