Matthew 1:16

1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom ¹  Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ² 

Matthew 2:4

2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ³  he asked them where the Christ ⁴  was to be born.

Matthew 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ⁵  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ⁶  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ⁷ 

Matthew 16:16

16:16 Simon Peter answered, ⁸  “You are the Christ, ⁹  the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 22:42

22:42 “What do you think about the Christ? ¹⁰  Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.” ¹¹ 

Matthew 24:5

24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ¹²  and they will mislead many.

Matthew 27:22

27:22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” ¹³  They all said, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴ 

[1:16]  ¹ tc There are three significant variant readings at this point in the text. Some mss and versional witnesses (Θ Ë¹³ it) read, “Joseph, to whom the virgin Mary, being betrothed, bore Jesus, who is called Christ.” This reading makes even more explicit than the feminine pronoun (see sn below) the virginal conception of Jesus and as such seems to be a motivated reading. The Sinaitic Syriac ms alone indicates that Joseph was the father of Jesus (“Joseph, to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, fathered Jesus who is called the Christ”). Although much discussed, this reading has not been found in any Greek witnesses. B. M. Metzger suggests that it was produced by a careless scribe who simply reproduced the set formula of the preceding lines in the genealogy (TCGNT 6). In all likelihood, the two competing variants were thus produced by intentional and unintentional scribal alterations respectively. The reading adopted in the translation has overwhelming support from a variety of witnesses (̹ א B C L W [˹] 33 Ï co), and therefore should be regarded as authentic. For a detailed discussion of this textual problem, see TCGNT 2-6.

[1:16]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:2]  ⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ⁶ tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  ⁷ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[16:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”

[16:16]  ⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[22:42]  ⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[22:42]  ¹⁰ sn It was a common belief in Judaism that Messiah would be the son of David in that he would come from the lineage of David. On this point the Pharisees agreed and were correct. But their understanding was nonetheless incomplete, for Messiah is also David’s Lord. With this statement Jesus was affirming that, as the Messiah, he is both God and man.

[24:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:22]  ¹³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Him – be crucified!” The third person imperative is difficult to translate because English has no corresponding third person form for the imperative. The traditional translation “Let him be crucified” sounds as if the crowd is giving consent or permission. “He must be crucified” is closer, but it is more natural in English to convert the passive to active and simply say “Crucify him.”