Scholarly Reflections
Sim, David C. "Chapter One: Reconstructing the Social and Religious Milieu of Matthew: Methods, Sources, and Possible Results." in Van de Sandt, Huub & Zangenberg, Jürgen K. (editors). Matthew, James, and Didache: Three Related Documents in their Jewish and Christian Settings." Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008,13-32.
Sim, after noting that he presupposes Matthew's Gospel was not written by Matthew the disciple of Jesus, and suggesting that he considers a later date than the frequently posited 80-100 AD, entertains the question of the original target community. The common scholarly opinion was that the text was written particularly for a Matthean community. However, Bauckham, in 1998, argued "that all of the Gospels were written for much broader Christian readerships, possibly all Christians in fact" (Sim 2008, 14). Sim acknowledges that although some "especially in more conservative scholarly circles" (Sim 2008, 15) have embraced it, there are still efforts to define a particularly Matthean community in progress.
As to dating, Sim takes as a given that Matthew depends on Mark, from the 60s or early 70s, and that in Matthew 22:1-10 there is knowledge of Jerusalem's destruction (Sim 2008, 15). Ignatius shows knowledge of Matthew, which places it no later than the teens of the second century (Sim 2008, 16). An important question provoked by this realization is that of Matthew's limited mention of such a foundational event as the destruction of Jerusalem (Sim 2008, 16). Sim suggests that, if the letters of Ignatius are pseudonymous, and if they were written as late as 160 or 170, Matthew would not need to be dated in the first century (Sim 2008, 17). This would likewise make it more plausible for the fall of Jerusalem to be a less vivid topic for the Gospel. It would also allow for greater development of the Formative Judaism movement, thus making more sense of the hostility shown toward the Pharisees (Sim 2008, 18).
The location of composition is an important element in our understanding of Matthew's context. The various suggestions, mostly without broad support, contribute to our grasp of the setting which would give rise to various concepts in Matthew. Sim takes only Antioch or Galilee to be serious contenders (Sim 2008, 20). Antioch is suggested by the urban setting and the use of Greek, yet presence of a large Jewish population (Sim 2008, 21). A weakness of Antioch is the amount of time it took for the Formative Judaism to arrive there. Galilee is a strong candidate due to the early presence of Formative Judaism and the emphasis on Galilee found in Matthew (Sim 2008, 22). However, the interactions with Pharisees are not limited to Galilee in any way (Sim 2008, 23). Additionally, the use of Greek has suggested to some that Galilee would be less likely, as the dominant language was Aramaic. Galilee also suffered widespread desolation in the Jewish War, which could suggest it as a less likely source of a Gospel account (Sim 2008, 24).
Sim takes Antioch as the best location in which to reconstruct a Matthean community (Sim 2008, 25). He takes the original Christian community in Antioch to be a Pauline type of community, not focused on the Mosaic Law. Only in the next generation does he see the rise of a community more attuned to observing the Mosaic Law. This he thinks to have existed in parallel with the more Pauline community represented by Ignatius (Sim 2008, 26).
Social-scientific analysis may assist in gaining an understanding of a Matthean community (Sim 2008, 27). Sim finds a broad use of the language of social sciences in scholarly authors as they consider the sect, the way people are legitimized, and theories about conflicts and associations (Sim 2008, 27), These discussions center around whether the community is Jewish, Christian, or some combination of the two. Sim considers this very much as an open question (Sim 2008, 28). Not only is there a dynamic between Jewish and Roman contexts, but there is also an element of Jewish culture versus Gentile culture. Sim also sees the question of salvation in particular versus universal terms to be important (Sim 2008, 29). Sim considers the question of whether Gentile converts were expected to observe Torah as central to understanding. This question influences an understanding of a Gentile mission (Sim 2008, 30).