5. Discontinuity

1. Overall Premise: An example would be His fellowship with the sinners and outcasts of society, which shocked the learned, pious elites. In his teachings (e.g., the parables) and table fellowship, He underscored traditional themes of repentance and conversion within Israel in combination with a radically untraditional separation of the “righteous” and unrighteous. His success with “sinners” polarized the official guardians of the Mosaic heritage (Mark 2:13–17 and parallels). He reversed the traditional stance of conversion before communion by using fellowship to promote conversion. J. Lanier Burns, “Jesus Christ,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

2. Discontinuity: Jesus used some expressions that were characteristic of Him—that would not likely be invented by others. Two examples are the “truly, truly” statements that underscore His authoritative sayings and His use of “Abba” as an intimate address to His Father (Mark 14:36; compare Jeremias, New Testament Theology, 8–37). J. Lanier Burns, “Jesus Christ,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

3. Inexplicable Omissions: Matthew, as an Apostle, was himself an eyewitness of the Ascension, an event holding a most important place in the divine process of the redemption of man. Yet he omits all record or mention of it. Henry Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Guardian Press, 1976), xiv.