Word Study:
Matthew’s Use of πληρόω
I.
Basic
Definitions:
BAD (Bauer, Arndt, and
Gingrich): some possible meanings include “make full,” “fill,” “fulfill,”
“complete,” “finish”
LS (Liddel-Scott’s
Classical Greek Dictionary): some possible meanings include “to
make full”
1. “Fulfill” could mean that a prediction in the Old
Testament comes to pass in the New Testament.
2.
“Fulfill” could mean that Matthew can “fill up” the
meaning of the Old Testament words/images so that they take on a “fuller”
meaning in terms of Christ.
3.
“Fulfill” could mean that the things to which Matthew
refers complete the Old Testament imagery or words with their complete, full
meaning (thus their meaning was only incomplete in the Old Testament?)
A. Occurrences in Matthew
1.
Matt 1:22—Jesus’s virgin
birth fulfills Isaiah 7:14
Matthew does not interpret this verse in its original context (which was
a promise to Ahaz about a child who would soon be
born in his day). It is unclear whether
Matthew makes the distinction between the way he uses the verse and its
original meaning.
Possibilities:
a) He sees this fulfillment as straightforward prediction/ fulfillment; b) He
sees a potentiality in the words of the OT that is actualized by Jesus’ birth
(original meaning irrelevant).
2.
Matt 2:15—Jesus coming out of
Similar
non-contextual interpretation (originally about the exodus).
Possibilities: a) straightforward
prediction/fulfillment (but surely he sees that Hos
11:1 is about the past, about the exodus, and that the subject is
3.
Matt 2:17—Destruction of babies in
Similar
non-contextual interpretation (originally about destruction of the northern
kingdom).
Possibilities: a) straightforward prediction (some items in the chapter
were understood to be about the new covenant); b) There
is a potentiality in the words of the OT that are actualized by an event in the
life of Jesus.
4.
Matt 2:23—Jesus being from Nazareth fulfills the
promise of a righteous branch in Isaiah 11:1 or the word Nazareth is similar to
the word Nazirite (maybe, the Hebrew word for branch
is nezer,
for Nazirite is nezir). It is not entirely clear what verse Matthew
has in mind).
Similar
non-contextual interpretation (either Matthew relates a roughly messianic
passage to the village where Jesus grew up [Is 11:1] or he relates words saying
that Samson will be a Nazirite [which Jesus was not,
Judges 13:5] to that village)
Time out: With this last example we have to
conclude that Matthew varies widely in the amount of attention he plays to
original contexts. He is following a
messianic star clearly enough. He likely
inherits some passages that others in his environment understood to be
messianic (e.g. Micah 5:1,3). In other cases he may
have seen something in the original text that connected to the messianic age
(Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:15).
However,
in the case of Matt 2:23, the difference between the original meaning and the
fulfillment is so significantly different that we must allow that in some cases Matthew’s interpretation has little or
nothing to do with the original context.
Perhaps Matthew believes that most or all of the key events in the life
and message of Jesus have a corresponding OT passage. These he finds on the basis of some
similarity, but the similarity varies widely in the degree of connection.
Perhaps
Matthew believes that the Holy Spirit has planted the OT with verses relating
to the life and message of Jesus. Jesus
“fulfills” these passages, as the Holy Spirit intended. In this case it is a prediction/fulfillment,
but the prediction is not a matter of context, but a matter of hidden meanings
the Holy Spirit inspired and implanted in the text.
5.
Matt 3:15—Jesus’s baptism
fulfills “all righteousness”
While
Matthew does not give us an OT passage, we get the sense that Jesus’s baptism is all “part of the plan.” In this sense fulfillment involves
accomplishing God’s purposes. It is the
“right” thing for them to do.
6.
Matt 4:14—Jesus’s ministry
in
It is easy
to see how one could relate this verse to Jesus’s
ministry (originally a promise of the restoration of lands taken by
7.
Matt 5:17—Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to
“fulfill” it.
As our
particularization study indicated, Jesus’s fulfilled
interpretations of the Law get to the heart of each matter. Some fulfillments are in greater continuity
with the OT than others. In some cases,
the heart of the matter requires Jesus to “countermand” parts of the Law that
were concessions on God’s part.
8.
Matt 8:17—Jesus’s healing
ministry fulfills Isaiah 53:4
While
other NT books (e.g. 1 Peter) relate Isa 53 to
Christ’s suffering, Matthew relates this particular verse to Jesus’s healing ministry.
9.
Matt 12:17—Jesus’ silence a part of the plan until he
proclaims judgment to the Gentiles, who will hope on him, fulfills Isaiah
42:1-4.
This
extended quotation is interesting, not least because it is not entirely clear
what it refers to. Since the preceding
words relate to Jesus commanding silence and since Jesus directs his disciples
at this point to go to the Jews only, it would seem that the verse relates to Jesus’s silence about his identity until he gives the Great
Commission to go to all Gentiles after the resurrection.
10. Matt
13:35—Jesus speaking in parables fulfills Psalm 78:2
While Mark
seems to emphasize parables as having a “clouding” effect on the listener
without faith (Mark 4), Matthew seems to see them as the unveiling of hidden
truths. This may give us a key to his
understanding of fulfillment. Only those
with the right spiritual eyes can see the “fulfilled” meanings of OT passages.
11. Matt
13:48—Here the word is used in its more ordinary
sense. When the net is full, it is drawn
ashore. The parallel with the phrase “the
consummation of the age” in the next verse may give us a clue to what
fulfillment is ultimately about. Matthew
believes that we have reached a critical mass in the history of the world. Judgment is imminent and thus salvation for
the righteous is at hand as well. It is
the time of fulfillment, completion—it is the time of the end. Time is all filled up now.
12. Matt 21:4—Jesus’s entrance into
The splicing
of Scriptures together by catchword (gezerah shewa is the name for the Hebrew rule of
interpretation) indicates a dominantly non-contextual approach to the OT. These passages were interpreted messianically at the time of Christ.
13. Matt
23:32—Sins of Pharisees “fill up” or “complete” the sins of their predecessors
This
metaphor is based on the more literal sense of the word as was found in
13:48. The image is of something filling
up, reaching critical mass, completion.
14. Matt
26:54, 56—Scriptures indicate “it must happen in this way”
This verse
indicates that Matthew does see the OT words as predictors of what will
happen.
15. Matt 27:9—Events
involving Judas fulfill Jeremiah 18:1-3, 32:6-15; Zechariah 11:12-13.
More of the same.
Apparent Meanings of πληρόω
in Matthew:
1.
For something to occur that the OT predicted (that
is, the OT correctly understood).
2.
To fill something up literally, like a net or a
measure.
3.
To bring out the “full” significance of something,
the heart of the matter, to bring out the complete meaning or significance.
4.
To reach the appropriate time, the time of
completion, the time when something is finished
B. Other New Testament Occurrences
I feel
like I have a good fix on Matthew’s meaning, so I will only record here some of
the more significant other instances of the word in the NT.
· Mark 14:49
indicates that the concept that Christ’s suffering was the fulfillment of
prophecy predates Matthew. Matthew
however has taken fulfillment to the next level!
· Other NT
verses show the same prophetic understanding (e.g. Luke 4:21; 24:44; John
13:18). We could construct an entire
hermeneutic from various passages. In
one place Paul indicates that the “Christ” meaning of the OT Scripture is
spiritually discerned, unknown even to the demonic rulers of this age (1 Cor 2:6-13). 2 Peter
1:19-20 indicates that the correct meaning of Scripture derives from the Holy
Spirit speaking through prophets.
· Some show
the same “consummation of the age” concept (e.g. Luke 21:24); closely related
is the idea of completing time or reaching the appropriate time (e.g. John 7:8).
·
Some have the ordinary meaning of fill (e.g. John
12:3).
· An
additional nuance is to be “filled” with something (like joy, John 3:29, or
encouragement, 2 Cor 7:4). This is a metaphor for being really joyous or
encouraged. Acts uses this metaphor in
terms of the Holy Spirit (although Acts may have viewed this more literally
than we might think—the sense of being filled with God’s wind/breath). The “critical mass” notion sometimes shows up
here—having the appropriate amount of something (e.g. Phil 1:11; Rev 3:2).
C. Septuagint Occurrences
A few instances will suffice:
·
Genesis 25:24—the days were
fulfilled/completed/finished to give birth.
· 1 Kings
2:27—David had said that Solomon would be king after him. This verse asks if David’s words had been
“fulfilled.” This fits in well with
Matthew’s usage in terms of prediction/fulfillment. Cf. 2 Chronicles 36:21-22—clearly a sense of
prediction/fulfillment.
D. Other Background Literature
I will
note in passing the pesher
method of interpretation used at
IV.
I have already summarized the most
relevant shades of meaning for our purposes.
The three most important for Matthew appear to be:
V. Conclusion
In the
background of Matthew’s use of πληρόω
is his sense that with Christ history has reached a critical point, a point
that will issue in the “consummation of the age.” The time of Christ is thus a time of
fulfillment, the completion of one phase of history (meaning 3). As a part of this consummation, Christ’s
message cuts to the heart of God’s will for the world. Jesus provides his audience with the “full”
significance of the OT, the authoritative interpretations of the Law (meaning
2).
It is
important to realize that Matthew’s/Jesus’s interpretations
both of the Law and of OT Scripture in general follow ancient Jewish
hermeneutics, not modern sensibilities.
Matthew/Jesus does not always stick closely to the original meaning or
the original contexts. Matthew sees
various events associated with Jesus as the fulfillment of OT
prophesy/prediction, but these are not predictions of the sort we might expect
(meaning 1). They are spiritual
interpretations hidden in the words.
At times the fulfilled interpretation is drastically different from the original meaning (e.g. Matt 2:23 as the fulfillment of Isaiah 11:1 or Judges 13:5). Jesus actually countermands some laws of the OT in order to get to the heart of true righteousness (e.g. oath taking or the law of retaliation). The key is the realization that God had a plan. Pleroo in Matthew frequently relates to that plan coming about in history.