Matthew 16:21

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

16:21 From that time on ¹  Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem ²  and suffer ³  many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁴  and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:23

17:23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed.

Matthew 27:40

27:40 and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ⁵  If you are God’s Son, come down ⁶  from the cross!”

Matthew 27:63-64

27:63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 27:64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body ⁷  and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

John 2:19

2:19 Jesus replied, ⁸  “Destroy ⁹  this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”

¹ tn Grk “From then.”

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

⁴ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

⁵ sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.

⁶ tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy^[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א² B L W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA²⁷ puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁷ tn Grk “him.”

⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

⁹ tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”