Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Eating standing crops 23:24-25
  God permitted traveling Israelites to glean the grapes and wheat from fields they passed through, but they were not to harvest their neighbors' crops (vv. 24-25; cf. Matt. 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1). Here is another way in wh...
• David's flight to Nob 21:1-9
  Nob stood one and one-half miles northeast of Jerusalem and two and one-half miles southeast of Gibeah. There Ahimelech served as high priest. Priestly activity and evidently the tabernacle were now there (cf. 17:54). It is s...
• Plan and Structure
  Matthew often grouped his material into sections so that three, five, six, or seven events, miracles, sayings, or parables appear together.27Jewish writers typically did this to help their readers remember what they had writt...
• Outline
  I. The introduction of the King 1:1-4:11A. The King's genealogy 1:1-17B. The King's birth 1:18-25C. The King's childhood 2:1-231. The prophecy about Bethlehem 2:1-122. The prophecies about Egypt 2:13-183. The prophecies about...
• 1. The setting of Jesus' ministry 4:12-16
  Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (...
• IV. The opposition to the King 11:2--13:53
  Chapters 11-13 record Israel's rejection of her Messiah and its consequences. Opposition continued to build, but Jesus announced new revelation in view of hardened unbelief."The Evangelist has carefully presented the credenti...
• The Sabbath and legal observance 12:1-8 (cf. Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)
  The immediate connection between this section and what precedes is twofold. The first is the theme of rising opposition (11:2-13:53), and the second is the heavy yoke of Pharisaic tradition that made the Israelites weary and ...
• The healing of a man with a withered hand 12:9-14 (cf. Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11)
  In the previous encounter Jesus appealed to Scripture, but in this one He did not. In that one His disciples were the target of Pharisaic criticism, but in this one He was.12:9-10 The Pharisees believed that it was permissibl...
• Jesus' reply in view of the response 12:25-37
  12:25-26 Probably Jesus' knew His critics' thoughts as anyone else who had suffered such an attack would (cf. 9:4). Alternatively this may be a statement of Jesus' omniscience. Any kingdom, city, or household that experiences...
• C. Adaptations because of Israel's rejection of Jesus 13:1-53
  "The die is cast. The religious leaders have openly declared their opposition to their Messiah. The people of Israel are amazed at the power of Jesus and His speech, but they fail to recognize Him as their King. Not seeing th...
• 1. The setting 13:1-3a (cf. Mark 4:1-2; Luke 8:4)
  Matthew linked this parabolic teaching with the controversy in chapter 12 by using the phrase "on that day"(NASB) or "that same day"(NIV, Gr. en te hemera ekeine). These parables were a response to Israel's rejection of her K...
• 5. The departure 13:53
  Matthew leaves the reader with the impression from this concluding transition, as well as from the structure of the discourse, that Jesus related all the preceding parables at one time. This was apparently the case. Jesus now...
• Jesus' preaching and teaching about man's heart 15:10-20
  15:10-11 Jesus had been responding to the question of His critics so far. Now He taught the assembled crowds the same lesson and at the same time gave a direct answer to the Pharisees and scribes. He responded with a parable ...
• Revelation about the church 16:18-20
  16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
• Appreciating Jesus' sonship 17:24-27
  17:24 The two drachma tax was a Jewish tax that every male Jew between 20 and 50 years of age had to pay toward the maintenance of the temple and its services (Exod. 30:13). There was no two drachma coin in circulation at thi...
• 1. Instruction about marriage 19:3-12 (cf. Mark 10:2-12)
  Matthew evidently included this instruction because the marriage relationships of His disciples were important factors in their effective ministries. Jesus clarified God's will for His disciples that was different from the co...
• 3. Jesus' entrance into the temple 21:12-17 (cf. Mark 11:11b, 15-18; Luke 19:45-48)
  Matthew stressed Jesus' cleansing of the temple as the work of David's Son (vv. 9, 15). This activity had great messianic significance.77221:12 The Mosaic Law required that the Jews pay a half-shekel temple tax, which they pa...
• The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 21:33-46
  Jesus proceeded immediately to tell another parable. Luke wrote that Jesus addressed it to the crowds in the temple courtyard (Luke 20:9). The chief priests and elders continued to listen (vv. 45-46).21:33-34 Jesus alluded to...
• The fourth woe 23:23-24
  The Mosaic Law required the Israelites to tithe grain, wine, and oil (Deut. 14:22-29). How far they had to take this was a matter of debate. Jesus did not discourage scrupulous observance of this law. He directed His condemna...
• The crucifixion and mockery of Jesus 27:32-44 (cf. Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17b-27)
  Matthew's emphasis in his account of Jesus' crucifixion was on the mocking of the onlookers.27:32 Jesus was able to carry the crosspiece of His cross until He passed through the city gate (cf. Mark 15:21 John 19:17). Normally...
• Bibliography
  Abbott-Smith, G. A. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1937.Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. Matthew. The Anchor Bible series. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.Alford, Henry. The Greek Testa...
• Three woes against the lawyers 11:45-52
  11:45-46 The lawyers (or scribes) were a distinct group, though most of them were Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees often acted together. The lawyer who spoke up wanted to distinguish his group from the Pharisees, but Jesu...
• The hostility of the Pharisees and lawyers 11:53-54
  These inflammatory words of criticism and condemnation fanned the embers of Pharisaic hostility into an inferno of hatred and hostility. Luke wrote that these religious leaders now questioned Him closely on many subjects. He ...
• 2. The antagonism of the Jewish authorities 5:10-18
  More than once Jesus used His Sabbath activities to make the Jews consider who He was (cf. Matt. 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6). Here He wanted them to realize that He had the right to work on the Sabbath as H...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• St. Matthew 9-28
  Matthew 9-28
• The Widened Mission, Its Perils And Defences
  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synago...
• The Pharisees' Sabbath And Christ's
  At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and His disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him. Behold, Thy disciples do t...