The Politics of Race and Ethnicity in Matthew's Passion Narrative

In Matthew’s passion narrative, the ethnoracial identity of Jesus comes into sharp focus. The repetition of the title “King of the Judeans” foregrounds the politics of race and ethnicity. Despite the explicit use of terminology, previous scholarship has understood the title curiously in non-ethnoracial ways. This book takes the peculiar omission in the history of interpretation as its point of departure. It provides an expanded ethnoracial reading of the text, and poses a fundamental ideological question that interrogates the pattern in the larger context of modern biblical scholarship. Wongi Park issues a critique of the dominant narrative and presents an alternative reading of Matthew’s passion narrative. He identifies a critical vocabulary and framework of analysis to decode the politics of race and ethnicity implicit in the history of interpretation. Ultimately, the book lends itself to a broader research agenda: the destabilization of the dominant narrative of early Christianity’s non-ethnoracial origins. 

Wongi Park is a Fellow at Belmont University, USA. 

“Wongi Park has produced an original, fascinating, and thoroughly timely study of a symptomatically neglected topic in Matthean studies and New Testament studies more broadly. It will be particularly welcome to university and seminary faculty who wish to open their classroom discourse on Matthew’s Jesus—or any Jesus—to contemporary ideologies of race and ethnicity, not least in their political and polemical manifestations.” (Stephen D. Moore, Edmund S. Janes Professor of Biblical Studies, the Theological School, Drew University, USA)

 “In this highly original study, Wongi Park offers a powerful critique of the uses and misuses of race theory by theologians. Presenting a sophisticated understanding of race theory, he argues that the title ascribed to Jesus, “King of the Jews,” was an ethnoracial identification carrying important political significance within the Roman Empire. Park’s claims are groundbreaking, altering how we understand the Jewish identity of the historical Jesus and his followers.” (Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College, USA)

 “In this thought-provoking volume, Gideon Park challenges New Testament scholars to recognize ‘King of the Jews’ as an insult designed to minoritize Jesus.  Park’s analysis renders visible the scholarly and textual processes of minoritization and sketches a convincing alternative interpretation.  The volume is rich with methodological and interpretive insight and careful textual analysis.  I highly recommend it for those interested racializing trends within the discipline as well as in narrative portrayals of the crucified Jesus.” (Shawn Kelley, Chair, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Daemen College, USA)