Matthew

Canonical Status

The authoritative status of the Gospel of Matthew was recognized as early as the beginning of the second century ce, and Matthew has always figured as the first book of the New Testament canon. This position is explicable for several reasons. First, as the Gospel that draws most extensively on the Jewish scriptures, Matthew links the Old and New Testaments by showing how prophecies from the former—including “fulfillment citations”—were realized in the person of Jesus. Second, Matthew was the most important Gospel for the early church and, until at least the end of the second century, the most influential writing in the New Testament. Its arrangement of the teaching of Jesus into five discourses, especially the Sermon on the Mount (chs 5–7), made it especially useful for the catechetical instruction of converts. In addition, its inclusion of narratives about Jesus's birth and resurrection offered a more comprehensive biographical shape to Jesus's life than the Gospel of Mark (which was likely Matthew's main source). Finally, unlike the other two Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of Matthew was traditionally attributed to Matthew, one of Jesus's actual twelve disciples (cf. 10.3). Mark was regarded as a follower of the apostle Peter, and Luke of the apostle Paul.

Authorship, Date, and Place of Composition

Judgments about the authorship of this Gospel hinge significantly on which view of the synoptic problem is accepted. The following discussion accepts the two-document hypothesis as the most satisfactory solution to understanding how the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke relate to each other. On this reading, the Gospel of Mark was the author's chief source, together with a hypothetical sayings-source that he shared with Luke (designated “Q”), and some 210 verses unique to Matthew (“M”).

From the early second century the Gospel's author was identified as Matthew, one of the twelve disciples. This attribution to Matthew appears to be signaled by 9.9, where Mark's reference to Levi, the tax collector (Mk 2.13–17), is changed to Matthew, the tax collector. This change could be a subtle allusion to the Gospel's author, and for centuries it was regarded as such. If, however, the Evangelist's main sources were the Gospel of Mark and Q, it is difficult to explain why one of the twelve disciples should be so heavily reliant on a Gospel that was thought to have been written by someone who was not one of Jesus's disciples. Wouldn't Matthew have had a rich store of experiences to draw upon? It is, of course, possible that some of the Gospel's unique materials (M) do originate with Matthew, the disciple, but most scholars hold that the author/editor is someone other than the disciple Matthew (even if, as here, he is referred to as Matthew out of convenience).

The date of its composition is largely based on inferences from Matthew's Gospel itself. Many scholars see in Matthew 22.7 an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 ce, which would necessitate a post-70 dating. Others, however, interpret 22.7 as a prediction by Jesus of the Temple's demise that employs stock prophetic images of judgment. On this reading, Matthew could be earlier, with its date presupposing only the existence of Q and the Gospel of Mark. Depending on when these two documents are dated, Matthew could conceivably be as early as the 50s or 60s ce. At the other end of the time frame, citations of Matthew's Gospel in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, who died in the early second century, indicate that the Gospel must have been written before the end of the first century.

The Gospel's place of composition is also based on inferences from the text. Matthew 4:25 mentions that Jesus's reputation “extended to Syria”—a passage that the evangelist has added to Mark's account. Its deliberate inclusion could be taken as a clue to its origin. Since Syrian Antioch—the third-largest city in the Roman Empire—boasted sizable Christian and Jewish communities, it is generally regarded as the likeliest candidate for the provenance of the Gospel. Nevertheless, the inference is far from certain, and various other locales such as Galilee, the Decapolis, and Sepphoris, a Greco-Roman city located near Nazareth, are also distinct possibilities.

Literary Form and Structure

As noted earlier, Matthew's Gospel has a strong biographical character and shows affinities with the ancient Greek literary form of the bios (“life”). The bios differs from modern biographies in its focus on episodes that reveal the underlying character of its subject. Thus, rather than illustrating the psychological development of Jesus, Matthew's bios consistently shows Jesus's words and deeds to be characteristic of the humble and compassionate Messiah. The Gospel displays other literary contours, the most distinctive of which are five discourses by Jesus. Matthew contains more of Jesus's teaching than any other Gospel (approximately 43 percent compared to Mark: 20 percent; Luke: 37 percent; and John: 34 percent), much of it presented in these discourses. Each one ends with the distinctive phrase, “when Jesus had finished saying these things …” or a variant of it. Taken together, these discourses present five different aspects of Jesus's teaching. The number probably echoes the five books of the Torah/Pentateuch. The first discourse, the Sermon on the Mount (chs 5–7), is justly famous as an encapsulation of the “entry requirements of the kingdom,” while the other discourses provide an overview of the kingdom's progress: they address preaching about the kingdom (ch 10), its mysteries (ch 13), its application to the church (ch 18), and finally, its implications for the last days and final judgment (chs 24–25). These discourses are linked with narrative episodes, so that the overall Gospel consists of alternating accounts of Jesus's public ministry and his discourses, all framed by an “infancy” and a resurrection narrative.

As mentioned earlier, “fulfillment citations” are also a notable literary feature of the Gospel. Matthew is the evangelist who references the Jewish scriptures most frequently, alluding to some passages and specifically quoting others. Among the latter are approximately ten fulfillment citations (1.23; 2.15; 2.18; 2.23; 4.15–16; 8.17; 12.18–21; 13.35; 21.5; 27.9–10; cf. 2.5; 13.14; 24.15) that follow a formula that typically reads: “This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet.” These citations are particularly prominent at the beginning of Jesus's ministry and focus on how Jesus's person and his actions were anticipated in Israel's scriptures.

Interpretation

Matthew can be regarded as the first interpreter of Mark's Gospel, which he adapted to address issues confronting his own church(es). He is the only evangelist to use the word “church” (Gk ekklesia, 16.18; 18.17) and to address questions of church authority and discipline (ch 18). The evangelist has overlaid the situation of Christians in his day onto the story of Jesus so that Jesus's words and actions can be seen to apply both to the time of Jesus and to believers a half century later. This dual focus helps to explain one of the Gospel's major anomalies, namely, its conflicted portrayal of Jewish piety and its religious leaders. Matthew's high regard for the Jewish Torah (5.17–20; 23.1–3), its extensive use of prophecies from the Jewish scriptures, and occasional disdain for non-Jews (5.47; 6.7,32; 16.17) all suggest a positive assessment of Judaism. On the other hand, the Gospel displays a strident and unrelenting condemnation of the Jewish leadership—the chief priests, elders, Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes.

In Matthew, these groups are indiscriminately paired with each other in a manner inconsistent with the historical distinctions that existed between these groups in Jesus's day. The chief priests would have included the current high priest and a larger priestly college based in Jerusalem that was comprised largely of elders, including many Sadducees and some Pharisees. These two groups were highly influential in the Second Temple period, though little is known with certainty about either. The Pharisees of Jesus's day appear to have been a Jewish reform movement, advocating stringent observance of the Law and their own “oral Torah.” The Sadducees were likely aristocratic descendants of Zadok the priest (2 Sam 8.17) who considered the written, but not the “oral Torah” binding on Israel. In contrast to the Pharisees (Acts 23.6–10), they did not believe in angels, the spirit, or resurrection (Acts 23:8; cf. Mt 22.22–23). The scribes were not a distinct religious group, but a loose assemblage of lawyers, teachers, and interpreters of the Torah (Sir 39.1–11). The Gospel routinely condemns the Pharisees as hypocrites (e.g., 23.5–7), and the vehemence of this condemnation has led many scholars to suggest that their portrayal reflects later tensions between Matthew's church and emergent Rabbinic Judaism. In other words, the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees reflects tensions that emerged some fifty years after Jesus's death.

The crucifixion narrative displays this same telescoping of perspectives. Responsibility for Jesus's passion is shifted from Pontius Pilate and the Romans to the Jewish people and their leadership (27.20–25). The horrific pronouncement “His blood be on us and on our children!” (27.25) is Matthew's way of attributing the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 ce to Israel's rejection of Jesus. The vehemence with which the evangelist expresses such sentiments was likely intended to shock both Jewish Christians and their Jewish neighbors into reconsidering the claims made by the Gospel, and to discount rival claims being advanced by the leadership of emergent Rabbinic Judaism, such as the Jewish explanation for the resurrection of Jesus (Mt 27.52–66; 28.11–15).

While such strident rhetoric was characteristic of debates between groups in the first century ce, its longterm consequences have been disastrous. Subsequent non-Jewish Christians interpreted the Gospel as a warrant to exact retribution from Jews for the death of Jesus and the persecution of his first followers. A proper reading of the Gospel, therefore, requires being attuned to the polemical context in which it was written, and recognizing that the conflict between emerging Rabbinic Judaism and the smaller Jewish Christian minority ceased being relevant nearly two thousand years ago.

The type of methodology employed in this commentary is known as the historical-critical method. The details furnished in the notes are primarily intended to elucidate the context and historical and geographical background of the text. Readers should be aware that there are also other methodological approaches used by biblical scholars to interpret the Gospel, such as narrative criticism and social-scientific criticism. The former uses literary-critical approaches to analyze Matthew as a unified story, while the latter draws on the disciplines of anthropology and sociology to reconstruct the social world Jesus would have inhabited, and the societal values that would have been operative in his day.

J. R. C. Cousland

1

An account of the genealogy^a of Jesus the Messiah,^b the son of David, the son of Abraham.

²Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, ⁴and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,^{c 8}and Asaph^c the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,^d and Amos^d the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹²And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.^a

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah,^a fourteen generations.

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah^b took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;^c and he named him Jesus.

2

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men^d from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,^e and have come to pay him homage.” ³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^a was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd^a my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise men^b and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” ⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,^c until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped,^d they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

¹³Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴Then Joseph^e got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,^b he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.^b17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead.” ²¹Then Joseph^e got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

3

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”^{a 3}This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.’”

⁴Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“I baptize you with^b water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with^b the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,^c with whom I am well pleased.”

4

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

  but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy

city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

  and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

  and serve only him.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

¹²Now when Jesus^a heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

  on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

¹⁶the people who sat in darkness

  have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death

  light has dawned.”

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”^b

¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³Jesus^c went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news^d of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. ²⁵And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

5

When Jesus^a saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^b on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,^a not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks^b one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister,^c you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult^d a brother or sister,^e you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell^f of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister^g has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister,^g and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court^h with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.^f30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.^f

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.^a

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,^b what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

6

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^c

⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^c

⁷“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹“Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

  hallowed be your name.

  ¹⁰Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

  on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.^a

¹²And forgive us our debts,

  as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And do not bring us to the time of trial,^b

  but rescue us from the evil one.^c

¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^d

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust^e consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust^e consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; ²³but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.^f

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,^g or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^{h 28}And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of Godⁱ and his^j righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

³⁴“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

7

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. ²For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. ³Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's^a eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your neighbor,^b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's^a eye.

⁶“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

⁷“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? ¹⁰Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

¹²“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy^c that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will know them by their fruits.

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ ²³Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

²⁴“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

²⁸Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, ²⁹for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

8

When Jesus^a had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; ²and there was a leper^b who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” ³He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy^b was cleansed. ⁴Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁵When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him ⁶and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” ⁷And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” ⁸The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” ¹⁰When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one^c in Israel have I found such faith. ¹¹I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹²while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.

¹⁴When Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; ¹⁵he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. ¹⁶That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

¹⁸Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. ¹⁹A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ²¹Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ²²But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

²³And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” ²⁶And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. ²⁷They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

²⁸When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,^a two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” ³²And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. ³³The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. ³⁴Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.

9

¹And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.

²And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” ³Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” ⁴But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? ⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” ⁷And he stood up and went to his home. ⁸When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.

⁹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

¹⁰And as he sat at dinner^a in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting^b with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

¹⁴Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,^c but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

¹⁸While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue^d came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, ²¹for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. ²³When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶And the report of this spread throughout that district.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” ²⁸When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.” ³¹But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.

³²After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. ³³And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” ³⁴But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”^e

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

10

Then Jesus^a summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{b 4}Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’^{c 8}Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,^d cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{a 29}Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

³⁶and one's foes will be members of one's own household.

³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

11

Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.

²When John heard in prison what the Messiah^b was doing, he sent word by his^c disciples ³and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

⁴Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers^a are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. ⁶And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? Someone^b dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. ⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet?^c Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

  who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^d and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵Let anyone with ears^e listen!

¹⁶“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

¹⁷‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

  we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; ¹⁹the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”^f

²⁰Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum,

will you be exalted to heaven?

  No, you will be brought down to Hades.

For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I thank^a you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.^{b 27}All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

12

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” ³He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? ⁶I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

⁹He left that place and entered their synagogue; ¹⁰a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. ¹¹He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹²How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

¹⁵When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds^c followed him, and he cured all of them, ¹⁶and he ordered them not to make him known. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

  my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

  and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not wrangle or cry aloud,

  nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰He will not break a bruised reed

  or quench a smoldering wick

until he brings justice to victory.

  ²¹And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

²²Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. ²³All the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.” ²⁵He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists^a cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. ³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

³³“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. ³⁶I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; ³⁷for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! ⁴²The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

⁴³“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”^{a 48}But to the one who had told him this, Jesus^b replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

13

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹Let anyone with ears^c listen!”

¹⁰Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets^d of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹²For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ¹³The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ ¹⁴With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

‘You will indeed listen, but never understand,

  and you will indeed look, but never perceive.

¹⁵For this people's heart has grown dull,

  and their ears are hard of hearing,

    and they have shut their eyes;

    so that they might not look with their eyes,

  and listen with their ears,

and understand with their heart and turn—

    and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

¹⁸“Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.^{a 22}As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

²⁴He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³²it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with^b three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

³⁴Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. ³⁵This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:^c

“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;

I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”^d

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears^e listen!

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” ⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

⁵⁴He came to his hometown and began to teach the people^a in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? ⁵⁵Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” ⁵⁷And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” ⁵⁸And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

14

At that time Herod the ruler^b heard reports about Jesus; ²and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^{c 4}because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵Though Herod^d wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod ⁷so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; ¹⁰he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,^a for the wind was against them. ²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind,^b he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

³⁴When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, ³⁶and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

15

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said,^c ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’^d then that person need not honor the father.^{e 6}So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word^a of God. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

⁸‘This people honors me with their lips,

  but their hearts are far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me,

  teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

¹⁰Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.^b And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

²⁹After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. ³⁰Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, ³¹so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. ³⁸Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.^a

16

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus^b they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ²He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^{c 4}An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” ⁸And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? ⁹Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ¹²Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,^d the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter,^e and on this rock^f I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was^g the Messiah.^d

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

²⁷“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

17

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I^a will make three dwellings^b here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;^c with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; ¹²but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” ¹³Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ¹⁵and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon,^a and it^b came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a^c mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”^d

²²As they were gathering^e in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, ²³and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

²⁴When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax^f came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?”^f25He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” ²⁶When Peter^g said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. ²⁷However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin;^h take that and give it to them for you and me.”

18

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

⁶“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell^a of fire.

¹⁰“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.^{b 12}What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of your^c Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

¹⁵“If another member of the church^d sins against you,^e go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.^{f 16}But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

²¹Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church^g sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven^h times.

²³“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talentsⁱ was brought to him; ²⁵and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;^j and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³²Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister^a from your heart.”

19

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.

³Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” ⁴He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ⁷They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” ⁸He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.”^b

¹⁰His disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

¹³Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; ¹⁴but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

¹⁶Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him, “I have kept all these;^c what do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money^d to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²²When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold,^a and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

20

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,^b he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.^b10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.^b11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?^b14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^{c 16}So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^d

¹⁷While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ¹⁸“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; ¹⁹then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. ²¹And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” ²²But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”^e They said to him, “We are able.” ²³He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ²⁶It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord,^a have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” ³²Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” ³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

21

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.^b” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

  ⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you,

  humble, and mounted on a donkey,

    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd^c spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

¹²Then Jesus entered the temple^d and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³He said to them, “It is written,

The geography of the Gospel of Matthew

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;

  but you are making it a den of robbers.”

¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard^a the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry ¹⁶and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies

  you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

¹⁷He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

¹⁸In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. ²⁰When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. ²²Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

²³When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰The father^b went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

³³“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ³⁴When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

  has become the cornerstone;^a

this was the Lord's doing,

  and it is amazing in our eyes’?

⁴³Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.^{b 44}The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”^c

⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

22

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹²and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” ²¹They answered, “The emperor's.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²²When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

²³The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection;^a and they asked him a question, saying, ²⁴“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. ²⁶The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷Last of all, the woman herself died. ²⁸In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.”

²⁹Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels^b in heaven. ³¹And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ³²‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” ³³And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

⁴¹Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴²“What do you think of the Messiah?^c Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit^d calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

  until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

⁴⁵If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

23

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ²“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; ³therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,^a and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. ⁸But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.^{b 9}And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.^{c 11}The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

¹³“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.^{d 15}Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell^e as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁹How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; ²¹and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; ²²and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,^f so that the outside also may become clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. ²⁸So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, ³⁰and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. ³³You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?^{a 34}Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, ³⁵so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸See, your house is left to you, desolate.^{b 39}For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

24

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ²Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

³When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁵For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’^c and they will lead many astray. ⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines^d and earthquakes in various places: ⁸all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

⁹“Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰Then many will fall away,^e and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹²And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this good news^f of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

¹⁵“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), ¹⁶then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; ¹⁷the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; ¹⁸the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. ¹⁹Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. ²¹For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’^a or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. ²⁴For false messiahs^b and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵Take note, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹“Immediately after the suffering of those days

the sun will be darkened,

  and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from heaven,

  and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³²“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he^c is near, at the very gates. ³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁶“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^d but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day^e your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves^a their allowance of food at the proper time? ⁴⁶Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. ⁴⁷Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹He will cut him in pieces^b and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

25

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids^c took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.^{d 2}Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷Then all those bridesmaids^c got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹Later the other bridesmaids^c came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹²But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.^e

¹⁴“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents,^f to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ ⁴⁰And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,^a you did it to me.’ ⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

26

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

⁶Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^{b 7}a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. ⁸But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? ⁹For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. ¹¹For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. ¹²By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. ¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this good news^a is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve;^{b 21}and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” ²²And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” ²⁵Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is my blood of the^c covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”

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

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

  and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³²But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” ³⁴Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” ³⁵Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” ³⁹And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” ⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;^a the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴²Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” ⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward ⁶¹and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” ⁶²The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” ⁶³But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah,^b the Son of God.” ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,

From now on you will see the Son of Man

  seated at the right hand of Power

  and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” ⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah!^b Who is it that struck you?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”^{c 72}Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

27

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. ²They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^a was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent^b blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. ⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” ⁷After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. ⁸For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah,^c “And they took^d the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set,^e on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, ¹⁰and they gave^f them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” ¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” ¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus^g Barabbas. ¹⁷So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus^g Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”^{h 18}For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. ¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. ²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”^h All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood;ⁱ see to it yourselves.” ²⁵Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters,^a and they gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³²As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;^{b 36}then they sat down there and kept watch over him. ³⁷Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹Those who passed by derided^c him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, ⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself.^d He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God's Son.’” ⁴⁴The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

⁴⁵From noon on, darkness came over the whole land^e until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”^{f 50}Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.^{g 51}At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. ⁵³After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God's Son!”^a

⁵⁵Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. ⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard^b of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.”^{c 66}So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

28

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he^d lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead,^e and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

¹¹While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹²After the priests^f had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”^a

1.1–17: Jesus's genealogy (Lk 3.23–38). 1: Jesus, “Joshua” (Heb “Yeshuaʿ”) is a later, abbreviated, form of the name “Yehoshua,” meaning “The Lord (YHWH) is help (or salvation).” Messiah, Gk “Christos,” “Anointed One.” Those anointed by God—typically kings and priests—were set apart by God for a specific divine purpose (1 Sam 10.1; Ex 29.7). The designation son indicates Jesus's familial descent. That he is both the son of David, the king, and son of Abraham, the patriarch, demonstrates that Jesus is a scion of the royal family of David, and a true Israelite. 2–17: The genealogy continues the “descent” motif by furnishing a stylized ancestral tree consisting of roughly three groups of fourteen: from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation to Babylon in 586 bce (2 Kings 24.8–16), and from the deportation to Jesus (although Jechoniah has to be included for the final group to amount to fourteen). The numerical value of David's name in Hebrew is fourteen, which may account for this arrangement. While Matthew's genealogy is not complete (cf. 1 Chr 3.11–12), its chief purpose is to establish that David and Abraham were Jesus's forebears. Genealogies are common in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., 1 Chr 1–9) and were a matter of pride and importance for demonstrating one's status as true Israelites (Neh 7.61–64). Jesus's genealogy is unusual, however, not simply because it includes women, but because it also features non-Israelite (i.e., Gentile) women, some of questionable repute: Tamar (v. 3; Gen 38), Rahab (v. 5; Josh 2.1–21; 6.22–25), Ruth (v. 5; Ruth 2–4), and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (v. 6; 2 Sam 11–12). Their inclusion may prefigure Mary's own marital dilemma (vv. 18–19) and the coming mission to the Gentiles (28.18–20).

1.18–25: The conception and birth of Jesus Christ (Lk 2.1–7). Chapter 1 stresses that Jesus was of the line of David, but then indicates that Mary was a virgin and Joseph was not his father. This apparent difficulty is resolved by Joseph's formal adoption of Jesus, which legally situates Jesus within Joseph's line. 18: Engaged … before they lived together: Marriage was a two-stage, contractual process; betrothal lasted for a year, after which the couple formally cohabited. Sexual relations did not occur until the second stage (m. Ketub. 1.2; 5.2). 20: Dreams are a common means of revelation in Matthew (2.12,13,19–20,22; 27.19), and like his namesake in Genesis Joseph is also the recipient of dreams. 21: The angel's reference to Jesus “saving his people” probably alludes to Jesus's name (see v. 1n.). 23: The first of Matthew's fulfillment citations (Isa 7.14), showing how Jesus's life conforms to prophecies of the Jewish scriptures. These citations are especially prominent in the Gospel's opening chapters. Emmanuel: Cf. 28:20. These two verses function as symbolic bookends to the Gospel and point to Jesus's saving and abiding presence.

2.1–12: The visit of the wise men. 1: King Herod is Herod the Great (ruled 37–4 bce), who was confirmed as the client king of Judea by the emperor Augustus (31 bce–14 ce). Herod was only partly Jewish and was notorious for reacting savagely to potential rivals, particularly Jewish rivals. Bethlehem, lxocated 5 mi (8 km) south of Jerusalem, was David's hometown and the place where he was anointed king of Israel (1 Sam 16.1–13). The wise men or Magi were traditionally a class of Parthian (Persian) priests, renowned as astrologers. 2: As Gentiles, the Magi do not ask for the king of Israel, but for the king of the Jews (27.11,37). The star has been variously explained as a supernova, a comet, or a notable conjunction of the planets, but its meaning may be symbolic; see Num 24.17. 4: Chief priests … scribes, see Introduction. 5–6: Mic 5.1,3; cf. 2 Sam 5.2. 11: Frankincense and myrrh were costly, resinous gums derived from trees and shrubs (Isa 60.6; Song 3.6). Because of their aromatic qualities, they were often employed in religious rituals (including burials). The mention of three gifts is probably the origin of the postbiblical tradition that there were three wise men.

2.13–23: The escape to Egypt and return. 15: A fulfillment citation from Hos 11.1, where son refers to the people of Israel (Ex 4.22): the experience of Israel and Jesus are paralleled. The citation calls to mind Israel's sojourn in Egypt and God's mighty deliverance of Israel through Moses. Jesus's subsequent baptism and temptation also recall Israel's flight through the Red Sea and testing in the wilderness.16: Herod's action recalls the command of the king of Egypt in Ex 1.16. 18: A fulfillment citation from Jer 31.15. Ramah was located about 6 mi (10 km) north of Jerusalem. The tomb of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, the father of the twelve “tribes” of Israel, is situated just north of Bethlehem (Gen 35.16–20). 20: Cf. Ex 4.19. 22: Upon Herod's death in 4 bce, his kingdom was divided among his sons Archelaus (4 bce–6 ce), ethnarch (prince) over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod Antipas (4 bce–39 ce), tetrarch (minor prince) over Galilee and Perea; and Philip (4 bce–33/34 ce), tetrarch of smaller territories northeast of the Sea of Galilee. 23: Nazareth in Jesus's day was not so much a town as a village in Galilee, very close to the Hellenized city of Sepphoris. Nazorean, this fulfillment citation does not precisely correspond to any passage in the Jewish scriptures, though it echoes passages such as Isa 11.1 and Judg 13.5.

3.1–12: The preaching of John the Baptist (Mk 1.1–8; Lk 3.1–9,15–17; Jn 1.19–28; Josephus, Ant. 18.116–19). 1: In those days, a general reference to the time when Jesus began his public ministry. John the Baptist, the prophetic forerunner of Jesus. In Matthew, although John is portrayed as subordinate to Jesus, their ministries display strong parallels (cf. 3.2 with 4.17). Wilderness of Judea, the barren eastern slopes of the Judean hill country that face the lower Jordan valley and the Dead Sea. 2: Kingdom of heaven is Matthew's circumlocution for kingdom of God, one that avoids mentioning the name of God directly (though the phrase “kingdom of God” is found at 6.33; 12.28; 21.31,43). The kingdom of heaven (or God) refers to the absolute rule of God over human affairs. Its establishment marks the onset of the new age and God's ultimate dominion. 3: A fulfillment citation from Isa 40.3 (cf. Mk 1.2–3; CD 10.16; 16.15; 1QS 8.12–14). John acts as a herald announcing the coming of the king. 4: John's manner of dress recalled that of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1.8), while his food was that of an ascetic. Locusts are one of the few types of insects not regarded as unclean (Lev 11.20–23). In Matthew, John is more closely identified with Elijah than in the other Gospels (17.11–13); John's preaching also prefigures Jesus's own message at 4:17 and 23:33. 7: Pharisees and Sadducees: see the Introduction. 8: Repentance, a turning away from evil and the forging of a new relationship with God. 11: Fire: possibly signifying purification. 12: A winnowing fork was a forked shovel used to toss threshed grain into the wind, allowing the kernels of wheat to separate from the husks and straw, the chaff, which was blown away.

3.13–17: The baptism of Jesus (Mk 1.9–11; Lk 3.21–22; Jn 1.31–34). 15: Righteousness is a central theme in Matthew and means acting in accordance with the will of God. It furnishes the justification for the greater (Jesus) being baptized by the lesser (the Baptist; 11.11). 16: Heavens were opened, Ezek 1.1. Spirit, 28.19; Gen 1.2; Isa 61.1. 17: Voice, Dan 4.31–32. My son, the Beloved (see textual note c), 17.5; Ps 2.7; Isa 42.1; Hos 11.1.

4.1–11: The temptation of Jesus (Mk 1.12–13; Lk 4.1–13). 1: The devil, a transcendent evil being, also described in this chapter as the tempter (v. 3) and Satan (“the adversary”; v. 10). 2: The forty days recall the testing of Israel in the wilderness (Ex 34.28), and Elijah's forty-day journey into the Sinai wilderness (1 Kings 19.8). 3: Son of God, the most comprehensive Christological designation for Jesus in Matthew (3.17; 16.16; 17.5; 27.54; 28.19). 4: Deut 8.3. 5: Holy city, Jerusalem; cf. 27.53; pinnacle, possibly the southeast corner of the Temple's terrace where there was a steep drop to the Kidron Valley below. 6: Ps 91.11–12. 7: Deut 6.16. 8: Mountains figure prominently in Matthew as places of revelation (5.1; 14.23; 15.29; 17.1; 24.3; 28.16). 10: Deut 6.13. All of Jesus's responses to Satan are citations from Deuteronomy, which epitomized the Torah. 11: The angels feed Jesus as they had once fed Elijah (1 Kings 19.5–8).

4.12–25: The beginning of the Galilean ministry (Mk 1.14–20; Lk 4.14–15; 5.1–11; 6.17–19). 12: Galilee was a region in northern Israel, one of the chief areas of Jesus's activity. It was separated from Judea (and Jerusalem) by Samaria. 13: Capernaum, a village on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, is located in the traditional allotment of the Israelite tribe of Naphtali (Josh 19.34). Fishing was an important and lucrative economic activity in the region. 15–16: Fulfillment citation of Isa 9.1–2. The name “Galilee” is derived from the Hebrew phrase “circle of the Gentiles” (Isa 8.23 [MT]). The Gentiles were non-Jews. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria (722 bce), much of the area had been repopulated by Gentiles, although by Jesus's day it was again predominantly Jewish. 17: Some scholars argue that the phrase from that time marks the beginning of the second of three major divisions in the Gospel; cf. 16.21. 18: Sea of Galilee, not a sea but a freshwater lake, also known as Gennesaret (Lk 5.1) and the Lake of Tiberias (Jn 21.1). Simon … Peter: Simon was the disciple's Hebrew name; Peter his Greek name; cf. 16.18n. Under the influence of Hellenism, Jews often had both. 24: Syria is mentioned in no other Gospel; many scholars think that its capital, Antioch-on-the-Orontes, was the location of Matthew's church. Demoniacs, those thought to be possessed by demons or evil spirits. 25: The crowds typically represent the Jewish people as distinguished from their leaders. Decapolis: A league of some ten cities with all but Scythopolis (earlier Beth-shan) situated east of the Jordan River. Their populations were largely Gentile, but with substantial Jewish minorities.

5.1–7.29: The first discourse: The Sermon on the Mount. Matthew postpones his account of the Galilean ministry in order to introduce Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, the first and longest of Jesus's five discourses in Matthew (compare the much briefer “Sermon on the Plain” in Lk 6.20–49). Its prominence within Matthew testifies to its importance for understanding Jesus and the requirements for “entering the kingdom.” Whether the Sermon advocates an idealized or a realizable ethic continues to be debated (5:48; contrast Did. 6.2). 5.1: Mountain, recalling the figure of Moses giving the law to Israel (Ex 19–24). Just as the Law of Moses had five books, the Gospel of Matthew contains five discourses of Jesus. He sat down, the posture normally assumed by Jewish teachers. Disciples, for Jesus's named disciples in Matthew, see 9.9–13; 10.2. 5.3–12: The Beatitudes (Lk 6.20–23). Luke has only four beatitudes in comparison to Matthew's nine, and all four have more of a this-worldly focus. 3: Our term “Beatitudes” is derived from the Latin word “beatus,” meaning “blessed” or “favored by God.” Matthew's beatitudes emphasize that God's blessings will be bestowed on believers in the new age (Isa 61.2). The poor in spirit, Lk 6.20 has “the poor.” 4. Mourn, perhaps for one's sins or because of undeserved suffering. 5: Meek, Ps 37.11. 8: Pure in heart, Pss 24.4; 73.1. 12: Persecuted the prophets, Matthew assumes that all true prophets were persecuted (1 Kings 19.10; Neh 9.26), John the Baptist and Jesus among them; righteousness’ sake, 3.15n.

5.13–16: Salt and light (Mk 9.50; Lk 14.34–35). 13: Lost its taste, genuine salt can leach away from impure salt, leaving only a tasteless residue. 16: Father is one of Jesus's favorite expressions for God in Matthew.

5.17–20: Teaching about the law. The rest of ch 5 deals with issues relating to the Torah. 17: Prophets, the second of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible (Torah, Prophets, Writings). 18: The phrase truly (“amen”) I tell you in Jesus's mouth frequently signals pronouncements pertaining to the end time. Letter, Iota: the smallest Greek letter. Until … all: both temporal clauses refer to the end of the present age and the onset of the eschatological age. The verse suggests that the Torah remained in force among Jewish Christians in Matthew's church.

5.21–48: The antitheses. (Lk 6.27–36; cf. Lev 19.18; m. Avot 1.12). “Antitheses” suggests seemingly opposite propositions. In some of these “antitheses,” however, Jesus's purpose is not to abrogate the Mosaic Law, but to advocate a profounder obedience to God's commandments; in others he proposes a different ethic for his followers. The phrase “you have heard that it was said” occurs six times in ch 5, each followed by a reference to one of the commandments in the Torah. 21: Ex 20.13; Deut 5.17. 22: I say to you occurs twelve other times in the Sermon and emphasizes Jesus's unprecedented authority to determine God's will—an authority that surpasses even that of Moses (28.18). Council, the Sanhedrin; see 26.59n. Hell, lit., “Gehenna,” the Hinnom Valley to the immediate south of Jerusalem, formerly a place of child sacrifice (Jer 7.31), which may have been used in Jesus's day as a garbage dump and incinerator. 24: Gift, true worship of God requires full reconciliation with one's neighbors. 25–26: Imprisonment for debt was a Gentile, not a Jewish, practice. 27: Adultery, cf. Ex. 20.14; Deut 5.18; cf. 5.32; 15.19; 19.9. Jesus not only condemns adultery, but even thoughts that would lead to adultery. 31: Divorce, Deut 24.1–4; cf. Mt 19.7–9. Jesus indicates that the only justification for divorcing one's wife is sexual infidelity; otherwise the divorce is invalid, and any future marriages are adulterous. 33: Lev 19.12; Num 30.2; Deut 23.21. 34–36: Heaven, earth, and Jerusalem are all circumlocutions for “God;” they, along with one's head, are in God's keeping and, therefore, not under humans’ dominion. 35: Isa 66.1; Ps 48.2. 38: Jesus qualifies the law of retaliation, the “lex talionis” (“an eye for an eye …,” Ex 21.23–24; Lev 24.19–20; Deut 19.21), by advocating the return of good for evil. 40: Cf. Ex 22.26–27; Deut 24.12–13. 41: Second mile; the Romans could conscript individuals for compulsory labor. 43: Love your neighbor quotes Lev 19.18, but hate your enemy is not found in the Jewish scriptures. 44: Those who persecute you, Matthew's version (cf. Lk 6.27–28) may refer to actual persecution experienced by his church, demonstrating the radical nature of the commandment (cf. 10.17). 46: Tax collectors, though Jewish, were popularly regarded as unclean collaborators with the Romans. 47: Gentiles sometimes have a negative connotation in the Gospel (5.47; 6.7,32; 15.26; 16.17). 48: The word perfect occurs only here and at 19.21 in the Gospel; cf. Jas 1.4; 3.2. This understanding of “perfection” is closely linked with the love commandment (19.19).

6.1–18: Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. 1: This segment opens with a general principle, followed by three particular applications. True piety or righteousness, which is inconspicuous, is contrasted with false piety, which is motivated by ostentation. 2: Giving alms involved not only the donation of money but also the performance of other merciful and charitable actions. Sounding a trumpet is probably metaphorical (as in “blow your own horn”). Hypocrites originally signified “actors.” Here the word takes on some of that sense; elsewhere in Matthew it is used more pejoratively, particularly of the Pharisees and scribes, in the sense of “frauds,” not the outstanding examples of piety people thought them to be. 5: Performance of the daily Jewish prayers in the morning, at noon, and in the evening (Lk 11.2–4). Stand, standing with the face directed toward Jerusalem was the typical Jewish posture for prayer (1 Kings 8.35–48; Mk 11.25; Lk 18.13). 9: Pray, The Lord's Prayer (vv. 9–13) is the symbolic heart of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew's version of the prayer is considerably longer than Luke's (11.2–4), and the final doxology (see textual note d) appears to have been added later under the influence of 1 Chr 29.1–13. 12: Debts, cf. Lk 11.4, which has “sins”; sins are the debts owed to God. 17: Oil on your head, anointing and washing oneself were a feature of daily hygiene and not necessarily a sign of festivity.

6.19–34: Life and livelihood (Lk 12.22–34; 11.34–36). This section illustrates how to live in the world, without being subject to it. 22–23: A sincere eye is healthy and has no hidden agenda, while an unhealthy or insincere eye was thought to occlude the entry of light. Light and virtue were often correlated; 1 Jn 2.8–11. 26–30: These verses demonstrate a “less to greater” (“a fortiori”) argument, where one establishes a greater premise from a lesser one (cf. 12.9–11). 29: Solomon, 1 Kings 10; 2 Chr 1. 30: Thrown into the oven, grass was used to fire baking ovens. 32: See 5.47n.

7.1–6: Judging others (Lk 6.37–38,41–42). 1: Be judged, by God. 6: Holy, meat from the sacrifice or possibly the deeper truths of the Gospel; dogs were considered scavengers, and swine were unclean animals.

7.7–23: The way of righteousness (Lk 11.9–13; 6.43–44; 13.24–27). The following sayings from Q embody Matthew's ethic of righteousness, which is central to the Gospel. 12: The “Golden Rule” epitomizes Jesus's ethical teaching. A similar principle is attributed to the Pharisee Hillel (b. Shabb. 31a; cf. Tob 4.15). 13: Narrow gate, a metaphor for entering the kingdom of God. 15: False prophets, possibly itinerant Christian prophets; see 7.22; 23.34; Did. 11.7–12. 16: Fruits, repentance and righteous behavior. 22: That day, the day of judgment. In your name, “on behalf of” or “with the authority of.” 23: Evildoers, see Ps 6.8.

7.24–27: The two foundations (Lk 6.47–49). 24: These words of mine, obedience to Jesus's words and, by implication, to the will of God (7.21), is the only way to achieve righteousness and enter the kingdom. In the Sermon, Jesus has provided his hearers with a solid foundation of rock (16.18). 27: All five of Matthew's discourses close with a reference to judgment. 7.28–29: Conclusion. 28: The crowds, not mentioned at the beginning of the discourse, appear as the audience beyond the inner circle of disciples. Their presence suggests that Jesus's words are directed not only to the disciples, but also to all followers of Jesus. 29: Scribes, see 2.4n.

8.1–9.38: The deeds of the Messiah. Matthew follows his epitome of Jesus's teaching with a collection of Jesus's miracles: the “Messiah of word” is succeeded by the “Messiah of deed.” While Matthew conforms to the order of Mark in a general way, he has made considerable use of Q and his own traditions (two of which are doublets; see 9.27–31 and 9.32–34). To create the “Messiah of deed” sequence, Matthew has introduced five miracle stories so that chs 8–9 form a composite of ten miracle accounts interleaved with two discipleship narratives (8.18–22; 9.9–17). The first three miracle stories focus on the healing of marginal figures in Jewish society – a person with leprosy, a Gentile, and a woman.

8.1–4: The cleansing of a man with leprosy (Mk 1.40–45; Lk 5.12–16). Matthew emphasizes Jesus's divine calm by eliminating Mark's reference to Jesus's emotions (Mk 1.41,43). 2: Make me clean, the skin condition of persons with leprosy rendered them ritually unclean (Lev ch 13; Num 5.1–4). 3: Leprosy was a serious skin disease, including what we describe as leprosy today (Hansen's disease), as well as many other disorders such as psoriasis, lupus, ringworm, and favus. 4: The gift that Moses commanded, offerings for the cleansing of a person with leprosy (Lev. ch 14). This man heeds Jesus's command to tell no one (contrast Mk 1.40–5).

8.5–17: Many healings (Lk 7.1–10; Jn 4.43–54; Mk 1.29–34; Lk 4.38–41). 5: Centurion, a Roman officer commanding about a hundred men. 6: Servant, or “child.” 8: I am not worthy, contact with Gentiles could make Jews ritually unclean (Acts 10.28; m. Avoda Zara) 10: Faith, in Matthew the two figures commended by Jesus for their faith are Gentiles (cf. 15.28). 11: Eat … in the kingdom, the messianic banquet (22.1–10; Isa 2.2–4; 25.6). 12: 1 En 10.4–6; 62.11. Gnashing of teeth, an indication of sharp pain or vexation. This phrase, which occurs six times in Matthew, expresses the dire consequences of exclusion from the kingdom (13.42,50; 22.13; 24.51; 25.30; cf. Lk 12.47; 13.28). 17: A fulfillment citation of Isa 53.4. Matthew's form of the citation emphasizes physical rather than spiritual healing.

8.18–22: Would-be followers of Jesus (Lk 9.57–62). 18: Other side, the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 20: Son of Man, an enigmatic self-designation used by Jesus that has at least three senses in Matthew: Jesus as a human being; Jesus as a figure who must suffer and die; Jesus as divine judge at the end of days (cf. Dan 7.13–14). The first sense is in view here. 21: Bury my father, although the burial of kinsmen was among the most pressing of sacred duties for Jews (Tob 1.18–19; b. Ber. 18a), it is entirely eclipsed by the call to follow Jesus.

8.23–34: The calming of a storm and the healing of two persons possessed by demons (Mk 4.35–5.20; Lk 8.22–39). 26: This nature miracle is Jesus's only nonhealing miracle in the first half of the Gospel. 27: Jesus's authority over the Sea parallels that of God; Pss 65.7; 89.9.28: Gadarenes, Matthew situates the healing in Gadara, instead of Gerasa (Mk 5.1), which was located ca. 35 mi (56 km) from the sea. Gadara's territory was far closer to the Sea of Galilee. 29: Before the time, the day of judgment. 30: The presence of nonkosher swine suggests a Gentile region (7.6n.).

9.1–17: The ministry in Capernaum (Mk 2.1–22; Lk 5.17–39). 1: His own town, Capernaum. 2: Sins are forgiven; on the correlation of healing and forgiveness, see b. Ned. 41a; b. Meg. 17b.3: The scribes claim that Jesus is blaspheming and dishonoring God's name because he claims that he, like God, can forgive sins. 8: To human beings, Jesus's own authority to forgive has been bequeathed to Matthew's church. 9: The change of Levi's name (Mk 2.14) has led some scholars to consider “Matthew” to be the evangelist's own signature; see also 5.46n. 13: Jesus cites Hos 6.6 here and again at 12.7. 15: Bridegroom, Jesus's association with the coming of the kingdom makes him a festal figure like a bridegroom (cf. 22.1–14; 25.1–13).

9.18–34: Four healings (Mk 5.21–43; Lk 8.40–56). 21: Touch his cloak, if the hemorrhage was from the uterus, the woman was ritually impure and would have made Jesus impure by touching him. 23: Flute players were a feature of funeral rites. 27–31: This healing narrative is a doublet of 20.29–34; see also 1 Kings 17.17–24; 2 Kings 4.32–37. The evangelist frequently doubles the number of figures in his sources (8.28–34; 9.27–31), possibly in keeping with the Jewish legal tradition of furnishing double witnesses to testify to the truth of something (Deut 19.15). 27: The sick and marginalized often address Jesus as Son of David (1.1) in order to be healed. In the other Gospels the title does not have such therapeutic associations. 32–34: A doublet of 12.22–24. 34: Ruler of the demons: cf. 12.24–32.

9.35–38: The compassion of Jesus. 35: Their synagogues, Synagogue buildings were well established as places of worship in the first century ce (Lk 4.16). By Matthew's day, however, Jewish Christians may have no longer participated in Jewish synagogues, but in assemblies of their own (18.17). 36: Jesus's compassion for the leaderless people of Israel is a defining feature of Matthew's Jesus; cf. Num 27.17; Ezek 34.5. 37: Normally a symbol for the final judgment, the harvest appears here as a metaphor for Jesus's mission and forms a fitting introduction to the mission discourse.

10.1–11.1: The second (mission) discourse. This discourse appears to reflect both the time of Jesus and that of the early church. While Jesus delimits the disciples’ mission to the people of Israel (10.5–6), the discourse goes on to speak of a later phase where the disciples were dragged before governors and provided testimony to the Gentiles (10.18; cf. 28.19).

10.1–15: The commissioning of the twelve (Mk 3.13–19; Lk 6.12–16; Mk 6.7–13; Lk 9.1–6). The miraculous acts performed by Jesus now become a feature of the disciples’ own ministry. 2: Twelve apostles, this is the first time Matthew explicitly names the twelve; their number reflects the twelve tribes of Israel (19.28). 3: Matthew has added tax collector. 4: Iscariot may mean “man from Kerioth,” a town in southern Judea. 5: Gentiles, only Matthew has Jesus delimit his own and his disciples’ ministry to Israel. Samaritans were the inhabitants of Samaria, a region that had been part of the northern kingdom of Israel until its defeat by the Assyrians in 722 bce. Those Jews who were not deported were thought to have intermarried with Gentiles, and their descendants, the Samaritans, were reviled by Jews as being half-breeds (see Jn 4.9). 6: Lost sheep, see 9.36n. 15: Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen 18.16–19.39.

10.16–25: Coming persecutions (Mk 13.9–13; Lk 21.12–17). 17: Councils, local Jewish courts. Flog, cf. 2 Cor 11.24–5. Their synagogues, see 9.35n. 18: Governors, Roman officials, including prefects and procurators. Gentiles, an anticipation of the postresurrection mission (28.19). 23: Son of Man, most scholars interpret this difficult verse as a reference to Jesus's return (the Second Coming or parousia). 25: They, the Pharisees (9.34; 12.24). Beelzebul, a ruler of demons often identified with Satan; originally the name for the Canaanite deity Baal-zebul, “Baal (or “Lord”) the Prince” (2 Kings 1.2–6).

10.26–11.1: The consequences of mission (Lk 12.2–9; 12.51–53; 14.26–27; Mk 9.41). 26: Them, the scribes and Pharisees. 29: Sparrows, the least expensive of edible birds. 34–39: The affliction and pain that must come prior to the messianic age of peace. 35–36: See Mic 7.6 38: Cross, a Roman punishment reserved for slaves and rebels. The condemned were forced to carry their cross to the place of execution (27.32). 41: In the name of a prophet, i.e., because he is a prophet. 42: Little ones, those disciples occupying a humble or lowly position (18.6). 11.1: In contrast to Mk 3.13

11.2–19: The messengers from John the Baptist (Lk 7.18–35). 2: Prison, Herod's stronghold Machaerus, 5 mi (8 km) east of the Dead Sea (see 14.1–12). 3: The one who is to come, the Messiah. 5: The blind … to them, the deeds predicted of the Messiah (Isa 35.4–6; 61.1). 5: Lepers: see 8.3n. 10: Mal 3.1. 11: The least: The least are greater through having witnessed the kingdom's arrival in Jesus and through having been given the opportunity to act on that knowledge (5.19; 18.4). 12: As had happened with many true prophets, violence would soon be visited on John and Jesus. 14: John is the Elijah to come before the day of the Lord: he ushers in the kingdom (Mal 4.5; cf. Mt 17.12–13). 15: 13.9. 16: This generation, the entire generation of Israel contemporaneous with Jesus. 19: Glutton: Deut 21.20. Son of Man, see 8.20n. Jesus, like John, embodies Wisdom, and his actions confirm this (11.4–5).

11.20–24: Woes to unrepentant cities (Lk 10.13–15). 21: A woe oracle against Galilean towns for failing to respond to Jesus. Chorazin has been identified with Karazeh, a site near Capernaum. After Jerusalem and Capernaum, Bethsaida is the place most commonly associated with Jesus's ministry in the Gospels (Mk 8.22–6). Its location is still disputed. Sackcloth, a rough fabric worn as a symbol of mourning and repentance; cf. Jon 3:5–8. 21–23: Tyre and Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel, were often linked in prophetic oracles (Isa 23; Jer 25.22; 27.3–7; 47.4; Ezek 28.11–23; Joel 3.4–8): Hades is the Greek term for both the god of the dead and his realm, the latter roughly equivalent to Heb Sheol, the shadowy domain of all the dead. Here it may also suggest Gehenna; 5.22n. Sodom was a stock example of an evil and unrepentant city (see 10.15n.).

11.25–30: Come to me and rest (Lk 11.21–22). 28: Heavy burdens, 23.4. Rest, a defining feature of the new age (1 En 63.6). 29: Yoke, either Jesus's way of life or his teaching of the Torah's requirements. Jesus may be addressing his disciples here, but it is more likely the crowds in general (v. 7).

12.1–8: Plucking grain on the sabbath (Mk 2.23–28; Lk 6.1–5). 1: Grainfields, wheat or barley. Sabbath, Ex 20.8–11; 34.21. Harvesting grain was considered to be “work.” 3: David, 1 Sam 21.1–6. 4: Priests were permitted to eat the bread of the Presence once it had been replaced with freshly consecrated loaves (Ex 25.30; Lev 24.5–9). 7: A second citation (see 9.13) of Hos 6.6. For God, acts of mercy outweigh ritual observances. 8: Jesus's authority as Lord of the sabbath exceeds even that of divinely established institutions.

12.9–21: The healing Messiah (Mk 3.1–6; Lk 6.6–11). 10: Healing would be permitted if the afflicted person was unlikely to survive the sabbath. See also 6.26–30n. 11: One sheep, most authorities permitted the rescue of animals on the sabbath (cf. m. Shabb. 18.3; but for a ruling against doing so, see CD 11.13–14). 15–21: Isa 42.1–4, the longest fulfillment citation in Matthew. Here the servanthood of Jesus is strongly emphasized, as well as the involvement of the Gentiles.

12.22–37: Jesus and Beelzebul (Mk 3.20–30; Lk 11.14–23; 12.10; 6.43–45). 22–24: A doublet of 9.32–34. 23: The title Son of David is synonymous with the Messiah of Israel (1.1; 9.27n.; Ezek 34; Pss. Sol. 17). The crowds merely broach the question of Jesus's identity, but their question is framed in such a way as to expect a negative answer: “This isn't the Son of David, is it?” 24: Beelzebul, 10.25n. 31: Blasphemy, impious denigration. 33: 7.17. 34: 3.7. 37: Jas 3.1–12.

12.38–45: The demand for a sign (Mk 8.11–12; Lk 11.29–32; 11.24–26). 38: See 16.1n. 39: Adulterous, unfaithful to God. Sign of the prophet Jonah, Jesus's resurrection after three days and nights. 40: See Jon 1.17. 41: Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire, proverbial for its size and power, and the subject of numerous prophetic oracles (Nah; Zeph 2.13; Tob 14). Repented, Jon 3.5–9. 42: Queen of the South, the queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10.1–13; 2 Chr 9.1–12). 43: Waterless regions, demons were thought to reside in deserts (Mt 4.1; Tob 8.3). 45: Seven often symbolizes “completeness,” here suggesting complete possession. This evil generation, 11.16n.

12.46–50: The mother and brothers of Jesus (Mk 3.31–35; Lk 8.19–21). Obedience to God the Father is not only the most fundamental of familial obligations (8.21n.); it is also the ultimate basis of kinship.

13.1–53: The third discourse (the parable discourse). The word “parable” is derived from Gk “parabole,” “a placing beside,” where a literary figure or story illumines something “placed beside” it—here, the nature of the kingdom of heaven. In ch 13, only the parable of the sower is not introduced as a “kingdom” parable (but see v. 19). Four of the parables in this chapter and one of the interpretations (vv. 36–43) are unique to Matthew. The theme of growth in the first four parables emphasizes the inexorable expansion of the kingdom.

13.1–23: The parable of the sower and its interpretation (Mk 4.1–20; Lk 8.4–15). 1: Sea, of Galilee. Sat, see 5.1n. 2: Crowds, see 4.25n. 8: These yields are exceptional, but not impossible. 11: Secrets, the mysteries of the end of days (Dan 2.28). 13: Where Mk 4.12 suggests that the purpose of Jesus's parabolic speech is to promote incomprehension, Matthew indicates that Jesus speaks in parables as a consequence of incomprehension by Jesus's audience. 14–15: Isa 6.9–10; Acts 28.26–27. 16: The disciples are blessed because, unlike “this people” (v. 15), they comprehend Jesus and his message. 18–23: In the Gospels only a few of Jesus's parables are provided with interpretations. 19: Does not understand it, a characteristic Matthean addition.

13.24–33: Three parables of growth (Mk 4.30–32; Lk 13.18–21). 25: Weeds, perhaps darnel, a weed resembling wheat. 31: Mustard seed, the precise species cannot be determined, though mustard seed was popularly regarded as the smallest of seeds planted by farmers. 32: Tree, actually a shrub growing up to ca. 10 ft (3 m) high. Birds, Ezek 17.23; Dan 4.10–12. 33: Yeast, not yeast but leaven, a remnant of fermented dough used as a “starter” for raising a new batch of dough. Three measures, ca. 2/3 bu (21 L).

13.34–35: The use of parables (Mk 4.33–34). A fulfillment citation (Ps 78.2) attributed to Asaph the seer (2 Chr 29.30). In the next half of the discourse Jesus's teaching is reserved for the disciples.

13.36–43: The parable of the weeds explained. 36: House, 13.1. 38: Children of the kingdom, those worthy of the kingdom. 41: Out of his kingdom, some scholars have identified the kingdom with the church, but in view of v. 38 it is better understood as the world. Causes of sin, 16.23; 18.7. Evildoers, 7.23. 42: 8.12n. 43: Shine like the sun, Dan 12.3.

13.44–53: Four more parables. 44: Field, in the absence of banks, valuables were often buried for safekeeping (25.25). The purchase of property would include anything it contained; m. B. Bat. 4.8–9. 47: Net, a seine net. 51: The final parable in the chapter. Understood, in contrast to Jesus's disciples in Mk 4.13,33–34, here the disciples confirm their understanding of Jesus's teaching. 52: Scribe, perhaps a self-portrait of the Gospel's author, or an indication of early Christian scribes (23.34). His treasure, the storeroom from which he draws his understanding of Jesus's ministry (the new) and of the Jewish scriptures (the old).

13.54–58: The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (Mk 6.1–6; Lk 4.16–30). 54: His hometown, Nazareth. 55: Carpenter's son contrasts with “carpenter” (Mk 6.3). The word translated here as “carpenter” can also mean “builder” or “stonemason.” Jesus's inability to perform mighty deeds in Nazareth (Mk 6.5) becomes, in Matthew, an unwillingness to do so in the face of the Nazarenes’ disbelief (13.58).

14.1–12: The death of John the Baptist (Mk 6.14–29; Lk 9.7–9). 1: Herod, Matthew uses the correct designation “Herod the Tetrarch” (see textual note b) for Herod Antipas (2.22n.) in contrast to the “King Herod” of Mk 6.14. 3. Philip, cf. Josephus, Ant. 18.136–37. 4: Lev 18.16; 20.21. 6: Daughter of Herodias, Josephus identifies her as Salome (Ant. 18.136; for Josephus's account of John's death, see Ant. 18.116–19). Compare Esth 2.9.

14.13–36: The feeding of the five thousand and the walking on the water (Mk 6.30–56; Lk 9.10–17; Jn 6.1–21). These are the only miracles found in all four Gospels. There is a doublet for the feeding in 15.32–38; cf. also 1 Kings 17.8–16; 2 Kings 4.42–44. 19: Looked … blessed … broke … gave, the language suggests eucharistic ritual; cf. 26.26. 21: Matthew increases the magnitude of the miracle by adding besides women and children (cf. Mk 6.44). 22: The other side of the Sea of Galilee. 25: Early in the morning, lit., “in the fourth watch of the night,” i.e., between 3 and 6 am. 27: It is I, lit., “I am,” a reference to the divine name (Ex 3.14). 28: Peter's walking on the water is unique to Matthew and brings out both the role of Peter as the representative of the disciples, and his—and their—need for faith. This is the first time in the Gospel that the disciples worship Jesus and refer to him as Son of God (cf. 16.16; 27.54). 34: Gennesaret is either a narrow plain on the west side of the Sea or a town on that plain; 4.18n.

15.1–20: The tradition of the elders (Mk 7.1–23). 2: Tradition of the elders, Pharisaic oral law designed to elucidate and protect the law of Moses (3.8n.). Wash, eat food in a state of ritual purity; cf. Ex 30.17–21. 3: Hand-washing was a Pharisaic tradition, not stipulated by the Torah. 4: God said, Ex 20.12; 21.17; Lev 20.9; Deut 5.16. 5: Given to God, m. Ned. 3.2; 5.6. 7–9: Isa 29.13. 11: Defiles, renders one ritually unclean. 13: Isa 61.21; Jer 12.17. 14: Blind guides, 23.16,24; Lk 6.39. 15: Significantly, Matthew stops short of Mark's conclusion, “Thus he declared all foods clean” (Mk 7.19).

15.21–28: The Canaanite woman's faith (Mk 7.24–30). 21: District, perhaps the largely Jewish enclave in Syria bordering on northwest Galilee. 22: Canaanite replaces Mark's more accurate political designation “Syrophoenician.” The archaic term “Canaanite” may be designed to recall Israel's traditional enemies (Deut 7.1). Son of David, see 9.27n. 24: The limited mission to Israel enjoined on the disciples at 10.5–6 also applies to Jesus's own ministry. 27: Dogs, “little dogs” or household pets as metaphors for Gentiles. 28: Like the Roman centurion (8.5–10), the Gentile woman is praised for exemplary faith.

15.29–39: The healing and feeding of many people. 32–39 (Mark 8.1–10):This is a doublet to the feeding in 14.13–23. 30: 9.35–36n. 38: The four thousand may be Gentiles but are more likely Jews. 39: Magadan (see textual note a on the next page) replaces Mark's “district of Dalmanutha” (Mk 8.10); both locales are unknown.

16.1–12: The Pharisees and Sadducees (Mk 8.11–21; Lk 12.54–56). 1: 3.7n. Sign, probably a cosmic event. 4: Sign of Jonah, see 12.38–41. In Matthew the sign is Jesus's burial and resurrection; in Lk, see 11:29–32, it is Jesus's role as a prophet demanding repentance. 6: Here yeast (leaven) is a metaphor for teaching, but teaching that has the capacity to corrupt everything with which it comes into contact. At 13.33 the image is used positively. 8: 14.28n. 9: Cf. 14.13–21. 10: Cf. 15.32–39.

16.13–20: Peter's confession about Jesus (Mk 8.27–30; Lk 9.18–21). 13: Caesarea Philippi, a city 25 mi (40 km) north of the Sea of Galilee, formerly Baneas and renamed by Philip in honor of Caesar Augustus. It is to be distinguished from Caesarea Maritima, the Hellenistic city redesigned and expanded by Herod the Great on the Mediterranean coast that served as the headquarters of the Roman governor (Acts 8.40; 21.8,16). Son of Man, 8.20n. 14: Jeremiah, Matthew's inclusion of Jeremiah among the prophets emphasizes the parallels between Jesus and Jeremiah (also mentioned in 2.17; 27.9). 16: Son of the living God is found only in Matthew's version of Peter's confession (cf. 26.63; Ps 42.2). The title has strong messianic overtones (4Q174.10–14). 17: Son of Jonah, either a variant of “son of John” (Jn 1.42) or an indication that Peter has a prophetic gift like Jonah's. Flesh and blood, humans. 18: This promise to Peter is found only in Matthew. Peter … rock, Jesus's nickname for Simon (Gk “petros”) means “stone” or “rock.” The same pun works with its Aramaic equivalent, Kephas (1 Cor 1.12; 15.5; Gal 1.18). Church, the only occurrences of the word “church” (Gk “ekklesia”) in the Gospels are here and at 18.17. The gates of Hades may mean the “powers of death.” 19: Keys, a symbolic ascription of power (see Isa 22.22), bequeathing Peter the authority to oversee admission to the church (cf. 18.18).

16.21–28: Jesus foretells his death and resurrection (Mk 8.31–9.1; Lk 9.22–27). 21: The phrase from that time on may be a marker signaling the beginning of the last third of the Gospel (4.17n.). The first of three passion predictions (17.22–23; 20.17–19; cf. 26.1–2). 23: Peter resembles Satan (4.10) by tempting Jesus to forego his divinely appointed suffering. 24–25: Cf. 10.38–39. Cross, see 10.38n. 28: Some standing here, possibly a reference to Jesus's transfiguration (17.1–13).

17.1–13: The transfiguration of Jesus (Mk 9.2–13; Lk 9.28–36). 1: High mountain, traditionally identified with Mount Tabor or, because of its proximity to Caesarea Philippi, with Mount Hermon. The setting and reference to six days are reminiscent of God's revelation to Moses, and later Elijah, on Sinai (Horeb) (Ex 34.1–9; 1 Kings 19.1–18). 2: His face shone, Ex 34.35. 3: Moses and Elijah symbolize, respectively, the Law and the Prophets, the first two divisions of the Hebrew Bible. 5: My Son, 3.17n. 10: Elijah must come first, according to the traditional interpretation of Mal 4.5, Elijah would come “before the day of the Lord.” 12: Elijah has already come in the person of John the Baptist.

17.14–21: The healing of a boy with a demon (Mk 9.14–29; Lk 9.37–43). 17: Faithless and perverse generation, Jesus's disciples; cf. Deut 32.5,20. 20: Little faith is the main problem besetting Jesus's disciples in Matthew. Mustard seed, 13.31n.

17.22–23: Jesus's second prediction of his death and resurrection (Mk 9.30–32; Lk 9.43–45). 22: Were gathering, in order to visit Jerusalem for Passover. 23: Whereas in Mk 9.32 the disciples are perplexed, Matthew's disciples are greatly distressed.

17.24–27: Payment of the temple tax. 24: Temple tax, lit., “the didrachma.” This “double drachma” was equivalent to half a shekel, an amount enjoined on all Israel (Ex 30.11–16). Used in Jesus's day for sacrifices and the upkeep of the Temple, the tax (the “fiscus judaicus”) continued to be levied by Rome after the Temple's destruction in 70 ce, as a penalty for the Jewish people's revolt in 66–70 ce. 26: The children are free, just as a king's children are tax-exempt, so too are God's children, i.e., Jesus and his brothers and sisters (12.50). 27: Give offense, offend the devout people who collect the tax.

18.1–35: The fourth discourse, on community or church. This discourse focuses on community interrelations and church discipline—specifically the need for the church to care for their disadvantaged and forgive one another.

18.1–9: The greatest in the kingdom and temptations to sin (Mk 9.33–37; 42–48; Lk 9.46–48; 17.1–2). 3–6: Children and little ones, humble Christian disciples. 6: Great millstone, a large, circular, stone harnessed to a donkey or ox to grind grain. Sea, millstones were sometimes used as anchors (cf. Rev 18.21). 9: Hell, cf. 5.29n.

18.10–20: Lost sheep and sinning brothers (Lk 15.3–7; 17.3). 10: Their angels, both individuals and nations were thought to have guardian angels (Dan 10.20–21; Acts 12.15). Face of my Father, receive God's special attention. 12: Luke's version of the parable varies considerably; in Matthew the emphasis is not on the shepherd's joy at finding the lost sheep, but on his responsibility not to lose a straying sheep. 15: Alone, to avoid publicly shaming the church member. Witnesses, 9.27–31n; cf. Deut 19.15. 17: Gentile … tax collector, 5.46,47n. 18: 16.16. This authority is extended to the church as a whole.

18.21–35: The parable of the unforgiving servant. 21–22: Seven, 12.45n.; cf. Gen 4.24. 23: A king, God. 24: Ten thousand talents, a vast sum amounting to more than the entire tribute paid by Galilee to Rome over a fifteen-year period. A talent was equivalent to six thousand denarii (a denarius was a day-laborer's wage). 25: Ordered him to be sold, slaves, their families and possessions were chattel. 28: A hundred denarii, roughly three months’ wages. 30: 5.25n. 34: Tortured, to ascertain the location of the slave's money or to coerce money from his family.

19.1–20.34: Jesus moves from Galilee to Judea. In Matthew, this transition marks Jesus's first (and final) trip to Judea.

19.1–12: Teaching about divorce (Mk 10.1–12). 1: Beyond the Jordan, the Transjordan or Perea, regions on the east side of the Jordan River. Galileans traveling to Jerusalem for Passover would often cross over the Jordan to bypass Samaria (Lk 9.51–56). 2: Large crowds, 4.25n. 3: The Pharisaic schools of Hillel and Shammai both permitted divorce but differed over the appropriate grounds. 4–5: Gen 1.27; 2.24. 7: Moses, Deut 24.1–4. 9: Except for unchastity, this exception clause has been added by Matthew; see also 5.32. 12: Made themselves eunuchs, hyperbole for the voluntary practice of celibacy; a eunuch is a castrated male.

19.13–30: Little children and the rich young man (Mk 10.13–31; Lk 18.15–30). 13–15: Cf. 18.1–5. 17: Only one, God; Mk 10.18. To enter into life means both “to enter the kingdom” and “to gain eternal life” (vv. 16,23,24). 19: Ex 20.12–16; Deut 5.16–20; Matthew adds the love commandment from Lev 19.18 (cf. 22.39). 21: Perfect, 5.48n. 22: Young, only found in Matthew. 24: Camel, the largest animal in the region (23.24). 28: Renewal, the new age on earth, featuring a general resurrection. Thrones, Dan 7.9–14. 30: 20.16.

20.1–16: The workers in the vineyard. 2: 18.28n. 15: Envious, lit., “Is your eye evil?” (cf. 6.22–23n.). 16: See 19.30.

20.17–19: A third time Jesus foretells his death and resurrection (Mk 10.32–34; Lk 18.31–34). 17–19: Cf. 16.21–28; 17.22–23. This prediction explicitly indicts the Gentiles in Jesus's death.

20.20–28: The request of James and John (Mk 10.35–45). In contrast to Mark, the request here originates with their mother. 21: Right … left, indicates those figures who, flanking a monarch, would rank as second and third in authority. 23: My cup, death. Acts 12.2 mentions James's martyrdom; according to postbiblical tradition, his brother John was also martyred. 28: Ransom, the price paid to liberate a slave.

20.29–34: The healing of two men who were blind (Mk 10.46–52; Lk 18.35–43); a doublet of 9.27–31. 29: Jericho, city and oasis 15 mi (24 km) east of Jerusalem and 8 mi (13 km) north of the Dead Sea. 30: Two blind men, in Mk 10.46 the single man who is blind is identified as Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. 31: Son of David, see 9.27n.

21.1–11: The triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11.1–11; Lk 19.28–38; Jn 12:12–19). 1: Bethphage (“House of Figs”), a village on the Mount of Olives ca. 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the Jerusalem Temple. 2: Village, perhaps Bethany (see v. 17; Mk 11.1). Donkey, instead of a warhorse connoting a military leader (Pss. Sol. 17), Jesus rides a donkey symbolizing humility and peace (Zech 9.9–10). 4–5: A composite fulfillment citation of Isa 62.11 and Zech 9.9. Daughter of Zion, Jerusalem and its residents. 7: Colt, while Zechariah refers to only one donkey, expressed by poetic parallelism, Matthew's fulfillment citation interprets the expression as two: a donkey and its foal. 8: Cloaks, an act of royal homage; 2 Kings 9.13. 9: The cry Hosanna (lit., in Heb “Help” or “Save, I pray”) had become by Jesus's day an exclamation of praise. Blessed, a citation of Ps 118.26, which was used as a traditional greeting for pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem for the great festivals. 11: Prophet, 21.46

21.12–27: The Temple and the fig tree (Mk 11.12–24; 27–33; Lk 19.45–48; 20.1–8). 12: In Jn 2.13–22 this episode is situated early in Jesus's ministry, in Mk 11.11–19 on the day after Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem. Selling and buying, animals for sacrifice. Money changers, Roman money had to be changed into Tyrian shekels, the only currency acceptable for use within the Temple. Doves, offerings typical of the poor (Lev 5.7–10). Business transactions took place in the large outer Court of the Gentiles; it was here that Jesus's “cleansing” took place. 13: Written, Isa 56.7; Jer 7.11. 14: Jesus's cleansing culminates in the healing of persons who are blind and lame, who were normally excluded from the Temple (Lev 21.16–23). 15: Hosanna 21.9n. 16: Ps 8.2. 19: Fig tree, “it was not the season for figs” (Mk 11.13) is omitted. As fig trees often symbolized Jerusalem or the Temple, Jesus's action is best understood as a prophecy of judgment (23.37–24.2). 23: Authority, 7.29; 9.6–8. 25: From heaven, from God.

21.28–22.14: Three parables (Mk 12.1–12; Lk 20.9–19; Lk 14.15–24). 21.28–32: The first of three consecutive parables condemning the Jewish religious leadership. 31: The tax collectors and the prostitutes, the people who were presumed to have the lowest morals (5.46n.). 33–37: The second parable is an allegory based on Isa 5.1–7, outlining the history of God and Israel. The vineyard is a metaphor for Israel, with God as the landowner, the Jewish leadership as the tenants, the prophets as the slaves, and Jesus as the son. 42: Ps 118.22–23; cornerstone, the keystone of an arch. 43: A people that produces the fruits, a reference to the Christian church and its practice of righteousness. 44: If this verse is Matthean (see textual note c), it refers to the dire consequences of misunderstanding who Jesus was. 46: Prophet, v. 11. 22.1–14: The third parable. 7: Burned their city, a probable allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce. 11–14: These four verses are a Matthean addition to the parable. 11: A wedding robe may suggest the righteous deeds necessary for believers to enter the kingdom (see Mt 7.21–23). 13: 8.12n.

22.15–46: Attempts to ensnare Jesus (Mk 12.13–37; Lk 20.20–44; 10.25–28). The preceding three parables are followed by three trick questions meant to entrap Jesus in his own words. 16: Herodians, possibly aristocratic supporters of Herod Antipas and his family. 17: Taxes, on agricultural yield and personal property amounting to about a denarius a year. Emperor, Tiberius Caesar (14–37 ce). 18: Hypocrites, 6.2n. 20: A typical silver denarius of Tiberias's day would have his portrait on the obverse and the Latin inscription “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus” on the reverse. 23: Sadducees, see introduction. 24: Moses said, Deut 25.5; cf. Gen 38.7–11. 30: Marry, in the coming age men no longer marry and women are no longer given in marriage. Like angels, since angels are eternal, they do not need to reproduce; the same holds true for the resurrected dead. 32: Ex 3.6. Otherwise God would have said, “I was the God of Abraham.” 34–40: For Matthew, the love commandment is preeminent; all other commandments are subsidiary and to be interpreted and performed out of love for God and one's neighbor. 37: Deut 6.4–5. 39: 19.19; Lev 19.18. 44–45: Jesus replies with a query of his own. In Ps 110.1 David (reputed author of the Psalms) describes the Lord (God) as speaking to my Lord (the Messiah). How can David's Lord be his son, since it is invariably sons who call their fathers “my lord”?

23.1–39: The denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Mk 12.38–40; Lk 11.37–52; 13.34–35; 20.45–47). This chapter contains the harshest and most sustained criticism of the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels; cf. the Introduction. Some scholars regard ch 23 as part of Matthew's fifth discourse (chs 24–25), but Matthew shifts the latter to a new setting (see 24.1). 2: Moses’ seat, either a stone seat for synagogue leaders or a receptacle for the Torah scroll. 3: Do whatever they teach you, a surprising directive from Matthew's Jesus. It may mean, “Follow their guidelines if you must, but by no means follow their example.” 4: Heavy burdens, contrast 11.30. 5: Phylacteries, small cases (“tefillin”), often made of leather, containing scriptural passages such as Deut 6.4–9. They were strapped to the left arm and forehead during prayer (Deut 6.8). Fringes, tassels (“tsitsit”) attached to the corners of an outer garment or prayer shawl (Num 15.38). 6: Place of honor, normally, the place nearest the host. 7: Rabbi, a designation of respect; lit., “my great one” or “my teacher.” 9: Father, do not use “father” as an honorific title. 13: Woe, lit., “Alas!” The seven woes given here can be contrasted with the beatitudes at 5.3–12. 15: Hypocrites, 6.2n. You cross sea and land, “you do everything possible.” New convert, a proselyte (Gentile convert) to Judaism. 16: Blind guides, 15.14. Gold of the sanctuary, perhaps the Temple treasury, which was also used as a bank. 23: Tithe, see Lev 27.30; Deut 14.22–23. 25: Cup … plate may symbolize the Pharisees themselves. 27: Tombs were whitewashed during festivals to prevent pilgrims from touching them and ritually polluting themselves by contact with the dead. 34: Prophets … scribes, Christian missionaries. Synagogues, see 9.35n. 35: Abel, Gen 4.8–11. The allusion to Zechariah, son of Barachiah likely conflates Zechariah the martyr (son of Jehoiada, 2 Chr 24.20–22) with Zechariah the prophet (son of Berechiah, Zech 1.1). 38: Your house … desolate; with the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem will be abandoned by God. 39: Ps 118.26; cf. Mt 21.9.

24.1–51: The fifth (apocalyptic) discourse. As with the mission discourse (ch 10), it is not clear whether these prophetic words speak of events that are imminent or had already occurred when the Gospel was written; probably they combine both perspectives. Matthew views some of the tribulations as consequent upon the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce and others as the prelude to the parousia (Second Coming).

24.1–14: The Temple's destruction and the beginning of woes (Mk 13.1–13; Lk 21.5–19). 2: Buildings of the temple, the Jerusalem Temple was one of the most magnificent sanctuaries of the ancient world. The reconstruction begun by Herod the Great spanned eighty years (20 bce–63 ce) and came to include separate courtyards for Gentiles, Jewish women, Jewish males, and priests. 3: Mount of Olives, a low mountain facing the east side of the Temple from across the Kidron Valley. Jesus and his disciples may have camped here during the crowded Passover festival. Zech 14.1–10 indicates that the Messiah would appear here. 8: Birth pangs, a metaphor for the onset of the end-time woes. 14: See 28.19–20.

24.15–28: The great tribulation (Mk 13.14–23; Lk 21.20–24). 15: Desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, the image of Zeus Olympios erected in the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 bce (Dan 9.27; 11.31; 12.11; 1 Macc 1.54; 6.7). The phrase may also refer to Gaius Caligula's attempt in 40 ce to install an image of himself in the Jerusalem Temple. The reader, either an editorial aside (as it is translated above) or Jesus's reference to the readers of Daniel. 16: Mountains had caves where one might hide. 19: Lk.23.28–31. 20: Winter or on a sabbath, times when travel was difficult or prohibited.

24.29–51: The coming of the Son of Man (Mk 13.24–37; Lk 21.25–33: Lk 17.26–30, 34–36; Lk 12.41–48). 29: Isa 13.10; Ezek 32.7; Joel 2.10,31; 3.15. 30: The Son of Man is himself the sign; see Dan 7.13. 31: Trumpet, see Isa 27.13; Zech 9.14; 1 Thess 4.16. 35: Cf. 5.18. 38: Noah, Gen 7.7. 51: Cut him in pieces, perhaps a figurative expression for “cut off from the community” (1QS 2.16–17).

25.1–30: Two parables of the end-times (Lk 19.11–27). 1: Bridesmaids would accompany the bridegroom to the bridal chamber. Lamps, torches made from rags wrapped around the end of a pole and soaked in olive oil. Bridegroom, 9.15n. 2: Foolish … wise, 7.24–27. 7: Trimmed their lamps, cut away the charred cloth wicks and added more oil. 13: 24.42. 14: Slaves, in Jesus's day, it was not unusual to entrust slaves with large amounts of money and responsibility. 15: Talents, 18.24n. This parable furnishes the basis for the English word “talent.” 18: 13.44n. 19: The delay of the parousia (Jesus's return). 23: Joy of your master, possibly the messianic banquet (8.11n.). 29: Cf. 13.12.

25.31–46: The judgment of the nations. 31: The Son of Man, 8.20n. 32: 24.9; 28.19; Isa 66.18; Joel 3.2. 33: Right, the auspicious side, while left was the bad or unlucky side. The distinction between sheep and goats may reside in the fabrics the two produce: goats produce dark hair, which was used to make ill-omened sackcloth (11.21n.), while white wool was a sign of prosperity.

26.1–16: Preliminaries to the Passover (Mk 14.3–11; Lk 22.3–6; Jn 12.1–8). 1: The conclusion of Jesus's final discourse. 2: Passover, the annual Jewish festival celebrating Israel's exodus from Egypt (Ex 12.1–20). Crucified: Jesus's fourth passion prediction. 3: Caiaphas, high priest ca.18–36 ce, was the son-in-law of the high priest Annas (6–15 ce; 26.57). 5: Riots were always a possibility during the major festivals. 6: Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem. 7: Alabaster jar, a small vial or bottle called an alabastron. 14: Judas Iscariot, 10.4n. Thirty pieces of silver, tetradrachmas worth about one hundred and twenty denarii, a third of a year's wages; cf. Zech 11.12.

26.17–35: The Passover and Lord's Supper (Mk 14.12–31; Lk 22.7–23,31–34 Jn 13.21–30, 36–38; cf. 1 Cor 11.23–25). 17: First day, the fourteenth of Nisan (March-April), sometimes described as “the preparation of the Passover.” It marks the beginning of the week-long festival. 25: Rabbi, a title for Jesus that is typically used by nondisciples in Matthew (23.7n.); Judas is the only disciple to use the title in Matthew. You have said so means “Yes.” 26: Cf. 14.19; 15.36. 28: Blood of the covenant, Ex 24.8. 30: The hymn, possibly from Ps 136 or one of the Hallel Psalms (113–18). 31: I will strike …, Zech 13.7. 32: See 28.7,10,16–20.

26.36–56: The arrest in Gethsemane (Mk 14.32–50; Lk 22.39–53; Jn 18.3–12). 36: Gethsemane, the name means “oil press,” so the site was likely an olive grove on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22.39) with olive presses nearby. 37: Sons of Zebedee, James and John (4.21; 17.1; 20.20–23n.). 38: Cf. Ps 42.6; Jon 4.9. 39: Cup, see 20.22. 49: Rabbi, see 26.25n. 53: In the Roman army a legion was about five thousand soldiers. 56: Scriptures, not individual passages, but the Jewish scriptures as a whole.

26.57–27.2: Jesus before the council and Pilate (Mk 14.53–15.1; Lk 22.54–23.2; Jn 18.13–27). 26.59: Whole council, the Sanhedrin, the highest council of the Jews, possessing judicial authority in noncapital cases. Judicial hearings were normally forbidden on festivals (m. San. 4.1). 61: Cf. 24.2. 63: Messiah, the Son of God, 16.16n. 64: You have said so: Jesus's response confirms the high priest's identification (25.25n.; 27.11). Son of Man, 8.20n. Cf. Ps 110.1; Dan 7.13. 75: 26.34. 27.2: Pilate the governor, Roman administrator of Judea, 26–36 ce.

27.3–10: The death of Judas. Compare Acts 1.18–20. 9–10: A fulfillment citation from Zech 11.12–13, with echoes of Jer 32.6–9.

27.11–31: Jesus on trial before Pilate (Mk 15.2–20; Lk 23.3–5,13–25; Jn 18.33–19.16). 11: 26.64n. 16: Barabbas (“son of the father” or “son of Abba”) was a common Jewish name. 19: Judgment seat, a raised, paved area outside Pilate's residence. Dream, this episode is unique to Matthew. 24: Washed his hands, Deut 21.6; Ps 73.13. 25: Children, an indication that the next generation would experience the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce. 27: The governor's headquarters (see textual note a), Pilate's residence (Jn 19.13). Whole cohort, ca. 600–1,000 soldiers.

27.32–56: The crucifixion and death of Jesus (Mk 15.21–41; Lk 23.26–49; Jn 19.17–30). 32: Simon, Mk 15.21. 33: Golgotha is Aramaic for skull. 34: Gall, a bitter, poisonous plant (see Ps 69.21). 35: See Ps 22.18 and note b. 37: King of the Jews, the official charge against Jesus was inscribed on a tablet. The charge suggests that he was considered a political threat (2.2). 45. Darkness, Amos 8.9. 46: Eli …, an Aramaic translation of Ps 22.1. The invocation to God (“Eli,” “my God”) sounds similar to the name Elijah (“The Lord is my God”). 47: Elijah was popularly regarded as a helper to those in need. 51: The curtain of the temple, a large tapestry that hung in front of the Holy of Holies, the innermost room of the Temple. The earth shook, 28.2. 53: The holy city, Jerusalem. 54: God's Son, the first acclamation of Jesus as Son of God by a Gentile. 56: Mary Magdalene, 27.61; 28.1; Mk 16.9; Lk 8.2. Magdala was a fishing town on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee, northwest of Tiberias. Sons of Zebedee, see 26.37n.

27.57–66: The burial of Jesus and the guard at the tomb. (Mk 15.42–47; Lk 23.50–56; Jn 19.38–42). 57: Evening, burials were not permitted on the sabbath. 61: Other Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (27.56; 28.1). 62: After the day of Preparation, the sabbath (Saturday). Friday was the day of Preparation. The Pharisees, last mentioned at 23.29, were not involved in Jesus's trial and crucifixion. 65: Guard of soldiers, Roman soldiers, not the Temple police.

28.1–15: The resurrection of Jesus and the guards’ report (Mk 16.1–8; Lk 24.1–12; Jn 20.1–10). 1: First day of the week, Sunday. The other Mary, 27.61n. 2: 27.51. 7: Galilee, 26.32; Mk 16.7; contrast Acts 1.4; Jn 20.19. 9: Here, as in the other Gospels, Jesus's women disciples are the first to witness the risen Jesus. 10: My brothers, Jesus identifies his disciples as “brothers,” indicating his ongoing love for them despite their lapses. 14: Governor's ears, an investigation before Pilate. 15: Not among the Jews but “among Jews,” i.e., among Jews who had not accepted the Christian message.

28.16–20: The commissioning of the disciples (Mk 16.14–18; Lk 24.36–49; Jn 20.19–23; Acts 1.6–8). 17: Some doubted, doubt still characterizes some of the disciples in Matthew. 18: All authority, 7.29n. 9.6; Dan 7.13–14. 19: All nations, all people, including the Jews. Baptizing becomes the rite of entry. 20. I am with you, 18.20; 1.23n.

^a Or birth

^b Or Jesus Christ

^c Other ancient authorities read Asa

^d Other ancient authorities read Amon

^a Or the Christ

^b Or Jesus Christ

^c Other ancient authorities read her firstborn son

^d Or astrologers; Gk magi

^e Or in the East

^a Or rule

^b Or astrologers; Gk magi

^c Or in the East

^d Gk saw the star

^e Gk he

^a Or is at hand

^b Or in

^c Or my beloved Son

^a Gk he

^b Or is at hand

^c Gk He

^d Gk gospel

^a Gk he

^b Other ancient authorities lack falsely

^a Gk one iota

^b Or annuls

^c Gk a brother; other ancient authorities add without cause

^d Gk say Raca to (an obscure term of abuse)

^e Gk a brother

^f Gk Gehenna

^g Gk your brother

^h Gk lacks to court

^a Or evil

^b Gk your brothers

^c Other ancient authorities add openly

^a Or our bread for tomorrow

^b Or us into temptation

^c Or from evil. Other ancient authorities add, in some form, For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.

^d Other ancient authorities add openly

^e Gk eating

^f Gk mammon

^g Other ancient authorities lack or what you will drink

^h Or add one cubit to your height

ⁱ Other ancient authorities lack of God

^j Or its

^a Gk brother’s

^b Gk brother

^c Other ancient authorities read for the road is wide and easy

^a Gk he

^b The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases

^c Other ancient authorities read Truly I tell you, not even

^a Other ancient authorities read Gergesenes; others, Gerasenes

^a Gk reclined

^b Gk were reclining

^c Other ancient authorities lack often

^d Gk lacks of the synagogue

^e Other ancient authorities lack this verse

^a Gk he

^b Other ancient authorities read Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus

^c Or is at hand

^d The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases

^a Gk Gehenna

^b Or the Christ

^c Other ancient authorities read two of his

^a The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases

^b Or Why then did you go out? To see someone

^c Other ancient authorities read Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?

^d Or has been coming violently

^e Other ancient authorities add to hear

^f Other ancient authorities read children

^a Or praise

^b Or for so it was well-pleasing in your sight

^c Other ancient authorities lack crowds

^a Gk sons

^a Other ancient authorities lack verse 47

^b Gk he

^c Other ancient authorities add to hear

^d Or mysteries

^a Gk stumbles

^b Gk hid in

^c Other ancient authorities read the prophet Isaiah

^d Other ancient authorities lack of the world

^e Other ancient authorities add to hear

^a Gk them

^b Gk tetrarch

^c Other ancient authorities read his brother’s wife

^d Gk he

^a Other ancient authorities read was out on the sea

^b Other ancient authorities read the wind

^c Other ancient authorities read commanded, saying

^d Or is an offering

^e Other ancient authorities add or the mother

^a Other ancient authorities read law; others, commandment

^b Other ancient authorities lack of the blind

^a Other ancient authorities read Magdala or Magdalan

^b Gk him

^c Other ancient authorities lack ²When it is … of the times

^d Or the Christ

^e Gk Petros

^f Gk petra

^g Other ancient authorities add Jesus

^a Other ancient authorities read we

^b Or tents

^c Or my beloved Son

^a Gk it or him

^b Gk the demon

^c Gk faith as a grain of

^d Other ancient authorities add verse 21, But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting

^e Other ancient authorities read living

^f Gk didrachma

^g Gk he

^h Gk stater; the stater was worth two didrachmas

^a Gk Gehenna

^b Other ancient authorities add verse 11, For the Son of Man came to save the lost

^c Other ancient authorities read my

^d Gk If your brother

^e Other ancient authorities lack against you

^f Gk the brother

^g Gk if my brother

^h Or seventy times seven

ⁱ A talent was worth more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer

^j The denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer

^a Gk brother

^b Other ancient authorities read except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; others add at the end of the verse and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery

^c Other ancient authorities add from my youth

^d Gk lacks the money

^a Other ancient authorities read manifold

^b Gk a denarius

^c Gk is your eye evil because I am good?

^d Other ancient authorities add for many are called but few are chosen

^e Other ancient authorities add or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

^a Other ancient authorities lack Lord

^b Or ‘The Lord needs them and will send them back immediately.’

^c Or Most of the crowd

^d Other ancient authorities add of God

^a Gk lacks heard

^b Gk He

^a Or keystone

^b Gk the fruits of it

^c Other ancient authorities lack verse 44

^a Other ancient authorities read who say that there is no resurrection

^b Other ancient authorities add of God

^c Or Christ

^d Gk in spirit

^a Other ancient authorities lack hard to bear

^b Gk brothers

^c Or the Christ

^d Other authorities add here (or after verse 12) verse 14, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation

^e Gk Gehenna

^f Other ancient authorities add and of the plate

^a Gk Gehenna

^b Other ancient authorities lack desolate

^c Or the Christ

^d Other ancient authorities add and pestilences

^e Or stumble

^f Or gospel

^a Or the Christ

^b Or christs

^c Or it

^d Other ancient authorities lack nor the Son

^e Other ancient authorities read at what hour

^a Gk to give them

^b Or cut him off

^c Gk virgins

^d Other ancient authorities add and the bride

^e Other ancient authorities add in which the Son of Man is coming

^f A talent was worth more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer

^a Gk these my brothers

^b The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases

^a Or gospel

^b Other ancient authorities add disciples

^c Other ancient authorities add new

^a Or into temptation

^b Or Christ

^c Gk the Nazorean

^a Gk he

^b Other ancient authorities read righteous

^c Other ancient authorities read Zechariah or Isaiah

^d Or I took

^e Or the price of the precious One

^f Other ancient authorities read I gave

^g Other ancient authorities lack Jesus

^h Or the Christ

ⁱ Other ancient authorities read this righteous blood, or this righteous man’s blood

^a Gk the praetorium

^b Other ancient authorities add in order that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

^c Or blasphemed

^d Or is he unable to save himself?

^e Or earth

^f Other ancient authorities add And another took a spear and pierced his side, and out came water and blood

^g Or gave up his spirit

^a Or a son of God

^b Or Take a guard

^c Gk you know how

^d Other ancient authorities read the Lord

^e Other ancient authorities lack from the dead

^f Gk they

^a Other ancient authorities add Amen