23:2 Moses’ seat. Many scholars identify Moses’ seat with a prominent seat found in some ancient synagogues. Because such seats are not titled, however, some other scholars take “Moses’ seat” here figuratively for those who would seek to take the position of Moses. Rabbis sometimes used the formula, “to sit in so-and-so’s seat,” to mean, “to be so-and-so’s successor”; the rabbis claimed that they continued the work of Moses by expounding the law.

23:5 They make their phylacteries wide. Jewish people tried to practice literally the (probably figurative) command of Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:8; 11:18; thus they made boxes with Scripture verses (tefillin, or phylacteries) that they strapped to their left hand and forehead during particular prayers. (The Greek term used here can also mean amulets, but the Scripture boxes seem in view; such boxes have been found by archaeologists.) tassels . . . long. Jewish sources associate this practice with the Biblical requirement to wear blue and white tassels, or fringes (called tzitzith), on the corners of their garments to remind them of God’s commandments (Nu 15:38–39; Dt 22:12). (Some later rabbis felt that God would punish more strictly the person who in prayer neglected the white threads more than someone who neglected the blue ones.) The issue here is not wearing phylacteries or tassels (cf. 9:20; 14:36), but seeking to draw honor to oneself rather than God (cf. 6:2).

23:6 place of honor. Throughout the Mediterranean world, people at banquets were usually seated according to their social rank; prominent members of the community thus received honor at banquets. Such preferential seating also characterized community assemblies and, in the Jewish community, synagogues. In synagogues the best seats were on the bema, the raised platform, where synagogues had them. In some synagogues, many people may have sat on the floor (Jas 2:3); in such synagogues, those who sat on benches around the walls had better seats (other synagogues had additional benches).

23:7, 8 Rabbi. Social convention stipulated that social inferiors should greet superiors first; later rabbis believed that the superiors included rabbis. In this period, “rabbi” meant, “my master,” a title of great honor (though it gradually came to be used with Jewish teachers’ names, e.g., Rabbi Tarfon). Later rabbis trained disciples in their own traditions, passed down from their teachers, and in the Law of Moses. Although Jesus’ disciples should “make disciples” (28:19), they should make disciples of Jesus and not of themselves.

23:9 father. People often addressed respected older men or leaders as “fathers”; the title and role were also applied to many rabbis by their disciples.

23:12 Scripture, followed by Jewish tradition, warned that the day of God’s judgment would exalt the lowly and humble the proud (e.g., Isa 2:11–12; 5:15–16; Eze 21:26).

23:13 “Woes” could function as laments or mourning, but prophets often used them as creative ways to pronounce impending judgment (cf. 18:7; Isa 5:18–23; cf. mocking laments in Isa 15:5; 16:11; Jer 48:36; 51:8). Because Jesus speaks here of “shutting” the kingdom, cf. note on 16:19.

23:15 win a single convert. Many Jewish people approved of making proselytes, or converts, from Gentiles. We do not know of any concerted missions movement, however; Jesus probably uses the language of hyperbole.

23:16 blind guides. See note on 15:14. oath. See note on 5:34–35. To avoid the risk of breaking an oath by God’s name, people began swearing by other things associated with God. Much gold decorated the temple, including a golden vine, very large in size, located high on the temple wall, to which more gold was added each year (see note on 17:24).

23:17–19 Tradition viewed anything placed on the altar as consecrated to God.

23:22 Heaven is God’s throne, according to Isa 66:1.

23:23 tenth of your spices. The Biblical tithe complemented other OT offerings, such as the firstborn of the flock; in most passages, it consisted of a tenth of one’s agrarian produce (Lev 27:30; Ne 10:37), but sometimes also livestock (Lev 27:32; 2Ch 31:6). This was set aside to support the ministry caste (priests and Levites; Nu 18:21–28) and for a feast every third year at the central place of worship (Dt 14:23, 28; 26:12). The grain was stored for distribution (Mal 3:10). Because different passages offered somewhat different details, Pharisees came up with three tithes, paying roughly 23 percent each year. Pharisees were known for their scrupulousness in tithing; if they were not certain that the farmer had already tithed the produce, they would tithe it again to be certain. Because tithes were on food, however, Pharisees in this period debated whether spices such as dill (anise), cumin, and mint counted (later rabbis decided in favor of tithing the first two but did not deem it necessary to tithe mint). The Shammaite school of Pharisees in Jesus’ day rejected the need to tithe on black cumin. Jesus here speaks of a hyperbolic Pharisee, even more scrupulous than normal! Yet this Pharisee, fixated on details, missed the heart of the law (for earlier summaries of the law’s heart, see Dt 10:12–13; Mic 6:8).

23:24 gnat . . . camel. The camel was the largest animal in ancient Israel and the gnat proverbially small; Jesus uses graphic hyperbole to make his point. The law forbade drinking from a vessel in which something died (Lev 11:32–33); Pharisaic regulations excluded something as small as a gnat from such consideration, but Jesus’ hyperbolic Pharisee strains out even a gnat, lest it die in his drink. The Aramaic words for camel and gnat sound almost the same; prophets sometimes used wordplays, witty puns to drive home a point (e.g., the Hebrew of Jer 1:11–12; Mic 1:10–15; see NIV text notes there).

23:25–26 clean the outside . . . clean the inside. First-century Pharisees debated whether to cleanse the inside or outside of a cup first. Shammaites doubted that it mattered either way, but Hillelites required cleaning the inside first. Jesus appears to agree with the Hillelites here, but unlike the Pharisees he speaks figuratively about the human heart.

23:27 whitewashed tombs. Tombs were whitewashed to warn away Passover pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the festival, lest they incur ritual impurity by touching a tomb. (According to Jewish tradition, if so much as their shadow touched not only a corpse but a tomb, they incurred ritual impurity for seven days.) Here Jesus speaks of whitewash as a beautifying agent to conceal corruption (Eze 13:10–15; 22:28). The Pharisees, who emphasized ritual purity, look good on the outside but whoever approaches them becomes impure.

23:29 build tombs for the prophets. In this period many tombs were being built in Jerusalem to honor prophetic figures.

23:31 you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. People employed the phrase “descendants of” literally but also figuratively for those who acted like their ancestors; Jesus plays on these two senses here. By identifying their ancestors as those who killed the prophets rather than as the prophets themselves (cf. 5:12), the tomb-builders show where their real allegiance lies.

23:32 Go ahead . . . ! Prophets often ironically invited people to go on sinning—and be judged (1Ki 18:27; Isa 6:9; 29:9; Jer 23:28; 44:25–26; Eze 3:27; Am 4:4–5).

23:33 brood of vipers. See note on 3:7. hell. Gehinnom (see note on 3:12).

23:34 flog in your synagogues. See note on 10:17.

23:35 Abel to . . . Zechariah. According to a common arrangement of the Scriptures, Abel would have been the first martyr in the OT and Zechariah the last. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance against his killer (Ge 4:10; contrast Heb 11:4; 12:24). As Zechariah was being murdered, he cried out for vengeance (2Ch 24:22). Jewish tradition recognized that Zechariah’s blood desecrated the sanctuary (on blood desecrating a sanctuary, see note on 24:15). Indeed, in one Jewish tradition, a fountain of blood spurted up from the site of his murder, inviting judgment for generations until the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. Only then did the people plead with God to forgive them for the blood of Zechariah, and only then did the fountain stop. The saying here may conflate the Zechariah killed in 2 Chronicles with the postexilic prophet Zechariah, son of Berekiah (Zec 1:1, 7). Sometimes Jewish traditions conflated figures accidentally, but sometimes they deliberately linked figures to evoke further associations relevant to their point (cf. note on 1:7–11). Matthew sometimes cites the prophet Zechariah (Mt 21:5; 26:31; 27:9–10).

23:36 Guilt for murder invited judgment (Dt 21:8) and could be passed on from generation to generation until avenged (2Sa 21:1, 14). this generation. Climactic because the ultimate murder, that of God’s own Son, would be committed (cf. 21:35–39).

23:37 you who kill the prophets. Jewish tradition acknowledged and even amplified the OT record of persecuted prophets. as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. In the OT and Jewish tradition, God sheltered his people under his wings (Ps 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4); Jesus here assumes that divine role.

23:38 left . . . desolate. Jesus refers here to the temple’s desolation (fulfilled roughly 40 years later, in AD 70) brought about by its desecration. See note on 24:15.

23:39 In Matthew, Jesus speaks of a future blessing when citing Ps 118:26, since the crowds have already offered this blessing in the past (21:9). Jesus thus agrees with the earlier Biblical prophets who offered hope for God’s beloved people (e.g., Hos 14:4–7; Am 9:11–15).

24:1 its buildings. See next note. The majority of Jews lived outside of the Holy Land, but the temple tax (see note on 17:24) shows that they also remained loyal to the temple.

24:2 not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. A small minority of Jews denounced the temple as impure and announced judgment on it or the establishment that ran it; some believed that God would send a new temple. More commonly, Jewish people affirmed that the temple was invincible. Jesus’ prophecy includes, as often in his teaching, an element of hyperbole (not something writers would have invented after the temple’s destruction in AD 70). Some of the stones remain (albeit in the retaining wall), not surprising in view of their massive size; one block almost 40 feet (12 meters) long weighs nearly 400 tons (360 metric tons), and some smaller ones weigh 2–5 tons (1.8–4.5 metric tons).

24:3 sign of your coming and of the end of the age. Some Jewish sources (especially in apocalyptic literature) were preoccupied with signs of the end. In the following discourse Jesus addresses both questions (about the temple’s destruction, 24:2–3; and about the sign indicating his coming and the end), but he does not identify which question he is answering at a given time. This fits a prophetic pattern often found in earlier Biblical prophets (e.g., Joel seems to blend a nearer locust plague with an invasion in the later day of the Lord).

24:6–14 Many Jewish thinkers offered lists of sufferings, which they sometimes called the “birth pangs” of the Messiah or of the new world; these sufferings would precede the end of the age. Although these sufferings include those mentioned here (such as apostasy, wickedness, persecution and hardships), they also include some more unusual phenomena such as mutant infants. Jesus, however, will answer the question about the sign of his coming (v. 3) with a single sign at his coming (v. 30). In contrast to many other Jewish thinkers, he identifies the events listed here as merely “the beginning of birth pains” (v. 8) and not yet the end (v. 6), in contrast to one activity—evangelizing all nations—that precedes the end (v. 14). Most events listed here, including earthquakes, many false prophets, and the like, happened at least sometimes even before AD 70 (as well as afterward).

24:15 abomination that causes desolation. Some Jewish prophets inside Jerusalem kept prophesying deliverance up until the temple was destroyed; Jesus instead prophesies the truth, which is often less comfortable for us to hear. Historically, when God’s people persisted in disobedience, God allowed the temple to be desecrated (an “abomination”) and ultimately destroyed (“desolation”); the pattern is most obvious in Daniel (Da 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Some references in Daniel sound as though they refer to the desecration that happened in the second century BC under Antiochus Epiphanes (see notes on Da 11:31 and context); according to some ancient calculations, the desecration of Da 9:27 could have happened in the first century; and the context of 12:11 sounds as if it refers to the end time. Jewish prophecy, not often preoccupied with chronology, sometimes blended similar events without regard to the different times in which they might occur (see note on v. 3). Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived through the events of AD 66–70, believed that the “abomination” referred to Jewish nationalists slaughtering priests in the temple (for bloodshed in the sanctuary desecrating it, see note on 23:35). He believed that the “desolation” was the temple’s destruction three and a half years later. At that time, on the site of the temple Roman soldiers worshiped the image of Caesar that they carried on their standards, which Jewish people regarded as idols. Christian scholars debate whether the events of AD 66–70 represent the temple’s final desolation.

24:16 flee to the mountains. During invasions, people usually crowded into walled cities for protection, but Jesus warns against that measure in this case. Jerusalem is in the Judean hill country. Large armies could not take advantage of their numbers on narrow mountain paths; here David and his supporters had evaded Saul’s pursuing army, and the Maccabees had launched their guerilla warfare against invaders. Jesus’ own followers, remembering his prophecy and also, according to ancient sources, instructed by their own Christian prophets, fled the city before it was too late.

24:17 housetop. Rooftops in this region were flat, and people engaged in various activities on their roofs, such as drying vegetables, chatting with neighbors, praying, and the like. The roof was approached by an outside staircase or ladder, so it would take extra time to enter the house after descending. Despite an element of hyperbole, Jesus is right to emphasize haste. Once Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Jewish revolutionaries, it was difficult for anyone still there to escape the city; some months after that, in AD 68, even those who did escape the city could no longer flee safely to the Romans. Syrian auxiliaries working for Rome, hearing that Judean fugitives swallowed jewels in hopes of maintaining resources after their escape from the city, intercepted the fugitives and sliced them open.

24:18 get their cloak. People would rise at dawn, say some prayers, and start to work in their fields. As the day grew warmer, they would leave their outer garment at the edge of the field. This garment was essential for keeping warm at night (it could double as a blanket), and was so important that it was the one item that a creditor could not seize from a debtor overnight. Yet Jesus warns his hearers to flee without it—life mattered more than even the most necessary of possessions.

24:19 pregnant women and nursing mothers. For these women fleeing would be particularly difficult. Mothers also could mourn the loss of small children caused by the hardship (2 Baruch 10:13–15); in fact, Josephus laments that during the siege of Jerusalem, some hungry mothers even ate their children (Josephus, Wars 6.208–12).

24:20 in winter or on the Sabbath. In Judea, winter was the rainy season, and otherwise dry creek beds could flood with water from the mountains; cold winter rains also buried some roads in mud. The Jordan River also flooded, making it harder to cross; Josephus reports that even in the spring of AD 68 Judean fugitives were trapped by the flooding Jordan and thus slaughtered by their pursuers (Josephus, Wars 4.433). Armies normally withdrew from battle during the winter; travel was particularly dangerous in the cold mountains (cf. v. 16). On the Sabbath Jerusalem’s gates would be shut and fellow Judeans, less aware of imminent danger than were the disciples, would resist those wishing to ride animals.

24:21 great distress. Da 12:1 spoke of a final tribulation greater than any that preceded it. never to be equaled again. Cf. Joel 2:2; may suggest that Matthew expected history to continue even after the temple’s destruction.

24:22 cut short. Might mean that the period of tribulation would not last the full number of expected days (cf. Da 12:11–13).

24:26 out in the wilderness. Some Jewish people expected an end-time deliverer or deliverance to take place in the wilderness (see note on 3:3).

24:27 lightning. Appears in ancient sources for something seen far and wide (Ps 97:4). coming of the Son of Man. Evokes Da 7:13–14.

24:28 carcass . . . vultures. Greek and Roman depictions of the aftermath of battles usually included vultures picking clean unburied corpses; the same was true in Scripture (Dt 28:25–26; 1Sa 17:44; Ps 79:1–2; Eze 39:17–20).

24:29 Jesus here echoes Isa 13:10 and probably the Greek version of Isa 34:4; cf. similarly Joel 2:10, 31. The passages in Isaiah graphically depict judgment on specific empires but Jewish people also saw them as presaging global judgments. People in antiquity expected cosmic signs before catastrophic events such as Jerusalem’s fall; Jewish apocalyptic literature expected them especially before the end.

24:30 sign. Some understand this as an ensign or banner (Isa 11:12; 49:22), though the term is used in other texts for heavenly signs (cf., e.g., Rev 12:1; perhaps Ac 2:19–20). mourn. Might allude to Zec 12:10. the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. Quotes Da 7:13.

24:31 he will send his angels. That the Son of Man sends “his angels” indicates his deity (cf. Zec 14:5). trumpet call. One regularly prayed Jewish prayer expected a trumpet when God would deliver his people at the end. Trumpets were used for summons to gather and for military instructions (cf. Isa 27:12–13; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16–17). from one end of the heavens to the other. Because people typically viewed the heavens as a dome over the earth, this would include “from the ends of the earth” (as in Mk 13:27).

24:32 fig tree. See note on Mk 11:13. See also note on Lk 21:29–30.

24:34 this generation. See note on 23:36; the temple was destroyed about 40 years (the rough figure often used as a Biblical generation) after Jesus promised this. The distinction between the specified timing here and the unknown timing of v. 36 may relate to the two distinct questions asked in v. 3.

24:35 my words will never pass away. Jesus equates his words with God’s (Isa 40:8; Zec 1:5–6; cf. Mt 5:18).

24:36 that day or hour. Jewish teachers disagreed among themselves as to whether God had immutably fixed the day of redemption or whether it would depend on human cooperation. Some tried to calculate dates; others regarded such calculations as impossible. Jesus affirms that the Father knows the time (cf. Zec 14:7), though no one else did. He notes some prerequisites for the end (vv. 15, 34) but also that it would catch people by surprise (vv. 37–44).

24:37 days of Noah. Jewish people often viewed the flood as prefiguring the day of judgment. Jesus warns that as the flood caught the people of Noah’s day unprepared (vv. 38–39), so would his coming catch the final generation unprepared (for the lack of signs, see note on vv. 6–14).

24:38 Grooms married and fathers gave in marriage.

24:41 hand mill. Many Galilean homes shared a common courtyard with other families, and housewives worked together at a common millstone. The implication here is that, despite the closest of associations, one is taken (to judgment, v. 39) but the other is spared.

24:45 wise servant. Slaves could be entrusted with great authority; household managers were often high-level slaves.

24:48 staying away a long time. A common story line, appearing also in some Jewish parables, was the temptation posed when a ruler, master or husband went on a long journey. In the stories, the person often returned and caught someone unprepared (v. 50).

24:49 eat and drink with drunkards. Gluttony and drunkenness were often associated with squandering. A slave exploiting fellow slaves and carousing with the master’s resources would be punished harshly.

24:51 cut him to pieces. People regarded dismemberment as a terrible punishment, often inflicted just before or after execution.

25:1 ten virgins. On the evening of a wedding, the bride and bridesmaids would wait at the bride’s parents’ home; the groom would then come with his entourage to escort the bride and her entourage, with music and dancing, to the site of the wedding. Because the exact timing was unpredictable, given the many preparations (and the bride’s relatives haggling over the value of the gifts given them), the bridesmaids needed to stay ready. This particular groom was delayed more than usual (v. 5), but a groom would normally come after dark to escort the bride to the wedding. Women could be married in their early to mid-teens; the bridesmaids were normally virgins who would want to perform their duties well, as they hoped to find husbands themselves soon.

25:4 their lamps. The small lamps of this period could be held in a hand, contained only a limited amount of oil, and emitted only a limited amount of light. More likely in view here are torches, which characterized night weddings throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. In poorer villages the torches might be simple oil-soaked rags wrapped around sticks; some suggest that these sticks would need to be rewrapped every 15 minutes or so.

25:9 may not be enough. If the wise were to share their oil, they might all end up with too little, and the wedding procession would be ruined.

25:10 went in with him to the wedding banquet. For the wedding ceremony, the group would go to the groom’s home (normally his parents’ home); the couple was expected to consummate the marriage that night, but the wedding banquet would last for several days (often seven). The new couple would normally stay at the home of the groom’s parents, sometimes in a room on top of the roof, until the groom could secure a home of his own.

25:11 open the door. The door could be bolted shut, but with visitors coming and going, it would not be bolted for the entirety of the wedding celebration, which might last seven days. Rather, it is bolted against them; the unwise bridesmaids’ negligence has insulted the couple and the other participants in the wedding.

25:12 I don’t know you. A form of repudiation, the purpose of this statement is to treat the hearers as strangers. Most of the community would be welcome at the feast; the five foolish virgins, however, were now alienated from their own community. As with the graphic punishment in 24:51, the severe punishment here is meant to seize the hearers’ attention (see 25:13).

25:14 entrusted his wealth to them. See note on 24:48. High-level slaves often served as managers for household estates, so entrusting wealth to them was not unusual. Other Jewish parables have a similar story line.

25:16 put his money to work. Moneylending was common and was often done through temples, which normally doubled as banks because deposits were considered safe there. Since few people had capital, those who did could lend money at significant interest. Investors thus could receive five or even ten times their investment (cf. Lk 19:16–18); at the very least, they could double their investment.

25:18 hid his master’s money. People often buried money in a strongbox to keep it safe, but it would have been safe with the bankers and also increased (in contrast to vv. 16–17).

25:21 put you in charge of many things. Slaves could be rewarded. Roman law allowed slaves not only to manage estates, but also to earn and hold money and receive bonuses. Some imperial freedmen even wielded more power than many aristocrats.

25:24 you are a hard man. In a manner that would have shocked ancient audiences, the servant insults the master, essentially blaming his master’s harsh character for his own failure to increase his master’s investment.

25:31 sit on his glorious throne. Some Jewish texts portray God delegating judgment to subordinates (such as Abel), but usually judgment, especially on the cosmic scale depicted in this parable, belongs to God alone. In Da 7:13–14, the Son of Man receives eternal authority over all peoples; coming with angels may allude to God’s coming in Zec 14:5 (where the “holy ones” were sometimes understood to be angels).

25:32 sheep . . . goats. Sheep were considered more valuable than goats, were usually raised in greater numbers, and were much more obedient. The OT depicted as shepherds of God’s people Moses and David but especially God himself; God’s people were depicted as sheep. Some report that sheep and goats were typically separated at night because of the animals’ differing preferences.

25:33 his right. Ancient culture honored the right above the left.

25:34 In other early Jewish parables, the King (here, Jesus; v. 31) almost always represents God. Jewish texts often spoke of the righteous “inheriting” the kingdom or the world to come.

25:35 The basic hospitality described here fits expectations for how agents of the kingdom should be treated (10:11, 42).

25:36 sick and you looked after me. Visiting the sick was a common practice. Those in prison could easily die of malnutrition unless friends or family outside brought food; sometimes guards demanded bribes to convey the goods to prisoners, so a visit to a relative in prison became a potentially costly journey.

25:40 brothers and sisters of mine. For the meaning of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, see 12:50; 23:8; for its range of meaning, see note on Ac 9:17. Some see the siblings here as the poor; the idea that how one treats the poor is how one treats God has Biblical warrant (Pr 19:17). Others see the siblings here as Jesus’ agents who bring the gospel; the idea that how one treats agents of God’s message is how one treats God also has Biblical warrant (see notes on 10:40–42). The latter view fits the use of similar language elsewhere in Matthew.

25:41 the eternal fire. See note on 3:12.

26:1–27:66 When biographers wrote about a person whose death was significant (e.g., a martyr), they generally devoted significant space to recounting the person’s death.

26:3 chief priests. Although the OT spoke of a single “chief priest,” Jewish writers by this period described all of the chief priestly families as “chief priests,” in addition to the leading high priest. palace of the high priest. Even had the plans not been for an extrajudicial arrest, making plans in the high priest’s home instead of the Sanhedrin’s normal meeting place violated ancient protocols for justice. A Roman governor appointed Joseph Caiaphas as high priest, and he was politically savvy enough to remain in office from AD 18 to 36. (He is well documented in Josephus, and some scholars believe that his ossuary has been found.) Josephus, the Pharisees and the Essenes all report the abuse of power in this period at the hands of the aristocratic priests.

26:5 riot. Jerusalem’s population increased fivefold during Passover, making it difficult to control the crowds; many people died by trampling when riots occurred under such conditions.

26:6 Bethany. A village on the Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem; Jesus had friends there (21:17; Jn 11:1), and Jerusalem was too crowded at this season for everyone to find easy lodging within the city walls.

26:7 alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. Natural alabaster (here likely calcite) is translucent, sometimes banded, and can resemble white marble. Soft and easily carved, it was also easily broken. People often stored expensive ointments in alabaster flasks, but because they were sealed to keep the ointments from evaporating, they might need to be broken to release the ointment. As to the expense and the sacrifice, there is a possibility that this could have been her dowry, but it also could have been an inheritance from her father (if there were no male heirs) or her husband; or she could have been one of the rare women to have her own resources. Such long-necked containers have been found in tombs from this period near Jerusalem; people apparently lavished the ointment on deceased loved ones. This expensive perfume may have been planned for a funeral, either a future one or one canceled because of Jesus’ healing ministry. Providing a guest with oil to anoint his head could be simple courtesy, but one could also anoint a king in this way (2Ki 9:6).

26:8 Ancient historians sometimes taught lessons by contrasting the behavior of different individuals. Here the woman (v. 7), disciples (v. 8) and Judas (v. 15) offer contrasting views of what Jesus is worth.

26:9 money given to the poor. Some pious Jews took extra consideration for the poor at festivals (cf. Tobit 2:2; in the Mishnah see Pesahim 9:11; 10:1).

26:11 Jesus alludes to Dt 15:11, the context of which requires caring for the poor (Dt 15:1–10). Jesus is not minimizing care for the poor but recognizes that his own honor should come before everything else.

26:12 For the use of flasks of perfume to honor the bodies of the deceased, see note on v. 7.

26:13 throughout the world. Other ancient writers used similar hyperbole to speak of the hope or expectation of widespread fame.

26:15 willing to give me. Ancient ethics abhorred those who betrayed friendship or other loyalties for money. thirty pieces of silver. The price of a slave specified by the law (Ex 21:32, subsequent inflation notwithstanding); it was also the wage paid to the reliable shepherd of God’s people in Zec 11:12–13 (recalled in Mt 27:9–10). Each silver coin was worth four drachmas; 30 pieces of silver thus represented more than 100 days’ wages for an average worker. Cf. the earlier disciple in 2Ki 5:26–27.

26:17 By this period, Passover was counted as the beginning of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The group would need to eat Passover within the city walls (a custom based on Dt 16:7), despite the crowding. Preparing Passover required, not only finding a place, but also procuring a sacrificed lamb in the temple (unless already procured by the host) as well as bitter herbs (cf. Ex 12:8), unleavened bread and fruit. Jesus’ group of disciples gathers for Passover the way a family would.

26:20 evening. The Passover meal was always eaten in the evening, after sundown; it had to be finished by midnight. reclining at the table. Although Jewish people could sit for other meals, for banquets the men reclined, like Greeks. Men supported themselves on their left elbow, leaving the right hand free to take food from the table.

26:21 betray. In antiquity, a disciple’s behavior reflected on the teacher, and a follower’s betrayal would bring shame to a leader.

26:23 dipped . . . with me. The person of highest status should dip first; if dipping with Jesus means at the same time, the action probably reflects disrespect. Ideally three or four people would recline on each large couch, with bowls of bitter herbs (cf. Nu 9:11) for dipping bread in front of each group. Whether or not such couches were available on this occasion, Judas was undoubtedly reclining close to Jesus (cf. Jn 13:26).

26:24 woe to that man. Although some Jewish people focused more on God’s sovereignty and others more on human choice, most accepted both without viewing them as contradictory. It would be better for him if he had not been born. Widely used by both Jews and Greeks, it appears in earlier Scripture (Job 3:3–26; Jer 20:14–18).

26:26 See note on Lk 22:19.

26:27 took a cup. Jesus would lift the cup as he spoke about it. Tradition suggests that the wine used for Passover was red.

26:28 my blood of the covenant. Jesus alludes to Ex 24:8, where the first covenant with Israel was inaugurated by sacrificial blood. Because crucifixion did not require blood (though blood was shed in Jesus’ case), the mention of blood highlights the sacrificial character of the death, as in Exodus. Presumably the covenant here, in contrast with Exodus, is the “new covenant” (Jer 31:31, as in Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25), a promise celebrated in some other ancient Jewish circles. poured out for many. May evoke Isa 53:12 (see note on 20:28). The thought of consuming blood revolted Jewish people (e.g., Lev 17:14), but Jesus is not speaking literally.

26:29 I will not drink . . . until. Jewish people often offered vows of abstinence, promising not to partake of a particular food or drink until such-and-such a matter occurred. Because the fourth and final cup of Passover wine was drunk after the closing hymn, which occurs in v. 30, the present cup is probably the third one.

26:30 sung a hymn. After the meal, Jewish people would sing the remaining psalms of the Hallel. (The Hallel consisted of Ps 113–118, but they might sing the first several psalms earlier in the evening.) A stairway led down to the Kidron Valley, from which they would then ascend the Mount of Olives.

26:31 In its context Zec 13:7 speaks of false prophets, but the principle of sheep scattering without a shepherd is a wider one (cf. the probable allusion to Eze 34:5 in Mt 9:36), and Matthew may also be thinking of the faithful shepherd in Zec 11:9–13 (to which he alludes in Mt 26:15 [see note there]). The Dead Sea Scrolls also seem to apply Zec 13:7 in a more positive way (see Damascus Document 19.5–9).

26:39 this cup. See note on 20:22, 23; cf. 26:27–28.

26:40 sleeping. It was customary to stay up late speaking of God’s acts of redemption on the night of Passover. The disciples, who may have often stayed awake longer on other Passover nights, fall asleep on this one. Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour? People valued vigilance (for night watchmen and the like), especially when danger was near.

26:47 armed with swords and clubs. Armed men sent from the local elite were probably the Levite temple guards; Jerusalem’s leaders had no authority over Roman soldiers. Some later Jewish traditions complained that the servants of the high priest in this period used clubs when abusing people.

26:48 kiss. See note on Lk 22:47.

26:52 all who draw the sword will die by the sword. This statement of Jesus resembles a Jewish proverb; if the resemblance is not coincidence, he may be drawing on a familiar expression to make his point.

26:53 twelve legions of angels. A legion had about 6,000 soldiers. The entire Roman province of Syria (which included Judea) normally had only three legions altogether (Josephus Antiquities 17.286).

26:57 Caiaphas. See note on v. 3.

26:60 false witnesses. False testimony was common in Gentile trials; some Greek rhetorical handbooks even taught people how to provide the most persuasive false witness. Jewish law heavily emphasized careful cross-examination; where witnesses contradicted one another too severely, the case should be thrown out. In a capital case, witnesses found to be false were to be executed (Dt 19:16–21). two came forward. This is significant; two was the minimum number of witnesses allowed for acceptable testimony.

26:61 rebuild it in three days. Some Jewish people expected God to provide a new temple. It is clear, however, that the testimony here rests on a misinterpretation of Jesus (see Jn 2:19).

26:63 I charge you under oath. This was a regular formula requiring people to testify. the Messiah. He would also be the king of the Jews; hence, Jesus’ response to the high priest’s question would prove useful in a charge of treason (27:11). Son of God. A Messianic title.

26:64 the Son of Man . . . coming on the clouds of heaven. Recalls Da 7:13. sitting at the right hand. Recalls Ps 110:1. Jesus used both of these passages earlier (22:44; 24:30). Mighty One. Here is literally “power,” sometimes used in Jewish sources as a circumlocution for God.

26:65 tore his clothes . . . blasphemy. People tore their clothes for mourning, and in Jewish tradition hearing blasphemy was a mandatory cause for mourning in this way. Later rabbis restricted blasphemy technically to cursing with God’s sacred name, but most people used this term more broadly. Caiaphas can construe Jesus’ words as blasphemy only if he implies that Jesus in v. 64 has associated himself with God in a way that diminishes God’s honor.

26:66 According to later tradition, the high priest would ask for the verdict and (much less likely for this period and an informal hearing) members would respond from youngest to eldest.

26:67 The abuse reported here is the gravest violation of legal ethics for a trial.

26:68 They mock Jesus as a false prophet as well as Messiah.

26:72 I don’t know the man! Regarding oaths, see notes on 5:33–35. I don’t know. A way of repudiating someone (see note on 25:12).

26:73 accent. Judeans thought that Galileans did not correctly distinguish their gutturals. Judeans held prejudice against Galileans as comparatively backward; in this case, they would connect Peter with his Galilean teacher.

27:1 Early in the morning. Governors, like other members of the Roman elite, met clients in the morning, from sunrise until 11 a.m. Whatever else could have been on the docket, local municipal leaders would be admitted first.

27:2 Pilate. He was governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36; he may have remained in power to this point because Sejanus, whom many scholars think was his patron, was close to the emperor, though Pilate’s position would have become tenuous after Sejanus was executed in AD 31. His relationship with the local leaders had involved conflict from the start, from bringing imperial standards into the city to redirecting money from the temple treasury. His slaughter of Samaritans proved too controversial and led to Rome removing him from office in AD 36.

27:4 betrayed innocent blood. God avenged innocent blood (Dt 21:8; 2Ki 24:3–4); here many share in the guilt yet try to pass it to others (see v. 24).

27:5 hanged himself. The penalty for false witnesses in capital cases was death (Dt 19:16–21). Many people regarded hanging as a dishonorable form of suicide (cf. 2Sa 17:23, note on Ac 16:27). Most Jewish people rejected suicide as immoral under most circumstances. In the usual ancient view, hanging himself within the temple would have desecrated it.

27:6 blood money. Irony was common in ancient literature, and Matthew’s audience would certainly understand the irony of elite priests being more concerned with the temple’s purity than with a judicial murder that was currently underway.

27:7 potter’s field. Possibly Matthew’s audience knew enough Hebrew to know that the Hebrew term for “potter” (see vv. 7, 10) could be read as “treasury” by changing vowels, as ancient rabbis often did to impress a point upon their listeners.

27:9–10 Jewish teachers linked texts based on shared key words or phrases, and sometimes conflated similar texts so that one would read one text in light of the other. By using words from Zechariah but the name of Jeremiah, Matthew may want Biblically literate hearers to link the passages (cf. Jer 32:6–14, which is similar to Zec 11:12–13; perhaps also Jer 19:10–13). Zec 11:13 adds that the money was thrown to the potter “at the house of the LORD,” as Matthew’s audience may have realized.

27:11 king of the Jews. For Romans, such a charge meant treason; only the emperor could grant the title “king.” In the provinces, the usual penalty for treason was death by the slow torture of crucifixion.

27:14 made no reply. Some accounts of Jewish martyrs included their refusal to respond to their persecutors; cf. also Isa 53:7.

27:15 governor’s custom . . . to release a prisoner. Customs similar to this one existed in various locations; governors often chose to honor the precedents set by their predecessors, although no law required this practice.

27:17 A governor might not wish to appear too lenient, a weakness that his subjects might then exploit; Roman culture valued firmness. A governor’s concern for order often took precedence over individual matters of justice, especially when the accused were not Roman citizens. Pilate apparently calculates that the crowd will select (cf. v. 15) Jesus, a popular Messianic figure whom Pilate deems harmless, over Barabbas, thus freeing him from the obligation to release the latter.

27:19 judge’s seat. This seat was at Herod the Great’s former palace, where Roman governors stayed when they visited Jerusalem. in a dream. People took dreams very seriously (see note on 1:20); God had revealed truth to Gentile officials this way (Ge 41:25; Da 2:28).

27:20 persuaded the crowd. Ancient literature often reports leaders swaying fickle crowds. Whereas the crowds in Galilee knew Jesus, most of those present on this occasion would have been Judeans who did not know him directly.

27:24 washed his hands . . . I am innocent. Jerusalemites had forced Pilate to back down previously. Indeed, when Pilate first became governor, under cover of night he brought into Jerusalem the standards that Jewish people regarded as idols. The crowds forced him to back down. Washing hands was a way of disclaiming responsibility for innocent blood (Dt 21:6–7). It is your responsibility! Claiming to be compelled by others did not truly relieve a leader of responsibility, however (cf. 27:4; Jer 38:5).

27:25 His blood is on us and on our children! Such expressions invoked curses against themselves if they were wrong (cf., e.g., Jer 42:5). Probably the judgment invited here was fulfilled in AD 70 (see note on 23:36).

27:26 flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. A governor pronouncing sentence would typically say something like, “You will mount the cross.” Prisoners were normally stripped and publicly flogged before execution. Whereas Jewish law allowed a maximum of 39 lashes with a whip of calf leather, Roman practice allowed floggings until the flogger grew tired. A Roman soldier’s flagellum was a leather whip embedded with bone, iron, or metal spikes at the end. The instrument of torture would slice open the flesh, sometimes leaving it in bloody strips or exposing sinews and bones, and occasionally killing the victim before crucifixion.

27:27 Praetorium. The governor’s residence was in Herod the Great’s former palace in the upper city of Jerusalem. Several hundred soldiers comprised the Roman cohort in Jerusalem’s Antonia Fortress; the term here could imply that number or a smaller force within it.

27:28 stripped him. Naked crucifixion was meant to shame the victim, but other mockery and ridicule commonly accompanied execution. scarlet. Color gradations in Greek differed from those in modern English; the range of the term translated “purple” in Mk 15:17 and Jn 19:2 sometimes included “scarlet.” Soldiers wore red cloaks, but when faded the cloak could resemble “purple,” like the cloaks of Hellenistic princes.

27:29 crown of thorns. Hellenistic vassal princes wore garlands; soldiers may have used an available shrub such as acanthus to weave a wreath for Jesus. Imitating Hellenistic garlands, the soldiers may have intended the thorns to point especially outward, but some of the thorns would nevertheless turn inward, scraping the scalp. Scalp wounds bleed particularly profusely. staff. Some suggest that the staff was a bamboo cane used for military floggings. Hail. Equivalent to the Latin Ave; it was a common address to rulers. Most of Rome’s soldiers in Jerusalem were Syrian auxiliaries; in many locations, Syrians and Jews often clashed. king of the Jews. In ridiculing Jesus in this way, the soldiers are also probably mocking Jewish people more generally.

27:30 spit on him. Spit was used to spite, and Jewish people deemed the spittle of Gentiles to be impure.

27:32 Cyrene. In North Africa included; its population included many local Libyans, resident Greeks and Jews. Simon. Simon was a Greek name very commonly used by Jews (because it resembled the patriarchal name Simeon). His coming to Jerusalem probably suggests that he is Jewish by faith, whatever his ethnic background. they forced him to carry the cross. Normally the condemned person was forced to publicly carry the horizontal beam (the patibulum) of his own cross out to the site of his execution. If Jesus were too weak from the beating to undertake this task, however, Rome’s soldiers had the authority to draft a bystander to perform labor for them (see note on 5:41).

27:33 the place of the skull. The location may have earned this name because so many prisoners died there. A proposed site for the crucifixion dating back to the nineteenth century (Gordon’s Calvary), deemed so partly because it was shaped like a skull at that time, is not relevant for first-century topography.

27:34 wine to drink, mixed with gall. Wine had pain-killing properties (Pr 31:6–7); many think that myrrh (Mk 15:23) also had such properties, but Matthew emphasizes instead gall. Gall was known for its bitterness and appears in Ps 69:21, a psalm of a righteous sufferer, in a context cited by the Gospels in connection with Jesus’ death.

27:35 crucified him. Romans crucified people naked; Jewish people regarded nakedness as a special shame. Those hanging on crosses could not chase away flies from their wounds, could not restrain their bodily wastes for the hours or days it took them to finish dying, and could not protect themselves from heat or cold. Some may have died from asphyxiation, but people usually died more quickly from shock (due to blood loss) or dehydration. divided up his clothes. Recalls Ps 22:18, but also fits historical practice. Roman execution squads (typically about four men) had rights to whatever clothing or other personal effects remained on the prisoner. casting lots. Soldiers used dice and other means to gamble.

27:37 written charge. See note on Lk 23:38.

27:39 shaking their heads. See Ps 22:7. Romans preferred to crucify offenders in public places, often on major roads, where passersby would see in graphic detail what happens to those who resist Rome.

27:43 Perhaps unwittingly, Jesus’ mockers virtually repeat the idea of Ps 22:8—the Biblical words of those mocking a righteous sufferer. Their words here and in v. 40 also evoke a passage in the widely read Jewish work Wisdom of Solomon (2:18): mockers charge that if the righteous person genuinely is God’s son, God will rescue him. Ironically, they speak inverted truth: in order to save others, Jesus must choose not to save himself (v. 42).

27:45 darkness. Often appears as a judgment in the OT (e.g., Ex 10:21–23), including darkness at noon (Am 8:9).

27:46 Jesus quotes Ps 22:1, a prayer of a righteous sufferer that begins by expressing abandonment but goes on to celebrate God’s vindication (Ps 22:22–24). Although Jesus prays in the vernacular Aramaic in Mark (Eloi), in Matthew the prayer is in Hebrew (Eli), as was customary in Jewish prayers (and the original psalm). The Hebrew Eli more readily explains how hearers thought he was calling for “Elijah” (Eliyahu; v. 47).

27:47 He’s calling Elijah. See note on v. 46. Elijah was expected before the Lord’s coming (Mal 4:5–6), but in rabbinic tradition he also was thought to act like an angel and help rabbis in need.

27:48 wine vinegar. Cheaper than normal wine and more readily assuaged thirst than water, it was widely used by the nonelite, including workers and soldiers. staff. Most Judean reeds would have worked for the purpose of the staff here (the term most frequently means “reed”). Cf. Ps 69:21, especially in conjunction with gall in v. 34.

27:51 curtain . . . was torn in two. In later rabbinic tradition signs accompanied the death of the righteous. The veil torn here is probably the inner one; priests would be offering the afternoon/evening sacrifice at this time (cf. v. 46), so would be present in the sanctuary to witness the event. This act probably implies the departure of God’s presence from the temple, prefiguring its destruction (cf. Eze 9:3; 10:4–18). Some believe that the point also includes new access to the Most Holy Place through Jesus’ sacrifice—that access to God no longer required an intermediary (cf. Heb 6:19–20; 9:3; 10:19–20). earth shook. Most people viewed earthquakes as divine activity, often as judgment or as signs warning of it.

27:52 many holy people . . . were raised to life. Gentiles could view apparitions of the dead as frightening portents of harm to follow. Jewish people might have viewed the resuscitation of numerous long-dead people as a miraculous prefiguring of the end-time resurrection, though this is the only occasion on which such an experience is recorded.

27:54 Son of God. Gentiles viewed many figures, especially heroes and the emperor, as sons of gods; recognizing Jesus as Jewish, the Gentile execution squad recognizes him as the son of the one true God of Israel.

27:55 Many women were there. Women providing financial patronage were not unusual, though the practice could be criticized by a movement’s detractors. That the women followed Jesus, however, may have been viewed by many outsiders as scandalous (see note on Lk 8:2–3). Women were not usually subject to suspicion the way that men were; nevertheless, that Jesus was followed to the cross and tomb by women would be seen as a courageous contrast to the male disciples who were mostly in hiding.

27:56 The presence of at least two women named Mary here is not surprising; sources show that it was by far the most common name for Jewish women in this era.

27:58 asked for Jesus’ body. Romans usually expected those executed for treason to be left for vultures or dogs. Given the sensitivities of all Jews, however (Dt 21:22–23), Pilate would probably grant them the body; it had been, after all, at the urging of the local elite that he had ordered Jesus executed. Yet even Jewish executions normally led to dishonorable burials, initially in a grave for public criminals (but allowing subsequent reinterment in a family tomb). Exceptions could be made, and family members would not be punished for requesting the body. For a member of the elite to request the body, however, was to take a large risk: unless acting specifically at the behest of the Sanhedrin, he could be associated with Jesus’ alleged treason. Moreover, officials sometimes liked to pin such charges on members of the elite so that they could confiscate their property. Joseph thus acts courageously.

27:60 new tomb. When the condemned were buried at all, they normally received dishonorable burials (see note on v. 58), but Joseph insists on providing Jesus an honorable burial in the only family tomb quickly available—his own (cf. 1Ki 13:30–31; Isa 53:12). Many of the tombs in this area belonged to people of wealth; the entrance to such a tomb was often a disk-shaped rock, a yard/meter in diameter, requiring multiple people to move it. Such a stone lay in a groove but could not be moved from inside. The early Christian tradition of the site of the tomb is at least as old as the decade following Jesus’ interment. Tradition is unanimous, and custom required, that Jesus be buried outside the city walls, but the site is within the expanded walls of Jerusalem from the time of AD 41–43; the site is therefore older than that. The tombs on this site (the Catholic site of the Holy Sepulchre) date to the period in question; by the second century, a pagan emperor sought to deliberately desecrate the site. (By contrast, the Garden Tomb favored by some Protestants is a recent historical guess, belongs to the wrong period, and lacks any claim to authenticity.)

27:62 after Preparation Day. The Sabbath—normally not a day that the leaders should be doing business with the governor!

27:66 putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Because Pilate probably would not hand Roman soldiers over to the local elite, he may be granting them permission to station members of their own Levite guards there. Others suggest that they would not need permission to station their own guards and believe instead that Pilate granted a small detachment of his soldiers. The leaders themselves would not wish to incur uncleanness because of the corpse or remain near the tomb on the Sabbath.

28:1 The resurrection narratives vary in length in the different Gospels; ancient writers liked to make optimal use of the entire length of their scroll, and sometimes simply ran out of room to include more detail. at dawn. The Sabbath technically ends at sundown on what we call Saturday night, but the women would not easily and safely find the tomb before first light.

28:2 earthquake. See note on 27:51. rolled back the stone. See note on 27:60. Humans could not easily sit on such a disk-shaped stone.

28:3 like lightning. Glorious angels appear in both Scripture (e.g., Da 10:5–6) and Jewish tradition.

28:4 became like dead men. A dramatic experience of the supernatural could sometimes cause one to collapse without strength (Da 10:8–9).

28:7 tell his disciples. Both Jewish and Roman law normally regarded a woman’s testimony as of limited value, treating women as unstable (see, e.g., Justinian, Institutes 2.10.6; Josephus, Antiquities 4.219; in the Mishnah see Yebamot 15:1, 8–10; 16:7; ketubbot 1:6–9; in the Tosefta see Yebamot 14:10). It is to the women, however, that God’s agents first entrust the testimony of Jesus’ resurrection.

28:12–15 we will satisfy him. Bribery was illegal but extremely common; the first-century Jewish historian Josephus reports its practice both by Roman governors in Judea and the high priests.

28:13 stole him away. There is no reason for Matthew to mention as widely circulated a charge that was not widely circulated, yet the guards’ report is not very plausible. Tomb robbers were not common in Judea, but when they did strike they looted goods, not bodies. Guards would not sleep through the commotion of someone rolling away the stone, and guards who did sleep on duty faced severe penalties—in a case such as this one, potentially death. Their implausible falsehood contrasts with the report of the women commissioned in vv. 7, 10.

28:18 All authority. Jesus’ universal authority (going beyond the earthly authority noted in 9:6) may evoke Da 7:13–14; cf. Isa 9:6–7. His role exceeds that of any human figure in Jewish sources, including David and his royal line.

28:19 make disciples. Jewish teachers lectured groups of Jewish disciples, but Jesus here commissions his followers to convert and train disciples from all peoples, climaxing a theme that runs through Matthew’s Gospel (see 1:3–6; 2:1–2; 4:15; 8:5–13; 10:15; 11:21–23; 12:41–42; 15:22–28; 24:14; 27:54). Although many Jewish people welcomed Gentile converts, they lacked an overt program of missionizing them, such as we find here. baptizing them. Jewish people used baptism when converting Gentiles, so it provided an easily understood form for expressing conversion. name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jewish people considered the Holy Spirit to be God’s Spirit, thus divine (though not normally personal, as here); they regularly called God “Father” in many prayers; for Jesus to be listed here between the Father and the divine Spirit implies Jesus’ deity.

28:20 teaching them to obey everything. Discipleship (v. 19) always included teaching. with you always. Jewish people considered only God omnipresent; Jesus thus appears here as divine (see 1:23; 18:20).