Saturday, August 22, 2009

Matthew 5:2, Jesus opens his mouth

During Jesus' temptation in the desert, the devil says to Jesus, "If you are the son of God, say that these stones should become bread." And replying, Jesus said, "It is written, 'Not upon bread alone does man live, but upon every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:3,4).

Interestingly, the next time that "mouth" (στόμα) appears in Matthew is in 5:2, in which he writes, "And opening his mouth he [Jesus] taught them," which precludes the Beatitudes. Perhaps this is reading too much into the significance of word occurrence, but could this be a subtle indication that the words Jesus opens his mouth to say are in likeness to the words that come from the mouth of God? (See also Matt 13:35 for another instance of the opening of God's mouth.)

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