The Gospel of Matthew

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. ²⁰But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1-2 is dream-heavy “The word ‘dream’ occurs five times in the first two chapters of Matthew.” Matthew is the only synoptic to use dream-revelation as a structural device. Joseph's four dreams (Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19, 22) frame the infancy narrative; the magi's warning dream (2:12) adds a fifth. Bible.org Matthew 1 notes ²¹She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

²²Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

²³“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” Isaiah 7:14-17 Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Nearby setting: “In the days of Ahaz” (7:1); “before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken” (7:16).

²⁴Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; ²⁵and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Magi are not kings in Matthew Eastern star-readers; Matthew does not name three kings. Later reception gives them names (Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar), crowns, and a fixed number of three from the gifts. Matthew names none of this. Only that they came from the east and read stars. Schaff Matthew 2 ²“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” ³When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. ⁵They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

⁶‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come a governor who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’ ” Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel. In Micah this oracle answers Judah’s worst hour: 5:1 has “the judge of Israel” struck on the cheek; 5:5-6 names “the Assyrian” invading. The Bethlehem ruler is the reversal of that humiliation.

⁷Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

⁹They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” Flight means refugee life “they survived as refugees” The Holy Family become refugees in Egypt, the empire that once enslaved Israel. Matthew rhymes the new escape with the old: out of Egypt I called my son (Hosea 11:1, quoted in v.15). Icons & Imagery Rembrandt Joseph

¹⁴He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, ¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. In Hosea the line looks back to Israel’s exodus; Matthew applies it to Jesus returning from Egypt.

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15 A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. Jeremiah 31 moves from Rachel’s weeping toward return and restoration.

¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ²⁰“Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”

²¹He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, ²³and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene. No single extant verse He will be called a Nazarene. No single known Hebrew Bible verse matches this line; Matthew says “prophets” plural.

¹In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ²“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” ³For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make the way of the Lord ready! Make his paths straight!” Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one who calls out, "Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness!" Royal-procession imagery: a herald clears the road for Yahweh’s own return to Zion with the Babylonian exiles. The actual return route ran along the Euphrates; the desert is theological, an Exodus replay (Westermann, Goldingay, Blenkinsopp).

⁴Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. ⁶They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Pharisees and Sadducees Two distinct factions with different power bases. Matthew often groups them as opponents, but they are not identical. Pharisees are associated with observant interpretation of Jewish law; Sadducees are tied to temple and priestly power, and Matthew 22 names their denial of resurrection. Bible Odyssey PhariseesBible Odyssey Sadducees ⁸Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! ⁹Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

¹¹“I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”

¹⁵But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.

¹⁶Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. ¹⁷Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. A strange private scene “one of the most mysterious in the Gospel records” No ordinary eyewitness could report a wilderness temptation from the outside (Ellicott). Ellicott Matthew 4 ²When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

⁴But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’ ” Wilderness temptation cites Deuteronomy 8:3 Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh's mouth. Jesus answers the first temptation with Israel’s wilderness lesson from Deuteronomy 8.Psalm 91:11-12 He will put his angels in charge of you. They will bear you up in their hands. The tempter reads Psalm 91’s angelic-rescue promise literally, as license to demand a spectacular sign. Jesus’ reply refuses that reading.Deuteronomy 6:16 You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah. Jesus counters with Deuteronomy 6:16, refusing to make rescue a test.

⁵Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and said 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 don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

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

⁸Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁵“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, ¹⁶the people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:1-2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Naphtali was among the territories overrun by Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE (2 Kings 15:29 names Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and the land of Naphtali); deportation and resettlement left the region heavily mixed, hence “Galilee of the nations.” Isaiah 9:1 pairs Zebulun with Naphtali in the oracle Matthew quotes; Isaiah promises the great light in the place that bore the earliest damage.

¹⁷From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

¹⁸Walking 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. ¹⁹He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”

²⁰They immediately left their nets and followed him. ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. ²²They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. ²⁵Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

¹Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. ²He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousnessrighteousness Greek dikaiosyne covers both personal uprightness and social justice; English splits what the gospel keeps as one word., for they shall be filled. ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. ¹⁰Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹²Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. ¹⁸For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Higher righteousness “radical transformation of the heart” Hays reads the sermon as Torah reconfigured, not Torah discarded: righteousness moves into desire, anger, truthfulness, and mercy. Hays 2005

²¹“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of GehennaGehenna Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem; site of child sacrifice to Molech that Josiah defiled (2 Kings 23:10). By the second-temple period, shorthand for fiery judgment.. Translation WEB Gehenna KJV hell γέεννα (gehenna) vs ᾅδης (hades) KJV renders both Gehenna (the burning valley of Hinnom, Matt 5:22, 30; 10:28) and Hades (the realm of the dead, Matt 11:23; 16:18) as hell. The Greek distinguishes fiery judgment from underworld; KJV flattens both into a single English word.

²³“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. ²⁶Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ ²⁸but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. ³⁰If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’ ³²but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ ³⁴but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. ³⁷But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. Gandhi and nonresistance “went straight to my heart” Gandhi singled out “resist not evil” and turning the other cheek as the Sermon line that pierced him. Tolstoy’s political reading of the same command (The Kingdom of God Is Within You, 1894) was Gandhi’s direct source. Gandhi Sermon on the MountTolstoy Sermon on Mount Politics ⁴⁰If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

¹“Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ²Therefore, when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, ⁴so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

⁵“When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ⁷In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. ⁸Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him. ⁹Pray like this: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

¹⁰Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹Give us today our daily bread. ¹²Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. ¹³Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’

¹⁴“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

¹⁶“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

¹⁹“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and MammonMammon Aramaic loanword for wealth, personified here as a rival master.. ²⁵Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? Lilies and birds as teachers “silence, obedience, joy” Kierkegaard reads Matthew 6 as instruction in how not to worry. Kierkegaard Lily and Bird

²⁷“Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? ²⁸Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, Godspell uses the lilies line “They don’t work. They don’t spin.” During the instrumental break of the 1973 musical's “All Good Gifts” song (00:56:26 on the ClipCafe timestamp), the Jesus actor speaks Matt 6:28-30 nearly verbatim. The sung lyrics are the 18th-century hymn “We Plough the Fields and Scatter”; the lilies passage is the spoken interlude. ClipCafe Godspell liliesLilies of the Field answers with Matthew 6 “Consider the lilies of the field” The 1963 film takes its title from Matt 6:28; Mother Maria recites the passage to Sidney Poitier's Homer Smith when he asks to be paid for his work. Matthew 6:28 cultural references ²⁹yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

³¹“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

¹“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. ²For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

⁶“Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

⁷“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹²Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

¹³“Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. ¹⁴How narrow is the gate and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. ¹⁶By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. ¹⁸A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ ²³Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

²⁴“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.

¹When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. ²Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”

³Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴Jesus said to him, “See that you tell nobody; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁵When he came into Capernaum, a centurioncenturion Roman officer commanding ~80 men; a representative of the occupying army. came to him, asking him for help, ⁶saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”

⁷Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel. ¹¹I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, ¹²but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.

¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand, and the fever left her. So she got up and served him. ¹⁶When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering. Matthew applies the suffering-servant line to healing scenes before the Passion.

¹⁸Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.

¹⁹A scribe came and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Son of Man A human being, and Daniel 7’s apocalyptic figure. The phrase can mean a human being, but Daniel 7 gives it apocalyptic weight. Matthew uses both registers: lowliness, suffering, authority, and future judgment. Bible Odyssey Son of Man

²¹Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

²³When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”

²⁶He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.

²⁷The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

²⁸When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. ²⁹Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. ³¹The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”

³²He said to them, “Go!” They came out and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water.

³³Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. ³⁴Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.

¹He entered into a boat and crossed over, and came into his own city. ²Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”

³Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.”

⁴Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go to your house.”

⁷He arose and departed to his house. ⁸But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

⁹As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him. Tax booth to apostle From the tax booth to the Twelve. Tax collectors in Roman Judea collected for the occupier, often at inflated rates. They are paired with “sinners” as a fixed category (Matt 9:10, 11:19). Calling one from his booth is provocative; eating with them in the next scene opens chapter 9’s conflicts. Bible Odyssey Apostle Matthew ¹⁰As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. ¹³But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

¹⁵Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made. ¹⁷Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Translation WEB wineskins KJV bottles ἀσκούς (askous) 1611 bottle still meant any flexible container, including a sewn animal skin. Modern bottle reads as glass; the parable needs the elasticity, which only the skin has.

¹⁸While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples. ²⁰Behold, a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; ²¹for she said within herself, “If I just touch his garment, I will be made well.”

²²But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, “Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

²³When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, ²⁴he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.

²⁵But when the crowd was sent out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶The report of this went out into all that land.

²⁷As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” ²⁸When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” ³⁰Then their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.” ³¹But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.

³²As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him. ³³When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”

³⁵Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. ³⁶But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

¹He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. ²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; ³Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

⁵Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans. The first mission is bounded Israel first here; all nations at the end. The bounded sending in Matt 10:6 reverses at Matt 28:19, where the same disciples go to “all nations.” The two sendings bookend the Gospel. ⁶Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ ⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give. ⁹Don’t take any gold, silver, or brass in your money belts. ¹⁰Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor sandals, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. ¹¹Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you go on. ¹²As you enter into the household, greet it. ¹³If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴Whoever doesn’t receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

¹⁶“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you. ¹⁸Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. ²⁰For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. ²³But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come.

²⁴“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house BeelzebulBeelzebul From Canaanite Baal-zebul, "lord of the lofty place." Deformed by Hebrew polemic to Baal-zebub ("lord of flies") for the Philistine god of Ekron in 2 Kings 1; a later pun deforms it to "lord of dung.", how much more those of his household! ²⁶Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

²⁹“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarionassarion Small Roman copper coin, ~1/16 of a denarius (a day's wage). The cheapest unit of currency in circulation. coin? Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Translation WEB assarion KJV farthing ἀσσάριον (assarion) KJV uses farthing here AND for quadrans in Mark 12:42 (the widow). Two distinct Roman coin units flatten into one Jacobean English word. The cheapness is preserved; the unit precision is not. BDAG s.v. ἀσσάριον³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. ³²Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. ³³But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

³⁴“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶A man’s foes will be those of his own household. Micah 7:6 For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother. The “household foes” saying echoes Micah’s picture of social breakdown; Matthew uses it for family fracture caused by allegiance to Jesus. ³⁷He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. ³⁸He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me. ³⁹He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.”

¹When Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” John’s prison question The forerunner asks from prison whether Jesus is the one who comes. John baptized Jesus and called him the stronger one to come. Now from prison he sends to ask if Jesus is really the one. The forerunner himself doubts; the axe-at-the-root judgment he preached hasn’t arrived. Working Preacher Matthew 11:2-11

⁴Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

⁷As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Malachi 3:1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. In Malachi the messenger precedes Yahweh’s own “sudden” arrival at the temple (3:1) to purify the priests with refiner’s fire (3:3-4). Matthew lines John up with the messenger; Jesus’ temple disruption (21:12-13) lines up with the arrival. ¹¹Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. Elijah’s return Malachi expected Elijah before the day of Yahweh. Elijah was taken up in 2 Kings 2; Jesus identifies John as the returning Elijah of Malachi 4. Bible Odyssey ElijaheBible WEB 2 Kings 2eBible WEB Malachi 4 ¹⁵He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions ¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’ The generation refuses both songs Flute and mourning songs both get rejected. John is dismissed for abstinence, Jesus for table fellowship. The complaint isn’t about style. Working Preacher Matthew 11:16-19 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, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

²⁰Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. ²⁴But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

²⁵At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. ²⁶Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. ²⁷All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, 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.”

¹At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

³But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Jesus quotes Hosea’s mercy/sacrifice contrast before the Sabbath dispute. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹He departed from there and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.

¹¹He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” ¹³Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him. The sheep-in-a-pit argument Jesus answers the Sabbath trap with property-rescue logic, heals the man, and the opponents immediately plot murder. The argument is standard rabbinic kal va-chomer reasoning (light-to-heavy): if you’d rescue the sheep, you’d rescue the man. Jesus isn’t breaking Sabbath law; he’s beating them at their own halakhic method. eBible WEB Hosea 6

¹⁵Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, ¹⁶and commanded them that they should not make him known, ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁸“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. ¹⁹He will not strive, nor shout, neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory. ²¹In his name, the nations will hope.” Isaiah 42:1-4 Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. Matthew reads the withdrawal and healing scene through Isaiah’s servant.

²²Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. ²⁹Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

³⁰“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. ³⁶I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The sign is not another spectacle The demanded sign is refused; Jonah becomes the sign instead. In the art tradition Jonah is the death-and-resurrection sign (VCS). VCS Sign of Jonah ⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³“When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. ⁴⁴Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”

⁴⁶While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. ⁴⁷One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”

⁴⁸But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

¹On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. ²Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. ³He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. ⁴As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. ⁶When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. ¹²For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. ¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. ¹⁴In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive;

¹⁵for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’ Isaiah 6:9-10 You hear indeed, but do not understand. You see indeed, but do not perceive. Isaiah 6 is the prophet’s commission: sent to a people who will hear but not understand. Matthew has the parables doing the same sorting work on his audience.

¹⁶“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

¹⁸“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. ²⁰What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it; ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

²⁴He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. ²⁷The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’

²⁸“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

²⁹“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

³¹He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field, ³²which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”

³³He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, ³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” Psalm 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old. Psalm 78 is a long historical recital framed as a wisdom riddle (mashal plus ḥidōt). Matthew’s “things hidden since the foundation of the world” follows the LXX rendering of “riddles” as “hidden things”; he claims parable speech as the same reveal-and-conceal instruction by story.

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”

³⁷He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, ⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

⁴⁴“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind, ⁴⁸which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ⁵¹Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”

⁵²He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. ⁵⁴Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” ⁵⁷They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.”

⁵⁸He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

¹At that time, HerodHerod Antipas, son of Herod the Great; tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Not the Herod who ordered the Bethlehem massacre (that was his father, dead since 4 BCE). the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, ²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. ⁷Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. ⁸She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”

⁹The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, ¹⁰and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹His head was brought on a platter and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came, 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 apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

¹⁴Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.”

¹⁶But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸He said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰They all ate and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. ²¹Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ²³After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. ²⁴But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”

²⁹He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!”

³⁴When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick; ³⁶and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.

¹Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, ²“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”

³He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ⁵But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” ⁶he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

⁸‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. ⁹And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’ ” Isaiah 29:13 This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. The tradition dispute is tied to Isaiah’s hypocrisy charge.

¹⁰He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. ¹¹That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? ¹⁷Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body? ¹⁸But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. ²⁰These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”

²¹Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”

²³But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”

²⁴But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. The Canaanite mother One of the few scenes where Jesus changes course. One of the few scenes where Jesus changes course in argument. The Canaanite mother accepts his Gentile-dog metaphor and turns it: even dogs eat crumbs under the table. The mission to Israel-first cracks open here, well before the “all nations” commission at the end. Rijksmuseum Bulletin Canaanite woman

²⁹Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there. ³⁰Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them, ³¹so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”

³³The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

³⁵He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; ³⁶and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ³⁷They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. ³⁹Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ²But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times! ⁴An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” He left them and departed.

⁵The disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They reasoned among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”

⁸Jesus, perceiving it, said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, because you have brought no bread? ⁹Don’t you yet perceive or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up, ¹⁰or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? ¹¹How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then they understood that he didn’t tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Caesarea Philippi is not a neutral backdrop A Roman city with older sanctuary associations frames the confession. Caesarea Philippi sat at the foot of Mount Hermon beside a cave shrine to the god Pan. A pagan power-center is the setting for “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Bible Odyssey Caesarea Philippi

¹⁴They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and 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 Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of HadesHades Greek name for the realm of the dead; "gates of Hades" is biblical death-and-underworld imagery, not a synonym for Gehenna or hell. will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” ²⁰Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

²¹From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you.”

²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? ²⁷For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will give to everyone according to his deeds. ²⁸Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

¹After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. ²He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. ³Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Moses and Elijah are loaded figures Lawgiver and prophet appear with the transfigured Jesus. Both Moses and Elijah met God on a mountain (Sinai, Horeb). Matthew restages that mountaintop encounter, then ends it with the voice saying to listen to Jesus, not to them. Bible Odyssey MosesBible Odyssey Elijah

⁴Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

⁶When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. ⁷Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” ⁸Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.

⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

¹⁰His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things; ¹²but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” ¹³Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.

¹⁴When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

¹⁷Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”

²⁰He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”

²²While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.” They were exceedingly sorry.

²⁴When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachmadidrachma Two-drachma coin: the annual temple tax owed by every adult Jewish male (Exodus 30:13). Roughly two days of unskilled wages. coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” Translation WEB didrachma KJV tribute money δίδραχμα (didrachma) The annual half-shekel temple tax (Exodus 30:13), payable in this specific two-drachma coin. KJV chooses the function (tax) over the unit; WEB chooses the unit. ²⁵He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”

²⁶Peter said to him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt.

²⁷But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”

¹In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

²Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them ³and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁵Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me, ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.

⁷“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes! ⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire. ¹⁰See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹¹For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.

¹²“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? ¹³If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. ¹⁶But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Deuteronomy 19:15 At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. Matt 18:16 applies Deuteronomy’s witness rule to community discipline. Two or three witnesses The witness rule from Deuteronomy 19:15. “Two or three witnesses” is a Torah callback: Deuteronomy 19:15 says no charge stands on one witness. Matthew is borrowing legal evidence-rules for the church. eBible WEB Deuteronomy 19 ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. ¹⁸Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven. Translation WEB Most certainly I tell you KJV Verily I say unto you ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν (amēn legō hymin) The same Greek formula recurs ~30 times in Matthew. Amēn at sentence-start is a Jewish solemn idiom; both English renderings paraphrase rather than transliterate, unlike 1 Cor 14:16 and Rev 22:20 where the NT leaves the word untranslated. ¹⁹Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

²¹Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. ²³Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talentstalents One talent was 6,000 denarii, roughly 16 years of an unskilled laborer's wages. Ten thousand talents is intentionally impossible debt.. ²⁵But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ ²⁷The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ ³⁰He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done. ³²Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

¹When Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there.

³Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? Genesis 1:27 / 2:24 Male and female he created them... The two will become one flesh. Jesus answers the divorce test by returning to creation language rather than beginning with the certificate law. ⁶So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.”

⁷They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and divorce her?” Deuteronomy 24:1 Then let him write her a certificate of divorce. The certificate question points to Deuteronomy 24, which Jesus treats as a concession rather than the creation baseline.

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. ⁹I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to him, “If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.”

¹¹But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchseunuchs Castrated men, or sexually-abstinent men holding court positions. The word names bodies and social status, not a casual metaphor. who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

¹³Then little children were brought to him that he should lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.” ¹⁵He laid his hands on them, and departed from there.

¹⁶Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’

¹⁹‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.

²³Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”

²⁵When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷Then Peter answered, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.

¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²When he had agreed with the laborers for a denariusdenarius A day's wage for an unskilled laborer in first-century Palestine; enough to feed a family that night. a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. ⁴He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’

⁷“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’

⁸“When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ ⁹“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, ¹²saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’

¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. ¹⁵Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evileye evil Greek idiom; the 'evil eye' is envy. The vineyard owner's generosity to the late workers is the offense., because I am good?’ ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him. ²¹He said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom.”

²²But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to him, “We are able.”

²³He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers.

²⁵But Jesus summoned them, and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶It shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ²⁷Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant, ²⁸even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. ³⁰Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” ³¹The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”

³²Jesus stood still and called them, and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³They told him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

³⁴Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received their sight, and they followed him.

¹When they came near to Jerusalem and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite 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, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

⁴All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 Behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey. Zechariah’s next verse (9:10) cuts off chariot, war horse, and battle bow and has the king “speak peace to the nations.” The donkey is not humility-as-virtue; it is anti-cavalry policy.

⁶The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them, ⁷and brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them; and he sat on them. ⁸A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

¹⁰When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹The multitudes said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

¹²Jesus entered into the temple of God and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹³He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!” Isaiah 56:7 / Jeremiah 7:11 My house will be called a house of prayer... but you have made it a den of robbers. In Jeremiah, “den of robbers” comes from the Temple Sermon at the temple gate, warning the building will fall like Shiloh (Jer 7:12-14). A “den” is a bandit’s hideout, not where robbery happens; the charge is that the people treat the temple as safe retreat after wrongdoing committed elsewhere. Entry and temple action as one scene Matthew keeps the royal entry, temple disruption, healings, and children in one body of action. Jesus arrives at Passover, when Jerusalem’s population swelled three or four times over and the money-changing trade peaked at the temple. The royal entry, temple action, healings, and children’s shouts unfold as one continuous public scene over two days. Working Preacher Matthew 21:1-17Bible Odyssey Money Changers

¹⁴The lame and the blind came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of children and nursing babies, you have perfected praise’?”

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

¹⁸Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

²⁰When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?”

²¹Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. ²²All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

²³When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.” ²⁷They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. ³⁰He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.

³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn’t even repent afterward, that you might believe him.

³³“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. ³⁴When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. ³⁵The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. ³⁷But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him. ⁴⁰When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’? Psalm 118:22-23 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The rejected-stone line follows the vineyard parable.

⁴³“Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation producing its fruit. ⁴⁴He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”

⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them. ⁴⁶When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.

¹Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, ²“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son, ³and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!” ’ ⁵But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; ⁶and the rest grabbed his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. ⁹Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰Those servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing, ¹²and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few chosen.”

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk. ¹⁶They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach; for you aren’t partial to anyone. ¹⁷Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.

²⁰He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”

²¹They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The Caesar-coin trap Caesar’s profile on a coin, inside a yes/no trap. Taxation, image, and imperial power are the same question here. The coin carries Caesar’s face inside a yes/no trap designed to get Jesus killed either way. Working Preacher Matthew 22:15-22Bible Odyssey Render unto CaesarBible Odyssey Rome in NT

²²When they heard it, they marveled, and left him and went away.

²³On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him, ²⁴saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.’ ²⁵Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. ²⁶In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh. ²⁷After them all, the woman died. ²⁸In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”

²⁹But Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. ³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven. ³¹But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ³²‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

³³When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

³⁴But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. ³⁵One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

³⁷Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Greatest commandment Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. The greatest-commandment answer begins with the Shema tradition.Leviticus 19:18 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In context, “neighbor” (rea) sits in a chain of in-group terms: “your brother,” “your fellow,” “the sons of your people.” Lev 19:34 extends “love him as yourself” separately to the resident alien; that v.34 has to exist is the evidence v.18 alone did not yet cover foreigners (Milgrom, Levine). ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

⁴¹Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴²saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”

⁴³He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? Psalm 110:1 Yahweh says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Jesus uses Psalm 110 to complicate the “son of David” question.

⁴⁵“If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

⁴⁶No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.

¹Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, ²saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. ³All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. Intra-Jewish polemic Jesus and the Pharisees argue inside a Jewish framework, not across it. Pharisees were a Torah-reform movement; later Christian reception weaponized this chapter against Jews. Bible Odyssey PhariseesConway-Jones Matthew Jewish-Christian Relations ⁴For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. ⁵But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteriesphylacteries Tefillin: small leather boxes containing Torah verses (Deut 6:8), worn on the forehead and arm during prayer. The Pharisees enlarge theirs for visibility. broad and enlarge the fringes of their garments, ⁶and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. ⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. ⁹Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. ¹⁰Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. ¹¹But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁴“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. ¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living in it. ²²He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. ²⁴You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. ²⁶You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. ²⁸Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, ³⁰and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets. ³²Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna? ³⁴Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! ³⁸Behold, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

¹Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. ²But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. ⁵For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. ¹²Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But he who endures to the end will be saved. This is not mainly an escape chart The speech keeps returning to deception, endurance, and watchfulness. Matthew 24-25 is one speech inside the Jerusalem conflict; Yale frames it as narrative coda rather than predictive timetable. Yale Matthew stories of the end ¹⁴This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), Daniel 9:27 / 11:31 / 12:11 On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate. Matthew points readers to Daniel rather than spelling out a single verse. ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house. ¹⁸Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. ¹⁹But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath, ²¹for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be. ²²Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

²³“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. ²⁴For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

²⁵“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. ²⁷For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.

²⁹“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; ³⁰and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

³²“Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. ³³Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. ³⁴Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁶“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. ³⁷As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, ³⁹and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. ⁴³But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. ⁴⁷Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has. ⁴⁸But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it and in an hour when he doesn’t know it, ⁵¹and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

¹“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷Then all those virgins arose, 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 answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ ¹²But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

¹⁴“For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two. ¹⁸But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.

¹⁹“Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them. ²⁰He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’

²¹“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²²“He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’

²³“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴“He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter. ²⁵I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

²⁶“But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. ²⁷You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. ²⁸Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away. ³⁰Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’

⁴⁰“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Judgment moves into bodies Hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned. These six became the corporal works of mercy in medieval Christian iconography, painted as a fixed program. Tobit’s “bury the dead” was added later as a seventh. KMSKA Last Judgement and Seven ActsVCS Sheep and Goats ⁴¹Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; ⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

⁴⁵“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ ⁴⁶These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

¹When Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples, ²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Passover sets the timing The Passion begins inside Israel’s Exodus feast. The Passion calendar is Exodus 12: lamb chosen on the 10th, slaughtered on the 14th, eaten that night, blood on the doorposts as the angel of death passes over. Matthew has Jesus die on Passover. Bible Odyssey PassovereBible WEB Exodus 12

³Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. ⁴They took counsel together that they might take Jesus by deceit and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, lest a riot occur among the people.”

⁶Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. ⁸But when his disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

¹⁰However, knowing this, Jesus said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for me. ¹¹For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me. ¹²For in pouring this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of as a memorial of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?” So they weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶From that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ”

¹⁹The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰Now when evening had come, he was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. ²¹As they were eating, he said, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.”

²²They were exceedingly sorrowful, and each began to ask him, “It isn’t me, is it, Lord?”

²³He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.”

²⁵Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You said it.”

²⁶As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, ²⁸for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

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

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ Zechariah 13:7 Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. In Zechariah the struck shepherd is the one Yahweh calls “my shepherd, the man who stands next to me” (13:7); the scattering is followed by a refined third surviving as God’s people (13:8-9). ³²But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.”

³³But Peter answered him, “Even if all will be made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.”

³⁴Jesus said to him, “Most certainly I tell you that tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

³⁵Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” All of the disciples also said likewise.

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.” ³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. ³⁸Then Jesus said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.”

³⁹He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”

⁴⁰He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour? ⁴¹Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again, a second time he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup can’t pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done.”

⁴³He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴He left them again, went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then he came to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Arise, let’s be going. Behold, he who betrays me is at hand.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now he who betrayed him had given them a sign, saying, “Whoever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him.” ⁴⁹Immediately he came to Jesus, and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Friend, why are you here?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

⁵¹Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”

⁵⁵In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you didn’t arrest me. ⁵⁶But all this has happened that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had taken Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸But Peter followed him from a distance to the court of the high priest, and entered in and sat with the officers, to see the end.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰and they found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward ⁶¹and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.’ ”

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that these testify against you?” ⁶³But Jesus stayed silent. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “You have said so. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.” Daniel 7:13 / Psalm 110:1 Behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man. Combining Daniel 7’s cloud-rider with Psalm 110’s enthronement “at the right hand” pushes past ordinary messiahship into shared-throne language. Bock and others argue this is why Caiaphas tears his robes at v.65: claiming to be Messiah was not, by itself, blasphemy.

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What do you think?” They answered, “He is worthy of death!”

⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the court, and a maid came to him, saying, “You were also with Jesus, the Galilean!”

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

⁷¹When he had gone out onto the porch, someone else saw him and said to those who were there, “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man.”

⁷³After a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, for your speech makes you known.”

⁷⁴Then he began to curse and to swear, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately the rooster crowed.

⁷⁵Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Then he went out and wept bitterly.

¹Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ²They bound him, led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.

³Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”

⁵He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary and departed. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It’s not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.” ⁷They took counsel, and bought the potter’s field with them to bury strangers in. ⁸Therefore that field has been called “The Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him upon whom a price had been set, whom some of the children of Israel priced,

¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “So you say.”

¹²When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they testify against you?”

¹⁴He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

¹⁵Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner whom they desired. ¹⁶They had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up.

¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.”

²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”

²²Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do to Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let him be crucified!”

²³But the governor said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.”

²⁵All the people answered, “May his blood be on us and on our children!” The “blood be on us” verse This verse has a long anti-Jewish afterlife. One of the Gospel’s hardest verses. A crowd scene at trial isn’t a timeless accusation against Jews; it has been read that way for centuries (Conway-Jones). Conway-Jones Matthew Jewish-Christian RelationsYale Matthew death study guide

²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified.

²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.

²⁹They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down 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. ³¹When they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, and put his clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

³²As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross. ³³When they came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull,” ³⁴they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink.

³⁵When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots, ³⁶and they sat and watched him there. ³⁷They set up over his head the accusation against him written, “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸Then there were two robbers crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on the left.

³⁹Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁴¹Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said, ⁴²“He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If 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 him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴The robbers also who were crucified with him cast on him the same reproach.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The psalm answers its own opening cry at v.24 (“he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted... but heard when he cried to him”) and ends with future generations told “he has done it” (v.31).

⁴⁷Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him a drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴Now the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, were terrified, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him. ⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus’ disciple, came. ⁵⁸This man went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up. ⁵⁹Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate, ⁶³saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead;’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.

¹Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ²Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky and came and rolled away the stone from the door 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. ⁵The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. ⁷Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”

⁸They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. ⁹As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. The guards at the tomb Earthquake, angel on the stone, guards, fear and joy. Two women, guards on the stone, an “All Hail” meeting on the road. Matthew’s tomb scene is rougher than the harmonized version most readers carry (VCS). VCS Women at the Tomb

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

¹¹Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹²When they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers, ¹³saying, “Say that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. ¹⁴If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.” ¹⁵So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.

¹⁶But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, All nations after Israel first The ending expands the bounded mission of chapter 10. Matthew 10 sends the Twelve first to Israel; Matthew 28 sends them to all nations. The “all nations” line lands at the end of a pressure that has been building since the genealogy: Magi, centurion, Canaanite woman, Caesar. Matthew Literary Argument ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.