Theological-pastoral exegesis of the Oracle on Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37-39

Abstract

This research objectively analyzes the passage of Matthew 23,37-39, in which Jesus prophesies about the City of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets...”. The research problem was thus formulated: how to pastorally understand the oracle of Jesus about Jerusalem? The pericope is also present in Lk 13,34-35, but set in a different context. We methodologically elaborated a study in order to understand the Gospel according to Matthew, its authorship, the time of its composition, structure, doctrine, the relationship of the Matthew community and the function of the synagogue in order to have a reading key for the analysis and interpretation of the biblical passage. Still in methodological terms, we analyzed the text in Greek, using the critical apparatus, through the comparison of variants and translations in Portuguese, which helped in a better understanding of the evolution and interpretation of the text. Next comes the analysis of the writing, in order to better elucidate the structural composition of the text. The analysis of historicity makes it possible to see the historical evolution of the text. With the analysis of the content, it was possible to broaden the vision and perception to reframe the daily pastoral and life in the light of the truth revealed in Jesus.