September 19 - Matthew - Pivot points & Intercalation

There are so many ways to dissect scripture and every time that you implement one of these, you are actually bringing more information into your mind.  I continue to find this quite stimulating and really exciting!

One structural relationship that you look for is a pivot point in the story.  One of those that I considered was found in Matthew 10:1-42 when Jesus sent out His twelve disciples.  If you look at what has been happening just prior to this, you will see that Jesus is inundated with people.  In Chapter 9 he heals a paralytic, then he is asked to heal a synagogue's daughter and while on his way there, a woman touches his cloak and is healed.  He heals two blind men and then a demon-possessed man who was mute.  In Matthew 9:35-36, we find that he is traveling through towns and villages, teaching, preaching and healing.  "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them ..." (Matthew 9:36a)

The last verse of Matthew 9 reads, "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" (Matthew 9:37-38)

The scene progresses in Matthew 10 with Jesus calling the disciples, giving them authority and then teaching them about what to expect as they travel.  He's no longer alone.  This is a crucial pivot point in the story.  Lay leadership is born, Jesus has called the workers to the harvest.

One of the other structural relationships that is kind of fun is called 'intercalation,' inserting a story into a longer story line.

We see it in the story of the ruler's daughter when all of a sudden, out of the blue, a woman shows up to touch Jesus' cloak.  Do we know why this is inserted here?  I have no idea.  There are a couple of others that I have discovered and I'm sure more will show up as I go through this.  As Jesus was teaching and preparing the Twelve to be sent out, all of a sudden, he inserts the teaching of how He came not to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34-39) and then look at Matthew 27.  The first two verses bring Jesus and Pilate together.  Then, all of a sudden, the scene switches from the Roman palace to Judas' suicide, and then immediately takes us back to Pilate and Jesus.  (Matthew 27:3-10)  Again, why was the action interrupted like this?