Solomon Pasala

Reading the episode of the call of Matthew [Mt 9: 9], one could well ask: How come Matthew, a tax collector, who does not know anything about Jesus, exits his tax office and follows him immediately at the first command? Is a call to be disciples of Jesus so magical? And can it happen all of a sudden – just like that? Notably, this seems to be the case not only with Matthew but also with the call of Peter and the other three disciples in Matthew 4: 18-22 [cf Mk 1: 16-20], where, we are told that they left everything and followed him just at the first command. So the questions that arise are: What makes one follow Jesus? What qualities are required to become a disciple? What happens in the process of becoming a disciple of Christ?

It is the evangelist Matthew himself who takes pain to clarify the issue. He has taken ten miracles and arranged them as a “Drama” as defined by Aristotle, to explain the process of the formation. By so presenting these two chapters, he brings out clearly the transformation that takes place from stage to stage: Who they are at the beginning, what they have become at the end and what transformed them in between. We are able to trace the structure of the drama in these two chapters due to the Model Reader, who is a textual construct.
Continuing our discourse about these two chapter from the point of their function, it’s also possible to say that they  (Mt 8-9) mirror the entire Gospel as a “Drama”. Thus the reader is drawn into the plot aspect of the Gospel and made to discover the truth about Jesus for himself or herself.

In contrast to the other synoptic evangelists the author of Matthew proceeded differently in many respects. Why did he modify the text so much and arrange  ten miracle narratives one after the other at one stretch with minor interruptions? Why did he place the so-called "miracle chapters" immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. Why did he enclose them two summary statements on either side? These are only some of the unanswered questions about chapters  8 and 9 of Matthew's Gospel.

Beginning with Aristotle's theory of the drama or tragedy, the author suggests that the way the evangelist has reworked and reorganizedthe miracle narratives is similar to the structure  of the classic drama.

By discovering the narratives strategies and the discourse aspect, we are able to demonstrate how each episode corresponds to the different moments of a plot such as the initial situation,  inciting moment,  complication,  climax with suspense and finally resolution and denouement.

In contrast to the other synoptic evangelists, the author of Matthew proceeded differently in many respects. Why did he arrange ten miracle narratives one after the other at one stretch with minor interruptions? Why did he place the "miracle chapters" immediately after the Sermon on the Mount? Why did he enclose them between two summary statements on either side? Beginning with Aristotle's theory of the drama or tragedy, the author suggests that the way the evangelist has reworked and reorganized the miracle narratives is similar to the structure of the classical drama. By discovering the narrative strategies and the discourse aspect, one can see how each episode corresponds to the different moments of a plot such as the initial situation, inciting moment, complication, climax with suspense and finally resolution and denouement. The final outcome of the drama is the justification of sinners. Basing on the theory of "Mirror Text", the author also demonstrates how the entire Gospel of Matthew is structured as a drama from thematic and structural point of view.

In contrast to the other synoptic evangelists, the author of Matthew proceeded differently in many respects. Why did he arrange ten miracle narratives one after the other at one stretch with minor interruptions? Why did he place the "miracle chapters" immediately after the Sermon on the Mount? Why did he enclose them between two summary statements on either side? Beginning with Aristotle's theory of the drama or tragedy, the author suggests that the way the evangelist has reworked and reorganized the miracle narratives is similar to the structure of the classical drama. By discovering the narrative strategies and the discourse aspect, one can see how each episode corresponds to the different moments of a plot such as the initial situation, inciting moment, complication, climax with suspense and finally resolution and denouement. The final outcome of the drama is the justification of sinners. Basing on the theory of "Mirror Text", the author also demonstrates ...