Wages of Cross-Bearing and Debt of Sin: The Economy of Heaven in Matthew S Gospel

by Nathan Eubank

This study analyzes Matthew s economic language against the backdrop of other early Jewish and Christian literature and examines its import for the narrative as a whole. Careful attention to this neglected aspect of Matthew s theology demonstrates that some of the Gospel s central claims about atonement, Jesus death and resurrection, and divine recompense emerge from this conceptual matrix."

248 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ak]

Great analysis of the soteriological narrative in the Gospel of Matthew, arguing that economic language provides its central conceptual framework.

For Eubank, St. Matthew portrays the divine economy in terms of debt-bondage, wherein all humanity is captive to the debt of sin, and redemption is achieved through the earning and payment of heavenly wages. Christ is the pivotal figure who, by his life and death, pays the ultimate ransom-price to free mankind from this bondage.

Eubank employs a methodology that synthesizes narrative criticism with rigorous historical-linguistic analysis. He examines the overarching narrative of Christ’s preaching and righteous works, analyzes the specific Greek syntax of economic terms like μισθός (wage) and ἀποδίδωμι (to repay), and traces this idiom through its foundational sources in first-century Hebrew and early Christian literature, as well as the Old Testament prophetic tradition.

For an Orthodox reader, Eubank’s approach is highly illuminative, as its core claims resonate strongly with the theological analyses found in various Church Fathers, even if his conclusions on certain points of divine recompense require careful scrutiny.

[Ted]

I enjoyed the book, his premise is interesting and evidence for his ideas is substantial. The book really is for biblical scholars and not so much for general consumption. Concluding chapter is really good.