Category: SAINT MATTHEW

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Matthew 

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Chapter 26

1

¹ When Jesus finished all these words, ² he said to his disciples,

2

“You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

4

and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death.

5

But they said, “Not during the festival, ⁴ that there may not be a riot among the people.”

6

⁵ Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

7

a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table.

8

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and said, “Why this waste?

9

It could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor.”

10

Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me.

11

The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me.

12

⁶ In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.

13

Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her.”

14

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscar iot, ⁷ went to the chief priests

15

⁸ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver,

16

and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

17

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ⁹ the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

18

¹⁰ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘”

19

The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

20

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve.

21

And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ¹¹

22

Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

23

He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.

24

¹² The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

25

¹³ Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

26

^14 15 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, ¹⁶ and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you,

28

for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.

29

¹⁷ I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.”

30

¹⁸ Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

31

Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, ¹⁹ for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’;

32

but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.”

33

Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.”

34

²⁰ Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

35

Peter said to him, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples spoke likewise.

36

²¹ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, ²² and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

37

He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, ²³ and began to feel sorrow and distress.

38

Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. ²⁴ Remain here and keep watch with me.”

39

He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, ²⁵ if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”

40

When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?

41

Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. ²⁶ The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42

²⁷ Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!”

43

Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open.

44

He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.

45

Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.

46

Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

47

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

48

His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”

49

Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” ²⁸ and he kissed him.

50

Jesus answered him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

51

And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.

52

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

53

Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?

54

But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?”

55

²⁹ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me.

56

But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

57

³⁰ Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas ³¹ the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

58

Peter was following him at a distance as far as the high priest’s courtyard, and going inside he sat down with the servants to see the outcome.

59

The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin ³² kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death,

60

but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two ³³ came forward

61

who stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God and within three days rebuild it.'”

62

The high priest rose and addressed him, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?”

63

But Jesus was silent. ³⁴ Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64

Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. ³⁵ But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'”

65

Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! ³⁶ What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy;

66

what is your opinion?” They said in reply, “He deserves to die!”

67

³⁷ Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him,

68

saying, “Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?”

69

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70

³⁸ But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!”

71

As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.”

72

Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!”

73

³⁹ A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.”

74

At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed.

75

Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.

1 [1-⇒ 28:20] The five books with alternating narrative and discourse (⇒ Matthew 3:1-⇒ 25:46) that give this gospel its distinctive structure lead up to the climactic events that are the center of Christian belief and the origin of the Christian church, the passion and resurrection of Jesus. In his passion narrative (⇒ Matthew 26:26-27) Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but with omissions (e.g., ⇒ Mark 14:51-52) and additions (e.g., ⇒ Matthew 27:3-10, ⇒ 19). Some of the additions indicate that he utilized traditions that he had received from elsewhere; others are due to his own theological insight (e.g., ⇒ Matthew 26:28 “. . . for the forgiveness of sins”; ⇒ Matthew 27:52). In his editing Matthew also altered Mark in some minor details. But there is no need to suppose that he knew any passion narrative other than Mark’s.

2 [1-2] When Jesus finished all these words: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 7:28-29. “You know . . . crucified”: Matthew turns Mark’s statement of the time (⇒ Mark 14:1) into Jesus’ final prediction of his passion. Passover: see the note on ⇒ Mark 14:1.

3 [3] Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.

4 [5] Not during the festival: the plan to delay Jesus’ arrest and execution until after the festival was not carried out, for according to the synoptics he was arrested on the night of Nisan 14 and put to death the following day. No reason is given why the plan was changed.

5 [6-13] See the notes on ⇒ Mark 14:3-9 and ⇒ John 12:1-8.

6 [12] To prepare me for burial: cf ⇒ Mark 14:8. In accordance with the interpretation of this act as Jesus’ burial anointing, Matthew, more consistent than Mark, changes the purpose of the visit of the women to Jesus’ tomb; they do not go to anoint him (⇒ Mark 16:1) but “to see the tomb” (⇒ Matthew 28:1).

7 [14] Iscariot: see the note on ⇒ Luke 6:16.

8 [15] The motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’s question about the price for betrayal, which is absent in the Marcan source (⇒ Mark 14:10-11). Hand him over: the same Greek verb is used to express the saving purpose of God by which Jesus is handed over to death (cf ⇒ Matthew 17:22; ⇒ 20:18; ⇒ 26:2) and the human malice that hands him over. Thirty pieces of silver: the price of the betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from ⇒ Zechariah 11:12 where it is the wages paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price (⇒ Zechariah 11:13). That amount is also the compensation paid to one whose slave has been gored by an ox (⇒ Exodus 21:32).

9 [17] The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: see the note on ⇒ Mark 14:1. Matthew omits Mark’s “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.”

10 [18] By omitting much of ⇒ Mark 14:13-15, adding My appointed time draws near, and turning the question into a statement, in your house I shall celebrate the Passover, Matthew has given this passage a solemnity and majesty greater than that of his source.

11 [21] Given Matthew’s interest in the fulfillment of the Old Testament, it is curious that he omits the Marcan designation of Jesus’ betrayer as “one who is eating with me” (⇒ Mark 14:18), since that is probably an allusion to Ps 41, 10. However, the shocking fact that the betrayer is one who shares table fellowship with Jesus is emphasized in ⇒ Matthew 26:23.

12 [24] It would be better . . . born: the enormity of the deed is such that it would be better not to exist than to do it.

13 [25] Peculiar to Matthew. You have said so: cf ⇒ Matthew 26:64; ⇒ 27:11. This is a half-affirmative. Emphasis is laid on the pronoun and the answer implies that the statement would not have been made if the question had not been asked.

14 [26] See the note on ⇒ Mark 14:22-24. The Marcan-Matthean is one of the two major New Testament traditions of the words of Jesus when instituting the Eucharist. The other (and earlier) is the Pauline-Lucan (⇒ 1 Cor 11:23-25; ⇒ Luke 22:19-20). Each shows the influence of Christian liturgical usage, but the Marcan-Matthean is more developed in that regard than the Pauline-Lucan. The words over the bread and cup succeed each other without the intervening meal mentioned in ⇒ 1 Cor 11:25; ⇒ Luke 22:20; and there is parallelism between the consecratory words (this is my body . . . this is my blood). Matthew follows Mark closely but with some changes.

15 [26] See the note on ⇒ Matthew 14:19. Said the blessing: a prayer blessing God. Take and eat: literally, Take, eat. Eat is an addition to Mark’s “take it” (literally, “take”; ⇒ Mark 14:22). This is my body: the bread is identified with Jesus himself. ⇒ Matthew 26:26-29

16 [27-28] Gave thanks: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 15:36. Gave it to them . . . all of you: cf ⇒ Mark 14:23-24. In the Marcan sequence the disciples drink and then Jesus says the interpretative words. Matthew has changed this into a command to drink followed by those words. My blood: see ⇒ Lev 17:11 for the concept that the blood is “the seat of life” and that when placed on the altar it “makes atonement.” Which will be shed: the present participle, “being shed” or “going to be shed,” is future in relation to the Last Supper. On behalf of: Greek peri; see the note on ⇒ Mark 14:24. Many: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 20:28. For the forgiveness of sins: a Matthean addition. The same phrase occurs in ⇒ Mark 1:4 in connection with John’s baptism but Matthew avoids it there (⇒ Matthew 3:11). He places it here probably because he wishes to emphasize that it is the sacrificial death of Jesus that brings forgiveness of sins.

17 [29] Although his death will interrupt the table fellowship he has had with the disciples, Jesus confidently predicts his vindication by God and a new table fellowship with them at the banquet of the kingdom.

18 [30] See the note on ⇒ Mark 14:26.

19 [31] Will have . . . shaken: literally, “will be scandalized in me”; see the note on ⇒ Matthew 24:9-12. I will strike . . . dispersed: cf ⇒ Zechariah 13:7.

20 [34] Before the cock crows: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 14:25. The third watch of the night was called “cockcrow.” Deny me: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 16:24.

21 [36-56] Cf ⇒ Mark 14:32-52. The account of Jesus in Gethsemane is divided between that of his agony (⇒ Matthew 26:36-46) and that of his betrayal and arrest (⇒ Matthew 26:47-56). Jesus’ sorrow and distress (⇒ Matthew 26:37) in face of death is unrelieved by the presence of his three disciples who, though urged to watch with him (⇒ Matthew 26:38, ⇒ 41), fall asleep (⇒ Matthew 26:40, ⇒ 43). He prays that if . . . possible his death may be avoided (⇒ Matthew 26:39) but that his Father’s will be done (⇒ Matthew 26:39, ⇒ 42, ⇒ 44). Knowing then that his death must take place, he announces to his companions that the hour for his being handed over has come (⇒ Matthew 26:45). Judas arrives with an armed band provided by the Sanhedrin and greets Jesus with a kiss, the prearranged sign for his identification (⇒ Matthew 26:47-49). After his arrest, he rebukes a disciple who has attacked the high priest’s servant with a sword (⇒ Matthew 26:51-54), and chides those who have come out to seize him with swords and clubs as if he were a robber (⇒ Matthew 26:55-56). In both rebukes Jesus declares that the treatment he is how receiving is the fulfillment of the scriptures (⇒ Matthew 26:55, ⇒ 56). How should be now the subsequent flight of all the disciples is itself the fulfillment of his own prediction (cf 31). In this episode, Matthew follows Mark with a few alterations.

22 [36] Gethsemane: the Hebrew name means “oil press” and designates an olive orchard on the western slope of the Mount of Olives; see the note on ⇒ Matthew 21:1. The name appears only in Matthew and Mark. The place is called a “garden” in ⇒ John 18:1.

23 [37] Peter and the two sons of Zebedee: cf ⇒ Matthew 17:1.

24 [38] Cf ⇒ Psalm 42:5, ⇒ 11. In the Septuagint (⇒ Psalm 41:4, ⇒ 11) the same Greek word for sorrowful is used as here. To death: i.e., “enough to die”; cf ⇒ Jonah 4:9.

25 [39] My Father: see the note on ⇒ Mark 14:36. Matthew omits the Aramaic ‘abba’ and adds the qualifier my. This cup: see the note on ⇒ Mark 10:38-40.

26 [41] Undergo the test: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 6:13. In that verse “the final test” translates the same Greek word as is here translated the test, and these are the only instances of the use of that word in Matthew. It is possible that the passion of Jesus is seen here as an anticipation of the great tribulation that will precede the parousia (see the notes on ⇒ Matthew 24:8; ⇒ 24:21) to which ⇒ Matthew 6:13 refers, and that just as Jesus prays to be delivered from death (⇒ Matthew 26:39), so he exhorts the disciples to pray that they will not have to undergo the great test that his passion would be for them. Some scholars, however, understand not undergo (literally, “not enter”) the test as meaning not that the disciples may be spared the test but that they may not yield to the temptation of falling away from Jesus because of his passion even though they will have to endure it.

27 [42] Your will be done: cf ⇒ Matthew 6:10.

28 [49] Rabbi: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 23:6-7. Jesus is so addressed twice in Matthew (⇒ Matthew 26:25), both times by Judas. For the significance of the closely related address “teacher” in Matthew, see the note on ⇒ Matthew 8:19.

29 [55] Day after day . . . arrest me: cf ⇒ Mark 14:49. This suggests that Jesus had taught for a relatively long period in Jerusalem, whereas ⇒ Matthew 21:1-11 puts his coming to the city for the first time only a few days before.

30 [57-68] Following ⇒ Mark 14:53-65 Matthew presents the nighttime appearance of Jesus before the Sanhedrin as a real trial. After many false witnesses bring charges against him that do not suffice for the death sentence (Matthew 14:60), two came forward who charge him with claiming to be able to destroy the temple . . . and within three days to rebuild it (Matthew 14:60-61). Jesus makes no answer even when challenged to do so by the high priest, who then orders him to declare under oath . . . whether he is the Messiah, the Son of God (⇒ Matthew 26:62-63). Matthew changes Mark’s clear affirmative response (⇒ Mark 14:62) to the same one as that given to Judas (⇒ Matthew 26:25), but follows Mark almost verbatim in Jesus’ predicting that his judges will see him (the Son of Man) seated at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven (⇒ Matthew 26:64). The high priest then charges him with blasphemy (⇒ Matthew 26:65), a charge with which the other members of the Sanhedrin agree by declaring that he deserves to die (⇒ Matthew 26:66). They then attack him (⇒ Matthew 26:67) and mockingly demand that he prophesy (⇒ Matthew 26:68). This account contains elements that are contrary to the judicial procedures prescribed in the Mishnah, the Jewish code of law that dates in written form from ca. A.D. 200, e.g., trial on a feast day, a night session of the court, pronouncement of a verdict of condemnation at the same session at which testimony was received. Consequently, some scholars regard the account entirely as a creation of the early Christians without historical value. However, it is disputable whether the norms found in the Mishnah were in force at the time of Jesus. More to the point is the question whether the Matthean-Marcan night trial derives from a combination of two separate incidents, a nighttime preliminary investigation (cf ⇒ John 18:13, ⇒ 19-24) and a formal trial on the following morning (cf ⇒ Luke 22:66-71).

31 [57] Caiaphas: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 26:3.

32 [59] Sanhedrin: see the note on ⇒ Luke 22:66.

33 [60-61] Two: cf ⇒ Deut 19:15. I can destroy . . . rebuild it: there are significant differences from the Marcan parallel (⇒ Mark 14:58). Matthew omits “made with hands” and “not made with hands” and changes Mark’s “will destroy” and “will build another” to can destroy and (can) rebuild. The charge is probably based on Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction; see the notes on ⇒ Matthew 23:37-39; ⇒ 24:2; and ⇒ John 2:19. A similar prediction by Jeremiah was considered as deserving death; cf ⇒ Jeremiah 7:1-15; ⇒ 26:1-8.

34 [63] Silent: possibly an allusion to ⇒ Isaiah 53:7. I order you . . . living God: peculiar to Matthew; cf ⇒ Mark 14:61.

35 [64] + You have said so: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 26:25. From now on . . . heaven: the Son of Man who is to be crucified (cf ⇒ Matthew 20:19) will be seen in glorious majesty (cf ⇒ Psalm 110:1) and coming on the clouds of heaven (cf ⇒ Daniel 7:13). The Power: see the note on ⇒ Mark 14:61-62.

36 [65] Blasphemed: the punishment for blasphemy was death by stoning (see ⇒ Lev 24:10-16). According to the Mishnah, to be guilty of blasphemy one had to pronounce “the Name itself,” i.e. Yahweh; cf Sanhedrin 7, 4.5. Those who judge the gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial by the later Mishnah standards point out that Jesus uses the surrogate “the Power,” and hence no Jewish court would have regarded him as guilty of blasphemy; others hold that the Mishnah’s narrow understanding of blasphemy was a later development.

37 [67-68] The physical abuse, apparently done to Jesus by the members of the Sanhedrin themselves, recalls the sufferings of the Isaian Servant of the Lord; cf ⇒ Isaiah 50:6. The mocking challenge to prophesy is probably motivated by Jesus’ prediction of his future glory (⇒ Matthew 26:64).

38 [70] Denied it in front of everyone: see ⇒ Matthew 10:33. Peter’s repentance (⇒ Matthew 26:75) saves him from the fearful destiny of which Jesus speaks there.

39 [73] Your speech . . . away: Matthew explicates Mark’s “you too are a Galilean” (⇒ Mark 14:70).

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Matthew

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Chapter 1

1

^1 2 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2

Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

3

Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

4

Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse,

6

Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.

7

³ Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph.

8

Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah.

9

Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10

Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, ⁴ Amos the father of Josiah.

11

Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

12

After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13

Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

14

Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,

15

Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,

16

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17

Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations. ⁵

18

⁶ Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, ⁷ but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.

19

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, ⁸ yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

20

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord ⁹ appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

21

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, ¹⁰ because he will save his people from their sins.”

22

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23

¹¹ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

24

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

25

He had no relations with her until she bore a son, ¹² and he named him Jesus. 

1 [⇒ 1:1-⇒ 2:23] The infancy narrative forms the prologue of the gospel. Consisting of a genealogy and five stories, it presents the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel’s history, and the events of his conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The genealogy is probably traditional material that Matthew edited. In its first two sections (⇒ Matthew 1:2-11) it was drawn from ⇒ Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Chron 1-3. Except for Jechoniah, Shealtiel, and Zerubbabel, none of the names in the third section (⇒ Matthew 1:12-16) is found in any Old Testament genealogy. While the genealogy shows the continuity of God’s providential plan from Abraham on, discontinuity is also present. The women Tamar (⇒ Matthew 1:3), Rahab and Ruth (⇒ Matthew 1:5), and the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba (⇒ Matthew 1:6), bore their sons through unions that were in varying degrees strange and unexpected. These “irregularities” culminate in the supreme “irregularity” of the Messiah’s birth of a virgin mother; the age of fulfillment is inaugurated by a creative act of God. Drawing upon both biblical tradition and Jewish stories, Matthew portrays Jesus as reliving the Exodus experience of Israel and the persecutions of Moses. His rejection by his own people and his passion are foreshadowed by the troubled reaction of “all Jerusalem” to the question of the magi who are seeking the “newborn king of the Jews” (⇒ Matthew 2:2-3), and by Herod’s attempt to have him killed. The magi who do him homage prefigure the Gentiles who will accept the preaching of the gospel. The infancy narrative proclaims who Jesus is, the savior of his people from their sins (⇒ Matthew 1:21), Emmanuel in whom “God is with us” (⇒ Matthew 1:23), and the Son of God (⇒ Matthew 2:15).

2 [1] The Son of David, the son of Abraham: two links of the genealogical chain are singled out. Although the later, David is placed first in order to emphasize that Jesus is the royal Messiah. The mention of Abraham may be due not only to his being the father of the nation Israel but to Matthew’s interest in the universal scope of Jesus’ mission; cf ⇒ Genesis 22:18 “. . . . in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.”

3 [7] The successor of Abijah was not Asaph but Asa (see ⇒ 1 Chron 3:10). Some textual witnesses read the latter name; however, Asaph is better attested. Matthew may have deliberately introduced the psalmist Asaph into the genealogy (and in ⇒ Matthew 1:10 the prophet Amos) in order to show that Jesus is the fulfillment not only of the promises made to David (see 2 Sam 7) but of all the Old Testament.

4 [10] Amos: some textual witnesses read Amon, who was the actual successor of Manasseh (see ⇒ 1 Chron 3:14).

5 [17] Matthew is concerned with fourteen generations, probably because fourteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters forming the name of David. In the second section of the genealogy (⇒ Matthew 1:6b-11), three kings of Judah, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, have been omitted (see ⇒ 1 Chron 3:11-12), so that there are fourteen generations in that section. Yet the third (⇒ Matthew 1:12-16) apparently has only thirteen. Since Matthew here emphasizes that each section has fourteen, it is unlikely that the thirteen of the last was due to his oversight. Some scholars suggest that Jesus who is called the Messiah (⇒ Matthew 1:16b) doubles the final member of the chain: Jesus, born within the family of David, opens up the new age as Messiah, so that in fact there are fourteen generations in the third section. This is perhaps too subtle, and the hypothesis of a slip not on the part of Matthew but of a later scribe seems likely. On Messiah, see the note on ⇒ Luke 2:11.

6 [18-25] This first story of the infancy narrative spells out what is summarily indicated in ⇒ Matthew 1:16. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit of God. Joseph’s decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph’s adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of ⇒ Isaiah 7:14.

7 [18] Betrothed to Joseph: betrothal was the first part of the marriage, constituting a man and woman as husband and wife. Subsequent infidelity was considered adultery. The betrothal was followed some months later by the husband’s taking his wife into his home, at which time normal married life began.

8 [19] A righteous man: as a devout observer of the Mosaic law, Joseph wished to break his union with someone whom he suspected of gross violation of the law. It is commonly said that the law required him to do so, but the texts usually given in support of that view, e.g., ⇒ Deut 22:20-21 do not clearly pertain to Joseph’s situation. Unwilling to expose her to shame: the penalty for proved adultery was death by stoning; cf ⇒ Deut 22:21-23.

9 [20] The angel of the Lord: in the Old Testament a common designation of God in communication with a human being. In a dream: see ⇒ Matthew 2:13, ⇒ 19, ⇒ 22. These dreams may be meant to recall the dreams of Joseph, son of Jacob the patriarch (⇒ Genesis 37:5-⇒ 11:19). A closer parallel is the dream of Amram, father of Moses, related by Josephus (Antiquities 2,9,3; 212, 215-16).

10 [21] Jesus: in first-century Judaism the Hebrew name Joshua (Greek Iesous) meaning “Yahweh helps” was interpreted as “Yahweh saves.”

11 [23] God is with us: God’s promise of deliverance to Judah in Isaiah’s time is seen by Matthew as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, in whom God is with his people. The name Emmanuel is alluded to at the end of the gospel where the risen Jesus assures his disciples of his continued presence,”. . . I am with you always, until the end of the age” (⇒ Matthew 28:20).

12 [25] Until she bore a son: the evangelist is concerned to emphasize that Joseph was not responsible for the conception of Jesus. The Greek word translated “until” does not imply normal marital conduct after Jesus’ birth, nor does it exclude it. 

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

 

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Matthew

Chapter 9

1

¹ He entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town.

2

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

3

At that, some of the scribes ² said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”

4

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts?

5

Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

6

³ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”  – he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

7

He rose and went home.

8

⁴ When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.

9

^5 6 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

10

While he was at table in his house, ⁷ many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

11

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher ⁸ eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12

He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. ⁹

13

Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ ¹⁰ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

14

Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?”

15

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹¹

16

No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, ¹² for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.

17

People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

18

¹³ While he was saying these things to them, an official ¹⁴ came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

19

Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.

20

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel ¹⁵ on his cloak.

21

She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”

22

Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.

23

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,

24

he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” ¹⁶ And they ridiculed him.

25

When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.

26

And news of this spread throughout all that land.

27

¹⁷ And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (him), crying out, “Son of David, ¹⁸ have pity on us!”

28

When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him.

29

Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

30

And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”

31

But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

32

As they were going out, ¹⁹ a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him,

33

and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

34

²⁰ But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

35

²¹ Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.

36

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, ²² like sheep without a shepherd.

37

²³ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;

38

so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

1 [1] His own town: Capernaum; see ⇒ Matthew 4:13.

2 [3] Scribes: see the note on ⇒ Mark 2:6. Matthew omits the reason given in the Marcan story for the charge of blasphemy: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (⇒ Mark 2:7).

3 [6] It is not clear whether “But that you may know . . . to forgive sins” is intended to be a continuation of the words of Jesus or a parenthetical comment of the evangelist to those who would hear or read this gospel. In any case, Matthew here follows the Marcan text.

4 [8] Who had given such authority to human beings: a significant difference from ⇒ Mark 2:12 (“They . . . glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this’ “). Matthew’s extension to human beings of the authority to forgive sins points to the belief that such authority was being claimed by Matthew’s church.

5 [9-17] In this section the order is the same as that of ⇒ Mark 2:13-22.

6 [9] A man named Matthew: Mark names this tax collector Levi (⇒ Mark 2:14). No such name appears in the four lists of the twelve who were the closest companions of Jesus (⇒ Matthew 10:2-4; ⇒ Mark 3:16-19; ⇒ Luke 6:14-16; ⇒ Acts 1:13 [eleven, because of the defection of Judas Iscariot]), whereas all four list a Matthew, designated in ⇒ Matthew 10:3 as “the tax collector.” The evangelist may have changed the “Levi” of his source to Matthew so that this man, whose call is given special notice, like that of the first four disciples (⇒ Matthew 4:18-22), might be included among the twelve. Another reason for the change may be that the disciple Matthew was the source of traditions peculiar to the church for which the evangelist was writing.

7 [10] His house: it is not clear whether his refers to Jesus or Matthew. Tax collectors: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 5:46. Table association with such persons would cause ritual impurity.

8 [11] Teacher: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 8:19.

9 [12] See the note on ⇒ Mark 2:17.

10 [13] Go and learn . . . not sacrifice: Matthew adds the prophetic statement of ⇒ Hosea 6:6 to the Marcan account (see also ⇒ Matthew 12:7). If mercy is superior to the temple sacrifices, how much more to the laws of ritual impurity.

11 [15] Fasting is a sign of mourning and would be as inappropriate at this time of joy, when Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom, as it would be at a marriage feast. Yet the saying looks forward to the time when Jesus will no longer be with the disciples visibly, the time of Matthew’s church. Then they will fast: see Didache 8:1.

12 [16-17] Each of these parables speaks of the unsuitability of attempting to combine the old and the new. Jesus’ teaching is not a patching up of Judaism, nor can the gospel be contained within the limits of Mosaic law.

13 [18-34] In this third group of miracles, the first (⇒ Matthew 9:18-26) is clearly dependent on Mark (⇒ Mark 5:21-43). Though it tells of two miracles, the cure of the woman had already been included within the story of the raising of the official’s daughter, so that the two were probably regarded as a single unit. The other miracles seem to have been derived from Mark and Q respectively, though there Matthew’s own editing is much more evident.

14 [18] Official: literally, “ruler.” Mark calls him “one of the synagogue officials” (⇒ Mark 5:22). My daughter has just died: Matthew heightens the Marcan “my daughter is at the point of death” (⇒ Mark 5:23).

15 [20] Tassel: possibly “fringe.” The Mosaic law prescribed that tassels be worn on the corners of one’s garment as a reminder to keep the commandments (see ⇒ Numbers 15:37-39; ⇒ Deut 22:12).

16 [24] Sleeping: sleep is a biblical metaphor for death (see ⇒ Psalm 87:6 LXX; ⇒ Daniel 12:2; ⇒ 1 Thes 5:10). Jesus’ statement is not a denial of the child’s real death, but an assurance that she will be roused from her sleep of death.

17 [27-31] This story was probably composed by Matthew out of Mark’s story of the healing of a blind man named Bartimaeus (⇒ Mark 10:46-52). Mark places the event late in Jesus’ ministry, just before his entrance into Jerusalem, and Matthew has followed his Marcan source at that point in his gospel also (see ⇒ Matthew 20:29-34). In each of the Matthean stories the single blind man of Mark becomes two. The reason why Matthew would have given a double version of the Marcan story and placed the earlier one here may be that he wished to add a story of Jesus’ curing the blind at this point in order to prepare for Jesus’ answer to the emissaries of the Baptist (⇒ Matthew 11:4-6) in which Jesus, recounting his works, begins with his giving sight to the blind.

18 [27] Son of David: this messianic title is connected once with the healing power of Jesus in Mark (⇒ Mark 10:47-48) and Luke (⇒ Luke 18:38-39) but more frequently in Matthew (see also ⇒ Matthew 12:23; ⇒ 15:22; ⇒ 20:30-31).

19 [32-34] The source of this story seems to be Q (see ⇒ Luke 11:14-15). As in the preceding healing of the blind, Matthew has two versions of this healing, the later in ⇒ Matthew 12:22-24 and the earlier here.

20 [34] This spiteful accusation foreshadows the growing opposition to Jesus in Matthew 11; 12.

21 [35] See the notes on ⇒ Matthew 4:23-25; ⇒ Matthew 8:1-⇒ 9:38.

22 [36] See ⇒ Mark 6:34; ⇒ Numbers 27:17; ⇒ 1 Kings 22:17.

23 [37-38] This Q saying (see ⇒ Luke 10:2) is only imperfectly related to this context. It presupposes that only God (the master of the harvest) can take the initiative in sending out preachers of the gospel, whereas in Matthew’s setting it leads into Matthew 10 where Jesus does so.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Matthew

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Chapter 4

1

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

2

He fasted for forty days and forty nights, ² and afterwards he was hungry.

3

The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.”

4

³ He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'”

5

⁴ Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,

6

and 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 ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”

7

Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'”

8

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,

9

and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” ⁵

10

At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'”

11

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

12

⁶ When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

13

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

14

that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

15

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

16

the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”

17

⁷ From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

18

⁸ As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.

19

He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

20

⁹ At once they left their nets and followed him.

21

He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them,

22

and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

23

¹⁰ He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, ¹¹ proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

24

¹² His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.

25

And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, ¹³ Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

1 [1-11] Jesus, proclaimed Son of God at his baptism, is subjected to a triple temptation. Obedience to the Father is a characteristic of true sonship, and Jesus is tempted by the devil to rebel against God, overtly in the third case, more subtly in the first two. Each refusal of Jesus is expressed in language taken from the Book of Deuteronomy (⇒ Deut 8:3; ⇒ 6:13, ⇒ 16). The testings of Jesus resemble those of Israel during the wandering in the desert and later in Canaan, and the victory of Jesus, the true Israel and the true Son, contrasts with the failure of the ancient and disobedient “son,” the old Israel. In the temptation account Matthew is almost identical with Luke; both seem to have drawn upon the same source.

2 [2] Forty days and forty nights: the same time as that during which Moses remained on Sinai (⇒ Exodus 24:18). The time reference, however, seems primarily intended to recall the forty years during which Israel was tempted in the desert (⇒ Deut 8:2).

3 [4] Cf ⇒ Deut 8:3. Jesus refuses to use his power for his own benefit and accepts whatever God wills.

4 [5-7] The devil supports his proposal by an appeal to the scriptures, ⇒ Psalm 91:11a, ⇒ 12. Unlike Israel (⇒ Deut 6:16), Jesus refuses to “test” God by demanding from him an extraordinary show of power.

5 [9] The worship of Satan to which Jesus is tempted is probably intended to recall Israel’s worship of false gods. His refusal is expressed in the words of ⇒ Deut 6:13.

6 [12-17] Isaiah’s prophecy of the light rising upon Zebulun and Naphtali (Isaiah 8:22-⇒ 9:1) is fulfilled in Jesus’ residence at Capernaum. The territory of these two tribes was the first to be devastated (733-32 B.C.) at the time of the Assyrian invasion. In order to accommodate Jesus’ move to Capernaum to the prophecy, Matthew speaks of that town as being “in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali” (⇒ Matthew 4:13), whereas it was only in the territory of the latter, and he understands the sea of the prophecy, the Mediterranean, as the sea of Galilee.

7 [17] At the beginning of his preaching Jesus takes up the words of John the Baptist (⇒ Matthew 3:2) although with a different meaning; in his ministry the kingdom of heaven has already begun to be present (⇒ Matthew 12:28).

8 [18-22] The call of the first disciples promises them a share in Jesus’ work and entails abandonment of family and former way of life. Three of the four, Simon, James, and John, are distinguished among the disciples by a closer relation with Jesus (⇒ Matthew 17:1; ⇒ 26:37).

9 [20] Here and in ⇒ Matthew 4:22, as in Mark (⇒ Mark 1:16-20) and unlike the Lucan account (⇒ Luke 5:1-11), the disciples’ response is motivated only by Jesus’ invitation, an element that emphasizes his mysterious power.

10 [23-25] This summary of Jesus’ ministry concludes the narrative part of the first book of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 3-4). The activities of his ministry are teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing; cf ⇒ Matthew 9:35.

11 [23] Their synagogues: Matthew usually designates the Jewish synagogues as their synagogue(s) (⇒ Matthew 9:35; ⇒ 10:17; ⇒ 12:9; ⇒ 13:54) or, in address to Jews, your synagogues (⇒ Matthew 23:34), an indication that he wrote after the break between church and synagogue.

12 [24] Syria: the Roman province to which Palestine belonged.

13 [25] The Decapolis: a federation of Greek cities in Palestine, originally ten in number, all but one east of the Jordan.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

 

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Matthew

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Chapter 8

1

¹ When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

2

And then a leper ² approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

3

He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

4

³ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

5

⁴ When he entered Capernaum, ⁵ a centurion approached him and appealed to him,

6

saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”

7

He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

8

The centurion said in reply, ⁶ “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

9

For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel ⁷ have I found such faith.

11

I say to you, ⁸ many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,

12

but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

13

And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour (his) servant was healed.

14

⁹ Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

15

He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.

16

When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word ¹⁰ and cured all the sick,

17

to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: ¹¹ “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

18

^12 13 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side.

19

A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, ¹⁴ I will follow you wherever you go.”

20

Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man ¹⁵ has nowhere to rest his head.”

21

Another of (his) disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

22

¹⁶ But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

23

¹⁷ He got into a boat and his disciples followed him.

24

Suddenly a violent storm ¹⁸ came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep.

25

They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! ¹⁹ We are perishing!”

26

He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” ²⁰ Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.

27

The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

28

When he came to the other side, to the territory of the Gadarenes, ²¹ two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.

29

They cried out, “What have you to do with us, ²² Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

30

Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. ²³

31

The demons pleaded with him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

32

And he said to them, “Go then!” They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned.

33

The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.

34

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

1 [⇒ 8:1-⇒ 9:38] This narrative section of the second book of the gospel is composed of nine miracle stories, most of which are found in Mark, although Matthew does not follow the Marcan order and abbreviates the stories radically. The stories are arranged in three groups of three, each group followed by a section composed principally of sayings of Jesus about discipleship. ⇒ Matthew 9:35 is an almost verbatim repetition of ⇒ Matthew 4:23. Each speaks of Jesus’ teaching, preaching, and healing. The teaching and preaching form the content of Matthew 5-7; the healing, that of Matthew 8-9. Some scholars speak of a portrayal of Jesus as “Messiah of the Word” in Matthew 5-7 and “Messiah of the Deed” in Matthew 8-9. That is accurate so far as it goes, but there is also a strong emphasis on discipleship in Matthew 8-9; these chapters have not only christological but ecclesiological import.

2 [2] A leper: see the note on ⇒ Mark 1:40.

3 [4] Cf ⇒ Lev 14:2-9. That will be proof for them: the Greek can also mean “that will be proof against them.” It is not clear whether them refers to the priests or the people.

4 [5-13] This story comes from Q (see ⇒ Luke 7:1-10) and is also reflected in ⇒ John 4:46-54. The similarity between the Q story and the Johannine is due to a common oral tradition, not to a common literary source. As in the later story of the daughter of the Canaanite woman (⇒ Matthew 15:21-28) Jesus here breaks with his usual procedure of ministering only to Israelites and anticipates the mission to the Gentiles.

5 [5] A centurion: a military officer commanding a hundred men. He was probably in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee; see the note on ⇒ Matthew 14:1.

6 [8-9] Acquainted by his position with the force of a command, the centurion expresses faith in the power of Jesus’ mere word.

7 [10] In no one in Israel: there is good textual attestation (e.g., Codex Sinaiticus) for a reading identical with that of ⇒ Luke 7:9, “not even in Israel.” But that seems to be due to a harmonization of Matthew with Luke.

8 [11-12] Matthew inserts into the story a Q saying (see ⇒ Luke 13:28-29) about the entrance of Gentiles into the kingdom and the exclusion of those Israelites who, though descended from the patriarchs and members of the chosen nation (the children of the kingdom), refused to believe in Jesus. There will be wailing and grinding of teeth: the first occurrence of a phrase used frequently in this gospel to describe final condemnation (⇒ Matthew 13:42, ⇒ 50; ⇒ 22:13; ⇒ 24:51; ⇒ 25:30). It is found elsewhere in the New Testament only in ⇒ Luke 13:28.

9 [14-15] Cf ⇒ Mark 1:29-31. Unlike Mark, Matthew has no implied request by others for the woman’s cure. Jesus acts on his own initiative, and the cured woman rises and waits not on “them” (⇒ Mark 1:31) but on him.

10 [16] By a word: a Matthean addition to ⇒ Mark 1:34; cf ⇒ 8:8.

11 [17] This fulfillment citation from ⇒ Isaiah 53:4 follows the MT, not the LXX. The prophet speaks of the Servant of the Lord who suffers vicariously for the sins (“infirmities”) of others; Matthew takes the infirmities as physical afflictions.

12 [18-22] This passage between the first and second series of miracles about following Jesus is taken from Q (see ⇒ Luke 9:57-62). The third of the three sayings found in the source is absent from Matthew.

13 [18] The other side: i.e., of the Sea of Galilee.

14 [19] Teacher: for Matthew, this designation of Jesus is true, for he has Jesus using it of himself (⇒ Matthew 10:24, ⇒ 25; ⇒ 23:8; ⇒ 26:18), yet when it is used of him by others they are either his opponents (⇒ Matthew 9:11; ⇒ 12:38; ⇒ 17:24; ⇒ 22:16, ⇒ 24, ⇒ 36) or, as here and in ⇒ Matthew 19:16, well-disposed persons who cannot see more deeply. Thus it reveals an inadequate recognition of who Jesus is.

15 [20] Son of Man: see the note on ⇒ Mark 8:31. This is the first occurrence in Matthew of a term that appears in the New Testament only in sayings of Jesus, except for ⇒ Acts 7:56 and possibly ⇒ Matthew 9:6 (⇒ Mark 2:10; ⇒ Luke 5:24). In Matthew it refers to Jesus in his ministry (seven times, as here), in his passion and resurrection (nine times, e.g., ⇒ Matthew 17:22), and in his glorious coming at the end of the age (thirteen times, e.g., ⇒ Matthew 24:30).

16 [22] Let the dead bury their dead: the demand of Jesus overrides what both the Jewish and the Hellenistic world regarded as a filial obligation of the highest importance. See the note on ⇒ Luke 9:60.

17 [23] His disciples followed him: the first miracle in the second group (⇒ Matthew 8:23-⇒ 9:8) is introduced by a verse that links it with the preceding sayings by the catchword “follow.” In Mark the initiative in entering the boat is taken by the disciples (⇒ Mark 4:35-41); here, Jesus enters first and the disciples follow.

18 [24] Storm: literally, “earthquake,” a word commonly used in apocalyptic literature for the shaking of the old world when God brings in his kingdom. All the synoptics use it in depicting the events preceding the parousia of the Son of Man (⇒ Matthew 24:7; ⇒ Mark 13:8; ⇒ Luke 21:11). Matthew has introduced it here and in his account of the death and resurrection of Jesus (⇒ Matthew 27:51-54; ⇒ 28:2).

19 [25] The reverent plea of the disciples contrasts sharply with their reproach of Jesus in ⇒ Mark 4:38.

20 [26] You of little faith: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 6:30. Great calm: Jesus’ calming the sea may be meant to recall the Old Testament theme of God’s control over the chaotic waters (⇒ Psalm 65:8; ⇒ 89:10; ⇒ 93:3-4; ⇒ 107:29).

21 [28] Gadarenes: this is the reading of Codex Vaticanus, supported by other important textual witnesses. The original reading of Codex Sinaiticus was Gazarenes, later changed to Gergesenes, and a few versions have Gerasenes. Each of these readings points to a different territory connected, respectively, with the cities Gadara, Gergesa, and Gerasa (modern Jerash). There is the same confusion of readings in the parallel texts, ⇒ Mark 5:1 and ⇒ Luke 8:26; there the best reading seems to be “Gerasenes,” whereas “Gadarenes” is probably the original reading in Matthew. The town of Gadara was about five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, and Josephus (Life 9:42) refers to it as possessing territory that lay on that sea. Two demoniacs: Mark (5:1-20) has one.

22 [29] What have you to do with us?: see the note on ⇒ John 2:4. Before the appointed time: the notion that evil spirits were allowed by God to afflict human beings until the time of the final judgment is found in Enoch 16:1 and Jubilees 10:7-10.

23 [30] The tending of pigs, animals considered unclean by Mosaic law (⇒ Lev 11:6-7), indicates that the population was Gentile.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.