INTRODUCTION
According to ‘Transforming Mission’ which was written by David Bosch basically has the involvement regarding Matthew’s use of the Old Testament (OT) that could be deeply pastoral and missionary, as Bosch begins by considering the idea of mission and how the missionary claims from the OT has evolved and been enacted in the world from a Jewish perspective and looking into the mission paradigm of post modernity, highlighting the difference between what the church perceives to be its missionary authorization and the work of God. (Bosch, 1991) It can be said that David Bosch’s engagement within the missiology of Matthew seems very interesting, as moving into discipleship in lieu to Matthew’s Gospel as it affirms an immense deal of the Old Testament experience. (Bosch, 1991) Thus, Matthew has been a journeyer attempting to live out the teachings of Christ. Bosch’s analysis of Matthew’s use of OT relates to ‘’Great Commission’’ that was enlightening to begin the journey towards intended ministry with the theme relating to the cost of discipleship. (Kinnamon, 1991) Moreover, Bosch’s claims relate to certain exploration of the Christian consent to love that, ‘’Christians should relinquish all desires to judge others; their behavior should be exemplary against the civil order’’, as it can be said that a Christian lifestyle should also be winsome and it should attract outsiders and invite them to join the community. (Kinnamon, 1991)
MAIN BODY
Bosch’s have explored the multifaceted missionary motivations relating to Matthew’s use of the Old Testament as deeply pastoral and missionary that is much greater than the traditional paradigm which was the underlying motive of the church that being ‘conversion of the heaten.’ (Cunningham et al., 1987) As Bosch made use of the ‘paradigm shift’ rather than a break in mission thinking and practice in both pastoral and missiological terms on the cusp of a paradigm shift. There was a reframing of mission whilst being positive for the continued existence of the Church through worldwide missionary work and societal maturity. (Cunningham et al., 1987) In recent years, the terms ‘mission’ and ‘missional’ have increased in use, but ‘mission’ referred to:
Ø the sending of missionaries to a designated territory
Ø the activities undertaken by such missionaries
Ø the geographical are where the missionaries were active
Ø expansion of the reign of God
Thus, David Bosch describes the post-modern paradigm for mission without doubting its value and usefulness for teaching missiology in important respects. Bosch's claim that his missiology is host-modern. The weakness of Bosch's "emerging ecumenical consensus" on mission was apparent in its very year of publication (1991) when the seventh assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) famously failed to find a consensus. (Cunningham et al., 1987) The tact that Bosch's paradigm can be described as a truly post-modern one, even by his criteria; it reveals both Bosch's lack of a creation theology and suggests also the limited nature of pneumatology. (Cunningham et al., 1987) Furthermore, Bosch is keen to emphasize the missionary nature of the Spirit but he stops short of discussing the mission of the Spirit in which the Spirit is an "afterthought used to explain God's activity in the church in connection with Jesus, ignoring the mystery of the Spirit as an equal modality or persona of the divine nature". (Bosch, 1991 p. 14) Moreover, the mission of the spirit is bound thoroughly to the missionary activity of the church, when Bosch seeks to broaden mission to take account of the "comprehensive" nature of salvation, he can do so only by increasing the scope of the church's missionary activity (Bosch, 1991 pp. 393-400).
Henceforth, mission appears as a work to be achieved by organization and strategy and Bosch paradigm is very much in the mould of the enlightenment project and the possibilities raised by missio Dei for deriving mission from the very nature of God are not fully realized. (Ibid. p.22) There was a consequence of Bosch's involvement of the Spirit with the Church is the uncontextual nature of missiology brought to the attention of the church by theologies on the validity of a global theology but Bosch follows the traditional ecumenical approach of thinking globally and applying as his hope is in the institutional church in its Western form despite its legacy of "missionary war", holocaust and apartheid. (Ibid., pp. 384-9). Bosch acknowledges the role of the Spirit in other faiths in preparatio evangelica (Bosch, 1991 p. 484) but he hesitates to give any value to the faiths themselves. Bosch's approach of "bold humility" which recognizes an "unresolved tension" cannot point to any other way of salvation than Jesus Christ; at the same time cannot set limits to the saving power of God" (Bosch, 1991 p. 483).
Matthew’s use of OT as deeply pastoral and missionary was concerned with the situation and the consciousness of God’s teachings as Matthew begins the use of OT by taking the descendants of Jesus because he wanted to show that Jesus was the son of David per se. Matthew's use of the OT is amicably written for a Jewish Christian audience living within the proximity of their homeland. (Gundry, 1967) The community for which Matthew was written for a Jewish Christian community that has encountered some original tensions in the period of renewal as it would appear that they've been there a longer time and shows the realization of an older legacy of Jesus' traditions. In Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "think not that I've come to destroy the law and the prophets: I've come not to destroy them but to fulfill them." (Gundry, 1967 p.23) Furthermore, one of the indications of the situation of Matthew's community comes up when Matthew's use of the OT that gives regulations for how to discipline members within the society. It says if one of the members of the parishioners’ commit sins then go and tell them about it and if they refuse to listen to you, take a friend and tell them about it and if they refuse to listen to them, take them to the church and if they refuse, kick them out. (Gundry, 1967).
The way Matthew told the story of Jesus draws on a lot of symbols from Jewish tradition that conveys a clear picture of Jesus. Jesus goes up on to a mountain to teach and there talks about the law as this indicates pastoral as well as missionary claims from the OT as Jesus delivers different sermons just like the five books of Torah. Matthew is to portray a Jesus whose Jewish identity is beyond doubt. Matthew takes no chances as he Jesus' lineage way back to Abraham in short, Jesus is a Jew. (Gundry, 1982) Thus, Matthew uses his resources in order to create a different narrative in which Jesus frequent teaches the people. Matthew's concern about the church is reflected as he tells the story of Jesus stilling the storm. (Gundry, 1982) According to one interpretation, this story is really a metaphor: the disciples represent the Christian community, the boat is the church. In the face of upheaval and uncertainty that challenges faith and threatens to undo the church, Jesus gives assurance to the faithful: "Behold, I am with you until the end of days." (Gundry, 1982 p. 25).
In Matthew 4:12, Matthew begins his account of the ministry of Jesus, introducing the preparatory preaching of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12), the baptism of Jesus that culminates in God's proclaiming him his "beloved Son" (Matthew 3:13-17) and the temptation in which he proves his true sonship by his victory over the devil's attempt to deflect him from the way of obedience to the Father (Matthew 4:1-11). Moreover, the central message of Jesus' preaching is the coming of the kingdom of heaven and the need for a complete change of heart and conduct, on the part of those who are to receive the gift of God (Matthew 4:17). There are great discourses of Jesus, with the formula "When Jesus finished these words" (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1) which is an important structure of the gospel. The discourses are the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5:3-7:27), the missionary discourse (Matthew 10:5-42), the parable discourse (Matthew 13:3-52), the church order discourse (Matthew 18:3-35) and the eschatological discourse (Matthew 24:4-25:46). In Matthew 4:23 a statement of Jesus' activity speaks not only of his teaching and proclaiming the gospel but of his "curing every disease and illness among the people"; this is repeated almost verbatim in Matthew 9:35.
The nature of the community that Jesus will establish is shown; it will always be under the protection of him whose power can deal with dangers (Matthew 8:23-27), but it is only for those who are prepared to follow him at whatever cost (Matthew 8:16-22) not only believing Israelites but Gentiles who have come to faith in him (Matthew 8:10-12). The disciples begin to have some insights into the mystery of Jesus' person. They wonder about him whom "the winds and the sea obey" (Matthew 8:27) and they witness his bold declaration of the forgiveness of the paralytic's sins (Matthew 9:2). The forgiveness of sins is now not the prerogative of Jesus alone but of "human beings," of the disciples who constitute the community of Jesus, the church. (Matthew 10:5-42). Jesus is moved to pity at the sight of the crowds who are like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), and he sends out the twelve disciples to make the proclamation with which his own ministry began, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 10:7; Matthew 4:17) and to drive out demons and cure the sick as he has done (Matthew 10:1) their mission is limited to Israel (Matthew 10:5-6) as Jesus' own was (Matthew 15:24) yet the perspective broadens to speak of the mission that the disciples will have after the resurrection that will attend it (Matthew 10:18).
The reason given for Jesus' speaking to the crowds in parables is that they have hardened themselves against his clear teaching, unlike the disciples to whom knowledge of "the mysteries of the kingdom has been granted" (Matthew 13:10-16). In Matthew 13:36 He dismisses the crowds and continues the discourse to his disciples alone, who claim to have understood all that God has said (Matthew 13:51). Jesus is shown preparing for the establishment of his church with its teaching authority that will supplant the blind guidance of the Pharisees (Matthew 15:13-14), whose teaching is repudiated by Jesus as the norm for his disciples (Matthew 16:6, 11-12). The church of Jesus will be built on Peter (Matthew 16:18), who will be given authority to bind and loose on earth, an authority whose exercise was confirmed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). Once again, the perspective of the evangelist includes the time of Jesus' ministry but that of the preaching of the gospel after the resurrection. The narrative culminates in Jesus' denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, reflecting that of Matthew's church (Matthew 23:1-36).
In addition, Matthew's portrayal of Jesus in his passion combines both themajestic serenity of the obedient Son who goes his destined way in fulfillment of the scriptures (Matthew 26:52-54) positive of his vindication by God and the depths of fear and abandonment in face of death (Matthew 26:38-39; 27:46). Matthew offers a model for taking religious heritage seriously. Matthew's approach is one of being thoroughgoing and positive. Henceforth, faith communities need to keep people connected to their roots, finding proofs from prophecies which meant something else. Matthew's strong emphasis on the integrity of behavior and attitude and pretence are important correctives of the Christian faith which give major emphasis to religious experiences and appeal to Christian status. (Gundry, 1982) Matthew's emphasis on authority was a legacy which has not always blessed the church and his emphasis on Jesus has spawned versions of the Christian message against which one needs good news. (Towner, 1995) It is easy to hear Matthew's gospel as declaring that we should act in certain ways and have certain attitudes, because Matthew is interpreting the rightful demands of the Scripture in order to win people to the notion that God is compassionate. Matthew appears to have believed that threat of judgement from the judge to come and the promise of life on the basis of right interpretation of demand produce change in people and achieve the goals of pastoral and missionary works. (Howard, 1986)
It is important to bring Matthew's gospel into dialogue about the enabling and liberating power of grace which sets people free to bear fruit. The authority structure runs through much of Matthew's theology and produces Jesus who is the supreme scribe, the authoritative interpreter of scripture. (Howard, 1986) Here the focus is on the power of the mission to which one can appeal while Matthew affirms Jesus' influence, he is at pains to demonstrate Jesus' consistency with the law and to show Jesus dependent on it as the Son of God that will emphasize Jesus' authority based on the right to power of the substance of what is said consistent with Matthew's approach to the OT scripture. (Howard, 1986)
Generally, preaching from Matthew must always be more than translating Matthew into the modern terms. (Howard, 1986) Matthew does not stand alone, interpreting Matthew for preaching means listening to Matthew in its stipulations but within a critical reflection and appropriation which has hierarchy of values because the people of the society have been able to acclaim, 'this is the word of the Lord' and the acclamation is naive without the living proclamation which engages in important indication and personal encounter with thy word. It is important to realize that most of Matthew's use of the OT is so straightforward that it is not liable to the charge of OT’s misinterpretation. (Longenecker, 1975)
The use of the Old Testament since, Matthew as God’s biographer was not accountable of interpreting the scripture in ways alien to how Old Testament authors interpreted the Old Testament. (Longenecker, 1975) Thus, many of Matthew's documents are rueful in nature, as he uses and mentions the OT to show how Christ fulfilled His missionary journey within the scripture deriving from the OT meanings as a result of realization of His words to the people. Matthew was held to be using pesher approaches to the OT and that God's intent when He inspired the OT author was more intense than the OT author himself. (Longenecker, 1975) Thus, Matthew quotes texts that predicts but uses the passages that have thematic significance that exceeds the need for pastoral deeds as well as missionary works as viewed from the significance of the OT and its meaning to the people and that few concerns over Matthew's use of the OT may be tempered by a better sense of what Matthew intended when he said ‘’Christ fulfilled a scripture’’. Similarly, views noted differences of opinion be surprising giving worth and value of the nature and importance of Christian mission that implies the range of ways in which the Christian community relates to the Jewish Scriptures.
David Bosch’s treatment of mission in the Old Testament in was limited in ways and Bosch’s view that ‘’ there is, in the Old Testament, no indication of the believers of the old covenant being sent by God to cross geographical, religious and social frontiers in order to win others to faith in Yahweh’’ has been seen as unduly narrow. Then, Bosch certainly believed the Old Testament highlighted themes of importance to Christian mission and among commentators on biblical theology of mission there is attention is commonly drawn to the universal concerns of Matthew’s use of the OT as deeply pastoral and missionary along the importance of the prophets promises with Israel’s neighbors and the vision of Isaiah’s role as a ‘’light to the nations’’ in the experiences of the Church seem unduly philosophical, relevant to Christians with the temptations and responsibilities of an experience of the knowledge of God as creator mankind. (Schreiter, 1991) God-given purpose of the Church can be considered in terms of its worship, and its responsibilities towards its environment. It is a distortion of the nature of the Church to collapse the dimensions of life into its external mission. (Towner, 1995) Nevertheless, if the value of its worship and community life is not in doubt, it is useful to use the word ‘’mission’’ to refer to the responsibility of the people of God towards outside the community of faith which constitute that mission and its changes over time. (Schreiter, 1991)
CONCLUSION
Therefore, God as the creator and sustainer of mission, there is a need to focus on churches as reconciling and healing communities of engagement in mission raises with the ability of the Old Testament to address those does not necessarily answer the question of the missionary nature of the Old Testament, but reinforce its relevance for some issues arising out of mission such as the attitudes towards religions and cultures, attitudes towards other cultures, the role of God in realizing promises and the realities of leadership in a political world that inform the study of the Bible and the Old Testament in relation to mission. Matthew’s use of the Old Testament does not correspond in showing points of resonance with the development of the redemptive themes of pastoral and missionary claims in the OT as Matthew may show how to interpret the OT by indicating that the early scriptures have projective functions as they reiterate the theology of an earlier motif and anticipate total realization in future acts of God. Nonetheless, the use of interpretive methods in scripture significantly strengthens the confidence of contemporary missionaries who are committed of careful exegesis that honors the intent of God.
Lastly, the Matthew’s use of the OT has been precisely celebrated and essential as Bosch himself points out; no paradigm is the last word in missiology (Bosch, 1991 p. 511). It may be that in retrospect Bosch's claim will be seen not as setting out a new paradigm but as seeing the old in a different perspective that relates to the reality of mission as of today’s epoch. As the modern paradigm will take into account the mission of the Spirit which is a mission that takes place in the context of supplementary spirits. Hence, in any truly missionary encounter, there needs to have a recognition of the application of the claim as the nature of the mission has discerned by the Spirit of Christ himself.
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