Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 3. Prospect for future richness 126:5-6
  For the returned exiles farming was a painful pursuit since the ground had become hard and wild because no one had cultivated it. However the farmer who worked hard could expect a rich harvest in the future. Future joy would ...
• The difficulty of obtaining wisdom 2:1-5
  Even though wisdom wants people to adopt her (1:20-33) she is hard to get. The person who wants her has to work hard to obtain her (v. 3). If understanding does not come easily, one should work harder to obtain it.40He or she...
• Writer
  The composition and structure of Jeremiah, discussed below, have led many scholars to conclude that an editor or editors (redactors) probably put the book in its final form. Many conservatives, however, believe that Jeremiah ...
• Judah's indelible sin and sin's deceitfulness 17:1-18
  The next five sections (vv. 1-4, 5-8, 9-11, 12-13, and 14-18) continue the theme of Judah's guilt from the previous chapter. These pericopes have obvious connections with one another, but they were evidently originally separa...
• The riddle 17:1-10
  17:1-2 The Lord directed Ezekiel to present a riddle (Heb. hidah, allegory, enigmatic saying) and a parable (Heb. mashal, proverb, comparison) to his audience of Jewish exiles."It is a riddle in that its meaning needs to be e...
• 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 (...
• 1. The setting of the Sermon on the Mount 5:1-2 (cf. Luke 6:17-19)
  The "multitudes"or "crowds"consisted of the people Matthew just mentioned in 4:23-25. They comprised a larger group than the "disciples."The disciples were not just the Twelve but many others who followed Jesus and sought to ...
• 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 ...
• 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...
• The parable of the soils 13:3b-9 (cf. Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8)
  The first parable is an introduction to those that follow, and the last one is a conclusion and application of the whole series.52813:3b-7 The focus in the first parable is on the soils rather than on the sower. Some seeds fe...
• The purpose of the parables 13:10-17 (cf. Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10)
  13:10 The disciples wanted to know why Jesus was teaching in parables. This was not the clearest form of communication. Evidently the disciples asked this question when Jesus had finished giving the parables to the crowd (cf....
• The fulfillment of prophecy 13:34-35 (cf. Mark 4:33-34)
  13:34 Matthew stressed the importance of parables in Jesus' teaching. This verse is a chiasm in the Greek text with "parables"in the middle. Jesus constantly used parables in His spoken ministry to the multitudes following Hi...
• The explanation of the parable of the weeds 13:36-43
  Matthew separated the explanation of this parable from its telling in the text (vv. 24-30). He evidently did this to separate more clearly for the reader the parables Jesus spoke to the multitudes from the parables He told Hi...
• 4. Parables addressed to the disciples 13:44-52
  The first and second parables in this group are quite similar as was true of the third and fourth parables in the preceding group. This is a further reflection of the chiastic structure of this section (vv. 1-53)....
• 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...
• 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 ...
• 4. Instructions about the King's personal representatives ch. 18
  Chapter 18 contains the fourth major discourse that Matthew recorded (cf. chs. 5-7; ch. 10; 13:1-53; chs. 24-25), His Discipleship Discourse. This discourse continues Jesus' instruction of His disciples that He began in 17:14...
• The parable of the workers in the vineyard 20:1-16
  This parable explains why the last will become first. It begins with a well known scene but then introduces surprising elements to make a powerful point."Jesus deliberately and cleverly led the listeners along by degrees unti...
• 3. Jesus' lamentation over Jerusalem 23:37-39 (cf. Luke 13:34-35)
  This lamentation should help us realize that the judgment Jesus just announced in such strong language was not something that delighted Him. It broke His heart. This is also clear from His personalizing the people in Jerusale...
• 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...
• The setting 4:1-2 (cf. Matt. 13:1-3a; Luke 8:4)
  Jesus apparently taught these parables shortly after the incident Mark just finished recording (3:20-35; cf. Matt. 13:1). This was a very busy day in Jesus' ministry that evidently included all the events in 3:19-4:41 (cf. Ma...
• 2. The parable of the soils 8:4-15
  Luke's account of Jesus' parables by the sea is the shortest of the three, and Matthew's is the longest. Luke limited himself to recording only two parables, namely the parable of the soils and the parable of the lamp. He the...
• The giving of the parable 8:4-8 (cf. Matt. 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9)
  As in the other Synoptics, Jesus gave the first parable to the crowds and then interpreted it for His disciples.8:4 Luke omitted reference to the setting for this teaching. It was the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Instead he s...
• 1. How the gospel was delivered 2:1-12
  Paul proceeded to rehearse the events of his ministry among his readers summarizing his motivation and actions. He did so to strengthen their confidence in him in view of questions that may have arisen in their minds and accu...
• 5. Promise 2:7
  An invitation preceded the promise, as in all the letters to follow (cf. 1:3). Jesus was the only person to issue this invitation in Scripture. The Gospels also record Him doing so seven times (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• St. Matthew 9-28
  Matthew 9-28
• Four Sowings And One Ripening
  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2. And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3. And He spake man...
• Ears And No Ears
  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'--Matt. 13:9.THIS saying was frequently on our Lord's lips, and that in very various connections. He sometimes, as in the instance before us, appended it to teaching which, from its parabo...