Thermal mapping is a technique used by scientists to identify “hot-spots” or points of greater heat across a geographical area. If one were to make a thermal map of the Gospel
Lukan parallel (12:33) to Matt 6:19-20. Thus, all o f the heaven and earth contrast pairs in Matthew are unique to his Gospel.
Mark 16:19, which is unlikely original, is paralleled in Luke 24:51, but the Lukan verse is likely the source o f the reading in Mark, thus it is not a true parallel.
Or thirteen if the textually-uncertain Luke 22:43 is excluded.
of Matthew, it would be clear that the hottest spots in the Gospel - i.e., those places with the greatest theological heat - all contain heaven language. Or analyzed from a different vantage: those places which show a concentration of heaven language prove to be hot-spots in Matthew. Thus, in addition to the sheer frequency of heaven language in Matthew, there is a weightiness of value where it appears.
For example, the entire Sermon on the Mount is rife with the language of heaven - heaven and earth pairs, kingdom of heaven, and the Father in heaven - especially when lined up side by side with Luke’s version.^® Even more specifically, the highest peaks of the Sermon are particularly concentrated in heaven language. The Beatitudes begin and end with an inclusio of kingdom of heaven references (5:3, 10). Within the poem, earth (5:5) appears in thematic connection with the two kingdom of heaven references. And the addendum to the Beatitudes (5:11-12) promises reward in heaven. Similarly, Matthew’s Lord’s Prayer leans heavily on heaven language: God is addressed as the Father in heaven and petitioned for his kingdom and will to come on earth as it is in heaven. As in the Beatitudes, the addendum to the Lord’s Prayer speaks of the heavenly Father (6:14-15).^'
Similarly, a great number of Jesus’ parables in Matthew are prefaced with reference to the kingdom of heaven. This serves as a repeated refrain in the parables discourse of chapter 13 (cf. 13:11,24, 31, 33,44,45, 47, 52), as well as in the introduction to other parabolic teachings (e.g. 20:1).
Even more striking, Matthew’s unique and important ecclesiological passages have at their center various forms of heaven language. In 16:17-19 the Father in heaven, the kingdom of heaven, and two heaven and earth pairs are all crowded together in one short saying of Jesus. Likewise, in 18:18-20 the church is promised binding and loosing power on earth that corresponds with that in heaven, sanctioned by the Father in heaven.
Another hot-spot in Matthew is the Olivet Discourse. One section in particular has a high concentration of references to heaven. In speaking of the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus, leaning heavily on OT and apocalyptic imagery, speaks of the stars of heaven, the powers of heaven, the clouds of heaven, and the four winds of heaven (24:29-31). In the
In a unique and insightful article, B. B. Scott and M. E. Dean present a “sound map” o f the Sennon on the Mount. Their study shows that references to heaven in the Sermon are not only frequent, but serve key functions throughout, such as the beginnings and endings o f inclusios, chiastic centers, and repeated epithets. This strengthens my point here. Bernard Brandon Scott and Margaret E. Dean, “A Sound Map o f the Sermon
on the Mount,” in Treasures Old and New: Recent Contributions to Matthean Studies (ed. David R. Bauer
and Mark Allan Powell; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996): 311-378.
Robert Foster, “Why on Earth Use ‘Kingdom o f Heaven’?,” 499, similarly observes that heavenly language forms an inclusio at several points in the Sermon. He concludes, “Thus, rhetorically the heavenly language guides the whole structure o f the sermon, beginning major sections (5.3,20; 6.1, 20) and bracketing o ff major sections (5.10,48; 7.11, 21).”
midst of his commg from heaven, all the tribes of the earth will mourn (24:30). Jesus promises that his words are true, that heaven and earth will pass away rather than his words (24:35), although neither he nor the angels of heaven know the hour of fulfillment (24:36).
A final example of a theologically-heated pericope in Matthew is in the conclusion to the book, the Great Commission (28:16-20). In this “red-lettered” climax to the Gospel, Jesus sums up his authority (cf. the crowds’ response to the Sermon on the Mount in 7:28- 29) as encompassing heaven and earth. This bold claim forms the basis of the church’s entire subsequent mission: Trinitarian baptism and discipleship even to the end of the age. This post-resurrection universal authority consummates the authority that the Son of Man had on earth previously (9:6). It is more than coincidence that Matthew ends his Gospel with this weighty word pair of heaven and earth to describe the risen Lord’s ongoing presence and authority - the very word pair that also begins the ancient Jewish Scriptures in Genesis 1:1 and ends them at 2 Chronicles 36:23, thus consummating God’s work from the beginning of time, and forming an inclusio with the OT witness.^^
From these examples, it is not difficult to see that the language of heaven and particularly the theme of heaven and earth are very important in Matthew. From a survey of the preceding and contemporary literature, it is clear that no book has such a concentration of heaven language nor a focus on it as a theme as does Matthew.
Conclusion
Matthew’s specific usage of heaven has only been sketched so far. This chapter serves to highlight its basic continuity with much of the preceding Jewish literature as well as its predominance as a theme in Matthew. Along the way I have mentioned four
particularly unusual elements of Matthew’s usage of heaven language. These can be summarized as follows: (1) a preference for the plural oupavot; (2) frequent use of the heaven and earth pair; (3) use of the phrases, Father in heaven and heavenly Father; and (4) the repeated expression, kingdom of heaven. Subsequent chapters (Part Two) will explore these four elements in detail and show how each of them contributes to Matthew’s literary and theological theme of the contrast between heaven and earth. Before proceeding to this analysis, we will situate the theme of heaven and earth in the context of Matthean theology.