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The dissection of the wicked servant in Mathew 24:51 is  a difficult passage to interpret. Most scholars argue that Matthew could not have intended this particular motif to  be taken literally, so they propose a metaphorical sense.   There are good grounds, however, to question this view.   Some neglected evidence suggests that the evangelist  did indeed intend this gruesome reference to be taken  literally. In Matthew’s eschatological schema, wicked church leaders would be punished by dissection at the hands of angelic tormenters in Gehenna.