NIV Archaeological Study Bible

³³When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.^†

The Greatest Commandment

³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,^† the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law,^† tested him with this question: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[96] ^† ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[97] ^† ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”^†

Whose Son Is the Christ?

⁴¹While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴²“What do you think about the Christ ^[98]? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,”^† they replied.

⁴³He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁴“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’^[99] ^†

⁴⁵If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.^†

Matthew 23

Seven Woes

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law^† and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^†

Biblical Interpretation at Qumran and Among the Early Rabbis

Matthew 23 Qumran¹ is the location at which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The ancient community that was once located there produced a library of well over 800 manuscripts, most of them related to Biblical interpretation.² This collection includes a wide variety of documents:

• Paraphrases: Some texts “rewrote” portions of the Biblical narratives with interpretive and expansive paraphrases (e.g., the Genesis Apocryphon and the Temple Scroll).

• Commentaries: Pesharim, annotations on the prophetic books and the Psalms, sought to interpret or explain Biblical texts.

• Anthologies: These texts stitch together various Biblical passages on a particular theme—something like a modern “topical Bible.”

• Original writings composed in a Biblical style: These documents use Biblical expressions, style and vocabulary to evoke the authority of Scripture. The Teacher of Righteousness, the dominant leader of the Qumran community, believed that God had revealed all the mysteries of the prophetic writings to him. Biblical interpretation in Qumran reflected his understanding that the Scriptures were full of hidden references to his community and to its conflicts with other Jewish leaders and with the outside world. Some of the documents from Qumran suggest that the community perceived itself as authorized not only to provide inspired interpretations of the Scriptures but also to generate new inspired works on an equal footing with Scripture.

Interpretation at Qumran focused on the rules that governed the community and upon the prophetic interpretations that supported its ideals and hopes.

Mikveh (ritual immersion tank) at Qumran

Photograph courtesy of © Dr. Gary Pratico

Early rabbinic Biblical interpretation was primarily concerned with Halakhah—the rules that governed daily life and religious practice. The demand for precise application of Biblical law among the Jews meant that Halakhah had to give guidance about what a person could eat or wear or what action was permissible under specific circumstances. As times and situations changed, new questions arose about what was allowable or required; thus interpretation was an ongoing task, resulting in a continuing process of refinements to previous legal judgments.

Those refinements took place in a dialogic fashion, as rabbis debated the proper application of Biblical texts and legal principles. In their deliberations they tended to cite or string together a series of verses on the basis of some similarity, such as the fact that each verse had a specific word in common. For example, rabbis might cite or associate several verses from different parts of the Bible that have in common the word grapes—even if the verses they cited had nothing to do with one another and used the word in radically different contexts. This strategy treated the Bible as a “hypertext” (a complex web of associations in which one could jump from one passage to another); such interpretation was like solving a puzzle whose pieces needed to be constantly turned, rotated and rearranged. The desired, ideal outcome: When the right combination of Biblical passages was placed side by side, they revealed the otherwise elusive meaning of the particular text under consideration.

The process was not altogether arbitrary. A series of rules was de-veloped to control the interpretive process. The first seven of these were attributed to Hillel, a famous rabbi of the first century A.D. The two most important principles were the argument a fortiori (meaning that a principle that works in a lesser case should also apply to a more important one) and the principle of verbal analogy (meaning that two different passages sharing words in common can be used to interpret each other).

In Matthew 23 Jesus upbraided the scribes and Pharisees³ for establishing elaborate and meticulous rules that attended to fine points on less significant matters but that ignored weightier issues. He particularly rejected their tendency to focus on the lesser issue of external, ritual purity while ignoring the greater issue of the internal contamination of their hearts.

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “The Temple Scroll” and “Qumran and the New Testament.”

3. See “The Pharisees.”

⁵“Everything they do is done for men to see:^† They make their phylacteries^[100] ^† wide and the tassels on their garments^† long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^† ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’^†

⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^† and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.^[101] ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant.^† ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.^†

¹³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^† You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^[102] ^†

¹⁵“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^† and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell^† as you are.

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides!^† You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’^† ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^† ¹⁸You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^† ²⁰Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells ^† in it. ²²And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^†

²³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^† of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^† You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴You blind guides!^† You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^† but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^† ²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^† which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets ^† and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^† ³²Fill up, then, the measure ^† of the sin of your forefathers!

³³“You snakes! You brood of vipers!^† How will you escape being condemned to hell?^† ³⁴Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^† others you will flog in your synagogues^† and pursue from town to town.^† ³⁵And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel ^† to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^† whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^† ³⁶I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.^†

³⁷“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^† how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. ³⁸Look, your house is left to you desolate.^† ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[103] ”^†

Matthew 24

Signs of the End of the Age

¹Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ²“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another;^† every one will be thrown down.”

Josephus and the Fall of Jerusalem

The Arch of Titus

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; on licence Ministero per i Beni le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendza Archeologica di Roma

Matthew 24 The Jewish historian Josephus is our primary source of information about the fall of Jerusalem. During the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66–70 Josephus began as a rebel leader, but midway he switched his allegiance to the Roman side of the conflict. He accompanied the Roman general Titus to the siege of Jerusalem and was thus an eyewitness of the harrowing events of the city’s fall.¹

As the Romans slowly crushed the revolt in outlying areas, refugees flooded into Jerusalem for the climactic battle of the war. The Jews inside the city were torn by internal dissent, with various rebel groups vying for control. There was horrendous loss of life, and conditions worsened as the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem in the spring of A.D. 70. Titus’s troops took the outer wall around May and captured the strategic Fortress of Antonia. The destruction of the temple was imminent, but many of the Jewish defenders likely believed that God would defend them and his temple at the last.² Nonetheless, at the end of August the Romans successfully attacked the temple, setting fire to its gates and overwhelming its defenders. With the sanctuary fallen, the Jews lost hope, and carnage ensued.

Josephus described it thus: “No pity was shown on account of age or out of respect for anyone’s dignity—children and elderly, lay people and priests alike were slain. The battle surged ahead and surrounded everybody, including both those who begged for mercy and those who resisted. The flames spread out to a great distance and its noise mixed with the groans of the perishing; and such was the height of the ridge and the magnitude of the burning that one would have imagined the whole city was aflame” (Wars, 6.5.1). Thus was Jesus’ prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple fulfilled (Mt 24:2).

Interior of arch, depicting troops carrying away plunder from the temple in Jerusalem

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; on licence Ministero per i Beni le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendza Archeologica di Roma

1. See “The Roman Army and the Occupation of the Holy Land.”

2. See “Herod’s Temple.”

³As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^† the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,^[104] ’ and will deceive many.^† ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^† There will be famines^† and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted ^† and put to death,^† and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets ^† will appear and deceive many people. ¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.^† ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom ^† will be preached in the whole world^† as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵“So when you see standing in the holy place^† ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^[105] ^† spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let no one on the roof of his house^† go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. ¹⁹How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^† ²⁰Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.^† ²²If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect ^† those days will be shortened. ²³At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^† ²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles ^† to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. ²⁵See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as lightning ^† that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^† ²⁸Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.^†

²⁹“Immediately after the distress of those days

“ ‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[106] ^†

³⁰“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky,^† with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels ^† with a loud trumpet call,^† and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³²“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it ^[107] is near, right at the door.^† ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation ^[108] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.^† ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^†

The Day and Hour Unknown

³⁶“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[109] but only the Father.^† ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah,^† so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,^† up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.^† ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.^†

⁴²“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.^† ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,^† he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready,^† because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise servant,^† whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.^† ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.^† ⁴⁸But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.^† ⁵⁰The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^†

Matthew 25

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

¹“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like^† ten virgins who took their lamps^† and went out to meet the bridegroom.^† ²Five of them were foolish and five were wise.^† ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.^†

⁶“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’^†

⁹“ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.^† And the door was shut.

¹¹“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

¹²“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

¹³“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.^†

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,^† who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents^[110] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.^† Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. ¹⁷So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.^† ²⁰The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^† Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²²“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

²³“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^† Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸“ ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.^† ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^†

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹“When the Son of Man comes^† in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne^† in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate ^† the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.^† ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom ^† prepared for you since the creation of the world.^† ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,^† ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me,^† I was sick and you looked after me,^† I was in prison and you came to visit me.’^†

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’^†

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,^† you who are cursed, into the eternal fire^† prepared for the devil and his angels.^† ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’^†

⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.^†”^†

Matthew 26

The Plot Against Jesus

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things,^† he said to his disciples, ²“As you know, the Passover ^† is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

The Last Supper and the Passover

Matthew 26 Exodus 12 records the deaths of all firstborn males in Egypt, except for those born to Israelites whom God spared or “passed over” when the avenging angel saw the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Passover is the annual festival commemorating God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.¹ Every year thousands of first-century Jews would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate this holy day (the fourteenth day of the first month).² The Passover celebration involved a sacrifice on behalf of each family present, followed by a sacrificial meal consisting of unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine. The following day (the fifteenth) was the first day of the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread. During the eight days of these two festivals no one was permitted to eat bread with leaven; this was commemorative of the need to prepare to leave Egypt in haste at the time of the exodus (there being no time to wait for the dough to rise).

There has been a good deal of debate over whether the Last Supper of Jesus was a Passover meal. It certainly appears that Jesus understood it to be such (Mk 14:12–16; Lk 22:15). Arguments against it being a Passover meal include the following:

• John 19:14 indicates that Jesus was crucified on the day of the preparation for the Passover; thus the previous evening could not have been that of the Passover.

• The Passover is traditionally eaten with one’s family, whereas the Last Supper was shared among a group of men, some of whom (such as Simon Peter) were married but who for the most part were unrelated to one another.

• The Gospel accounts of the Last Supper do not mention the lamb or the bitter herbs of the Passover, nor do they use the normal Greek word for “unleavened bread,” speaking instead of ordinary bread.

• Passover wine was consumed using individual cups, but the wine of the Last Supper was drunk from a common cup.

On the other hand, many elements associated with the Passover were present at the Last Supper:

• The meal was consumed at night, which was the time for the celebration of Passover.

• The drinking of wine was obligatory at Passover, and wine was central to the Last Supper.

• During New Testament times Jews ordinarily sat when taking meals, but Jesus and the disciples habitually reclined while taking the Passover. At the Last Supper they reclined.³

• At Passover, a dish of hors d’oeuvres preceded the breaking of bread; such a dish is mentioned in Matthew 26:23.

• A hymn was sung at Passover, as in verse 30.

Some of the arguments against the Last Supper having been a Passover meal probably indicate that Jesus was transforming the Passover and creating a new institution for the new covenant:

• Jesus’ taking the meal with his disciples implies that the church is the family of God (see Mk 3:31–34).

• Jesus may well have used unleavened bread at the Last Supper, but the Evangelists may have used the ordinary word for bread to avoid the implication that it is essential that the Lord’s Supper be taken with unleavened bread.

• The lack of mention of a lamb is probably significant. Jesus was presenting himself as the sacrificial Lamb of the new covenant, and the mention of a literal lamb would have been a misleading distraction in the narrative.

1. See “The Festivals of Israel” and “The Passover.”

2. See “The Jewish Calendar.”

3. See “Jewish Meals and Meal Customs.”

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled^† in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,^† ⁴and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him.^† ⁵“But not during the Feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot ^† among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

⁶While Jesus was in Bethany^† in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, ⁷a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹The poor you will always have with you,^† but you will not always have me. ¹²When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.^† ¹³I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot^†—went to the chief priests ¹⁵and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.^† ¹⁶From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,^† the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time^† is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

²⁰When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”^†

²²They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”

²³Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.^† ²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.^† But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”^†

Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”^[111]

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it,^† and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the^[112] covenant,^† which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.^† ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you ^† in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.^†

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,^† for it is written:

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’^[113] ^†

³²But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”^†

³³Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”^†

³⁵But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you,^† I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

Gethsemane

³⁶Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee ^† along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow ^† to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”^†

³⁹Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup^† be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”^†

⁴⁰Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me^† for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.^† The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

⁴²He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

⁴³When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour ^† is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus Arrested

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!”^† and kissed him.

⁵⁰Jesus replied, “Friend,^† do what you came for.”^[114]

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword,^† drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.^†

⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.^† ⁵³Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?^† ⁵⁴But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled ^† that say it must happen in this way?”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching,^† and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”^† Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Before the Sanhedrin

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas,^† the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. ⁵⁸But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest.^† He entered and sat down with the guards^† to see the outcome.

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin^† were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰But they did not find any, though many false witnesses ^† came forward.

Finally two^† came forward ⁶¹and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”^†

⁶²Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³But Jesus remained silent.^†

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath^† by the living God:^† Tell us if you are the Christ,^[115] the Son of God.”

⁶⁴“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One^† and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^†

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes^† and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,”^† they answered.

⁶⁷Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.^† Others slapped him ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”^†

Peter Disowns Jesus

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

⁷⁰But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷²He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”^† And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Matthew 27

Judas Hangs Himself

¹Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.^† ²They bound him, led him away and handed him over^† to Pilate, the governor.^†

The Location of Jesus’ Tomb

Matthew 27 According to the New Testament, Jesus was buried in a new tomb hewn out of rock (Mt 27:60; Mk 15:46; Lk 23:53) in a garden near the crucifixion site (Jn 19:41), just outside the city (Jn 19:20; Heb 13:12). In addition, the entrance was low and sealed with a stone (Mt 27:60; Mk 15:46; Jn 20:11), and on the right side it was possible to sit where the body of Jesus had lain (Mk 16:5; Jn 20:12). Based upon the Biblical description and upon other known first-century tombs, the tomb of Jesus can be reconstructed as having had a small forecourt, a low entry passage and a burial chamber with benches, or “couches,” on three sides for the placement of the deceased.

There are two main contenders for the location of Jesus’ tomb in the Old City of Jerusalem: the Garden Tomb, 275 yards (251 m) north of the Damascus Gate, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter. The Garden Tomb, however, has no authentic ancient tradition associated with it. It was suggested as the site of Jesus’ burial after the renowned British military hero Charles Gordon, while visiting Jerusalem in 1883, suggested that Calvary would have been located on a nearby hill. His identification was based on a fanciful interpretation of ancient Jerusalem as being in the shape of a skeleton, with the skull (i.e., Golgotha) positioned at a hill north of the Damascus Gate. This led to the identification of a tomb on the western side of the hill as Jesus’ burial place, once referred to as Gordon’s Tomb. Modern investigations of the Garden Tomb and others in the vicinity, however, indicate that they were part of a cemetery dating to the divided monarchy period rather than to the first century A.D.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre location, on the other hand, has a tradition going back to early Christian times. When the Roman emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem in A.D. 130/131, he constructed a temple to Jupiter and Venus over the site of the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In A.D. 325 Constantine ordered the removal of Hadrian’s temple. Local Christian tradition had claimed this to be the site of Jesus’ tomb, and, remarkably, when Hadrian’s temple was cleared away, a tomb area was indeed discovered beneath it. Constantine had a church constructed on the site and built a small structure, or edicule, within the building to enclose the tomb itself. The present Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the continuation of Constantine’s church.¹

Jerusalem: “The Garden Tomb”

Photograph courtesy of © Dr. Gary Pratico

In favor of the authenticity of this location is the fact that there was a continuous Christian presence in Jerusalem from Jesus’ death until Constantine uncovered the tomb. This Christian community doubtless would have venerated the site of Jesus’ burial, preserving the memory of the location of his tomb. Also, the site of the church was an old quarry during the time of Jesus, although at least part of it had been made into a garden (Jn 19:41). The fact that the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been a quarry implies that it was outside the walls of the city (it is today inside the Old City). This agrees with the fact that Jesus was crucified outside the walls. Within this area at least four tombs cut into the western rock face have been discovered, only one of which corresponds to the type in which Jesus was buried.

The church was destroyed in 614 and rebuilt in 626. The edicule was destroyed in 1009 by the Egyptian caliph al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah. Contemporary accounts suggest that the southern wall, the burial couch and part of the northern wall survived this destruction. The rebuilt edicule has suffered damage and neglect over the centuries since that time, so that today it is a hodgepodge of reconstructions and repairs. Although absolute certainty is impossible, the evidence points to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as being the actual site of Jesus’ tomb.

1. See “Constantine and Queen Helena’s Role in Preserving Holy Sites.”

³When Judas, who had betrayed him,^† saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins^† to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”^†

⁵So Judas threw the money into the temple^† and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.^†

⁶The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸That is why it has been called the Field of Blood^† to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:^† “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”^[116] ^†

Jesus Before Pilate

¹¹Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”^†

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

¹²When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.^† ¹³Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”^† ¹⁴But Jesus made no reply,^† not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner^† chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”^† ¹⁸For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat,^† his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent^† man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream^† because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.^†

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²²“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?”^† Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar^† was starting, he took water and washed his hands^† in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”^† he said. “It is your responsibility!”^†

²⁵All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”^†

²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged,^† and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium^† and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,^† ²⁹and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.^† ³⁰They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.^† ³¹After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.^†

The Crucifixion

³²As they were going out,^† they met a man from Cyrene,^† named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.^† ³³They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).^† ³⁴There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall;^† but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.^[117] ^† ³⁶And sitting down, they kept watch ^† over him there. ³⁷Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸Two robbers were crucified with him,^† one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ^† ⁴⁰and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,^† save yourself!^† Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”^†

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴²“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel!^† Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe^† in him. ⁴³He trusts in God. Let God rescue him ^† now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness^† came over all the land. ⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,^[118] lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^[119] ^†

⁴⁷When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,^† put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.^†

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple^† was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.^† ⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city ^† and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding^† Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son^[120] of God!”^†

⁵⁵Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.^† ⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.^†

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁷As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and placed it in his own new tomb^† that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶²The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’^† ⁶⁴So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵“Take a guard,”^† Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal^† on the stone^† and posting the guard.^†

Matthew 28

The Resurrection

¹After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary^† went to look at the tomb.

The Resurrection of Jesus

Matthew 28 All four Gospels are clear in their teaching that Jesus arose bodily from the dead. They differ, however, in their accounts of the appearances of the risen Christ:

• Matthew 28:9–10 notes an appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (v. 1) near the empty tomb, followed by a manifestation to the remaining 11 disciples in Galilee (vv. 16–17).

• The most ancient manuscripts of Mark, meanwhile, do not feature an account of the appearance of the risen Christ, although an angel assured the women at the tomb that the disciples would see him in Galilee.

• Luke’s narrative focuses on the vicinity of Jerusalem, with Jesus revealing himself to two disciples on the road to Emmaus and later to larger groups of his followers in Jerusalem and Bethany.

• John features an appearance to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb, two appearances (perhaps in Jerusalem) to the disciples—once with Thomas absent and once with this disciple present—and an appearance by the Sea of Galilee to a number of disciples who were fishing.¹

Tomb remains from the Shephelah in Israel

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

Are these accounts in conflict, as some scholars have suggested? Most of them are left without specific time references, so there is no need to posit any chronological problems with the texts. Luke, however, has been understood to indicate that all of the resurrection appearances and the ascension to heaven happened on the same day, namely Easter Sunday, leaving no room for the manifestations recorded in Matthew and John. But is this really an insurmountable problem?²

Luke was clearly interested in the Jerusalem appearances as a transition from his Gospel to the book of Acts. But while the appearances to the Emmaus travelers and to the rest of the disciples must have taken place on Easter Sunday (cf. Lk 24:13 with vv. 33, 36), there is room for a chronological break either after Luke 24: 43 (i.e., Jesus ate with the disciples, some undetermined time period ensued and then he spoke the words beginning in v. 44) or after verse 49 (i.e., Jesus met with the disciples and sometime later met them again in Jerusalem, led them to Bethany and ascended to heaven).

Like many ancient writers,³ Luke was not concerned about giving an exhaustive, chronological account in his Gospel. It is difficult to imagine that he was unaware of traditions concerning Jesus’ appearances in Galilee, and we have no reason to suspect that he would have rejected them. It would appear that he simply wished to move his readers as smoothly as possible from his Gospel to the accounts in Acts and that he carefully selected from among the postresurrection appearances of Jesus those centered in the Jerusalem area.

1. See “Fishing in New Testament Times.”

2. See “The Historical Value of Luke—Acts.”

3. See “Historians in the Ancient World.”

The Soldiers Guarding the Tomb

Matthew 28 Only Matthew mentions that soldiers guarded the tomb of Jesus.¹ Matthew 27:62–66 records that the chief priests and Pharisees² recalled Jesus’ own prediction that he would rise again, and they cited their fear that the disciples might steal his body to support their request for an authorized guard. Pilate’s reply in 27:65 literally means “You have a guard,” and on this basis some have surmised that the guard in question was the temple guard under the high priest’s own jurisdiction. However, the language of 28:14 precludes this possibility and requires a Roman guard under Pilate’s direct control. Moreover, it is unclear why the chief priests and Pharisees would have requested permission for a guard that they themselves could have directed. Thus, the phrase of 27:65 should probably be rendered as “Take a guard” (as in the NIV).³

The tomb of Jesus was already sealed by a large stone (27:60), which was then probably affixed with an official seal that, if broken, would have attested to the opening of the tomb (cf. Da 6:17).⁴ Matthew 28:11–15 records that some of the guards reported the things they had seen and were bribed into circulating a false report about their own negligence and the theft of Jesus’ body. The ensuing rumor is assumed in John 20:2, 15 and appears later in Justin Martyr’s second-century Dialogue With Trypho (108:2).

The Roman concern for safeguarding tombs is reflected in an imperial inscription bearing the title Diatagma Kaisaros, acquired at Nazareth during the nineteenth century.⁵ The marble slab, containing 21 lines of Greek text, dates from between 50 B.C. and A.D. 50. The text attests to the sanctity of tombs and threatens with capital punishment any who would defile a tomb by removing the body. Scholars have considered the possibility that, in light of the disturbances between Jews and early Christians over what happened to the body of Jesus, the Diatagma Kaisaros may reflect an early Roman response. Although the present state of research does not allow for absolute certainty, the presence of this authentic decree lends historical credibility to Matthew’s account.

1. See “The Location of Jesus’ Tomb.”

2. See “The Pharisees.”

3. See “The Roman Army and the Occupation of the Holy Land.”

4. See “Jewish Burial Practices.”

5. See “Nazareth.”

²There was a violent earthquake,^† for an angel^† of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.^† ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid,^† for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.^† Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.^† There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them.^† “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers ^† to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

The Guards’ Report

¹¹While the women were on their way, some of the guards^† went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹²When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴If this report gets to the governor,^† we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.^† ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.^† ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,^† baptizing them in^[121] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,^† ²⁰and teaching ^† them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you^† always, to the very end of the age.”^†

Mark 1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^[1] ^†

Nazareth

Mark 1 The town of Nazareth (“Map 9”) is located north of the Jezreel Valley in the hills of lower Galilee, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Sepphoris.¹ While Sepphoris was an opulent Greco-Roman city during Jesus’ youth and functioned as the capital of Galilee until A.D. 20, Nazareth remained in relative obscurity.² Nazareth occupied about 60 acres, with a population of only about 500. In his writings Josephus named some 45 Galilean towns but never once mentioned Nazareth, and neither does the Talmud, which names 63 other Galilean sites. The insignificance of Nazareth provoked disparaging comments already in Jesus’ day, such as Nathanael’s retort: “Can any good thing come from [Nazareth]?” (Jn 1:46).

Nevertheless, the New Testament explicitly identifies Jesus as “the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Mt 21:11). This humble town was the residence of Mary and Joseph (Lk 2:39) and the place where Jesus grew up (Mt 2:23; Lk 4:16). It was also the jumping-off point for his public ministry (Mk 1:9) and the site of his first rejection (Lk 4:16–30).³ He is frequently referred to in the Gospel narratives simply as “Jesus of Nazareth” (Mk 1:24; Lk 18:37), and the titulus (official placard) that Pilate affixed to the cross dubbed him “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Jn 19:19).⁴ Even his earliest followers were labeled “the Nazarene sect” (Ac 24:5).

Both Matthew and John, however, connected the origin of Jesus from Nazareth with an important precedent in the Bible. Matthew 2:23 states that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy, “He will be called a Nazarene.” What was Matthew referring to? No Old Testament text contains those specific words, and Matthew did not indicate the source of his reference. Some have conjectured that he was alluding to Isaiah 11:1, in which the Messiah is called a “Branch” (the Hebrew word for branch, netzer, sounds similar to Nazareth). Others have proposed that Matthew was referring to the concept of the Nazirite, a person consecrated to God’s service (Nu 6:1–21; Jdg 13). But John also linked his first mention of Jesus’ origins in Nazareth to his assertion that Jesus was the fulfillment of what Moses and the prophets had written (Jn 1:45). John did not claim that Jesus’ coming from Nazareth in and of itself fulfilled Scripture, but he did report Nathanael’s astonishment at the idea that the Messiah could have hailed from such a little-known hometown (Jn 1:46).

Archaeological excavations conducted beneath the Church of the Annunciation have revealed that ancient Nazareth was an agricultural village. Pottery was found there dating from the Iron Age II⁵ (900–600 B.C.) to the Byzantine period (A.D. 330–640). Excavations have also uncovered a number of Jewish tombs, including four that were sealed with rolling stones, typical of tombs used up to A.D. 70 and similar to the one in which Jesus was laid.⁶ In addition, a third-century A.D. Jewish-Christian synagogue was discovered there. Oriented toward Jerusalem, it contained Jewish-Christian iconography within its mosaic floor. The synagogue that Jesus attended as a young man and in which he first proclaimed his Messianic identity (Lk 4) probably stood beneath this later structure.⁷ The present-day Basilica of the Annunciation at Nazareth was dedicated in 1969 and represents the largest Christian church structure in the Middle East.

1. See “Sepphoris.”

2. See “Galilee in Jesus’ Time.”

3. See “The Life of Jesus.”

4. See “Pontius Pilate.”

5. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words. See also “Archaeological Periods Chart” in the front of this Bible.

6. See “The Location of Jesus’ Tomb” and “Jewish Burial Practices.”

7. See “Ancient Synagogues.”

²It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way”^[2] ^†—

³“a voice of one calling in the desert,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.’ ”^[3] ^†

⁴And so John^† came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance^† for the forgiveness of sins.^† ⁵The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts^† and wild honey. ⁷And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.^† ⁸I baptize you with ^[4] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”^†

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

⁹At that time Jesus came from Nazareth^† in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.^† ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son,^† whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

¹²At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, ¹³and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan.^† He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,^† proclaiming the good news of God.^† ¹⁵“The time has come,”^† he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”^†

¹⁶As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²¹They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.^† ²²The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.^† ²³Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil^[5] spirit cried out, ²⁴“What do you want with us,^† Jesus of Nazareth?^† Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”^†

²⁵“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”^† ²⁶The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.^†

²⁷The people were all so amazed^† that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸News about him spread quickly over the whole region ^† of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue,^† they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.^† The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

³²That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.^† ³³The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.^† He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.^†

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.^† ³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”^† ³⁹So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues ^† and driving out demons.^†

A Man With Leprosy

⁴⁰A man with leprosy^[6] came to him and begged him on his knees,^† “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

⁴³Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴“See that you don’t tell this to anyone.^† But go, show yourself to the priest^† and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing,^† as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.^† Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.^†

Mark 2

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ²So many ^† gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic,^† carried by four of them. ⁴Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”^†

Cynics and Satirists in the Greco-Roman World

Mark 2 The Cynics were members of a loosely organized school of philosophy founded in late fifth-century B.C. Greece. They rejected a conventional value system that emphasized such social constructs as wealth and status, seeking instead to live a virtuous life as defined by living according to nature. Cynics believed that society placed value on worthless things. They espoused primitivism as a way of life; some have compared them to the “hippies” of America in the 1960s. Their value system was based upon the equation that living a life void of any artificial value will inevitably lead to happiness. Anecdotes about Cynics abound. Alexander the Great reportedly visited Diogenes the Cynic and asked him to request anything at all. Diogenes, who was sunbathing at the time of the visit, responded simply by asking Alexander to move in order to stop blocking the sun. On the other hand, Socrates was reported to have told the Cynic philosopher Anthisthenes (who made a point of always wearing ragged clothing), “I can see your pride through the holes in your cloak.”

Satire flourished in Roman culture. Satirists, like their predecessors the Cynics, were fundamentally social critics. One significant difference is that satire was more an art form than a philosophy (although Cynics did also engage in literary satire). Satirists wrote plays, novels and poems that ridiculed the vice and moral decay found in contemporary Roman society. Horace (died 8 B.C.) and Juvenal (d. early second century A.D.) can probably be regarded as the greatest Roman satirists. Both the Cynics and the Satirists sought to ridicule what they saw as the foolish trappings of society. For example, in Satire 3 Juvenal attacked the debauchery of the Hellenistic upper classes, and in Satire 6 he listed in great detail the supposed vices of Roman wives. However, the extant writings of both Cynics and Satirists are often characterized by perverse kinds of self-indulgence, as well as by ferocious anger, crassness and obscenity (especially on the part of the Satirists).

Recently it has become fashionable in some scholarly circles to argue that Jesus himself was a Jewish follower of a cynical philosophy. In reality, other than the simplicity of his life, Jesus had nothing in common with the Greek Cynics. Roman authorities clashed with Cynics because the latter tended to be anarchic. Jesus, who taught, for instance, that people should pay their taxes (Mk 12:17),¹ could hardly be classified as anarchic.²

1. See “Roman Taxation.”

2. See also “Greek Philosophical Schools.”

⁶Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”^†

⁸Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man ^† has authority on earth to forgive sins …” He said to the paralytic, ¹¹“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹²He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God,^† saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”^†

The Calling of Levi

¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him,^† and he began to teach them. ¹⁴As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^† Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^† saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”^†

¹⁷On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^†

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.^† Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

¹⁹Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,^† and on that day they will fast.

²¹“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²²And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Lord of the Sabbath

²³One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.^† ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”^†

²⁵He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶In the days of Abiathar the high priest,^† he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.^† And he also gave some to his companions.”^†

²⁷Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,^† not man for the Sabbath.^† ²⁸So the Son of Man ^† is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 3

¹Another time he went into the synagogue,^† and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ²Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely^† to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.^† ³Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Herod the Great

Mark 3 Herod the Great began his career as military governor of Galilee in 47 B.C.¹ The Roman Senate then appointed him king of Judea in 40 B.C. After violently suppressing a significant opposition from the aristocracy in Jerusalem, he formally began his reign in 37 B.C. and ruled until his death in 4 B.C. Herod’s father, Antipater, was an Idumean convert to Judaism,² and his mother, Cypros, was a Nabatean. Herod curried favor with the Jews but was staunchly allied to Rome and embraced Greco-Roman culture and religion. He is known for his extensive building programs; evidence of some of this activity can still be seen today. In this arena, Herod’s accomplishments were impressive and included the following:

• Temples to Roma, Augustus and Baal Shamim; the Pythian temple at Rhodes; and, of course, the Jerusalem temple.³

• Palaces at Masada, Jericho, Ascalon and elsewhere.⁴

• Gymnasia, baths, fountains, colonnades, markets and other public buildings throughout the eastern Roman Empire.

• Entire cities, such as Caesarea Maritima and Sebaste.⁵

Herod’s rise to power came about during a tumultuous period in Roman history—the civil wars of the First and Second Triumvirates. Herod often backed the losing side; for example, he was on the side of Antony and Cleopatra when they were at war with and finally defeated by Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus).⁶ Nevertheless, Herod had remarkable political instincts and was able to save his life and power by quickly submitting and swearing allegiance to Octavian. Indeed, every move he made was designed in some way to ensure that he eliminated his enemies and held on to the support of the people who mattered. For example, Herod divorced his first wife, Doris, and became engaged to Mariamne, granddaughter of the high priest Hyrcanus II (Herod ultimately executed both of them).

Herodium

His tenuous hold on power—a single misstep and he could have lost everything—may have contributed to the paranoia that led him to execute so many, including his own children. Jesus was born during the reign of Herod (Mt 2:1), who, near the end of his life, gained eternal infamy by having the baby boys of Bethlehem put to death (Mt 2:16). Caesar Augustus is reported to have once made the pun that he would rather be Herod’s pig (in Greek, hus) than his son (huios), a reference to the fact that as a nominal Jew Herod at least had scruples about killing pigs—if none about executing his own family members.

The holy family fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath (Mt 2:13–14). While they were there Herod died of disease in his palace at Jericho, which has been excavated. His body was carried in an elaborate procession to Herodium (see “Map 9”), near Bethlehem, where he was interred with splendor. In spite of extensive excavations at Herodium, Herod’s tomb has never been located.

Herod’s kingdom was divided among three of his four surviving sons: Archelaus, ruler of Judea and Samaria⁷ (Mt 2:22); Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (Mt 14:1–10); and Philip II, tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis (Lk 3:1). Other members of Herod’s extensive family (he had ten wives) are mentioned in the New Testament: a fourth son, Philip I (Mt 14:3–11; Mk 6:17–28; Lk 3:19); a granddaughter Herodias, who married two of his sons (her uncles), Philip I and Herod Antipas (Mt 14:3–11; Mk 6:17–28; Lk 3:19); a grandson Herod Agrippa I (Ac 12:1–23; 23:35); a great-grandson Agrippa II (Ac 25:13–26:32); great-granddaughters Bernice (Ac 25:13–27; 26:30), Drusilla (Ac 24:24) and Salome (Mt 14:6–11; Mk 6:22–28).⁷

1. See “Galilee in Jesus’ Time.”

2. See “Proselytes in Second Temple Judaism.”

3. See “Herod’s Temple” and “The Dividing Wall of the ‘Court of the Gentiles’ in Herod’s Temple.”

4. See “Masada” and “New Testament Jericho.”

5. See “Caesarea Maritima.”

6. See “Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome; the Census; and Quirinius, Governor of Syria.”

⁴Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians^† how they might kill Jesus.^†

Crowds Follow Jesus

⁷Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.^† ⁸When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.^† ⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰For he had healed many,^† so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.^† ¹¹Whenever the evil ^[7] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”^† ¹²But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.^†

The Appointing of the Twelve Apostles

¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.^† ¹⁴He appointed twelve—designating them apostles ^[8] ^†—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons.^† ¹⁶These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);^† ¹⁷James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus and Beelzebub

²⁰Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,^† so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.^† ²¹When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”^†

²²And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem^† said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub^[9]!^† By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”^†

Emperors	Procurators	Kings, Tetrarchs, Ethnarch
AUGUSTUS, 27 B.C.–A.D. 14 (Lk 2:1) TIBERIUS, A.D. 14–37 (Lk 3:1) Caligula, 37–41 CLAUDIUS, 41–54 (Ac 11:28; 18:2; 23:26) Nero, 54–68 (Emperor at deaths of Paul and Peter) Galba, 68 Otho, 69 Vitellius, 69 Vespasian, 69–79 Titus, 79–81 Domitian, 81–96 Nerva, 96–98 Trajan, 98–117	Coponius, A.D. 6–10 M. Ambivius, 10–13 Annius Rufus, 13–15 Valerius Gratus, 15–26 PONTIUS PILATE, 26–36 (Lk 3:1; 23:1) Marcellus, 36–38 Marullus, 38–41 Cuspius Fadus, 44–46 Tiberius Alexander, 46–48 Ventidius Cumanus, 48–52 M. Antonius FELIX, 52–59 (Ac 23:26–24:27) Porcius FESTUS, 59–61 (ac 25) Albinus, 61–65 Gessius Florus, 65–70 Vettulenus Cerialis, 70–72 Lucilius Bassus, 72–75 M. Salvienus, 75–86 Flavius Silva, 86 Pompeius Longinus, 86	Herod the Great, King over all Palestine, 37–4 B.C. (Mt 2:1–19; Lk 1:5) ARCHELAUS, Ethnarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, 4 B.C.–A.D. 6 (Mt 2:22) HEROD PHILIP, Tetrarch of Iturea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Auranitis and Batanea, 4 B.C.–A.D. 34 (Lk 3:1) HEROD ANTIPAS, Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, 4 B.C.–A.D. 39 (Mk 6:14–29; Lk 3:1; 13:31–35; 23:7–12) HEROD AGRIPPA I, 37–44; by A.D. 41 King over all Palestine (ac 12:1–24) HEROD AGRIPPA II, 48–70, Tetrarch of Chalcis and northern territory (ac 25:13–26:32)