| The heaven and earth motif features prominently across the First Gospel, and the literary and theological significance of the heaven and earth word pair is intricately linked to the Evangelist's use of the OT. The present study explores how Matthew's encounter with the book of Deuteronomy, with its unique metaphorical usage of the heaven and earth word pair as covenantal witnesses, shapes his use of the motif in Matt 5:18 and 24:35.;The present study will offer both an intertextual comparison of Deuteronomy and Matthew, and an intratextual analysis of Matt 5:18 and 24:35. The thesis of the present study is that in their passing away, heaven and earth in Matt 5:18 and 24:35 serve a dual function as covenant witnesses and in cosmic renewal. First, regarding their function as covenant witnesses, in Matt 5:18 Jesus' disciples are prophetic / suffering witnesses to the inauguration of a (new) covenant given that the conventional witnesses vis a vis Deuteronomy (i.e., heaven and earth) are passing away. As one follows Matthew's unfolding narrative, then, in Matt 24:35 the vocation of the disciples as prophetic / suffering witnesses, now further defined by the more enduring witness of (n/a), is set yet again in contrast to the passing away of heaven and earth. Second, regarding their role in cosmic renewal, the passing away of heaven and earth in both Matt 5:18 and 24:35 serve as a proleptic reference to the in-breaking of the kingdom of heaven in the death and resurrection of Jesus as one looks back retrospectively from the Gospel's "final effect", namely the passion of Jesus. |
