21

Old Scrolls and
New Scrolls

MATTHEOS WAS LIKE A CHILD with his favorite toy. He could hardly get over what was sitting in his lap. The sun bathed the courtyard in light, and the fishing nets were hung up to dry, their odor hanging in the still air. Mattheos had set himself up in the shade of a wall, his little pallet on his lap, with inkwell, stylus, and blank scroll to his right. But for the moment he simply gazed at the document in front of him.

Yes, the scrolls had deteriorated a bit over the past couple of decades, especially around the edges. But on the whole and for his purposes they were in good condition. Mattheos’s attention was fixed on some carefully arranged words of Jesus in Aramaic, his sayings about blessing. Mattheos imagined that his Gospel would be mostly read by Jewish followers of Jesus. He already knew that instead of speaking of the “dominion of G-d” he would use “dominion of heaven,” a circumlocution that would avoid upsetting his Jewish audience. He had collected all of Jesus’ famous sayings about money, taxes, and tax collectors. This would help distinguish his account from Mark’s. So too would other collections of Jesus’ teachings, grouped by themes. He could tell from looking at the scroll in his hand that there was enough here for five or six large blocks of such teachings.

Figure 21.1. Fragments of an ancient scroll

He knew as well that comparisons would be made between Jesus and Moses, and the question would be asked whether Jesus was somehow greater than Moses. Or, for that matter, is he wiser than Solomon? Mattheos knew he would need to address these questions in his presentation of Jesus. For now, though, he could simply revel in reading large quantities of Jesus’ teachings and think about how best to render them into Greek, so that everyone could hear and learn from them. He vowed he would not leave out Jesus’ more radical sayings, such as “turn the other cheek,” “love your enemies,” “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven,” or “leave the dead to bury the dead.” And he knew he must include Jesus’ own predictions about the fall of the temple in Jerusalem. Perhaps this would intrigue Jewish listeners who were prone to dismiss Jesus as a failed prophet.

Mattheos worried about the loss of the poetry of Jesus’ teachings. In translating them into Greek from Aramaic, they would lose their rhythm, their occasional rhyme, their assonance, their alliteration. What could be done about this?

As he pondered these things, Mattheos felt a little hand laid on his arm. He turned to see a miniature of Philip himself. The looks had skipped a generation. This must indeed be little Philip, named for his grandfather. He had the same long nose, dark curly hair, swarthy complexion, and thin-lipped smile.

“What are you doing with those old scrolls?” asked the small voice.

Figure 21.2. Egyptian papyrus scroll, AD 196-198

Mattheos smiled. “These are the teachings of Jesus, and they must be preserved at all costs. Let me read one of them to you.” He searched for a moment through the words. “Allow the little children to come to me and do not hinder them, for of such is the dominion of heaven.” The little face smiled up at Mattheos.

“I learned that one. My father taught it to me. Jesus is not just for older people. He is for me too.”

“You are right, and so is his teaching,” said Mattheos. “I am working to preserve Jesus’ teachings for people just like you and to put them into a nice story of Jesus’ whole life.” An idea came to him. “Perhaps you can help me some, by holding the scroll down at one end while I copy things onto another scroll?”

“Sure I can,” said little Philip, and eagerly put out a hand.

“Be careful,” Mattheos warned him, “or it will tear.”

Just then Philip’s nurse, Naomi, appeared. “There you are, you little rascal.”

“Look, I’m helping this man write about Jesus!” Philip gave her a winning smile.

Naomi smiled in response and said, “Well, later you can come back and check on rabbi Mattheos, but for now your father needs your help.”

Philip’s face fell, and he stuck his lower lip out.

“Your father says you must, so you must.”

Reluctantly, Philip slid off Mattheos’s leg and with a sad face put his little hand in Naomi’s. Mattheos called out, “Don’t worry, you can come back later.” Philip turned and smiled as he went back through the door leading into the main part of the house.

Clearly it was going to take Mattheos a long time, and a lot of work, to copy and then compose, based on these three documents. A lot of time indeed, perhaps months, many months. He would need to speak to Jacob when he returned from the lake. He did not want to overstay his welcome here in Bethsaida. But he had to admit, the view from here up high on the hill was incredible. If he weren’t inspired to write of Jesus’ life here, he would need to abandon hope of such a project.

Figure 21.3. Boats on the Lake of Galilee

Just then, Mattheos’s eyes fell on a saying: “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” He reread it in disbelief. He knew in that moment it was meant for him. He was meant to find this, and meant to compose an account with just this quality—showing both the newness and the oldness of Jesus and his ministry, the newness he brought and the way he fulfilled the old, the old covenant, the old law, the old ways.