Matthew 2:13

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ¹  angel of the Lord ²  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ³  is going to look for the child to kill him.”

Matthew 6:25

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ⁴  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?

Matthew 13:15

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ ⁵ 

Matthew 21:21

21:21 Jesus ⁶  answered them, “I tell you the truth, ⁷  if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Matthew 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁸  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁹  tax collectors ¹⁰  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Matthew 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ¹¹  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ¹²  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ¹³ 

[2:13]  ¹ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ² tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ³ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

[6:25]  ⁴ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[13:15]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[21:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ¹³ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[22:16]  ¹⁶ sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

[22:16]  ¹⁷ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[22:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”