Very interesting interpretation. I'd like to speculate here what could be the meaning of Luke's and Matthew's verses.Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 1:06 am Consider Roth (pg. 321): "Epiphanius here provides a citation of the opening and final element of Luke 16:16. The elenchus reveals that he is primarily interested in the mentioning of 'the law and the prophets,' which likely explains his truncated reference."
This is not obvious. If it were true, why not just make the quote shorter? Or continue on with the next few words?
Here's the translation: “The Law and the prophets were until John, and every man presseth into it.” [Luke 16:16]
Here's Luke: "The law and the prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and every one enters it violently."
Here's Matthew 11:12-13: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John..."
The first thing I notice is that both Luke and Matthew are very strange texts, which have caused much trouble for interpreters. Luke seems to be saying that the preaching of the kingdom has caused people to enter it violently -- not just be treated violently by others, but by the entrance into the kingdom itself. Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven suffered violence until John, i.e. during the law and the prophets. In cases like this, I wonder if they're both rearranging a source that was even more troubling.
I found this which explains that the verb here can be passive: https://www.mercyonall.org/posts/are-al ... al-passive
So the translation of Epiphanius could be: “The Law and the prophets were until John, and everyone is being forced into it.” (Hart's translation)
So what is it? Have we ever considered that "it" refers back to "the Law and the prophets"? That people are being forced into the law?
In favor of this reading, Matthew associates the violence or force with the time until John.
So what could have been the text, then?
"The law and the prophets were until John, and everyone is being forced into it. Since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached."
A simple contrast is presented, where the good news of the kingdom of God frees people from being forced into the law.
It seems more straightforward to me than either Matthew or Luke, and it allows that Epiphanius' quote is just that, a quote.
Luke
Lk 16:16-17 (NASB20)
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.
Most manuscripts have this Greek for the first phrase "ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται μέχρι Ἰωάννου". This phrase lacks a verb so a literal translation should be just "The Law and the Prophets until John".
So the usual translations into English add some verbs like "were proclaimed ... came" or just "were" but that's not in Greek. However, some important manuscripts do have a verb there and this verb is ἐπροφήτευσαν [they prophesied]. It is the same word that is in the parallel passage in Matthew 11:12. I think this is the original reading of Luke and not just a harmonization from Matthew. So the translation should be "The Law and the Prophets prophesied until John".
And this is a common theme in the New Testament that the Law (Moses) and the Prophets prophesied about Messiah, about the kingdom of God, about Jesus. So the phrase "since that time [since John] the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached" means that the Old Testament prophecy is finally being fulfilled (since John's preaching). But what is the meaning of "everyone is forcing his way into it"?
I think Luke meant that "everyone" (the common people, the multitudes) was forcing the interpretation of the kingdom of God. Jesus (and John) preached that "the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed" (Lk 24:46-47 NASB20), but the common people had different ideas. They wanted a real king: "Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.' So Jesus, aware that they intended to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself, alone" (Jn 6:14-15 NASB 20). And "they [people] thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately" (Lk 19:11 NASB20).
I think that's why Luke added this verse: "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail" (Lk 16:17 NASB20). He meant that the Old Testament prophecy is about suffering and forgiveness of sins, not about a triumphal kingdom on earth. It might be tempting for Jesus to become a David-like king but that would be a useless attempt because the Old Testament prophecy will be fulfilled without fail.
In summary, I think this passage is not about John but about the different interpretations of the kingdom of God, Old Testament vs people.
Matthew
Mt 11:12 (NASB20)
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Now Matthew, who (I assume) had the Gospel of Luke, might have changed the meaning of Luke's passage. He saw the passage in Luke's chapter 16 and he saw that this passage is talking about John the Baptist. So Matthew decided to make a thematic block about John and he moved this passage to a different passage when there is another talk about John. I think Matthew is known for his thematic reorderings so this would be just another one of these.
I think Matthew's emphasis is on violence. He changed Luke's passage into "the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force". He probably meant that John and Jesus were treated violently by violent men, like Pharisees or priests. There are many examples of such violent behavior in the New Testament.
But then Matthew also added another layer of meaning when he moved the first part of Luke's passage "the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John" to the end of the passage and added another saying of Jesus "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come." I think the natural reading of this reordered passage is nevertheless a little bit convoluted. It would be much clearer if the actual phrase reads "... the Prophets and the Law prophesied until about John". So then there will be a clear connection to Elijah. But, as far as I know, no manuscript has the word "about" and I don't see how the Greek word for "until" could change into "about". However, I know about one medieval source that has this clearer reading in Hebrew. The Shem Tob's Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (Howard) has:
For all the prophets and the law spoke concerning [על] John.