 | Lesson in Biblical Literary Structure |
 Interpreting Matthew 3:1-4:17 from its Literary Structure:
Reverse Symmetry
by Ed Nelson
Studying Scripture should be done at several levels, including its Hebraic literary structure. In knowing and understanding the variety of literary styles used by the Bible’s composers we do well in ascertaining better the authors’ intentionality in emphasis and spiritual guidance for their readers.
The section of biblical narrative that begins with Matthew 3:1 and ends at 4:17 is structured in an ancient Hebraic literary style of composition known today as reverse symmetry. Reverse symmetry is a way of writing that enhances the message or theme of a narrative or poem, usually by retracing and amplifying information of the first half of the passage in the second half in reverse order through restatement, similarity and contrast.
Reverse symmetry takes either one of two forms based on its middle statement(s). If the middle statement stands peculiarly alone asymmetrically, the literary form is called reverse concentric symmetry. The main point is the middle, asymmetrical line—the bull’s eye. If the middle statement is a double statement, both statements being symmetrical, this form of reverse symmetry is called chiasm. It “bounces” the movement of the narrative back to the edges. In chiasm, the main point is the combination of the first and last statements, not the middle statement.
The passage in question fits the form of reverse symmetry known as chiasm because it has two middle, symmetrical statements. As is the case with a double center, the emphasis of the narrative is “bounced” back to the outer, symmetrical edges of the chiasm. The main point is double-stated as the first and last lines of the passage. Whatever else is stated in the passage in symmetry pertains in some germane way to the first and last statements of the chiasm. Knowing this fact alone about chiasm is invaluable in interpreting the emphasis of the passage more accurately as to the writer’s original intention.
As you read the Scripture narrative below, observe that the message at the beginning and end of the narrative is not only symmetrical, but identical: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Only the speakers are different.
To illustrate the reverse symmetry as a system of composition, letters of the alphabet are used to identify each movement in the narrative. The movement is written alphabetically as ABCDEFGHIJKLMM¹L¹K¹J¹I¹H¹G¹F¹E¹D¹C¹B¹A¹. The bold letters indicate the main emphasis of the narrative. Italicized headings are added to help the reader see the connections between the symmetrical parts of the whole.
Reverse Symmetry as Chiasm
A The kingdom of heaven offer: Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
B The Prophet Isaiah: For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the desert, ‘Make ready the way of the LORD, make his paths straight.’”
C About the Prophet John the Baptist: Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
D God-sent ministry: Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
E About opposition: And when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
F Correction of opposition: “Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
G False self-trust: “And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.’
H Vain glory: “For I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
I Contrast: “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance. But He who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
J Learning about Messiah’s bread: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. And He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
K In the desert: Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.
L Affirmation of Yeshua: But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
M Asking permission: But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
M¹ Receiving permission: Then he permitted him.
L¹ Affirmation of Yeshua: After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on him. And, behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
K¹ In the desert: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
J¹ Learning about Messiah’s bread: And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, he then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” And he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
I¹ Contrast: Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you.’ And, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.’”
H¹ Vain glory: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
G¹ False self-trust: And he said to Him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.”
F¹ Correction of opposition: Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and serve him only.’”
E¹ About opposition: Then the devil left Him. God-sent ministry: And behold, angels came and ministered to him.
C¹ About the Prophet John the Baptist: Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, he withdrew into Galilee. The Prophet Isaiah: And leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.”A¹ The kingdom of heaven offer: From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The chiasm, once outlined, shows the transparency of emphasis of the narrator of the text. Below is an expanded view of the headings for each segment to give a fuller appreciation of what takes place in the composition of the story. By only showing the headings we get a vivid picture of the reverse symmetry and movement through this narrative of Matthew 3:1 to 4:17. The bold letters highlight the doubled-emphasis of the narrative—the call to repentance and offer of the kingdom of heaven.
A The kingdom of heaven offer by Yochanan [John] (3:1-2)
B The Prophet Isaiah about John the Baptist (3:3)
C About the Prophet John the Baptist (3:4)
D God-sent ministry of Yochanan to the people (3:5-6)
E About opposition from religious leaders (3:7)
F Correction of opposition (3:8)
G False self-trust (3:9a)
H Vain glory of religious leaders (3:9b-10)
I Contrast between Yochanan and Yeshua (3:11)
J Learning about Messiah’s bread (3:12)
K Yochanan [John] in the desert (3:13)
L Affirmation of Yeshua (3:14)
↓ M Asking permission (3:15a)
↑ M¹ Receiving permission (3:15b)
L¹ Affirmation of Yeshua (3:16-17)
K¹ Yeshua [Jesus] in the desert (4:1)
J¹ Learning about Messiah’s bread (4:2-4)
I¹ Contrast between ha-Satan and Yeshua (4:5-7)
H¹ Vain glory of ha-Satan (4:8)
G¹ False self-trust (4:9)
F¹ Correction of opposition (4:10)
E¹ About opposition from ha-Satan [the Satan] (4:11a)
D¹ God-sent ministry of angels to Yeshua (4:11b)
C¹ About the Prophet John the Baptist (4:12)
B¹ The Prophet Isaiah about Yeshua [Jesus] (4:13-16)
A¹ The kingdom of heaven offer by Yeshua [Jesus] (4:17)
Matthew, the writer of this Gospel bearing his name, composed his entire writing in Hebraic literary structures. The crafting of the structural form of the composition was important to the presentation of the good news of Messiah.
His ancient Jewish readers, likely the Pharisees in particular, were quite literate and sophisticated in literary matters of the Tanakh (Old Testament). Matthew was quite aware of this fact. His readers, Pharisees and Torah teachers, were savvy enough to see what and how he emphasized the revelation of God in Messiah Jesus [Yeshua]. The symmetrically designed story of John the Baptist’s ministry and the introduction of the Messiah’s ministry in Matthew 3:1 to 4:17 tells this double story at a different level from the content itself. To his earliest readers it is compelling, or if his readers were resistant, it was controversial. But it could not be ignored. Matthew placed the call to the kingdom of God as the warp and woof of his textual tapestry, even as this chiasm vividly illustrates. The kingdom of God (or heaven) was the driving motif throughout the Gospel.
The above chiastic structure gives an overall look at this narrative and shows the relationship of its individual parts that make up the whole. When the whole of Matthew’s Gospel is considered, this structure is only a small part, interlocking with other literary features on an even larger scale.
Reverse Symmetry as Concentric
The marvel of biblical, Hebraic composition is not only that literary structures within a narrative play a part in a macro literary structure, but also that narratives in which a structure is clearly evident as in the case above may contain tighter symmetrical structures within it. For example, while we exposed and examined the chiasm of Matthew 3:1-4:17, within it may be other, tighter-composed features. Sometimes they may be a paragraph, a quotation, or even a sentence. In the case below, we find interlocking within the chiasm, a narrative portion composed in reverse concentric symmetry. In this form of reverse symmetry, the emphasis is on the middle, asymmetrical line that stands alone.
A “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from
the coming wrath?
B Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
C And do not think you can say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
D I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up
children for Abraham.
E The axe is already at the root of the trees,
F and every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
E¹ I baptize you with water for repentance.
D¹ But after me will come one who is more powerful
than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.
C¹ He will baptize you in the fire of the Holy Spirit
[Hebrew reading].
B¹ His winnowing fork is in his hand
A¹ and [for] he will clear his threshing floor,
gathering his wheat into the barn
and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The middle line F is in bold letters to show that it is the main point of this tighter segment of Scripture. As is the case for reverse concentric symmetry, the middle, stand-alone statement is the bull’s eye of emphasis. The middle verse of main emphasis reads: “And every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The negative conclusion reached in the reverse concentric symmetry of this portion of the narrative is an important aspect of the greater emphasis found in the larger context of the chiasm on the kingdom of God. This negative teaching is not novel. It is verified in Messiah Yeshua’s [Jesus’] teachings on the kingdom of God elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew (cf. Matthew 12-13). The Messiah reminds his listeners that the kingdom of God is not all-inclusive of Israel, but is a separatist kingdom between the righteous in Him and those whose sense of righteousness is otherwise.
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