Annotations for Matthew

1:1 genealogy of Jesus. “The book of the genealogy” here uses the exact Greek phrase found in the Greek translation of Ge 5:1, including the Greek word from which we get our name for the book “Genesis.” Similar phrases appear with other genealogies in Genesis. The phrase in Matthew functions differently, however. In Genesis, the phrase is followed by a list of the person’s descendants, who depend on their ancestor for their meaning. Matthew, by contrast, lists not Jesus’ descendants but his ancestors. Jesus is so pivotal for Israel’s history that even his ancestors depend on him for their purpose and meaning.

When Jewish people spoke of the “son of David” they usually thought of David’s descendant par excellence, the Messiah (i.e., the Davidic king; cf. 22:42). Jesus is thus the fulfillment of God’s promise to raise up a king from David’s line. Although Ishmaelites and others also claimed descent from Abraham, Jewish people customarily applied the title “children of Abraham” to Jewish people in particular. Matthew presents Jesus as both Israel’s rightful ruler and as one identified fully with his people. Many scholars find this identification with Jesus’ people’s heritage also in 2:15, 18; 4:1–11 (see applicable notes there).

1:2 Abraham . . . Isaac . . . Jacob. For the births of Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons, see Ge 21–30; 35:18.

1:3 Tamar. Ancient genealogies often omitted women. Jewish hearers would have expected that if Matthew included any women, he would have chosen some of the famous matriarchs: Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and (outside Judah’s line here) Rachel. Instead he includes four women with Gentile associations. In Ge 38, Tamar was likely a Canaanite; she had married into Judah’s family but tragedy prevented her from bearing an heir in Judah’s line. Unable to secure a brother-in-law to fulfill the levirate custom of providing her husband an heir through her, she deceived Judah himself into doing it. Judah, who had helped sell his brother Joseph into slavery (Ge 37:26–27), is confronted with his own sinfulness (Ge 38:26) and changes (Ge 44:33–34).

1:5 Rahab. Because Rahab joined Israel, it was natural for her to marry into Israel. Though not an Israelite, she hid Israel’s spies on her roof, betrayed Jericho and saved her family; she contrasts with Achan of Judah, who hid loot under his tent, betrayed Israel and destroyed his family (Jos 2:1–21; 6:23–25; 7:1–26). Already in the book of Joshua, then, God used Rahab to show that he valued loyalty to his covenant more than ethnic background. Ruth. Normally Moabites were not allowed to become Israelites (Dt 23:3), but God welcomed Ruth because she followed him (Ru 1:16), and she became an ancestor of King David.

1:6 Uriah’s wife. Matthew calls Solomon’s mother not by her name (Bathsheba) but the woman who “had been Uriah’s wife,” his widow. Bathsheba may have been from Judah (compare her father’s name in 2Sa 11:3 with 2Sa 23:34), but she had married into a Hittite family (2Sa 11:3). Thus each of the four women in Matthew’s genealogy (vv. 3–6) is somehow closely associated with Gentiles.

1:7–11 The list of David’s royal descendants summarizes the history of Judah until the exile (the material covered in 1-2 Kings and 2 Chronicles). By slight changes in orthography (used by other Jewish teachers to make theological points), Matthew evokes other elements of Israel’s history as well (the Psalms and the Prophets). In his Greek text, “Asa” (vv. 7–8) is literally “Asaph,” the name of a leader of Israel’s worship (1Ch 16:5, 7, 37; 25:1–6; the superscriptions of Ps 50; 73–83). Likewise, in the Greek Matthew changes the name of the wicked king Amon to the name of the prophet Amos (v. 10).

1:12 Jeconiah. Although God judged Jeconiah (Jer 22:24, 28; 24:1 [“Jehoiachin” in these vv.]), God restored his descendant Zerubbabel to leadership (e.g., Ezr 3:8; Hag 2:2, 23).

1:13–16 Israelite genealogies could skip generations; thus Matthew lists only 11 generations from the exile before Joseph, whereas Luke lists about 20.

1:17 fourteen generations. Even though Matthew skips some generations, the three sets of names he has listed in this verse do not come out to exactly the same number each. Matthew is giving a rounded number, showing that at roughly equivalent intervals in Israel’s history, something dramatic happened. These focal times of conspicuous divine activity surround Abraham, David, the exile, and now the coming of the Messiah, son of David (see note on v. 1). Some scholars point out that when “David” is spelled in Hebrew letters and calculated as numbers (Hebrew used letters also as numbers), it comes out to 14. Some other scholars attribute this to coincidence.

1:18 before they came together. Whenever possible, biographers of important figures reported the figures’ honorable ancestry, honorable behavior of their parents, or special circumstances surrounding their birth. Those who compare Jesus’ virgin birth to Greek stories about gods impregnating women, however, appeal to a milieu quite foreign to this account. In the Greek stories, the gods are many, are immoral, and impregnate women who are thus not virgins. Much more relevant are Biblical accounts of God empowering supernatural births in the OT (Ge 21:1–2; 25:21; 30:22; Jdg 13:3). Even among miraculous births, however, God does something new: Jesus is born not merely from someone previously unable to bear, but from a virgin.

Greek men, on average, were more than ten years older than their brides, because Greeks had a shortage of marriageable women (sources suggest that girl babies were discarded more often than boys). Jewish men, however, were usually only a few years older than their wives; both genders assumed some adult responsibilities at puberty, but men would often work a few years so they could provide financial stability for marriage. Betrothal involved a financial agreement between families. It often lasted about a year; in conservative Galilean families the couple could not be together alone before the wedding, so Joseph may not have known Mary very well.

1:19 divorce her quietly. More binding than modern Western engagements, betrothal could be ended only by divorce or by the death of one of the partners. Sexual unfaithfulness was grounds for divorce throughout the ancient world; both law and custom in fact required a man to divorce an unfaithful wife or fiancée. (Romans did not allow subject peoples to execute convicted persons without Roman permission in this period; although some lynchings may have occurred in secret, they were rare, so Mary likely faced divorce rather than death [see Lev 20:10].) A Jewish man who divorced a faithful wife had to refund the money she brought into the marriage (normally a gift from her father). In the case of an unfaithful wife, however, the husband could keep this money, plus he was entitled to a refund of any money he may have paid the father as a bride price. (Paying the father was the traditional Israelite custom; the father giving his daughter a monetary gift was a more recent but now widespread custom.) Joseph might thus have profited financially by divorcing Mary in front of elders, in a court setting. Instead, sensitive to her shame, he prefers a private divorce. A private divorce meant giving her a certificate of divorce, which would specify her freedom to marry someone else, in front of two or three witnesses.

1:20 angel. The angel of the Lord sometimes announced births (Ge 16:10; Jdg 13:3) and other events (e.g., Ge 22:15–18). This angel appears to Joseph especially in dreams (here; 2:13, 19), a common way that God speaks in Scripture (e.g., Ge 20:3; 31:24; 1Ki 3:5), sometimes by his angel (Ge 31:11; cf. Ge 28:12). The first Joseph heard God through dreams (Ge 37:5, 9). As here, divine messages often encouraged people not to fear (e.g., Ge 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; 46:3). Greeks often reported dreams about deceased persons, but in Biblical dreams God or angels are the most common speakers.

1:21 Biblical birth announcements sometimes included these elements: a woman “will bear a son” (Ge 16:11; 17:19, 21; Jdg 13:3, 5) “and you will call his name” (Ge 16:11; 17:19; Isa 7:14; 8:3). Jesus is the same name in Greek as Joshua, which in its earliest form (Yehoshua) means “God is salvation” (eventually contracted to Yeshua).

1:22–23 to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive . . . and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). In context, the son of Isa 7:14 was a sign to King Ahaz, and was probably Isaiah’s own son (Isa 7:10–17; 8:3–4). Isaiah’s children’s names were for “signs” to Israel (Isa 8:18). Nevertheless, Isaiah’s son signified not only immediate deliverance in their own time, but pointed to the ultimate deliverance with the future birth of the ultimate Davidic ruler (Isa 9:6–7; cf. Isa 11:1–5). That would be the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of “Immanuel” (Isa 7:14), “God with us”: the king would himself be the “Mighty God” (Isa 9:6), a title for God elsewhere in Isaiah (Isa 10:21). Matthew has in mind the context of the entire section of Isaiah, which he again cites soon afterward (see Isa 9:1–2 in Mt 4:15–16).

1:24 took Mary home as his wife. If Mary’s pregnancy was known, Joseph could repudiate responsibility and perhaps evade suspicion by divorcing her. By instead marrying her, Joseph assumes responsibility for the pregnancy, embracing her shame. The couple could long be a matter of village gossip. Joseph valued God’s direct calling through a dream more than what others thought of him.

1:25 did not consummate their marriage. Joseph and Mary could not avoid physical closeness; often newly married couples lived together in a small room on top of the home of the groom’s parents. Most people in antiquity supposed that a man and woman together alone for even a short time (less than an hour) would give way to sexual temptation. This would be all the more the case with those who were young; young men were considered particularly prone to passion. On average Jewish men married when about 18 to 20, with their brides in their mid-teens (sometimes even as young as 12 to 14). Yet Joseph and Mary abstained from intercourse before Jesus’ birth. On the first night of a wedding feast, intercourse would normally rupture the bride’s hymen, and the bloody sheet could be displayed as proof that she had entered marriage as a virgin. By making love on the first night of their wedding, Joseph and Mary could have proved that she had a virgin conception. Yet God’s plan was not merely a virgin conception, but a virgin birth (v. 23). Joseph and Mary chose God’s honor above their own.

2:1–2 Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. It was common for dignitaries to come and congratulate a new ruler. Magi undoubtedly came with a significant caravan. Magi. These were a famous class of astrologers and dream-interpreters who served the Persian king. Their title appears in the most common Greek version of the OT only in Daniel, where it applies to Daniel’s enemies; this is not surprising, since astrology, as a form of divination, was forbidden in Scripture. Yet these Magi come to worship the new king (vv. 2, 11); as Matthew often emphasizes, God calls followers from unexpected places (cf. 3:9; 8:10–12; 12:41–42; 21:31).

2:2 star. Some scholars think this is a conjunction of the heavenly sign that Persians associated with Judea together with the one they associated with kingship. Others associate it with other reported celestial anomalies about this time.

2:3 he was disturbed. Although Scripture forbade astrology, most of the ancient world had come to believe in astrology from the east, considered the “science” of its day. Jewish people generally doubted that the stars controlled Israel’s future, but they granted that the stars predicted the Gentiles’ future. It was also widely believed that comets and other heavenly signs predicted the demise of rulers; for this reason some rulers reportedly executed other members of the elite, so that the other deaths, rather than their own, could fulfill the predicted demise. Herod undoubtedly respected foreign ideas. Besides honoring Israel’s God, Herod built temples for Caesar in Gentile cities.

2:4–6 where the Messiah was to be born . . . in Judea . . . Bethlehem. If the star specified a king born in Judea, the Magi naturally expected to find him in Jerusalem’s palace. But it is Scripture that specifies the new king’s exact birthplace, and for this Herod consults his own wise men. (There is a parallel to this in one Jewish tradition, in which a scribe warned Pharaoh about the birth of Moses, Israel’s deliverer.) Probably most of the “chief priests and teachers of the law” (v. 4) Herod gathered were members of the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s municipal aristocracy. Herod had reportedly killed members of the Sanhedrin that opposed him and replaced them with his own political supporters. These Bible experts know precisely where the expected king should be born: in David’s hometown of Bethlehem, as prophesied in Mic 5:2. Although everyone knows the Magi’s mission (vv. 2–3), there is no indication that the Bible experts join them in their quest. Knowing the Bible is not always the same thing as obeying it.

2:8 Bethlehem. It is perhaps six miles (nine kilometers) from Jerusalem, perhaps not much more than a three-hour journey for the caravan.

2:11 bowed down. Prostration was a way that Persians venerated rulers as well as deities. Magi could be Zoroastrian dualists, but in this period may have still been polytheists (worshipers of multiple gods). gold, frankincense and myrrh. Frankincense and myrrh mostly came from southern Arabia and Somaliland, and thus were very expensive. People often used these spices in royal courts and other lavish settings (cf. Ps 72:10; Isa 60:6).

2:12 warned in a dream. Magi were known for their reported ability to interpret dreams. Because their large caravan could have been visible during the day from Herod’s nearby fortress Herodium, they presumably left under cover of night. Herod would expect them to return to Jerusalem, and from there to follow a road that would take them to the north and the east. Instead, they travel southward toward Hebron, then north along a coastal road or east along a caravan route.

2:13 Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. In one Jewish tradition, a dream warned Moses’ father to protect him from Pharaoh. escape to Egypt. A large Jewish community already lived in Egypt. Alexandria, a Greek-founded city in the northern delta region of Egypt, included perhaps the largest Jewish community outside Judea and Galilee. Perhaps one-third of Alexandria was Jewish, so the family could easily find refuge there. Further, if they had means to transport safely even some of the gold and spices (v. 11) they would have means to support themselves for a long period of time.

2:15 what the Lord had said through the prophet. In context, Hos 11:1 describes God bringing Israel as his “son” from Egypt. The context, however, also goes on to speak of a new exodus, when God would save his people from captivity (Hos 11:5, 11; on the new exodus, see also note on Mt 3:3). Because Jesus identifies with and recapitulates the history of his people (see note on 1:1), the principles in passages about the exodus, captivity (v. 18) and testing in the wilderness (4:1–11) apply also to him.

2:16 gave orders to kill all the boys. Herod acts here in keeping with what we know of his character from other sources (see the article “Herod the Great”). The actual size of ancient Bethlehem is unclear, but some estimate perhaps 20 boys under the age of two were killed. Jewish people considered abandoning or killing babies a pagan practice, conspicuously associated with evil kings such as Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The most widely known example, however, was Pharaoh in the OT (Ex 1:16, 22). In this narrative, the pagan Magi worship the true king, whereas the Jewish ruler acts like a pagan one. (For Matthew’s interest in Gentiles, see the Introduction to Matthew: Provenance and Date; see also 28:19.)

2:17–18 Matthew quotes from Jer 31:15; Matthew undoubtedly knew that the context calls Israel God’s “son” (Jer 31:20) and goes on to promise a new covenant (Jer 31:31–34). Jer 31:15 depicts Rachel weeping as her descendants are carried into captivity in the exile. Matthew would have known that Rachel’s tomb was near Bethlehem (Ge 35:19); like Israel’s exile, the slaughter of Bethlehem’s infants is a tragedy, but one that could not prevent the ultimate promise of God’s restoration in the new covenant.

2:20 go to the land of Israel . . . those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead. The angel’s promise here evokes Ex 4:19: Moses can return to Egypt because those who sought his life have died. Jesus here is thus like Moses, Israel’s deliverer—and, ominously, Judea has become like Egypt in Moses’ day.

2:22 Archelaus was reigning. A few days before Herod died in 4 BC, Archelaus, his son by a Samaritan wife, became ruler. Scholars often observe that Archelaus shared his father’s vices while lacking his administrative competence. Archelaus made many enemies, and his inability to keep peace during the turbulence of AD 6 led to Rome removing him and banishing him to Gaul.

2:23 Nazareth. Population estimates for Nazareth vary; the village proper may have contained perhaps 500 residents (smaller than Bethlehem). Nazareth was a traditional and religiously conservative Galilean town; pottery suggests that many of its residents had migrated from Judea. Ancients sometimes built arguments on wordplays, and Jewish teachers often interpreted the OT this way. Some think that Matthew plays on Jdg 13:5: he “is to be a Nazirite.” Others, probably more commonly, believe that Matthew plays on Isa 11:1, which depicts the Messiah as a “Branch,” in Hebrew, nezer. Other Biblical passages depict the Messiah as a branch (Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zec 3:8; 6:12), as do the Dead Sea Scrolls.

3:1–2 A first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, also reports that John baptized people in the wilderness, inviting them to spiritual transformation. Josephus, however, adapts his description of John to appeal to Greek readers, as he depicts the “sects” of Judea—Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes—along the lines of Greek philosophic sects. The Gospels, however, portray John in a way more in keeping with authentic Judean prophets: a preacher of the imminent new era of God’s reign. “Kingdom of heaven” was an accepted Jewish way of speaking about God’s reign (cf. Da 2:44; 4:26). The wilderness was one of the few places where prophetic figures could safely draw crowds, but of course it lacked the amenities of civilization.

3:3 Matthew quotes Isa 40:3. Some Biblical prophets, including Isaiah, had prophesied a new exodus, by which God would gather his people from exile (Isa 11:16; Jer 23:7–8; Hos 2:14–15). He would establish a way through the wilderness, as he had led his people through the wilderness of old. John was a herald preparing the people for this event, and for the coming of “the Lord”—by which the Hebrew text of Isaiah referred to God himself.

3:4 leather belt. It evokes Elijah (2Ki 1:8), who was to prepare the way for God’s coming (Mal 4:5–6). See note on Mk 1:6.

3:7 brood of vipers. Many people in antiquity thought that vipers were born by hatching inside their mother, then gnawing their way through their mothers’ wombs—killing their mothers in the process. Comparing people to a “brood of vipers,” then, was analogous to calling them “parent-murderers”—one of the most reprehensible offenses conceivable.

3:9 Abraham as our father. Many Jewish people believed that Israel as a whole would be saved because God chose Israel in Abraham. Prophets, however, sometimes challenged Israel’s dependence on their chosenness (Am 3:2; 9:7). stones . . . children. Sometimes in the OT stones were used to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel (Ex 28:21; Jos 4:8; 1Ki 18:31). In Hebrew and Aramaic, “children” and “stones” sound very similar; prophets often made wordplays (note examples in the Hebrew texts of Jer 1:11–12 [see NIV text note]; Am 8:1–2; Mic 1:10–15 [see NIV text notes]).

3:10 ax is already at the root of the trees. Cutting down or burning a tree could symbolize a nation’s judgment (Ps 80:14–16; Jer 11:16; Eze 31:10–18; Da 4:23). The image here probably involves dead trees or small trees, the kind that could be felled easily by most farmers’ axes. Fruit trees that yielded no fruit typically served best as firewood.

3:11 baptize you with water. Many people, including Jewish people, had ritual washings; some Jewish sects required ritual immersion to purify those entering their sect, and Gentiles converting to Judaism were immersed to cleanse them from the impurity of idolatry (see the article “Baptism”). sandals . . . to carry. Handling sandals was the sort of servile task that only a servant would normally perform; the prophets were “servants of God” (2Ki 9:7; Jer 7:25; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4), but John considers himself unworthy even for this role. Clearly he envisions himself as preparing for the coming of God himself (see notes on vv. 3, 4). baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Biblically only God could pour out his own Spirit, as he promised to do at the time of the coming restoration (Isa 32:15; 44:3; Eze 39:29; Joel 2:28). In contrast to the Spirit, the “fire” here presumably signals end-time judgment (see notes on vv. 10, 12).

3:12 gathering his wheat . . . burning up the chaff. After harvest farmers had to separate the edible wheat from the inedible chaff. They would toss the grain into the air so that the wind could blow out the chaff, which was lighter. Scripture often used “chaff” as an image for the worthless that God would destroy (e.g., Ex 15:7 [stubble]; Ps 1:4; Isa 17:13; 29:5; Hos 13:3). Indeed, “Elijah’s” mission (see note on 3:4) was to prevent the nation from becoming like burned chaff (Mal 4:1, 5). Real chaff burns too quickly to be good fuel; the chaff here, however, burns with “unquenchable” fire (cf. Isa 66:24). Jewish people had various views of Gehinnom (or Gehenna), or hell: the wicked would burn up instantly; they would be tortured for a year and then either released or destroyed; or they would burn forever. In his message to the religious elite (v. 7) John sides with the harshest option articulated by his contemporaries.

3:14 I need to be baptized by you. Given John’s expectation that the coming one would be divine and baptize in the Spirit (see note on v. 11), that John feels unworthy to baptize Jesus makes sense.

3:16 heaven was opened. The heavens could be opened for revelations from God (Eze 1:1). dove. Doves had various symbolic functions in ancient sources; perhaps the most widespread and relevant for Jewish hearers would be the dove’s role as a harbinger of a new world in Ge 8:8–12.

3:17 Sometimes God spoke with a voice from heaven (e.g., Ge 22:15–18). Later Jewish teachers called this means of God speaking a bat qol; though they felt that it was an inferior substitute for prophecy, the prophet here also recognizes Jesus’ identity (v. 14). The voice here seems to blend allusions to two Biblical texts; the first is Ps 2:7, a promise to the Davidic line especially applicable to the promised, end-time Davidic ruler. For Mark (1:11), the second might be Ge 22:2, but Matthew probably intends an allusion instead to Isa 42:1, given the way Matthew translates this passage in 12:18.

4:1 to be tempted. In Scripture, God’s servants generally faced testing before they were ready for their public ministries. Following Biblical precedent, ancient Judaism recognized the devil as tempter (cf. 1Ch 21:1), accuser (Job 1:9–11; 2:4–5; Zec 3:1) and deceiver. Jesus being led into the wilderness probably evokes Israel’s experience (cf. Ex 13:18; see note on Mt 4:2). “Led,” “wilderness,” and being tempted or tested for “forty” periods of time all appear together in Dt 8:2; Jesus quotes Dt 8:3 in v. 4.

4:2 fasting forty days and forty nights. This period of fasting before Jesus’ ministry recalls Moses fasting 40 days and nights before receiving the law (Ex 24:18; 34:28; cf. 2:20); Elijah also followed the same example (1Ki 19:8). Jesus being tested in the wilderness 40 days also likely recalls Israel being tested in the wilderness for 40 years (see notes on 2:15, 17–18).

4:3 The tempter directly challenges or reinterprets God’s words in 3:17; cf. Ge 3:1–4. Magicians sometimes claimed the power to change one substance into another. Jesus can multiply food, but trusts his Father’s care (cf. v. 11; 6:11; 14:19–20).

4:4 It is written. A common formula for citing Scripture (already in, e.g., Jos 8:31; 2Ch 31:3; Ezr 6:18). In vv. 4–10, Jesus quotes three texts given to Israel when they were tempted in the wilderness. Here he quotes from Dt 8:3, which in context addressed Israel as God’s “son” (Dt 8:5). The devil might seek to offer a different interpretation of Jesus’ sonship (v. 3; cf. 3:17); Jesus, however, appeals to Scripture to define this sonship.

4:5 highest point of the temple. Might refer to the temple complex’s southeast corner overlooking the Kidron Valley.

4:6 Later rabbis also expected that even the devil and demons knew Scripture, though the devil did not obey it. Again reframing Jesus’ sonship (3:17; see note on 4:4), the devil quotes Ps 91:11–12 out of context. The psalm refers to God’s protection if one falls; it does not refer to jumping.

4:7 Continuing the general context of his previous quotation, Jesus quotes Dt 6:16, which in context warns against Israel’s dissatisfaction with God’s provision in the wilderness.

4:10 Still following the context, Jesus cites Dt 6:13, which prohibited idolatry (Dt 6:14), recognizing the one true God (Dt 6:4–5, 12).

4:11 angels . . . attended him. Trusting the Father rather than creating bread (vv. 3–4) or presuming on angels (vv. 6–7), Jesus here receives angelic help after his fast (cf. 26:53).

4:13 Capernaum. A fishing town of perhaps 1,000 or 2,000 on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is never mentioned as ministering in the two largest cities in Galilee, Sepphoris or Tiberias, but Capernaum was well situated for contact with the rest of Galilee. Later sources show that Capernaum became a stronghold for Galilean followers of Jesus.

4:15–16 The context of the cited passage (Isa 9:1–2) is clearly Messianic (Isa 9:6–7). This passage also allows Matthew to connect Jesus again (cf. 1:3, 5–6; 2:1–2) with mission to the Gentiles. Despite the historic connection with Gentiles in Galilee, however, its Jewish cities and towns observed the Law of Moses.

4:17 the kingdom of heaven has come near. See the article “Kingdom.”

4:18 they were fishermen. Family businesses were common. Many scholars argue that commercial fishermen were better off economically than peasants, who comprised the majority of the empire’s (and Galilee’s) population. Most people could not usually afford meat, but fish was more available, and fishing was a major occupation on the Sea of Galilee. Note that the sea was actually a lake; only Galileans called it a sea. The Gospels’ usage of this word reflects their dependence on Jesus’ original Galilean setting.

4:19 Come. Respectable teachers usually waited for disciples to choose them; only the most radical sages were reputed to choose their own disciples. follow me. A disciple would come “after,” or walk behind, his teacher. fish for people. In Scripture, God sometimes used people’s backgrounds, e.g., as shepherds (Ex 3:1; 1Sa 17:15; 2Sa 5:2; Isa 63:11).

4:22 immediately they left the boat and their father. Leaving one’s family and livelihood was a rare and serious commitment. Disciples were usually in their teens, and many of Jesus’ disciples may have been in this range.

4:24 all over Syria. Judea and Galilee belonged to the Roman province of Syria; even Syria’s major Gentile cities (such as Damascus and especially Antioch) included many Jewish residents. The Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic cities in Syria near Galilee, included such towns as Gadara, Gerasa, Hippos and Pella. The primary feature of these cities that connected them was their Hellenistic (Greek) character, but many Jewish residents lived there in this period. all who were ill. Sickness was pervasive and people gathered at hot springs or any place they hoped to find a cure.

4:25 Large crowds. That crowds would follow one reputed to work miracles is to be expected. Even hot springs with apparent curative properties drew large numbers of ailing people.

5:1 sat down. Senior teachers of the law would sit to explain it. Some scholars compare Jesus’ teaching from a mountain here to Moses’ giving the law from a mountain (cf. Ex 24:12).

5:3 Beatitudes constitute a common literary form (e.g., Ps 1:1). See note on Lk 6:20.

5:4 those who mourn. Repentance, whether over one’s own sins or those of one’s society, was often expressed in mourning. God promised future comfort to his people (Isa 40:1; 51:3; 61:2–3; 66:13).

5:5 the meek. Ps 37:11 promises that the meek (the humble, the lowly, those who depend on the Lord rather than themselves [cf. Ps 37:9; cf. also “poor in spirit” in Mt 5:3]) would inherit the earth. the earth. Although this could mean simply “the land,” by Jesus’ day Jewish people spoke of the righteous “inheriting the kingdom” and thus ruling the world (cf. Da 7:14).

5:8 the pure in heart. God would bless the “pure in heart” (Ps 73:1). God’s people in the end time would “see” him.

5:9 the peacemakers. Some Judeans and Galileans believed that God would help them wage war against the Romans to establish God’s kingdom, but Jesus assigns the kingdom instead to the meek (v. 5), those who show mercy (v. 7), those who are persecuted (v. 10), and those who make peace (v. 9).

5:10 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Ancient writers sometimes bracketed off a special section of material by starting and finishing it with the same point—here, that “the kingdom of heaven” (cf. v. 3, see also the article “Kingdom”) will be given to the righteous and humble.

5:11 because of me. Jewish people spoke of suffering for God’s name; Jesus thus may fill a divine role here.

5:12 persecuted the prophets. In Scripture, prophets sometimes faced persecution; by Jesus’ day, Jewish tradition highlighted this point even more.

5:13 salt loses its saltiness. Some commentators note that much ancient salt contained impurities, which could dissolve; but Jesus also uses a graphic image—how can true salt stop being salt? When asked what to do with unsalty salt, a later rabbi advised, “Salt it with the afterbirth of a mule.” Mules are sterile and thus lack afterbirth; his point was that the question was stupid. If salt could lose its saltiness, what would it be useful for? Jesus compares a disciple who does not live out the values of the kingdom with unsalty salt—salt that cannot fulfill its purpose.

5:14 light of the world. God had called his people to be a light to the nations (Isa 42:6; 49:6), so his salvation would reach the ends of the earth (Isa 49:6). town built on a hill. Many ancient cities were built on hills; their lights could also make them visible against the horizon at night.

5:15 light a lamp and put it under a bowl. The most common oil lamps of this period were small enough to hold in the hand; placing such a lamp under a container would obscure and likely extinguish it. Invisible light was about as useful to ancient Galileans as was tasteless salt (v. 13).

5:18 truly I tell you. Lit. “Amen, I tell you”; “amen” normally concluded a prayer, and most scholars believe that beginning a saying this way implied distinctive authority. smallest letter. The smallest Hebrew letter was a yod, formed by a single stroke of the pen. One Jewish story recounted that the yod removed from Sarai’s name (when it was changed to Sarah, Ge 17:15) protested to God from one generation to another, lamenting its removal from Scripture, until finally God put the yod back in the Bible. When Hoshea’s name was changed to Joshua (Nu 13:16), a yod was reinserted in Scripture. “So you see,” remarked Jewish teachers, “not a single yod can pass from God’s Word.” In a similar Jewish story, a yod protested that King Solomon was trying to remove it from Scripture; “A thousand Solomons shall be uprooted,” God declared, “but not a single yod will pass from my Word.” Such illustrations were merely graphic ways of emphasizing that all of God’s Word must be respected; no part was too small to matter.

5:19 least of these commands. Jewish teachers sometimes spoke of the least and greatest commandments, and of people who were least and greatest in the kingdom. Normally they did not mean such statements as matters of mathematical precision, but as graphic ways of emphasizing the value of all the commandments. Thus, e.g., some later rabbis declared that the least commandment was the demand that people free a mother bird (Dt 22:7), but that whoever kept this command received life, the same reward as one who kept the greatest command, honoring father and mother (Dt 5:16). The titles of least or greatest in the kingdom are also graphic and hyperbolic. A rabbi could, e.g., praise one pupil as wiser than the entire rest of the world, and the next day praise another pupil in the same terms; such statements were graphic ways of making the point, not invitations to calculate an individual’s precise merit.

5:20 the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Pharisees belonged to a movement scrupulous in understanding and obeying the law according to the traditions of their predecessors (the “tradition of the elders”; see 15:2; Mk 7:3, 5). Far more than the aristocratic Sadducees, Pharisees were also popular with the people and respected for their piety. They tithed meticulously, were careful about ritual purity, and at least during the dry season, they often fasted twice a week. The term for “teachers of the law” can refer even to executors of legal documents in villages, but in the Gospels it normally refers to those who were literate and formally trained in the Law of Moses, often teaching others the law. Jesus’ words are again designed to shock his hearers, since Pharisees and teachers of the law would be among the people most respected for piety. But Jesus demands a deeper form of righteousness (see vv. 21–48).

5:21 heard that it was said. Sometimes Jewish teachers would say something like, “You have heard it said, but I say,” meaning, “You thought it meant only this, but it actually means also this . . .” (cf. 1Co 7:12). murder. The prohibition against murder was one of the cardinal commandments (Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17).

5:22 anyone who is angry. The law limited sin, but Jesus’ kingdom demands go deeper; the law said, “You shall not murder,” but Jesus demanded, “You shall not want to murder.” Some other ancient teachers agreed that desiring to kill someone revealed the same sort of heart that actually could commit murder. The insult, “Raca” (essentially meaning, “empty,” “devoid of value”) was roughly equivalent to the common insult, “Fool.” The punishments might also be equivalent, if the “judgment” and the “court” refer to the tradition, attested in later Jewish literature, of a heavenly court (cf. vv. 25–26). Jesus’ word for “hell” here is a Greek rendering of Gehinnom (Gehenna), a place of fiery torment for the damned (see note on 3:12); by adding explicit mention of “fire,” Jesus underlines the warning even more strongly. Jesus might have employed an element of hyperbole to drive home the point (cf. his use of “fools” in 23:17).

5:23–24 God welcomed offerings only from those who acted justly (Ge 4:4–7; Pr 15:8; Isa 1:11–17; Jer 6:20; Am 5:21–24).

5:26 paid the last penny. The term for “penny” here refers to the quadrans, a Roman coin equivalent to only several minutes’ wages. Some think this parable uses the image of debt imprisonment, a Gentile custom forbidden in Jewish circles in this period.

5:27 adultery. The prohibition against adultery was one of the cardinal commandments and allowed no exceptions (Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18).

5:28 anyone who looks at a woman lustfully. Whereas the law merely said, “You shall not commit adultery,” Jesus demanded, “You shall not want to commit adultery.” Many ancient Jewish moralists condemned lust; some later rabbis even compared extreme lust to adultery. Jesus’ warning here develops the context of the prohibition against adultery in the law: the seventh commandment prohibited adultery, but the tenth commandment warned that one should not even covet one’s neighbor’s wife (Ex 20:17; Dt 5:21). Jesus uses here the same verb as in the standard Greek translation of the tenth commandment. He refers, then, to wanting to have one’s neighbor’s wife. The principle, of course, extends beyond Jesus’ illustration, applying to both genders and to single people, coveting one who might be someone else’s spouse someday.

5:30 cut it off. Corporal punishment in which a member was cut off was better than capital punishment or eternal torment. Because cutting off an offending member would not necessarily end one’s sin, Jesus here uses hyperbole, or rhetorical overstatement, to graphically underline his point: one must do whatever is necessary to evade destruction. Jesus probably mentions the eye first (v. 29) because of the sin just mentioned (v. 28).

5:31 certificate of divorce. Cf. Dt 24:1; such a certificate allowed a wife to remarry; the key element of such certificates was the phrase, “You are now free to marry another man” (sometimes abbreviated, “You are now free”).

5:32 except for sexual immorality. One school of Pharisees (the school of Hillel) allowed divorce for any reason; the other (the school of Shammai) allowed it only for “sexual immorality” (as here). A legal divorce permitted remarriage, but without a valid divorce, a wife’s new marriage was invalid, hence adulterous. (In a Jewish legal setting the wife’s divorce was more at issue than the husband’s because Jewish law in principle permitted men to have multiple wives.) Jesus here depicts divorce as invalid, apart from the partner’s infidelity. Because Jesus often used graphic hyperbole (see note on v. 30), offered general statements that might be qualified in some cases (see note on 1Co 7:15), and elsewhere treated the dissolution of marriage as genuine (though normally wrong; cf. Mt 19:6; Jn 4:18), some view the present statement as hyperbole. Hyperbole was meant to graphically reinforce the point, here the warning against breaking one’s marriage.

5:33 Do not break your oath. An oath invoked a deity’s witness that one was telling the truth. Here Jesus alludes to texts such as Lev 19:12; Nu 30:2; Dt 23:21–22.

5:34–35 do not swear an oath at all. A few radical sages and sects forbade oaths, demanding that one’s integrity be so great that oaths were unnecessary. Other Jewish people sometimes tried to evade the curse incurred in broken oaths by swearing by something less than God. heaven. “Heaven” is God’s throne and “earth” his footstool in Isa 66:1; “Jerusalem” is “the city of the Great King” in Ps 48:2.

5:36 cannot make even one hair white or black. People could not control signs of aging.

5:38 Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. The principle of equal justice enshrined in “eye for eye” appeared widely in ancient law; although only in Israel did it apply across class lines (see note on Lev 24:20). In a number of ancient legal collections, this rule appears beside rules pertaining to being struck on the cheek (v. 39).

5:39 slaps you on the right cheek. The backhanded blow on the right cheek was meant primarily as an insult, a challenge to the honor of the person struck. The striker could be taken to court and fined for this offense.

5:40 hand over your coat. The coat was the one possession that a creditor could not legally seize from a debtor (Ex 22:26–27; Dt 24:12–13). The very poor might have only a single coat; in such cases, surrendering both the inner and outer garments might leave one naked. In this case, an element of hyperbole might be involved, and/or (as some suggest) it might include shaming one’s aggressor with such extensive cooperation.

5:41 forces you to go one mile. Roman soldiers, viewed as members of the hostile occupying army, sometimes forced civilians to carry gear for them. Jesus envisions shocking compliance, voluntary cooperation far beyond what the soldier demands.

5:43 hate your enemy. The command to love one’s neighbor is explicit in Lev 19:18. The command to hate enemies, while emphasized by some contemporary Jewish sects, was not explicit in Scripture, but extrapolated from pious examples there (Ps 31:6; 119:113; 139:21).

5:44 Some ancient thinkers advocated nonresistance, often on the grounds that anything that could be taken away did not really matter. Jesus’ words go even deeper: to love one’s enemies.

5:45 that you may be children of your Father. Ancient moralists, not only Jews but also some Gentiles, often urged imitation of the perfect, divine example.

5:46 even the tax collectors. For mainstream Galileans and Judeans, tax collectors (see note on 9:9) and Gentiles were negative examples.

5:47 greet. See note on 23:7, 8.

5:48 Be perfect. Ancient speakers and writers sometimes concluded a section with a summary. After offering six examples, Jesus climaxes with a conclusion that encompasses all righteousness. See note on v. 45.

6:1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others. Ancient speakers and writers would sometimes state a thesis and then develop it with illustrations; Jesus illustrates this thesis with examples from charity (vv. 2–4), prayer (vv. 5–15), and fasting (vv. 16–18). Because sages offered riddles and statements meant to provoke thought rather than systematic outlines of their beliefs, some of a sage’s statements could appear to be in tension with some of his other statements. Jesus provokes thought in the tension between 5:16 and the command here in v. 1: the difference is whom one seeks to honor. (Note that the Greek term translated “honored” in v. 2 is the same Greek term translated “glorify” in 5:16.)

6:2 Truly I tell you. See note on 5:18. Givers did not literally use trumpets to announce their gifts; this image is graphic hyperbole. they have received their reward in full. When one had been paid in full, ancient business receipts used similar language. Some scholars note that “hypocrites” means “play-actors”; by this period, though, it meant anyone acting in pretense, including for insincere religious activity (Sirach 1:29; 32:15; 33:2).

6:3 Again Jesus employs hyperbole as a graphic way to focus attention on the point (see notes on v. 2; 5:22, 30, 32, 40).

6:6 go into your room, close the door. Most people lacked private rooms; this could be a closet or storeroom, probably again hyperbole (cf. 14:23; 26:36–44) to emphasize the importance of seeking only God’s approval by one’s religious activity.

6:7 keep on babbling like pagans. Gentiles sometimes piled up many names for the deities they invoked, and often appealed to deities’ “obligations” to reward the petitioners’ sacrifices and the like. This approach contrasts with simple dependence on one’s faithful heavenly Father (v. 8).

6:8 your Father. In Jewish culture, a father was normally someone loving and trustworthy, on whom a child could depend for needs (cf. 7:9–11).

6:9–10 Jesus here echoes a prayer regularly recited by Jewish people, a prayer known as the Kaddish. Its earliest form began, “Exalted and hallowed be his great name, in the world that he created according to his will; may he cause his kingdom to reign . . .” The Jewish prayer invited God’s future reign to change the world; Jesus presumably intends it the same way, although for believers in Jesus the kingdom is “already/not yet” (see the article “Kingdom”). Scripture promised that in the future God’s name would be “hallowed,” or “proved holy,” in the world (Eze 36:23; 38:23; 39:27). Even in the present, many Jewish teachers consider honoring God’s name the supreme objective and profaning it the most terrible sin. your . . . your . . . your. In Greek, the word “your” is emphatic in these first three petitions of Jesus’ model prayer (cf. v. 33).

6:9 Our Father. Some Greeks called Zeus “father”; more pervasively, Jewish people addressed God as “heavenly Father” in prayers. (On Jesus’ special use of “Abba,” see note on Mk 14:36.) For dependence on one’s father, see note on 6:8.

6:11 our daily bread. Prayer for food was one of the most common prayers in antiquity. God, who supplied daily bread to his people for 40 years in the wilderness (Dt 8:2–3), can be trusted for sustenance.

6:12 forgive us our debts. Scripture commanded God’s people to forgive all economic debts every 7th and 50th year so that no one would be permanently impoverished. Jewish teachers, however, also recognized sins as “debts” before God (cf. 18:21–35). The sixth benediction in a regularly prayed Jewish prayer, the Amida, included a prayer for forgiveness; cf. also note on v. 14.

6:13 lead us not into temptation. A similar Jewish evening prayer meant not, “Do not let us be tempted,” but “Do not let us fail when we are tested” (cf. 26:41–42, 47). The late addition, “for yours is the kingdom . . .” (see NIV text note) fits the church’s use of the prayer; Jewish people often added such doxologies at the close of prayers.

6:14 your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Some other Jewish sages also emphasized that one who wants to seek God’s forgiveness must also forgive other mortals (Sirach 28:1–8).

6:17 oil . . . wash. When Jewish people fasted, they not only abstained from food, but also from washing their clothes, having intercourse, shaving, and anointing themselves. People anointed their skin with olive oil and then scraped off the oil to cleanse themselves; like many Gentiles, Judeans and Galileans often anointed their heads with oil in connection with washing (even on the Sabbath).

6:19 moths and vermin. Expensive clothing, counted as one expression of wealth, was susceptible to moths and vermin. thieves. Thieves could dig through mud-brick walls; people often kept all their money in a strongbox in their home, sometimes under the floor.

6:20–21 Jewish people sometimes spoke of heavenly rewards as treasure in heaven.

6:22 The “healthy” eye here is lit. “single,” which can mean “sincere” or “genuine,” but also prepares for v. 24.

6:23 eyes are unhealthy. Jesus plays on a familiar expression. Jewish people sometimes spoke of a “good” (NIV “healthy”) eye as a generous one, and an “evil” (lit.; NIV “unhealthy”) eye as a stingy one. light . . . darkness. Because light cannot be darkness, Jesus again used shocking language to hold attention (cf. salt losing its saltiness in 5:13).

6:24 two masters. Sharing a slave was a rare situation; it arose, e.g., when two siblings might inherit one slave. When it did occur, the slave normally preferred one master to the other. money. “Mammon” (KJV) was an Aramaic designation for money or property, but here Jesus apparently personified it. (Personification was one ancient technique for communicating graphically.)

6:26 birds of the air. Nature had long been an interest of wise teachers (1Ki 4:33), and both Greek and Jewish sages often used lessons from nature to illustrate their points. Jewish people recognized God’s providential rule over all of nature (though some denied his concern for bird nests).

6:27 add a single hour. Sages could use shocking or creative language to hold hearers’ attention. Literally Jesus spoke of adding a “cubit” (KJV; a measurement of length; NIV “hour”) to one’s longevity or possibly height.

6:32 your heavenly Father knows. Most people in the ancient world were poor, dependent on harvests for food. Naturally, they sought basic necessities; Jesus here invites them to trust their heavenly Father enough to seek first his kingdom.

6:34 tomorrow will worry. “Tomorrow” may be personified in another graphic statement (see note on v. 24).

7:2 in the same way. In principle, many Jewish sages (and even some Greek thinkers) would have agreed with Jesus (Sirach 28:1–3). Nevertheless, following Jesus in practice requires more than agreeing with him in principle. measure. The need to “measure” appropriately was common in markets. “It is measured to one according to the measure by which one measures” was also a Jewish maxim.

7:3–5 speck . . . plank. This graphic, hyperbolic image would likely draw laughter—and provoke thought. If a splinter endangered a person with blindness, how much more did a roof beam; ancient eye surgery was a delicate art that could result in blindness.

7:6 The meaning of this saying is debated, but some think its point is similar to Pr 23:9: “Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.” dogs. Could apply to the wicked (cf. Ps 22:16, 20; 59:6, 14–15; Pr 26:11); Jewish people normally despised dogs as unclean scavengers (Ex 22:31). pigs. Unclean (Lev 11:7) and could not appreciate what was valuable (Pr 11:22).

7:7 Ask and it will be given. Few others, if any, encouraged such radical, childlike confidence in God’s provision.

7:9–10 bread . . . fish. Most Jewish fathers were dependable providers. Bread and fish were the basic staples of the Galilean diet.

7:11 how much more . . . ! Jewish teachers (and some Gentiles) often used analogy arguments from lesser to greater.

7:12 do to others what you would have them do to you. Some earlier Jewish teachers offered this principle of wisdom, recognized in many cultures (e.g., Letter of Aristeas 207; Greeks; even Confucius), though often in the negative form (“Whatever you do not want others to do to you, do not do to them,” Tobit 4:15; Philo, Hypothetica 7.6). Later rabbis also attributed to Hillel, a sage before Jesus, the claim that this principle constituted the heart of the law (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a). Sages sometimes appealed to common wisdom to make a point, as Jesus may be doing here.

7:13–14 leads to destruction . . . leads to life. Greek, Roman, and Jewish writers often spoke of two ways; the choice between life and death was an ancient one (Dt 30:19). Many applied this image of the two ways to the afterlife. Many mainstream Jews felt that most Jews would be saved, but some, like Jesus, warned that most people would be lost (e.g., the later apocalyptic author of 4 Ezra 7:45–61; 8:1–3).

7:15 sheep’s clothing . . . wolves. Wolves coming disguised as sheep was a common image (even in one of Aesop’s fables), though it is also graphic hyperbole: wolves do not wear clothing, and it was impossible to transform one’s skin (Jer 13:23). Wolves were the most obvious and common predators of sheep, killing sheep to feed themselves; their image was often used to represent humans who would harm others. Judeans and Galileans were well aware that some prophets were false; indeed, on multiple occasions, in the decades following Jesus’ ministry, alleged prophets led followers to destruction at the hands of Rome’s armies.

7:16 See note on Jas 3:12.

7:21–22 Although Greek and Jewish accounts sometimes delegated judgment to an exalted human, the ultimate judge in Jewish belief was God. Some Jewish exorcists invoked Solomon’s name to try to expel demons (Josephus, Antiquities 8.47), but the sense here may exalt Jesus more: Jewish people more often could speak of acting (e.g., 1Sa 17:45; Ps 118:11–12) or prophesying (e.g., Dt 18:22; 1 Esdras 6:1) in the name of God.

7:23 I never knew you. This was a recognized formula of repudiation and rejection.

7:24–27 Some other Jewish teachers told a similar parable, with a major difference: In their story, the foundational rock in their parables was the Torah, God’s law (Abot de Rabbi Nathan 24A). Here Jesus’ teaching holds the same role as God’s message in the traditional parable (cf. also the two ways in vv. 13–14; the principle in Pr 10:25).

7:29 as one who had authority. Most teachers did not want to speak on their own authority; when possible, they cited earlier authorities that supported their teaching. By contrast, Jesus declares, “Truly I tell you” (5:18), and, most offensively of all, speaks of judging (vv. 21–23) and ranks his message with God’s law (vv. 24–27). On Jesus’ authority, cf. 8:9.

8:1–9:38 Some scholars count ten specific miracles (not counting summaries) in chs. 8–9, evoking Moses’ ten major judgment signs in Egypt; others note three sets of miracle stories revealing Jesus’ authority, interspersed with the demands of Jesus’ authority for his followers. Because ancient biographies were usually arranged topically, Matthew does group many miracles in this section.

8:2 man with leprosy. Although a majority of scholars doubt that ancient leprosy was limited to what is called leprosy today, it included severe skin conditions that led to isolation from society (in most societies; for Jewish society, see Lev 13:1–14:32). Jewish tradition compared it with the uncleanness of death (cf. Nu 12:10–12; 2Ki 5:7), and some later teachers attributed leprosy to the leper’s sin (especially the sin of slander). Out of respect, supplicants often recognized God’s prerogative to choose, even while pleading for him to act (Ge 18:27, 30–32; cf. 2Sa 10:12; Da 3:17–18).

8:3 touched the man. Because lepers were unclean (Lev 13:45–46), anyone who touched them contracted temporary ritual impurity. Jesus here touches the unclean man (cf. 9:21–22, 25) to cure him.

8:4 don’t tell. Ancients respected people who did not seek their own honor. show yourself to the priest. A priest was required to inspect a leper who believed that he or she was cleansed, and an offering in the temple should follow (Lev 14:1–9).

8:5 Capernaum. See note on 4:13. centurion. Centurions commanded roughly 80 troops (not literally 100, despite the name) and were the backbone of the Roman army; often they worked their way up through the ranks to achieve their position. Roman military units were stationed in Caesarea, which was on the coast, and in Jerusalem; they consisted of auxiliary troops, mostly recruited from Syria. Matthew omits Luke’s messengers (Lk 7:3) as he elsewhere omits those of Mk 5:35 in 9:18; other ancient biographers used this technique of compression to keep focused on the main point.

8:6 my servant. Servants could be viewed as members of households; in this case, the servant could be the only member of or a significant part of the centurion’s household. During their 20 years of service, soldiers in the Roman army were not allowed to marry officially, although they sometimes took local concubines. Most soldiers could not easily afford servants (the average price of a slave was about a third of the best-paid legionary’s annual wages), but average centurions made some 15 times the wages of the lowest-paid soldiers.

8:7 Shall I come . . . ? The NIV translates Jesus’ response as a question because in Greek, the “I” here is emphatic. Jewish people were not supposed to enter the homes of unclean Gentiles (see note on Ac 10:28).

8:8 say the word. People in antiquity sought healing at hot springs, special shrines, sometimes through magic and occasionally through contact with holy persons. Long-distance miracles, however, were considered extraordinary; this centurion expresses special faith (v. 10).

8:9 a man under authority. The centurion understands how authority works: just as soldiers obey the centurion because he is backed by the authority of the empire, everything will obey Jesus because he is backed by God’s authority (cf. 9:6, 8; 28:18).

8:11 the east and the west. May include Jews in the Diaspora (Isa 43:5) but given the context here presumably include also Gentiles (Isa 25:6–7; 56:3–8). at the feast. Jewish people expected a banquet for the righteous in God’s end-time kingdom (cf. Isa 25:6).

8:12 the subjects . . . will be thrown outside. Many believed that descent from Abraham (3:9) ensured their admittance to the feast (v. 11). Jewish sources often envisioned damnation in darkness, sometimes as a prelude to or alongside burning (e.g., 1 Enoch 10:4–6; 103:8). weeping and gnashing of teeth. People would weep over their damnation (Judith 16:17). Gnashing teeth can depict anger (Job 16:9; Ps 35:16; 37:12; 112:10) but here may reflect anguish or agony.

8:14 Peter’s mother-in-law. It was common for households to include members of the extended family (newly married couples sometimes lived in a room atop the home of the groom’s parents). Here Peter’s family has probably taken in his wife’s widowed mother. fever. Common and (in the case of malaria) often severe and recurrent.

8:16 with a word. Gentile exorcists often used incantations or invoked a higher spirit to drive out a lower one. Jewish exorcists sometimes used magic associated with Solomon or used smelly roots to gag spirits out. By simply expelling demons by his command, Jesus demonstrates special authority.

8:17 took up our infirmities . . . diseases. The context of Isa 53:4 refers to the suffering servant whose death would satisfy God’s demand for Israel’s punishment. The context in Isaiah also suggests healing of spiritual sickness (Isa 53:5; cf. Isa 6:10; 42:18–19). Nevertheless, Matthew understood that Isaiah looked for a wider restoration; the promised era of restoration would also include physical restoration (Isa 35:5–6). While God heals people in the present age, death still continues; yet Jesus’ healings in this age offer a foretaste of the promised kingdom, when God will restore people and nature permanently (Isa 35:1–10).

8:20 no place to lay his head. The proper response to a leader’s warning about difficulty ahead (as in 2Sa 15:19–20) was to follow him anyway (2Sa 15:21–22).

8:21 bury my father. Many considered honoring parents a son’s greatest obligation (e.g., Josephus Against Apion 2.206), and burying them was the greatest expression of that obligation (cf., e.g., Tobit 4:3–4; 6:15; 4 Maccabees 16:11). The obligation fell most heavily on the eldest son. To neglect this duty was unthinkable; it would make one an outcast from the extended family and dishonored in one’s village, normally for the rest of one’s life. But a son whose father had just died would not normally be out talking with a rabbi; on receiving news of the father’s death, he would immediately see to the father’s burial. Some scholars note that, “I must first bury my father” sometimes functions as a polite request for delay until the father dies—sometimes a delay of years—so the son can continue with filial obligations in the meantime. Others suggest that this son refers to secondary burial—the custom of reburying the father’s bones a year after the initial burial. On either of these views, the son could be requesting a considerable delay.

8:22 let the dead bury their own dead. Even if the son is asking for a considerable delay (see note on v. 21), Jesus’ response would be shocking; burying one’s father was one of society’s greatest obligations (see note on v. 21). In mainstream Jewish society, only God could claim honor above parents in such a dramatic way. Ancient sources sometimes refer to the spiritually (or socially) dead; alternatively, Jesus could refer to the physically dead, using shocking, graphic language to make his point, as he often did.

8:24 furious storm. The Sea of Galilee is far below sea level and surrounded by hills with deep ravines; thus sudden storms can strike it unexpectedly. Galilean fishing boats were normally small.

8:26 rebuked the winds and the waves. Greeks had stories of gods or special heroes who could control weather, but these were legends from the distant past, not reports from within living memory of eyewitnesses, as in the Gospels. For those who knew Scripture, the one with power over the winds and waves was God.

8:28 region of the Gadarenes. Whereas Mark identifies the territory by the better known but more distant Gerasa (for a time, the capital of the Decapolis; cf. Mk 5:1), Matthew identifies the location by the nearest significant town, Gadara. Both towns were in the area of the Decapolis. from the tombs. People often associated spirits with tombs.

8:29 the appointed time. The day of judgment, the time of their doom.

8:30 herd of pigs. Gadara (v. 28) is in the region of the Decapolis, the majority of whose residents were Gentiles. Jews did not rear pigs (cf. Lev 11:7).

8:32 into the lake. Jewish people believed that demons could be bound, sometimes beneath bodies of water; some Jews believed they could be destroyed.

8:34 pleaded with him to leave. Especially after the destruction of the pigs, Gentiles might think of Jesus as a powerful and dangerous magician. Economic interests mattered more to them than a person, as was common (cf. Ac 16:19; 19:27).

9:2 your sins are forgiven. Priests might perhaps pronounce God’s forgiveness after atonement had occurred, but no sacrifice was offered here. The teachers of the law thus consider the pronouncement presumptuous (v. 3).

9:6 the Son of Man has authority. The Son of Man’s authority echoes Da 7:13–14. Jesus has authority not merely to pronounce God’s forgiveness (cf. v. 2), but to forgive—a divine prerogative!

9:9 tax collector’s booth. Most people in the Roman Empire did not like tax collectors; Jewish people viewed them as traitors. Their job affected the poor most dramatically. In fact, when harvests were bad in Egypt, it was not unheard of for the population of an entire village to leave town and start a village somewhere else when they heard that a tax collector was coming. Some consider Matthew a customs officer charging tariffs on goods passing through. Like other tax collectors, customs officers could search possessions; customs income normally went to local governments run by elites who were cooperative with Rome. See note on Mk 2:14. Follow me. See note on 4:19.

9:10 having dinner. The term often connotes a banquet (a festive meal where people reclined), which was probably in Jesus’ honor. Eating with someone established a covenant of friendship, which normally also signified approval.

9:11 Pharisees . . . tax collectors. Later rabbis sometimes contrasted Pharisees, as the godliest Judeans one would normally meet, with tax collectors, as the most ungodly one would normally meet. Pharisees did not approve of eating with sinners, making Jesus’ behavior perplexing to them.

9:12 healthy. Ancient speakers and writers often used sickness and physicians as moral or intellectual analogies.

9:13 go and learn. Jewish teachers sometimes exhorted their hearers to “go and learn,” but Jesus’ exhortation might seem more insulting here (cf. 12:5). I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Those who valued ritual sacrifices above compassion toward others missed God’s heart (Hos 6:6; also quoted in Mt 12:7). In principle Pharisees, especially the school of Hillel, valued mercy—but none would have embraced sinners as Jesus did.

9:14 How is it . . . ? People in antiquity often held teachers responsible for the behavior of their disciples.

9:15 mourn. Fasting was often linked with mourning, whereas weddings were the supreme time for rejoicing. In fact, rabbis taught that weddings even took priority over many religious obligations.

9:17 People employed animal skins, most often goatskins, as containers for fluids. Wine expands as it ferments; still-expanding, new wine would rupture wineskins that had already been stretched by old, fermenting wine. Jesus’ new order demanded a new approach.

9:18 synagogue leader. This term encompasses different roles in different locations; a synagogue could have multiple leaders, and the title was often honorary. Generally, however, those holding this office were prominent persons of means.

9:20 subject to bleeding. Such a condition made someone ritually impure. Because her bleeding was long-term and intercourse was forbidden in such circumstances, she was probably divorced (if she had ever been married), fairly socially isolated, and destitute. Because anyone whose cloak she touched became ritually impure (cf. Lev 15:25–27), she does not announce that she is touching Jesus. This woman’s faith might appear scandalous to others, but she is desperate and knows that her cure lies with Jesus and him alone. the edge of his cloak. May refer to Jesus’ Jewish tassels (note the Greek translation in the Septuagint [the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT]of Nu 15:38–39; Dt 22:12; see note on Mt 23:5).

9:23 noisy crowd . . . pipes. Burials were conducted quickly in Judea and Galilee, so mourners gathered immediately when someone died. Professional mourners helped facilitate grieving; at least two might be present for a poor person, but a synagogue official’s resources could accommodate more.

9:24 asleep. “Sleep” was a frequent metaphor for death in antiquity, though Jesus is also maintaining an element of privacy, as in 8:4.

9:25 took the girl by the hand. The touch of someone bleeding could communicate ritual impurity for one day, but touching a corpse made one impure for a week (Nu 19:11). Not ashamed to be considered unclean by others, Jesus instead makes clean those whom he touches.

9:27 two blind men. Biblical law mandated concern for the blind, but few professions outside of begging would be open to them. Blind men could follow Jesus’ voice. Son of David. Implies that Jesus is the promised ruler of Israel.

9:34 by the prince of demons. Even in the second century, Christianity’s detractors could not deny that Jesus performed miracles, but they attributed these to sorcery rather than to God. Jesus’ accusers would know that the required penalty for sorcery was death (Ex 22:18).

9:36 like sheep without a shepherd. An OT picture of God’s people (Nu 27:17; 1Ki 22:17; Eze 34:5), but God had promised to one day shepherd them himself (Eze 34:11–16).

9:37–38 Once grain was ripe, gathering it in quickly before it could spoil was an urgent task. Landowners would hire extra labor (cf. 20:1).

10:1 Disciples of teachers were like apprentices; the best could ideally carry on the teacher’s work. twelve. See note on 19:28.

10:2 apostles. Or “commissioned agents,” those authorized by the sender’s authority to bring the message. Some of the names in vv. 2–4 (Simon, James, John and Judas) were very common, explaining why some are given additional identifying titles.

10:5 Gentiles . . . Samaritans. Samaria bordered Galilee on the south, and Gentile cities surrounded it on the outside; Jesus’ disciples are thus essentially confined to Galilee during this mission. For Samaritans, see the article “Samaria and Samaritans,” see also applicable notes on Jn 4.

10:6 lost sheep. For Israel as God’s lost sheep, see Isa 53:6; Jer 50:6; Eze 34:5; cf. Ps 119:176.

10:7 proclaim this message. Disciples normally carried on their teacher’s or school’s message; see 3:2; 4:17.

10:9 in your belts. Travelers often carried money in a pouch tied to one’s belt.

10:10 no bag for the journey. Wandering Cynic philosophers, found in some Gentile cities, carried a bag for begging, which is prohibited here. extra shirt. In the poorest areas, many peasants had only a single cloak. sandals. Judean sandals had light straps running from between the toes to just above the ankle; unlike shoes, such sandals protected only the bottom of the foot. staff. Travelers used a staff for protection against robbers, snakes and other creatures, and sometimes for maintaining one’s balance while walking on uneven mountain paths. Matthew’s description is slightly more demanding than Mark’s (Mk 6:8–11); ancient readers were accustomed to such minor variations in ancient historical and biographical works. Biblical prophets also had to live simply in times of widespread apostasy, not dependent on decadent society (cf., e.g., 3:1, 4; 1Ki 17:4–6; 18:13; 2Ki 4:38; 5:15–16, 26; 6:1).

10:11 stay at their house. Hospitality was one of the chief virtues in Mediterranean antiquity, and Jewish travelers could normally count on Jewish hospitality even in Diaspora cities. When Essenes (members of a strict Jewish sect) traveled, they traveled light, depending on hospitality from other Essenes.

10:12–13 your greeting . . . let your peace rest. The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, “May it be well with you.” This was a blessing, i.e., an implicit prayer to God. See note on 23:7.

10:14 shake the dust off your feet. Jewish people sometimes shook profane dust from their feet when entering a more holy place; some did so when leaving pagan territory to enter the Holy Land (cf. v. 15).

10:15 Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom rejected God’s messengers (Ge 19:4–5). Biblical prophets used Sodom as the epitome of wickedness, often applying the image to Israel (Dt 32:32; Isa 1:10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Eze 16:46–49).

10:16 sheep among wolves. Ancients viewed sheep as helpless against wolves, and some Jewish teachers viewed Israel as such sheep. More unusual, Jesus says that his sheep are sent among wolves. doves. Many thought of doves as timid or weak.

10:17 local councils . . . synagogues. Priests and other elders normally judged local councils. Synagogues doubled as community centers, and disciplines could be meted out there. If they carried out beatings as in somewhat later tradition, the condemned person would be tied to a post, then given 26 lashes with a calf-leather whip across the back and 13 lashes across the chest. The number of lashes (39; cf. 2Co 11:24) was to prevent accidentally exceeding the Biblical limit of 40 (Dt 25:3).

10:18 governors and kings. In the Roman Empire, governors ruled most provinces. The emperor appointed his own representatives to govern provinces with legions, and appointed equestrians to control some other provinces; the senate appointed governors for provinces not directly under the emperor’s control. The emperor also allowed some states to retain client kings answerable to Rome, such as Herod the Great (2:1), Aretas (2Co 11:32) and, briefly, Herod Agrippa I (Ac 12:1).

10:20 Spirit of your Father speaking. Scripture and Jewish tradition often associated God’s Spirit with prophetic empowerment to speak God’s message.

10:21–23 Many Jewish people expected these sufferings of the righteous to precede the end. Although some regarded fleeing (v. 23) as dishonorable, most preferred it to dying.

10:24 student is not above the teacher. Apart from attending to the master’s feet, disciples would ideally do for their rabbi anything a servant would do. A mature disciple could become a rabbi but was not normally considered greater than the one who schooled him.

10:25 Beelzebul. Because Jesus’ first hearers spoke Aramaic, they may have caught a wordplay: Beelzebul literally means “master of the house”; it probably plays on Baal-Zebub, a pagan deity (2Ki 1:2–3, 6, 16). Beelzebul was also used with reference to Satan; cf. 12:24–28.

10:27 from the roofs. Neighbors could sometimes communicate from their flat rooftops as opposed to the narrow streets below, but their shouting, unobstructed by buildings, would be audible over a longer distance.

10:28 kill the body. Many Jewish people by this period distinguished the body from the identity, or soul, that persisted after death. Most Judeans affirmed the resurrection of the body as well as the persistence of the soul; the wicked would be resurrected for torment (Da 12:2).

10:29 two sparrows . . . penny. The poor could purchase sparrows, probably the cheapest meat in the market. penny. An assarion, worth less than an hour’s wage for the average worker (cf. a roughly equivalent calculation in Lk 12:6).

10:30 hairs of your head. A promise that not a hair would fall meant that one would be completely protected (1Sa 14:45; 2Sa 14:11; 1Ki 1:52); here, no detail of care goes unnoticed by their Father (for the father image, see note on 7:9–10).

10:31 more. Jewish teachers often reasoned by means of qal vaomer, “How much more?” arguments. If God watches over sparrows (v. 29), he certainly watches over his children.

10:32 acknowledges me. Jewish teachers emphasized “acknowledging” or “confessing” God, a principle Jesus here applies to himself.

10:35 daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Because Mic 7:6 addresses grievous sins characteristic of Israel before announcing Israel’s restoration, Jewish tradition sometimes applied its image of familial division to the final tribulation. Because newly married couples sometimes lived with the groom’s family, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law are natural examples (more than, e.g., son-in-law).

10:37 loves their father or mother more than me. Many Jewish people considered the mandate to honor one’s parents the greatest commandment; they accorded only God himself greater honor.

10:38 take up their cross. A person condemned to be executed would often carry the horizontal beam of his cross out to the site of his execution, where it would be affixed to an upright stake. Because authorities liked to make executions as public as possible, for their deterrent effect, those being led to execution were typically led naked through busy streets, exposing the condemned to public humiliation and sometimes mockery.

10:40 welcomes me. However one treated an agent or ambassador reflected one’s feelings toward the sender; one’s treatment of a prophet reflected one’s treatment of God (Ex 16:8; 1Sa 8:7).

10:41 On hospitality to Jesus’ agents, see note on v. 11. God would reward hospitable treatment of his prophets (e.g., 1Ki 17:12–16; 2Ki 4:8–17).

10:42 even a cup of cold water. The poorest person might have only water to offer, but hospitality obligations demanded sharing with a visitor what one had. Hot and weary travelers usually preferred water cold.

11:2–3 John understood that Jesus’ deeds (such as healings) were good, but he may have been concerned that they differed from John’s message of end-time outpourings of the Spirit and fire (see note on 3:11).

11:2 in prison. Herod Antipas imprisoned John in his Perean fortress Machaerus (14:3).

11:4–5 report . . . what you hear and see. Jesus depicts his current mission of restoring the disabled and preaching to the poor as a foretaste of the promised coming era of restoration. He does so by borrowing language from Isa 35:5–6; 61:1. Josephus mentions two first-century prophetic figures after Jesus who each promised an end-time sign that they failed to deliver; with the possible exception of these failed leaders, no ancient workers of unusual acts besides Jesus claimed that the future kingdom was arriving in their own ministry or signs.

11:6 Blessed. On beatitudes, see note on 5:3. stumble. Often used as a metaphor for sin or falling away.

11:7 reed. The emblem on Antipas’s coins was a reed. John’s hearers would be familiar with reeds, since they grew as tall as 16 feet (5 meters) around the Jordan, where John had baptized. Reeds were used figuratively for what was weak and undependable in time of trouble (1Ki 14:15; 2Ki 18:21; 3 Maccabees 2:22).

11:8 kings’ palaces. Herod Antipas, who imprisoned John, was only a tetrarch but was the closest to a king with palaces that Jesus’ Galilean hearers might ordinarily see.

11:10 The promised messenger of Mal 3:1 may be one like Elijah (see Mal 4:5; cf. Mt 3:4 and 2Ki 1:8).

11:11 least in the kingdom . . . is greater than he. Both Jews and Gentiles offered comparisons not only between good and bad, but also between good and better; this is clearly a case of the latter kind of comparison. Such comparisons were meant to exalt the better all the more by virtue of its superiority to something else good.

11:12 subjected to violence. Some Jewish people sought to establish God’s kingdom by force, striking against Romans and the Jewish aristocrats who supported them. Some suggest that Jesus speaks here parabolically of spiritual warriors, who prevail in laying hold of the kingdom not with physical but with spiritual force.

11:13 until John. Jewish people often summarized Scripture as “the Law and the Prophets.” Although some of the elite believed that prophets ceased after Malachi, most people recognized John the Baptist as a prophet (14:5; 21:26).

11:14 On John as Elijah, see note on v. 10.

11:15 Whoever has ears. This is the language of riddles, inviting the wise to consider the meaning. Israel was not always ready to hear (Isa 6:10; Jer 6:10; Eze 12:2).

11:16 To what can I compare . . . ? Rabbis often began parables with phrases such as this. children. They sometimes played games of weddings or funerals (e.g., burying a grasshopper). Here Jesus envisions spoiled children who argue inconsistently so long as they get their way.

11:17 dance . . . mourn. Dancing was appropriate for the celebrations of weddings, and mourning for funerals. Both were community events; as funeral processions passed, e.g., bystanders were often expected to join in the procession.

11:18 has a demon. A prophet with a demon would be assumed a false prophet—for which the penalty was death (Dt 13:5).

11:19 a glutton and a drunkard. Like a false prophet, someone who is a habitual glutton and a drunkard was deemed worthy of death (Dt 21:20–21).

11:21 Woe to you. Prophets sometimes announced judgments with the form, “Woe to you . . .” (e.g., Isa 29:1; Eze 16:23; Am 5:18). Chorazin . . . Bethsaida. No one should question historically that Jesus as a prophet denounced these towns. Virtually no one outside of Galilee knew of Chorazin (about two miles [three kilometers] from Capernaum). Probably soon after Jesus’ ministry, around the year 30 (though some do suggest earlier), Bethsaida began to be called Julia; although Josephus later uses both names, the Gospels use only the earlier, local name. Tyre and Sidon. These Phoenician cities had been objects of God’s judgment (e.g., Isa 23; Eze 26–28); Jezebel (Ahab’s wife) was from the region of Sidon (1Ki 16:31). sackcloth and ashes. Appropriate dress to show mourning or repentance (e.g., Jer 6:26; Da 9:3).

11:22 Cf. note on 12:39–42.

11:23 Jesus applies to Capernaum an image from the prophecy against Babylon in Isa 14:11–12.

11:29 Take my yoke . . . find rest. Only the poorest people would use a yoke to pull their loads. When used figuratively, a yoke represented slavery or submission; Jewish teachers spoke of bearing the yoke of God’s kingdom, through the yoke of the law. Only God would call the yoke of the kingdom or of the law “my yoke.” A sage before Jesus’ era said, “Come near me, you who are unlearned . . . Get wisdom, put your neck under her yoke . . . Look with your eyes: I have labored only a little and I have found for myself great rest” (Sirach 51:23–27). Jesus evokes such words, but whereas the earlier sage referred to wisdom’s yoke, Jesus speaks of his own. Those who turned back to God’s ways would find rest for their souls (Jer 6:16). Jesus’ understanding of rest (v. 28) clearly differs from that of the Pharisees (12:1–14).

12:1 pick some heads. On normal days, it was legal to pick heads of grain from others’ fields (Dt 23:25; cf. Ru 2:2); Pharisaic tradition, however, viewed such activity as work, and thus illegal on the Sabbath (cf. Ex 31:13–14; 35:2). Scripture itself prohibited preparing food on the Sabbath (Ex 16:22–30; 35:3), but Jewish people often feasted on the Sabbath (on food that was prepared the previous day) and Jewish tradition prohibited fasting on it. Jesus’ disciples might thus pick grain if other food was unavailable.

12:2 the Pharisees saw. One would not normally find Pharisees in wheat fields on the Sabbath, unless they were traveling with Jesus or seeking to evaluate his activity (or perhaps they observed from afar in a town). Teachers were held responsible for their disciples’ behavior.

12:3, 5 Haven’t you read . . . ? Such a question would insult the learned Pharisees.

12:4 Whether David actually had with him the companions mentioned in 1Sa 21:4–5 or the high priest merely believed that David did, the high priest’s actions show that he understood that hunger and an urgent situation took priority over ritual law.

12:5 priests . . . in the temple. During debates about what was permissible on the Sabbath or other holy days, Jewish teachers sometimes appealed to the activity of priests in the temple on such days.

12:6 Jesus claims to bear God’s presence more than does the temple.

12:7 See note on 9:13.

12:10 In general, Jewish teachers felt that whatever one could do before the Sabbath should not be done on the Sabbath. Life-saving procedures were acceptable; other medical treatments on the Sabbath were debated.

12:11 People often dug and disguised pits to capture predators, but sometimes their own animals fell into these or natural pits. Unlike Essenes, who were stricter, Pharisees and most other people did try to help their animals out of pits on the Sabbath, sometimes using a rope.

12:12 Jewish teachers often used “How much more?” arguments; no one would have disagreed with the premise that a person is more valuable than a sheep.

12:13 he stretched it out. Cf. 1Ki 13:6. Technically Jesus does not apply medical treatment or even lay hands on the man; no one considered a command to stretch out one’s hand as work!

12:14 The Pharisaic school of Hillel permitted prayer for the sick on the Sabbath; the dominant Pharisaic school, the school of Shammai, rejected this but did not persecute Hillelites for allowing it. Jesus, however, may have appeared a more direct threat. Later sources suggest that Pharisees would have weighed their traditions more heavily than other teachers’ miracles. Nevertheless, in contrast to Jerusalem’s Sadducees, Pharisees in this period normally lacked the kind of political power needed to carry out such plans against Jesus.

12:18–21 Matthew cites Isa 42:1–4. As elsewhere in this section of Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 44:1–2, 21; 45:4; 49:3), the “servant” in Isa 42:1–4 is Israel; but because the servant fails in his mission (Isa 42:18–19), God raises up one within Israel to fulfill the mission and suffer on behalf of Israel (Isa 49:5–7; 52:13–53:12, especially 53:4–6, 9). Jesus fulfilled this mission, though in ways that his contemporaries did not expect. Matthew translates the wording in a way that brings it into alignment with the heavenly proclamation in Mt 3:17, so that the heavenly proclamation evokes Isaiah’s servant.

12:21 Those quoting a passage might end on a point they did not want to omit—here concern for the Gentiles (cf. 4:15; 28:19). The Hebrew text speaks of “coasts” or “islands,” giving an example of distant peoples, but Matthew follows here the common Greek translation that captures the text’s theological sense, applying it to all Gentiles.

12:23 Son of David. Alludes to the promised Davidic ruler (see 1:1; cf. Psalms of Solomon 17:21).

12:24 by Beelzebul. See note on 10:25. This is the charge of performing feats by sorcery—an activity that warranted death (e.g., Ex 22:18).

12:27 by whom do your people drive them out? Other Jewish people engaged in exorcism (Josephus, Antiquities 8.47; 4Q242 f1 3.4 in the Dead Sea Scrolls; cf. Tobit 8:3). your people. This phrase (lit. “your sons”) could refer to disciples or apprentices.

12:28 by the Spirit of God. Because many Jewish people believed that the fullness of the Spirit had been quenched after the last Biblical prophets and would be poured out again fully only in the end time, Jesus presents his activity by the Spirit as evidence that the end-time kingdom had come upon them.

12:29 strong man. People understood that no one could seize a strong person’s possessions (cf. Psalms of Solomon 5:3) without first tying him up; Jesus can take away what Satan possessed because Jesus first defeated him (cf. Isa 49:24–25).

12:30 Whoever is not with me. Among both Jews and Greeks, some recognized the principle that where opposition existed, one would be on either one side or the other. (The same principle existed in Roman party politics.)

12:32 in this age or in the age to come. Jewish people distinguished the present age from the promised future age of righteousness. Jewish sources often viewed deliberate sin as unforgivable (Nu 15:30–31; Dt 29:18–20); some teachers believed that even these sins could be atoned for if the sinner was repentant. The sin here appears to involve rejection even of the Spirit’s clear attestation of Jesus through signs (v. 28)—perhaps implying a heart too hard to repent. (The sort of person fearful of having committed the sin is not the hard-hearted kind of person the sin addresses.)

12:34 brood of vipers. See note on 3:7.

12:38 sign. Later sources suggest that most Pharisaic teachers would have weighed their traditions more heavily than they did miracles; their reception of Jesus’ signs so far has not been friendly (see v. 24).

12:39–42 the sign of the prophet Jonah . . . men of Nineveh . . . Queen of the South. The Ninevites apparently did not witness the sign of Jonah in the fish’s belly; they repented instead through his preaching. One Jewish tradition claims that Jonah tried to avoid preaching to Ninevites lest their repentance shame Israel for failing to do likewise (Mekilta Pisha 1.80–82; cf. Jnh 3:10–4:2); if any of Jesus’ hearers were familiar with this tradition, it would make Jesus’ comparison here all the more graphic. The Gentile “Queen of the South” respected Solomon’s wisdom (1Ki 10:1–13); some Jewish traditions from this period identify her as the queen of Ethiopia. In some Jewish traditions, God would render the unrepentant without excuse on the day of judgment; he would do this through the testimonies of those who repented despite better excuses. Although Jewish people expected God to vindicate Israel against the nations on the day of judgment, some later rabbinic traditions claim that repentant Gentiles would testify against unrepentant Israelites at that time.

12:43–45 Speakers often returned charges against their accusers; some have accused Jesus of acting by Satan (v. 24), but Jesus implies that it is his accusers who do so: he was driving out demons, but “this wicked generation” (v. 45) was welcoming them back in!

12:47–50 Children were obligated to honor their parents. The expected response is for Jesus to immediately welcome his mother and brothers, but he avails himself of the occasion to illustrate a point. As often, he does so in a way that his contemporaries would have viewed as dramatic and shocking.

13:2 got into a boat. Pushing out from shore provided sufficient distance for Jesus’ voice to carry. Galilee had many acoustic settings—including a cove near Capernaum—that could allow one’s voice to carry to vast numbers of hearers.

13:3 See the article “Parables.” Most Galileans, like most people in the Roman Empire, were rural farmers. Whereas the parables of later rabbis focus more often on royal courts, Jesus’ parables most often address the agrarian settings of most of his hearers. seed. Some Jewish sources compare God’s Word to seed.

13:4 Many ancient sources speak of plowing before sowing (which would have prevented the farmer from wasting some seed in this case!), but others clearly speak of sowing before plowing. Jesus chooses the latter method for this parable, since only God knows the different kinds of hearts among whom the Word is sown. some fell along the path. Paths often led through fields.

13:5 rocky places. Much of the soil in the Holy Land is rocky.

13:7 thorns. A kind of thistle is common around roads and can reach more than three feet (a meter), typically in the month of April.

13:8 The average yield of seed in ancient Israel was probably between seven and a half to tenfold. A hundredfold was a remarkably good harvest (Ge 26:12), but even thirtyfold was exceptional.

13:9 See note on 11:15.

13:10 Rabbis often used parables as sermon illustrations, but without the sermon that the parable illustrated, a parable might function instead as a riddle, in which the listener is challenged to figure out what the parable means. Disciples often asked their teachers questions, sometimes seeking understanding privately after a public lecture.

13:11 secrets of the kingdom. Jesus refers to special revelations about God’s promised kingdom, not information that would never be known; see Da 2:28–30, 45. Here the secrets go to those who understand (v. 23)—that is, the true disciples who remained after the crowds had gone, and thus received the interpretation from Jesus. See note on Mk 4:11.

13:12 will be given more. The principle that one who has can receive more worked in ancient economics; some also recognized this principle with knowledge of wisdom or the law.

13:13–15 Rabbis who taught in parables frequently related them to Scripture. Many passages address similar issues in Israel (e.g., Dt 29:4; Isa 42:19–20; 43:8; 44:18; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2), but one key text often picked up in the NT is cited in vv. 14–15. In Isa 6:9–10, God calls Isaiah to reveal truth to Israel that Israel will not receive, until the impending judgment (Isa 6:11). Their increasing spiritual blindness was punishment for their refusal to heed what God was already speaking (cf. Isa 29:9–10). Those who did turn, however, would be “healed,” i.e., restored (cf. Isa 53:5; Hos 11:3; 14:4).

13:16 blessed are your eyes. Jewish people often praised one person by uttering a beatitude over someone who knew them; the disciples are blessed because they receive revelation about Jesus and his kingdom (cf. 1Ki 10:8).

13:18 what the parable . . . means. Rabbis often gave interpretations with their parables (see note on v. 10), but Jesus gives these interpretations privately (see note on v. 11).

13:24 kingdom of heaven is like. Jewish parables often began with, “Such-and-such is like . . .”; the named subject (here, the kingdom) was compared not simply with the next noun (here, a man) but with the entire parable that followed.

13:25 enemy came and sowed weeds. Ancient legal sources show that feuding, rival farmers occasionally did sow poisonous plants in one another’s fields.

13:26–29 The poisonous weeds here are darnel (Lolium temulentum), which cannot be distinguished from wheat in the early stages. Once past the early stages, however, the weeds’ roots become entwined with those of the wheat. Workers thus could not uproot the darnel without damaging the wheat.

13:30 Let both grow together. Once the wheat was full grown and ready to be harvested, the darnel, now distinguishable from it, could be uprooted and used as cheap fuel. Laborers gathered wheat into sheaves, transporting it (often on donkeys) to a village’s threshing floor, or in this case to that of this large estate. Once threshed, it would be stored in a barn.

13:31 mustard seed. Scholars do not all agree about which plant is in view here, but ancient sources agree in describing the mustard seed as proverbially small (v. 32). Some argue that this shrub often grew to eight to ten feet (two and a half to three meters) high around the Sea of Galilee; others that the likeliest shrub in view rarely grew to more than five feet (one and a half meters). If so, birds could only “perch” (v. 32) in its branches (not “nest,” as the term might be translated); the language, however, evokes the image of a great kingdom of old that would be supplanted by God’s kingdom (Da 4:12). The glorious future kingdom was already active in a hidden way in Jesus’ ministry.

13:33 yeast. Some Jewish texts used “yeast” to symbolize evil, but it did not always mean that (Ge 19:3; Ex 12:11, 39; Lev 23:17) and does not mean that here. Although bakeries might prepare large amounts of bread, Jesus refers to a Galilean housewife. The amount here is thus exorbitant: her labor would produce enough bread to feed more than 100 people.

13:35 Matthew quotes Ps 78:2, attributing it to a prophet, because the psalms were considered prophetically inspired (cf. 1Ch 25:1–6; 2Ch 29:30).

13:37 Son of Man. See Da 7:13–14.

13:39 harvest. Some other ancient Jewish sources also apply the familiar image of harvest to the end of the age (see, e.g., 2 Baruch 70:2).

13:41 will send out his angels. That the Son of Man commands angels shows that he is no ordinary human figure.

13:42 blazing furnace. Jewish people often conceived of Gehinnom, or hell, as a place of fiery torment and/or destruction. weeping and gnashing of teeth. See note on 8:12.

13:43 shine like the sun. Developing the image of Da 12:3, as here, many Jewish sources spoke of the righteous “shining” in the future age. Cf. 17:2.

13:44 treasure hidden. Given widespread poverty in antiquity, it is no surprise that stories of buried treasure were popular; people sometimes stored their wealth by burying it in a strongbox, sometimes under the floor of their home. bought that field. Ancient title deeds to land normally specified ownership of both the land and everything in it. Here a peasant, perhaps a tenant living on and working a wealthy landowner’s field, apparently finds a hoard of coins. The focus of most such stories was the finder’s subsequent wealth, but Jesus emphasizes the great worth of the kingdom and the price one must be willing to pay for it.

13:45 merchant. Unlike the peasant noted in v. 44, this merchant is a person of means. looking for fine pearls. Divers gathered pearls from the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea; wealthy women in Rome wore pearls in necklaces, the most expensive of which would have cost tens of millions of dollars in today’s currency. Jewish teachers sometimes used expensive pearls to represent the teaching of Torah; Jesus applies it to his message about the kingdom. Ancient pearl stories often emphasize the finder’s piety; Jesus instead emphasizes the value of God’s kingdom (v. 46).

13:47 net. Jesus probably refers here not to the smaller casting net, but to a seine net, also known as a dragnet, pulled between two boats. Floaters on top of such nets kept one part of the net on the surface while sinkers allowed the bottom to gather in fish from deep below. all kinds of fish. Many of the more than 20 kinds of fish available in the Sea of Galilee were inedible or ritually impure, but a seine net would catch all varieties of fish.

13:52 new treasures as well as old. The old treasures of the OT could be employed usefully in light of the newer and fuller message of the kingdom.

13:55 carpenter’s son. When Jesus was still a young child, the Galilean city of Sepphoris, just four miles (six kilometers) from Nazareth, was burned to the ground. Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, immediately set to rebuilding it and may have eventually made it his capital. Carpenters (the term here includes woodwork) were thus in demand during the period in which Jesus grew up, and he would have likely also learned the trade from his father. (Boys could learn trades as apprentices to anyone, but this included their fathers, and Jesus became a carpenter; Mk 6:3.) mother’s name . . . brothers. “Mary” was the most popular Jewish woman’s name in this period, and the names of Jesus’ brothers here were also very common.

13:56 his sisters. Ancient sources sometimes name men but not women; possibly their names were thus not available to Matthew.

13:57 Scripture noted prophets being rejected, even in their hometowns (Jer 1:1; 11:21); Jewish traditions about the prophets amplified this pattern even further.

14:1 Herod the tetrarch. Whereas Mark calls Herod a “king” (Mk 6:14), Luke and (usually) Matthew use the more precise “tetrarch,” governor-prince of a small territory. (The term “tetrarch” no longer carried its original sense of “one-fourth” of a territory.) Herod Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Perea in 4 BC on the death of his father, King Herod the Great (2:19); a Samaritan wife of Herod was mother of both Antipas and Archelaus (cf. Mt 2:22).

14:3–5 John opposed Antipas’s affair with Herodias on moral grounds, but it had also become a political embarrassment to Antipas that eventually nearly cost him his kingdom (see note on Mk 6:17). For this reason, allowing John’s continuing criticism was to risk fueling further dissent within the kingdom. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus shows that John was popular with the people, and that Antipas feared the risk that this popularity posed (Antiquities 18.116–119). Political considerations about John’s popularity both demanded John’s arrest and delayed John’s execution.

14:6 Herod’s birthday. Birthdays remained in this period a largely Gentile custom, but Antipas and the ruling class were thoroughly Hellenized. Persons of status expected those invited to attend their birthday parties, which typically included excessive drinking. daughter of Herodias. Herodias’s daughter Salome was probably between 12 and 14 years old, and perhaps already betrothed or married to Philip the tetrarch. Sensuous dancing was common at such parties but not for members of the royal family; the Herodian family, however, was known for such excesses.

14:7 promised with an oath. An oath called a deity to attest the truth of one’s claim (or to punish one for dishonoring the deity’s name by invoking it falsely). Ancients had stories of people regretting their oaths; rabbis could release people from oaths like this one, but to not keep his public word would be a matter of shame.

14:10 beheaded. Beheading was considered the most merciful form of execution, since it killed quickly (although executioners did not always succeed on the first blow).

14:11 head was brought in on a platter. Ancient accounts in which heads were displayed at banquets, especially to please the woman or boy for whom the banquet host was lusting, emphasize that the hosts abused their authority in a detestable manner.

14:12 disciples came and took his body. Bodies were more readily granted to family members. Normally the eldest son would bury someone who died, but John’s disciples fulfill this role for him (for disciples as sons, see note on 23:9; Jn 13:33). This act highlights the failure of most of Jesus’ male disciples in 27:55–60.

14:15 they can . . . buy themselves some food. Nearby villages, with a few hundred or at most a few thousand people each, would not have had enough spare bread ready to feed more than 5,000 people (v. 21).

14:17–18 God often used what people had to perform wonders (Ex 4:1–3; 14:16; 2Ki 4:1–7).

14:19 The feeding miracle resembles those of Moses, Elijah, and in this case especially Elisha (2Ki 4:42–44).

14:20 disciples picked up twelve basketfuls. Ancient moralists condemned waste; cf. also use of leftovers in 2Ki 4:7, 44.

14:21 five thousand men. The number is higher than that of most Galilean villages, including much higher than the currently estimated population of Capernaum. Ancient sources often numbered only men; Matthew thus might not know the number of women and children, but he mentions them anyway, reminding us of the magnitude of Jesus’ miracle.

14:25 before dawn. Literally the text speaks of the “fourth watch of the night,” based on the Roman division of the night into four parts; the fourth watch refers to the final hours before dawn. Jesus was approaching them from the east, which might make his approach more visible.

14:26 ghost. Apparitions were usually frightening (though Josephus employs the term here translated “ghost” for angels). Jewish tradition warned of dangerous night spirits. On a popular level, many Gentiles and probably a number of Jews believed in ghosts, although such a belief technically contradicted mainstream Jewish views of the afterlife (heaven or hell and future resurrection). Gentiles often believed that the ghosts of those drowned at sea hovered over the sites of their deaths.

14:27 It is I. Literally, Jesus says, “I am”; although this can mean, “It is I,” the activity in the context supports an allusion to Jesus’ deity (cf. Ex 3:14, where the same Greek phrase used in the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT, is used here also).

14:29 walked on the water. Peter had Biblical precedent for stepping into water with faith in the divine command (Jos 3:8, 13, 15–17), though in Exodus and Joshua the water parted rather than sustained one’s weight.

14:32 wind died down. They would recognize God’s power to calm the sea (Job 26:12; Ps 65:7; 89:9–10; 107:29; Jnh 1:15; Sirach 43:23).

14:34 Gennesaret. A plain of several square miles/kilometers that lay between Capernaum and the large city of Tiberias.

14:36 edge of his cloak. See note on 9:20.

15:1 from Jerusalem. The largest number of Pharisees and teachers of the law resided in Jerusalem.

15:2 wash their hands. Pharisees were particularly known for passing on and following earlier but post-Biblical traditions (see, e.g., Josephus, Antiquities 13.297). Washing hands before meals for the sake of maintaining ritual purity was probably originally a custom of the Jews in the Diaspora. Pharisees were known to be very meticulous regarding this practice.

15:4 Virtually all Jewish people would have agreed with the requirement to honor father and mother (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16) and not to curse them (Ex 21:17; Lev 20:9). Many Jewish teachers considered honoring parents the greatest commandment in the law, and labored hard to fulfill this commandment. Jesus, however, points out that some of their other traditions have been used to subvert it. Like Jesus, Pharisees could suspend aspects of the law to ensure that its intention was met. Individual practice, however, does not always match the highest ideal of their group.

15:5–6 People could make vows by God, dedicating property for the temple. By declaring property so dedicated one prohibited others from using it; even outside the Holy Land, some teachers employed vows like these to prohibit objects from use by relatives. Although many teachers may have agreed with Jesus that people who acted in this way were abusing the system, they would not have tried to annul the vows or challenge the system.

15:8–9 Isa 29:13 addressed a people who valued their human traditions over Isaiah’s prophetic message.

15:10–11 At least some rabbis agreed with this principle, but taught it only in private, lest it be abused.

15:12 Pharisees were offended. Offending respected people, such as the Pharisees, could create powerful social and political enemies. Most Pharisees held little direct political power, but they were highly influential with the people (especially around Jerusalem).

15:13 pulled up. Jesus uses the Biblical image of building up or tearing down God’s people (Ps 28:5; Jer 1:10; 11:17; 18:7–8; 24:6; 31:4, 28; 42:10; 45:4; compare Jer 12:2 with Isa 29:13).

15:14 blind guides. Those who were literally blind often had someone sighted who could guide them. pit. For the prevalence of pits, see note on 12:11; for falling into a pit as a metaphor of judgment, see, e.g., Ps 7:15; Pr 26:27; Isa 24:18; Jer 48:43–44; Eze 19:4.

15:15 Disciples could ask teachers for private explanations.

15:19 murder . . . slander. Lists of vices are common in ancient literature. Two thirds of the offenses listed here are violations of the Ten Commandments (see 19:18, in the same order as here and as in Ex 20:13–16).

15:21 Tyre and Sidon. Leading cities of Phoenicia. Jezebel was from Sidonian territory, but so were a widow and her child who received healing through the ministry of Elijah (1Ki 17:8–24). Many dispossessed Canaanites from the Israelite conquest had moved north into Phoenician territory.

15:22 Son of David. Implies this Gentile’s recognition that Jesus is rightful ruler of Israel.

15:26 toss it to the dogs. Though not used as a direct label here, when it was so used, “dog” was a harsh insult for either gender. (When used negatively, Gentiles associated dogs with dung, promiscuity, and the devouring of corpses.) Jewish people often viewed dogs as no better than rodents, and figuratively as hostile predators (e.g., Ps 22:16, 20).

15:27 dogs eat the crumbs. Gentiles sometimes raised dogs as pets; they could clean up scraps of food left by the family. Too desperate to take offense, this woman humbles herself to seize any opportunity for healing. Many people appreciated quick-witted retorts.

16:1 Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees and Sadducees usually worked together only when they had a common mission or a common enemy they considered very dangerous. sign from heaven. Could mean simply a sign from God, but in this context may mean predicting a heavenly sign such as an eclipse or other phenomenon.

16:3 how to interpret . . . the sky. In the Holy Land, Mediterranean winds bringing rain from the west could yield a red sky in the morning.

16:4 the sign of Jonah. See note on 12:39–42.

16:5 forgot to take bread. Teachers sometimes delegated to particular disciples the task of procuring food for a journey.

16:6 yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Yeast was sometimes used as a symbol for evil, and for what spreads; since the disciples would not likely want to borrow yeast from Pharisees and Sadducees to bake new bread, they should not take Jesus literally.

16:13 Caesarea Philippi. A Gentile city at the northern boundary of ancient Israel (see note on Mk 8:27). That Jesus chose this site for discussing his identity with his disciples might prefigure the mission to the Gentiles (28:19).

16:16 Son of the living God. “Son of God” was an appropriate title for the Davidic line, especially the ultimate ruler (cf. 2Sa 7:14; Ps 2:7), as also recognized in the Qumran scrolls.

16:17 Blessed are you, Simon. For beatitudes, see note on 5:3; teachers sometimes pronounced blessings on students who offered wise answers. flesh and blood. A common way of saying, “human beings” or “mortals.”

16:18 Peter, and on this rock. In the Greek of this period, Petros (Peter’s name) was used interchangeably with petra (“rock”). Prophets and others commonly used wordplays to make a point; but while Peter may be a rock in his role of confessing Christ (v. 16), he becomes a stumbling block in his role of resisting the meaning of that confession, namely, Jesus’ calling to the cross (vv. 22–23). Teachers and founders of schools normally expected their disciples to carry on after them and spread their movements. church. The Greek term was used in the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT, for the community of Israel; the Qumran sect applied the same Hebrew term behind it to their own community. gates of Hades. A familiar ancient expression for the realm of the dead (both in Greek literature and in the Greek translation of the Biblical gates of Sheol or of death, e.g., Job 38:17; Isa 38:10); even martyrdom (vv. 21, 24) cannot stop God’s plan.

16:19 keys of the kingdom. Palace keys were large, and an important official carried them (Isa 22:22). In contrast to those who were shutting people out of God’s kingdom (23:13), those who confess Jesus as Christ (v. 16) can usher people in. bind . . . loose. May include disciplinary authority (see note on 18:18) but perhaps also authority to evaluate those to be admitted (cf. an officer with a similar function at Qumran). The basis for true admission is the shared confession of v. 16.

16:20 not to tell anyone. For the “Messianic secret,” see Introduction to Mark: Messianic Secret. In Mediterranean society, the honorable man did not directly boast unless it could be justified as necessary. Some suggest that direct Messianic claims were not to be made until God had publicly vindicated the claimants. More generally, healers and leaders drew impossibly large crowds (cf. Mk 3:8–10), and political deliverers risked being viewed as a threat and hunted down by the Romans prematurely.

16:21 must be killed. Even aside from their presupposing that Jesus could not have been a prophet, the more skeptical scholars who doubt that Jesus could have foreknown his death misunderstand Jesus’ milieu. No one could make a commotion in the temple and challenge the priestly elite, as Jesus did, and not expect to be executed. The exceptions might be if the challenger were insane, fled, or raised an army, but there is no reason to expect any of these in Jesus’ case. Jesus intended to die; regarding the purpose, see notes on 20:28; 26:28—where Jesus tells us that he died for us.

16:22 Messianic expectations were diverse, but usually involved the Davidic Messiah’s triumph over Israel’s enemies. Peter may intend encouragement, but disciples were not supposed to rebuke their teachers.

16:23 Get behind me. Disciples were expected to walk behind their teachers, and Jesus might allude figuratively to that posture here. Satan. By offering the kingdom without the cross (v. 22), Peter fills Satan’s role (see 4:8–10; cf. 27:42–43). stumbling block. Plays on Peter’s name (see note on v. 18).

16:24 take up their cross. Those condemned to execution would often carry the horizontal beam of their cross (the patibulum) out to the site of their execution, through an often hostile and mocking mob. Ironically, Jesus’ disciples fail even in carrying Jesus’ cross (26:69–75), so that his executioners have to draft a bystander to carry it (27:32).

16:25–26 Jewish apocalyptic writers agreed that eternal life was well worth losing one’s life in this age (e.g., 1 Enoch 108:10; 2 Baruch 51:15–16).

16:28 not taste death . . . coming in his kingdom. In context, the Synoptic Gospels apply this promise in the short term to the transfiguration (17:1–9), of which Peter, James and John were witnesses. This event points proleptically to Jesus’ postresurrection reign (cf. Eph 1:19–23) and ultimately to his return, but these three disciples experience a foretaste.

17:1 six days. Might evoke Ex 24:16, the context of Moses receiving God’s revelation on the mountain (Ex 24:15).

17:2 face shone like the sun. Although some other stories about shining people appear in antiquity, the most obvious one—and the one that would have been known to all of Matthew’s audience—was Moses, transformed as he saw God’s glory (Ex 34:29–30, 35). Yet Jesus is no mere Moses (vv. 3–5).

17:3 Moses and Elijah. Elijah had been caught up to heaven alive (2Ki 2:11) and Moses was buried by God himself (Dt 34:5–6); a few even believed that Moses, like Elijah, had not died (e.g., Sipre Dt 357.10.5). More importantly, Scripture had promised the coming of Elijah (Mal 4:4–5) and a prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15–19). The disciples experience a divine revelation on the mountain just as Moses and Elijah each did at Mount Sinai.

17:4 put up three shelters. Because of the Festival of Tabernacles, not only field workers but all Jewish men would know how to erect temporary shelters.

17:5 bright cloud covered them. Recalls the cloud of glory at Sinai when God revealed himself; Jewish teachers spoke of the cloud of God’s presence as the shekinah. On the divine voice from heaven, see note on 3:17. Here the voice adds, “Listen to him,” which some see as an allusion to the promised prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15).

17:6 fell facedown. A common way to humble one’s self before God, and a usual response to revelations from God and sometimes angels (1Ch 21:16; Eze 1:28; 3:23; 43:3; 44:4; Da 8:17–18; 10:8–9; also in other ancient Jewish accounts). People also feared Moses when he was radiant (Ex 34:30).

17:7 Don’t be afraid. Revealers often commanded those who fell facedown during revelations to arise or not to be afraid (Eze 2:1–2; Da 8:18; 10:11–12; also other ancient Jewish accounts). Beyond these examples, the encouragement not to be afraid is common in Biblical revelations (Ge 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; Jos 8:1; Jdg 6:23).

17:10 Elijah must come first. Mal 4:5–6 predicted Elijah’s return, which was therefore widely anticipated (e.g., Sirach 48:10).

17:12–13 Elijah . . . John the Baptist. Ancient peoples recognized that whereas some prophecies were literal, others were figurative. Writers also sometimes spoke of an individual as a “new” so-and-so—e.g., a “new Caesar” or a “new Alexander.”

17:15 seizures. Although the epileptic activity here is caused by a spirit (v. 18), as many people in antiquity would expect, Matthew recognizes that not all epileptic activity involves spirits (he distinguishes the two issues in 4:24).

17:20 mustard seed . . . mountain. Some later sources suggest that “moving mountains” was a Jewish figure of speech for doing what was considered impossible. A massive mountain was a graphic contrast to a tiny mustard seed (see note on 13:31).

17:22–23 See note on 16:21.

17:24 temple tax. Until the revolt against Rome, all Jewish adult males in the Roman Empire paid an annual two-drachma tax for the support of the Jerusalem temple. This tax yielded so much revenue that the temple authorities simply began constructing a golden vine, to which they added annually. Some Jewish sects refused to contribute to this tax, so the collectors asked Peter what Jesus’ response would be. (After the temple’s destruction in AD 70, Rome required Jewish people to continue to pay this tax—now to Rome.)

17:25–26 their own children . . . are exempt. Tax regulations often listed those who were exempt. Conquerors charged tribute from the conquered, not from the conquerors’ own people; a king’s dependents were exempt from his taxes. Priests (and later rabbis) were exempted from the two-drachma tax noted here.

18:1 greatest in the kingdom. Jewish teachers sometimes debated what kind of person would be greatest in the kingdom; expecting Jesus the Messiah (16:16) to soon establish his kingdom, the disciples’ concerns here are less theoretical. Jewish sages praised humility, but men nevertheless often had ambition.

18:2 little child. In ancient society, children were powerless and often overlooked. Ancient speakers and writers typically offered powerful leaders as heroes and models for imitation.

18:3 like little children. Children lacked social power; they also needed to depend on their fathers or other providers (see note on 7:9–10).

18:5 in my name. Jesus treats powerless children as his representatives (see note on 10:40).

18:6 large millstone hung around their neck. Romans sometimes executed people guilty of particularly heinous crimes by drowning them, tied down with a heavy weight; Jewish people normally regarded this punishment as too inhumane. millstone. Used by women to grind, but the term here refers to the much larger kind of grinding stone at the community mill; grain was crushed between an upper and lower millstone. The stone was turned by donkeys (a donkey could pull more than 100 pounds [45 kilograms]); one so encumbered would sink quickly (more quickly than with the type of stone described in Jer 51:63–64; cf. 1 Enoch 48:9).

18:7 stumble. The law forbade placing stumbling blocks in front of those who might be hurt by them (Lev 19:14); by Jesus’ day, many used the expression figuratively for what would cause someone to sin or turn from God.

18:8 enter life maimed. In many Jewish traditions, one would first be resurrected in the form in which one died before being fully restored (e.g., 2 Baruch 50:2–4). The righteous expected to receive back any limbs lost in God’s service (e.g., 2 Maccabees 7:11; 14:46). Against many Jewish traditions, the resurrection would include the raising of the damned as well as the righteous (Da 12:2).

18:10 their angels. Many Jewish people believed in guardian angels (see note on Heb 1:14; also e.g., Tobit 5:22; Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities 11:12; 59:4; in the Tosefta see Shabbat 17:2–3). In Jewish tradition, the angels who saw God’s face were the most powerful angels, who were typically the ones closest to God’s throne.

18:12 Most people of status in the ancient Mediterranean world looked down on shepherds as lower-class, dirty or uncivilized. (Despite many Biblical examples of shepherds, ancient sources suggest that the Judean elite agreed with the high-status consensus.) One hundred was an average size for a flock. Shepherds and other herders did leave their flocks to search for missing animals; often they left them with other shepherds or herders working with them in the same vicinity (cf. Lk 2:8).

18:15 just between the two of you. Jesus here agrees with other Jewish teachers: Jewish ethics heavily emphasized reproving a person privately first, so they would have opportunity to make matters right without facing shame.

18:16 take one or two others along. Evidence needed to be collected in case the offender did not repent. The demand for at least two witnesses (Dt 17:6; 19:15) was foundational in Jewish law, especially as understood by Pharisees and Essenes.

18:17 tell it to the church. Synagogues functioned as community centers, and thus could also double as community courts. Even outside the Holy Land, Rome allowed Jewish communities to exercise discipline within Gentile cities’ minority Jewish communities. The church here functions similarly. The Greek terms translated “church” (ekklēsia) and “synagogue” (synagōgē) are both used to translate the OT term qahal, used for the community of God’s people. If the offender still did not repent, the highest level of discipline was exclusion from the community of God’s people. This discipline appears both in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in later rabbinic sources.

18:18 bound . . . loosed in heaven. The community following the above procedures (vv. 15–17) acts on the authority of heaven. (Later rabbis believed that their decisions based on Scripture and tradition coincided with the decrees of the heavenly court.) Later rabbis employ the terminology “binding” and “loosing” for their authority to interpret the law. Here the phrase extends to judicial decisions, reflecting the figurative application of what “binding” or “loosing” a prisoner normally meant.

18:19 two of you on earth agree. Although the principle that God answers prayer is broader, the two or three people in vv. 19–20 presumably refer to the two or three witnesses in v. 16 (“earth” and “heaven” likewise echo v. 18). Some suggest that it might be relevant that in Scripture, the witnesses were to be the first to strike the offender (Dt 17:7); here they are to pray.

18:20 two or three gather in my name. One familiar Jewish saying was that where two or three gathered to study God’s law, God’s presence was among them (in the Mishnah see ’Abot 3:2, 6; Mekilta Bahodesh 11). Jewish people considered God alone omnipresent; Jesus speaks of himself here as the divine presence (cf. 1:23; 28:20).

18:21 Up to seven times? Although Jewish tradition valued forgiveness, some teachers allowed only three occasions for deliberate sin, since they doubted the offender’s sincerity beyond that point.

18:22 seventy-seven times. Some scholars argue that Jesus here reverses the principle of vengeance in Ge 4:24 (77 times). Hyperbole reinforces the point.

18:23 the kingdom of heaven is like. See note on 13:24. king. A frequent figure in Jewish parables; he normally represented God. Jesus uses characteristics of a Gentile kingdom in this parable because some of the most shocking images (especially vv. 25, 34) would not work in a Jewish setting. The king may resemble what we know of Ptolemaic rulers in Hellenistic, pre-Roman Egypt. Such a king would settle accounts with his tax farmers. The tax farmers are responsible to pay him the taxes for the people they are assigned to tax; they would then recoup their cost and make a profit by collecting the taxes from the people. After bad harvests or other crises, however, the tax revenue might not be available.

18:24 ten thousand bags of gold. Unlike many realistic details in the parable, the servant who has fallen so far in debt would shock Jesus’ hearers. If the talents (translated here “bags of gold”) are gold rather than silver (cf. Est 3:9), the amount this servant owes may be more than the amount of money in circulation in any petty kingdom in Jesus’ day (by comparison, Herod the Great’s annual tax revenue was about 800 talents). This was as much as 100 million denarii (as much as 70 or even 100 million days’ wages for a peasant). Indeed, perhaps the only reason the figure is not placed even higher is that the term translated “bags of gold” here was the largest currency available, and “ten thousand” was the largest numerical designation in Greek.

18:25 his wife and his children and all that he had be sold. The king could not hope to recoup his losses by selling the man and his family; the most expensive slave might sell for one talent, and often this could be the price for 20 slaves. The man’s property could also not match the amount mentioned in v. 24. The sale might make the angry king feel better, however. Jewish teachers forbade selling wives or children to repay debts, but this is presumably a Gentile king.

18:26 I will pay back. “I will repay” commonly appeared in ancient promissory notes; the promise to repay is in this case impossibly absurd.

18:27 took pity on him. Selling the man will not recoup the king’s losses (see notes on vv. 24–25); in a culture valuing honor, however, showing mercy would at least serve the king’s reputation for benevolence.

18:28 hundred silver coins. The other servant owes the merciless man perhaps nearly as little as a millionth of what that man had owed the king. choke him. Ancient sources show that creditors sometimes did in fact choke their debtors when demanding payment. The fellow servant may have had no money available at that point because he too had been settling accounts with the king (v. 23). (Some suggest that the merciless man, having failed to collect sufficient tax revenue from his subjects previously, has now determined to ruthlessly exact all that is owed.)

18:30–33 By imprisoning his fellow servant, the merciless man not only renders him unable to repay his debt (unless friends or relatives come to his aid) but also takes him out of active service for the king, costing the king even more money! Nor will the king’s benevolence toward the merciless servant help the king’s reputation, in light of this servant’s current behavior.

18:34 tortured. Most Jewish hearers would have recoiled at the sound of torture, but they would have known that some Gentile rulers practiced this, sometimes to extort money from the tortured person’s friends. Seeing that this servant had fallen from the king’s favor, however, his former friends will not be so foolish politically as to come to his defense. The man will never repay his debt—and thus he will never escape.

19:3 divorce his wife for any . . . reason. Jewish teachers in general regarded divorce as tragic but the choice of the husband; they would not normally interfere. Although wealth could buy exceptions for powerful women, the usual Judean custom was that only the husband had the option of divorce. (If the husband were abusive, however, a court could force him to grant his wife a divorce.) There were two schools of thought among the Pharisees: the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel. Shammaites outnumbered Hillelites in Jesus’ day (unlike after AD 70), but various ancient sources suggest that on the question of divorce the Hillelite view probably reflected the dominant practice in the larger society (cf. Sirach 25:26; Josephus, Antiquities 4.253; Life 415, 426). Shammaites interpreted the grounds for divorce in Dt 24:1 (“something indecent about her,” emphasizing indecent) as a reference to the wife’s unfaithfulness; by contrast, Hillelites emphasized the word something and believed that a husband could divorce his wife for any cause (rendered here “for any and every reason”). Some sages recommended divorcing a disrespectful or disobedient wife (Sirach 25:25–26). Although few husbands would have taken advantage of the rule, Hillelites graphically claimed that a husband could divorce his wife even for burning the bread; a later Hillelite rabbi added, “or if he finds someone more beautiful” (in the Mishnah see Gittin 9:10; Sipre Dt 269.1.1).

19:4 Haven’t you read . . . ? Jesus’ question would insult the Pharisees. Nevertheless, his line of argument would be hard to discredit; many other Jewish thinkers of this period found divine ideals in the creation narrative. The Qumran sectarians, e.g., used Ge 1:27 (cited here) to prohibit kings from marrying multiple wives (Damascus Document 4.20—5.2; Temple Scroll 56.18–19). For many Jewish people, the ideals of the “beginning” also foreshadowed the future kingdom.

19:5–6 Teachers sometimes challenged other teachers’ interpretations of verses (here some Pharisees’ understanding of Dt 24:1) by appealing to other texts that contradicted those interpretations. Jesus here appeals to Ge 2:24.

19:8 because your hearts were hard. Ancient teachers of the law sometimes recognized that some of Moses’ laws were concessions to human weakness. Civil laws by their nature represent not God’s ideals but merely limits on human sin (see notes on 5:22, 28).

19:9 commits adultery. Viewing remarriage as adultery treats a first marriage as indissoluble in God’s sight. This was shocking hyperbole, however, since Jesus’ point is that marriage should not be broken, not that it never is broken (see v. 6). Shammaites allowed divorce only for grounds of unfaithfulness; Jesus sides with them as against the many others who allowed it “for any and every reason” (v. 3; see note there). (The other NT exception, in 1Co 7:15, also involves a matter beyond the believer’s control; the principle common to both passages seems to be that believers should never break their marriage covenant, but that neither are they ultimately responsible for the other partner doing so.)

19:10 better not to marry. Ancient marriage contracts often included a clause specifying what would happen in case of divorce. Because parents arranged many marriages, and many Galilean couples had no unchaperoned time together before marriage, the disciples fear the prospect of marriage with no escape for difficult circumstances.

19:12 eunuchs. Although eunuchs in Near Eastern royal courts could exercise power, Greco-Roman society often ridiculed eunuchs as effeminate or “half-men.” Jewish people abhorred castration, and eunuchs were excluded from the covenant (Dt 23:1). Speaking figuratively of long-term singleness, Jesus explains that there are some “who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Apart from some Essenes, most of Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries regarded marriage and rearing children as an important duty.

19:13 place his hands on them. A person blessed by God could lay hands on someone to pray for a blessing on them (e.g., Ge 48:14). disciples rebuked them. Disciples sometimes tried to protect their teachers from distractions (cf. 2Ki 4:27).

19:14 do not hinder them. See note on 18:5. A man of God could overrule his disciple from keeping a supplicant away (cf. 2Ki 4:27).

19:16 eternal life. If later Jewish sources are representative, sometimes people asked Jewish teachers how to have eternal life. Eternal life was the life of the coming age (Da 12:2), thus of the kingdom (cf. v. 23).

19:17 keep the commandments. God had promised Israel life if they obeyed his commandments (e.g., Lev 25:18; Dt 4:1, 40; 30:19–20); this originally referred to long life in the promised land, but Jewish teachers by Jesus’ day understood it to apply also to eternal life.

19:18–19 Of the six stipulations in the Ten Commandments that deal with one’s neighbor (Ex 20:12–17), Jesus lists five (Matthew omits Mark’s “defraud” [Mk 10:19], which was not specifically one of these commandments). Jesus also lists the commandment from Lev 19:18, which he treats as a summary of the law toward one’s neighbor (see note on 22:39).

19:22 he had great wealth. Sages usually welcomed would-be disciples, but some radical teachers made harsh demands to weed out those who would not be serious, especially when prospective disciples were wealthy or arrogant. Accounts of such sages emphasize that they were not impressed by worldly status and that wealth is not what makes us important.

19:24 camel . . . eye of a needle. See note on Lk 18:25.

19:26 with God all things are possible. Scripture was clear that nothing was impossible for God (Ge 18:14; Jer 32:17, 27), apart from something contrary to his character.

19:28 at the renewal of all things. The term translated “the renewal” was used by Stoic philosophers for the fiery destruction and restoration of the cosmos; in a Jewish setting, it refers to the promised new creation (cf. Isa 65:17; 66:22). twelve tribes. Most Jewish people expected God to restore the 12 tribes of Israel at the time of the end. Qumran documents even speak of a group of 12 leaders, apparently because of their expectation that God would restore the 12 tribes. Jesus was preparing for the restoration of his people and of creation.

19:30 first will be last . . . last will be first. Many Jewish thinkers expected the coming age to reverse current fortunes: the lowly would be exalted and the exalted brought low. Most Jewish people expected that God would exalt the people of Israel and punish their Gentile oppressors.

20:1 like a landowner. Jewish parables often began with, “Such-and-such is like . . .”; the named subject (here, kingdom) was compared not simply with the next noun (here, a man) but with the entire parable that followed. Because of God’s greatness, Jewish teachers often compared him in parables to a king or landowner. hire workers for his vineyard. Most Galileans worked in agriculture. During harvest time, those who owned large amounts of land needed to hire many extra workers to bring in the harvest quickly so that none of it would spoil. Landless unemployed people were numerous and could be available for work as early as sunrise; shepherds and goatherds might also add their services. Most workers were hired as harvesters; a smaller number might stand watch to prevent theft, and some boys could drive the donkeys.

20:2 denarius. Roughly a day’s normal wage.

20:3 nine in the morning. Lit. the “third hour” from sunrise. Others may have been finishing smaller harvests on their own land or simply arrived later than the first group. The day began at sunrise, but people might work 12 hours a day during harvest.

20:8 pay them their wages. Subsistence-level workers were to be paid daily so they could feed themselves and their families (Lev 19:13; Dt 24:15).

20:11–12 Rarely would subordinates in antiquity speak so rudely to a landowner from whom they might hope for future employment or favors. Although by their culture’s standards the landowner is socially superior, they fail to greet him with a title.

20:13–15 Ancients valued and praised benevolence; this landowner has not wronged the complaining workers by showing extra benevolence to others. The landowner shames the complainers, showing that they are complaining about benevolence. Grace is not fair; it is generous.

20:16 the last will be first, and the first will be last. See note on 19:30. Ancient speakers and writers sometimes bracketed a passage by repeating at the end what they said at the beginning. With the above parable (vv. 1–15) some scholars compare a later rabbinic parable: a king paid a worker representing Israel, who worked particularly diligently, much more than he paid the other workers, who represented Gentiles. The parable’s point was that in this world God paid Gentiles back in full for any good they did, but that Israel would be blessed forever in the world to come (Sipra Behuqotai 2.262.1.9). Jesus’ point was quite different: God is gracious to bless all who serve him, including those who seem the most unexpected to enter his kingdom.

20:17–19 See note on 16:21.

20:20 mother of Zebedee’s sons. Women, and especially older women, could get away with requests and demands that men could not (or might even get in trouble for).

20:22, 23 cup. Biblical prophets used a cup to symbolize sufferings, normally as divine judgment (Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15–17; 51:7; Hab 2:16; Zec 12:2); here it applies to Jesus’ painful death (26:39).

20:24 they were indignant. Rivalry and competition for honor were common and expected in ancient Mediterranean society.

20:25 lord it over them. For the pervasive emphasis on rank even among Jewish people, see notes on 23:6–7; but Gentile rulers offered a particularly obvious example, and one that Jewish people would view negatively.

20:28 give his life as a ransom for many. This verse recalls Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant: Jesus gave “his life” (Isa 53:12) “as a ransom” (cf. Isa 53:10–11) “for many” (Isa 53:11–12). The idea of one person suffering to ransom others was understood in Jewish and many Gentile cultures; Jewish people believed that righteous martyrs could also satisfy and turn away God’s wrath from their people (see especially 4 Maccabees 17:7–18:5).

20:29 were leaving Jericho. In Mark, they approached Jericho (Mk 10:46). Some point out that the OT site of Jericho had been largely abandoned, and that the new Jericho lay south of it, suggesting that Mark refers to old Jericho and Matthew to the new one. Others suggest that Matthew highlights the proximity to Jerusalem (some 17 miles [27 kilometers] farther southwest). Given the range of differences accepted in ancient biography, the difference between the two accounts here might even be considered negligible.

20:30 Two blind men. Matthew has two blind men whereas Mark has one (Mk 10:46). Some think that Mark highlighted only one whose name he knew (Mk 10:46), whereas Matthew knew of a second one; others suggest, on the analogy of some Jewish interpretive practices, that Matthew simply compensates for omitting another account of another blind man’s healing (Mk 8:22–26). Many think that Matthew might also reuse the same story in two places where it fits relevantly (Mt 9:27–30). If so, it fits the recognition that ancient biographies were often arranged topically; because of this a biography occasionally could mention the same story in two places (in this case, topically in ch. 9 but here in ch. 20 following Mark’s sequence).

21:1 approached Jerusalem. The Roman road from Jericho (20:29) to Jerusalem led 17 miles (27 kilometers) farther southwest and 3,000 feet (900 meters) higher. Jerusalem would become visible when travelers reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives; officially a Jerusalem suburb, it lay on the other side of the valley of the brook Kidron.

21:3 the Lord needs them. Authorities could temporarily commandeer people or animals for service (see note on 5:41). Jesus uses his authority in this exceptional instance; he is a king (v. 5).

21:5–7 Hopes for redemption ran high at Passover, and many Judeans interpreted redemption as deliverance from foreign oppression. Zec 9:9 speaks of a “lowly” king (when applied to rulers the description meant gracious, merciful); he comes as a king, but not as a warrior-conqueror. He comes not riding on a horse (cf. Est 6:8) but on a donkey (cf. 1Ki 1:33). In Zechariah, the king is said to ride on a donkey, even on a donkey colt. Unlike Mark (Mk 11:4–7), Matthew mentions the disciples bringing not only the colt but also the mother. Jewish interpreters sometimes read literally everything they could in a text, even if the parallel lines were two ways of saying the same thing. In Hebrew, however, though the mother is mentioned, the adult donkey on whom the king rides appears male (the common Greek version is more ambiguous, but Matthew apparently translates the Hebrew here). Whether or not Matthew mentions the mother because of Zechariah’s wording, it is hard to imagine that the disciples would not have brought the mother; the colt was an unweaned foal, so it’s unlikely to have cooperated easily without its mother’s presence, perhaps in the lead. Although Matthew mentions cloaks on both animals, Jesus sat on the cloaks only on the colt.

21:8 spread their cloaks on the road. People could honor new kings by throwing their cloaks down where the kings would sit (v. 7) or tread; see, e.g., 2Ki 9:13. others cut branches. Branches were used for celebrations (Ps 118:27), though not as much at Passover as at the later Festival of Tabernacles.

21:9 The crowds would know Ps 118:25–26 by heart. It was part of the Hallel, consisting of Ps 113–118, which was sung at the Passover season (see Mt 26:30). Hosanna. Means, “Save!” (a cry for deliverance). Son of David. The title leaves no doubt that some in the crowds already think of Jesus as a Messianic figure (see note on 1:1).

21:11 from Nazareth in Galilee. Most of Jesus’ supporters, those who knew most about him at this point, would have been Galileans.

21:12 If merely prophesying the temple’s demise could stir the temple authorities to hostile action (Jer 26:11; Josephus, Wars 6.300–9), it is not surprising that within a week of this incident Jesus was executed. Because Passover pilgrims came from all over the ancient world and each locality had its own special currency, money changers were necessary before people could buy sacrifices in the temple. Those who traveled from far away could not bring their own sacrifices, but would have to buy sacrifices at the temple. The issue is not the service provided but the location, as v. 13 makes clear. Jesus was not interfering with the massive tourist trade or other merchants outside the temple; his concern was with the distraction in the temple courts.

21:13 a house of prayer . . . ‘a den of robbers.’ Isa 56:7 explained the temple’s purpose: a house for prayer. Jesus charged that his people were instead making it “a den of robbers,” quoting Jer 7:11. The context in Jeremiah was that God’s people were committing sins, yet felt safe from God’s judgment in the temple, like robbers felt safe in their dens. God thus promised that he would destroy the temple—probably an implication of Jesus as well (cf. 24:2).

21:14 The blind and the lame came to him. Pharisaic teachers did not require the blind or those unable to walk to come to festivals in Jerusalem; many scholars argue that some Jewish traditions also excluded them from the court of Israel in the temple. Jesus, however, takes special interest in helping them.

21:15 chief priests and the teachers of the law. The aristocratic priests belonged to Jerusalem’s wealthy ruling class, which was responsible to keep peace for the Romans. The teachers of the law might have additional theological objections; because those referred to here may belong to the ruling council (cf. 26:57), they probably also have political objections. Hosanna. See note on v. 9.

21:16 From the lips . . . praise. Jesus here quotes the Greek version of Ps 8:2; the Hebrew reads “strength” instead of “praise.” Jewish interpreters frequently chose the textual tradition or translation that best communicated their point. The primary language of the Sadducees was probably Greek (the dominant language of their tomb inscriptions). The psalm refers primarily to infants, but Jesus may reason: if infants, then “how much more” (see note on 7:11) other children.

21:17 went out . . . to Bethany. Many pilgrims would arrive as much as a week early for the festival. Jerusalem’s population would swell during the festival, so some visitors would lodge in nearby villages.

21:19 Passersby were welcome to take a small amount of fruit for their needs (see note on 12:1). On the reasons for the tree lacking fruit, see note on Mk 11:13. Matthew’s sequence differs from Mark’s, but biographies did not normally pretend to be arranged chronologically, and minor differences were common in ancient biography.

21:21 say to this mountain. Some later sources suggest that “moving mountains” was a Jewish figure of speech for doing what was considered impossible. Some scholars think that “this mountain” (emphasis added) refers to the Mount of Olives, which was within sight of the disciples (v. 1; cf. Zec 14:4).

21:23 what authority. The chief priests and elders exercised traditional authority over the people, supported by Rome.

21:24 I will also ask. Jewish teachers often countered questions with questions.

21:28–31 Jewish culture demanded that sons honor, obey and answer their fathers respectfully. Minor sons also often worked on the family’s farm or learned a trade from their father.

21:28 What do you think? Allows for one ancient function of parables: inviting the hearers to condemn themselves from their own mouths (2Sa 12:4–7).

21:32 the way of righteousness. A familiar Jewish phrase for “the way of God’s will” or “the right way” (e.g., Pr 8:20; 12:28; 16:31). tax collectors. See note on 9:9. prostitutes. Although Jewish texts speak of prostitution as primarily a Gentile practice, both foreign and Jewish prostitutes are attested in ancient Israel, including in Jerusalem.

21:33–34 Profits from vineyards usually did not begin to be realized until four years after planting; the owner is presumably wealthy enough to be able to afford the delay. Although many Galileans owned their own plots of land, many landless peasants found work on larger estates. Wealthy absentee landowners were common; they usually either contracted laborers or rented their land to tenant farmers (serfs). Tenant farmers lived and worked their estates and merely paid the landowners a portion of the harvest (v. 34). Farmers used rough stone walls or hedges to keep out hungry animals; watchtowers for guards (usually huts with flat roofs) might also provide some shelter during harvest (cf. 2Ch 26:10; Isa 1:8). The arrangements for the vineyard here thus are not unusual, but together they closely follow Isa 5:2, in the context of which Israel was the vineyard (Isa 5:7). The “tenants” in v. 34 must thus be the temporary caretakers of Israel—the chief priests and the elders (vv. 23, 45).

21:34 to collect his fruit. Contracts specified the tenants’ obligations. Because tenants did not own the land they worked, they sometimes had to pay the landowners half the harvest.

21:35 seized his servants . . . killed another. Even during war, everyone in antiquity viewed the murder of unarmed messengers as treachery. Jewish people hearing the parable would think of the tradition of Israel persecuting God’s prophets (cf. 5:12; 23:34).

21:37 he sent his son. In Jewish parables, a landowner often represented God and his son was generally Israel; here, however, it is clear that Jesus means himself as the son. Ancient hearers would have expected the landowner to seek to destroy the tenants before this point, and would regard the gesture of sending his son as naively gentle. No one has a right to complain that God is not merciful enough.

21:38 take his inheritance. No court would have given the inheritance to these tenants; the state would have executed them instead.

21:42 See notes on Mk 11:9, Lk 20:17.

21:43 given to a people. Some relate the new “nation” here to the holy nation of Ex 19:5–6, suggesting the people of a new exodus (1Pe 2:9).

21:44 falls on this stone . . . be crushed. Jewish teachers often linked various passages based on a common key word; Jesus thinks of other “stone” passages in addition to Ps 118:22 (cited in v. 42). One could stumble over God’s stone (Isa 8:14–15; cf. Isa 28:16), or it could crush one (Da 2:44).

22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like. See note on 13:24. Many Jewish parables depict God as a king; sometimes his son represented Israel marrying the law. Here the son is presumably Jesus. wedding banquet. Because the size of wedding banquets displayed honor, hosts usually invited as many people as possible.

22:3 those who had been invited . . . refused to come. Refusal to accept a banquet invitation insulted the inviter; insulting a king was treason. But such invitations were normally RSVP, followed up by a second notice once the food was ready. Thus the people now refusing to come, at the second notice, had already agreed to come at the first invitation (“those who had been invited”). Their refusal now was therefore a conspicuously deliberate and provocative insult.

22:4 oxen and fattened cattle. A fattened calf alone could feed a village (cf. Lk 15:23); the king has made massive preparations, and the meat will spoil unless the guests come quickly.

22:6 killed them. All ancient readers would have agreed that slaughtering messengers was an offense worthy of death. By universal ancient law, heralds, or messengers, were to be exempt from any harm, even during times of war.

22:7 burned their city. Conquerors burned resistant cities; a generation after Jesus’ ministry, Rome’s army burned Jerusalem.

22:9 invite . . . anyone you find. The first invited guests had dishonored the king; the only way to recoup some honor is to find other guests before the food can spoil.

22:11 not wearing wedding clothes. In another Jewish parable possibly (but not certainly) as early as the first century, wise servants waited at a king’s gate, awaiting the promised banquet; foolish servants kept laboring with soiled garments and were unprepared when his banquet was ready. Regarding the parable here in ch. 22, some scholars suggest that the host would have provided special garments; others simply note that coming to a wedding banquet in soiled clothing would insult the host. In v. 12, the king asks how the intruder made it past the servants guarding the doors; the intruder’s refusal to answer may suggest that his insulting act was deliberate. If the first invited guests represent Jerusalem’s leaders at Jesus’ first coming, the rudely dressed man perhaps represents professed followers of Jesus unprepared for his second.

22:17 what is your opinion? The four questions in vv. 16–17, 24–28, 36, 43 were the sorts of questions Jewish teachers often raised in this period. People often questioned speakers to try to embarrass them; failure to overcome the speaker would show the speaker’s superiority.

22:19–20 coin . . . denarius . . . image . . . inscription. Copper coins minted in Judea omitted the emperor’s image, but silver and gold coins were minted elsewhere. The most likely coin here, a silver denarius (minted at Lyon, France), bore the emperor’s image and the title “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” Conservative Jews were supposed to avoid images; a few years earlier, Jerusalemites told Pilate that they would rather die than allow the imperial standards bearing Caesar’s image into the city. Most dramatically, this coin and the attendant tax had incited a revolt a quarter century earlier. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that Jesus’ interlocutors had this coin. Jews could not pay taxes without this coin; it was mandatory for poll taxes in all the empire’s provinces.

22:21 what is Caesar’s . . . what is God’s. Some argue that Jesus was saying that Caesar was welcome to mere money, which bore Caesar’s image. By contrast, on this view, people should surrender to God what bears God’s image—themselves.

22:23 who say there is no resurrection. Pharisees, whose views were closer to the mainstream in Judea, often defended the doctrine of the future resurrection of the righteous against the Sadducees, who denied it. Pharisees believed that the Sadducees would be excluded from the life of the world to come because of the Sadducean denial of resurrection.

22:24 must marry the widow. Because widows could be left destitute, it was the duty of the deceased husband’s brother to marry the widow in order to provide for her and to raise up offspring for the deceased (Dt 25:5–6). She had married into the brother’s family and was therefore partly their responsibility.

22:26 down to the seventh. See note on Lk 20:29–31.

22:28 Sadducees were known to pose conundrums such as this to the Pharisees, seeking to illustrate what they believed were the absurd implications of belief in the resurrection.

22:29 you do not know the Scriptures. Although the most obvious Biblical text to which Jesus would allude could be Da 12:2, in v. 32 Jesus proves his case from the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). When arguing against Sadducees, Pharisees also made a case from the Pentateuch, because that was what Sadducees would readily accept.

22:30 neither marry nor be given in marriage. Grooms married; fathers gave their daughters in marriage. Most Jewish people agreed that angels, who were immortal, did not propagate; the same then would be true of those resurrected to immortality.

22:31 have you not read . . . The highly educated and literate Sadducees would hear Jesus’ question as an insult.

22:32 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Jewish prayers regularly referred to God in this way. Jesus articulates a position that many of his hearers would have accepted, namely, that the patriarchs remained alive before God. Some other Jewish intellectuals also supported this view (e.g., 4 Maccabees 7:18–19; 16:25; Philo, Abraham 50–55).

22:36 greatest commandment in the Law. Despite requiring obedience to all the commandments, Pharisaic teachers often debated among themselves which commandment was the greatest. Many, e.g., felt that the greatest was honoring one’s parents. One later rabbi came closer to Jesus’ view here: Rabbi Akiba thought that “Love your neighbor” (v. 39) was the greatest commandment (Sipra Qedoshim 4.200.3.7).

22:37 Jewish people regularly recited this passage (Dt 6:5); it provides a summary of the law, especially with regard to God.

22:39 Jesus uses Lev 19:18 as the summary for commandments regarding other people. It was common to link texts based on a common key word or phrase; Lev 19:18 here begins with the same phrase as the verse previously cited (Dt 6:5): we’ahavta, “you shall love.” Some other thinkers linked these two commands, but to our knowledge only Jesus linked them as the greatest commandments, which became foundational for his early followers (cf. Jn 13:34–35; Ro 13:8–10; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8).

22:40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these. Others had also looked for summarizing principles of the law (e.g., Mic 6:8). See note on 7:12.

22:44 The Lord said to my Lord. Psalm 110:1 speaks of a ruler of the nations, a priest like Melchizedek (Ps 110:4), who is distinct from God the Father yet also called “Lord.” Since Jewish people avoided pronouncing the divine name in this period, and YHWH was pronounced “lord,” they would read the passage, both in Hebrew and in Greek, as “the Lord” speaking to “my Lord.” under your feet. Subdued enemies are often depicted as being under a conqueror’s feet.

22:45 how can he be . . . ? Rabbis sometimes grappled with reconciling apparently contradictory positions; Jesus is not denying that the Messiah is David’s descendant, a title he has not refused (9:27; 15:22; 20:30–31), but is showing that the Messiah is not merely like David. If David addresses this figure as “Lord,” David recognizes one greater than himself, which a mere “new David” or Davidic descendant would not be.