Richard Hays Hermeneutics Of Mercy

In his chapter on the gospel of Matthew, Richard Hays writes carefully on the paradoxical tension between moral rigor and mercy; between a transforming radical righteousness and the two love commands on which everything else in Torah “hangs,” that is, the filter through which everything else is read and understood (p. 96). At one hand, members of the community are expected to grow to maturity and even perfection by strictly obeying God`s commands; on the other hand, they are called on to follow what Richard hays calls the “hermeneutics of mercy”. The problem could have easily been solved, if we were to know on which occasions should we show mercy and on which occasions should we punish people. Jesus makes it clear that in the case of an unrepentant sinner is a serious one, most likely result in a punishment because righteousness must be taken seriously. But he opts for the expulsion of the sinner and instructs the community to treat such sinner as “a pagan or a tax collector”, so that he will become the object of missionary interest an effort of the church. This way the sinner is shown mercy or a chance. While keeping the goal of turning those who wandered and reveal the truth, Matthew is also building a community here. …show more content…
How can we explain Matthew’s hate of speech against Sadducees? Can we say Matthew came off as an anti-Semitic? Surely, his idea of Jesus as the authoritative interpreter of the Torah is taken so far as to make Jesus` teaching the measure by which the Torah is judged, and not the other way around. It seems like the Scriptures had lost their significance after its fulfillment of Jesus. But to me, it makes little sense to call Matthew anti-Semitic, when he is himself a Jewish and his church still lived within the framework of Judaism. Though, I have to agree it is easy to see Matthew as anti-Semitic and many have probably used that as a theological justification for their evil deeds in