Socio-Historical Criticism for Matthew 14.22-33NAME:
Socio-Historical criticism is interested in identifying the social, cultural, political, religious, and historical dynamics that are embodied within a text. It seeks to understand how a person in the original audience of the text would have perceived it. Consider the following questions. (Please note: I do not have good ‘answers’ for these questions. Spend no more than 45 minutes trying to see what you can find out.)
- Note all the natural elements involved in this story: mountain, evening, waves, land, wind, early in the morning, sea, water. What ‘tone’ does this give to the account? How might it be perceived differently in Matthew’s time as compared to today? How might an urbanite (say, someone from Jerusalem or Antioch) hear this story as compared to someone from Capernaum?
people didn’t really live in the mountains: they were a place of chaos and danger, of deities and demons;
the “sea” was regarded as having (or being) a power, one that was usually violent or malevolent, able to swallow up people and be destructive > that Jesus sought refuge in the mountains and walked upon the sea indicates his power and, as the disciples discern, points to his divinity
I suspect that this story would sound like something from out there in the ‘wild’ to an urbanite, but even to someone from a rural village, this is still an impressive display of power over nature - The disciples think they are seeing a ghost / φάντασμα. Why do they think this? What is a φάντασμα?
a φάντασμα / phantom is a only a visual appearance that is, the disciple’s first thought is not this is some divine being but an inexplicable, human-like, visual illusion or manifestation (a spirit is a non-corporeal, non-human power > a spirit can ‘possess’ a living human) - What social, religious, cultural, or political connotations are indicated when the disciples worship Jesus as “God’s Son”?
as noted above, there a number of indications in this account of Jesus’ divine nature, not least of which is his ability to walk upon the sea and (apparently) to cause the wind to cease > to call him God’s Son is to recognize his higher status and power than humans and nature and make him worthy of praise
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”