Matthew 21:23-32

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ¹  entered the temple courts, ²  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ³  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus ⁴  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 21:25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” ⁵  They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 21:26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 21:27 So ⁶  they answered Jesus, ⁷  “We don’t know.” ⁸  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ⁹  by what authority ¹⁰  I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

21:28 “What ¹¹  do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 21:29 The boy answered, ¹²  ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart ¹³  and went. 21:30 The father ¹⁴  went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ¹⁵  ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ¹⁶  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  tax collectors ¹⁸  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although ¹⁹  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ²⁰  and believe him.

Luke 7:29-30

7:29 (Now ²¹  all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, ²²  acknowledged ²³  God’s justice, because they had been baptized ²⁴  with John’s baptism. 7:30 However, the Pharisees ²⁵  and the experts in religious law ²⁶  rejected God’s purpose ²⁷  for themselves, because they had not been baptized ²⁸  by John. ²⁹ ) ³⁰ 

Luke 13:24

13:24 “Exert every effort ³¹  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Luke 16:16

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ³²  until John; ³³  since then, ³⁴  the good news of the kingdom of God ³⁵  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ³⁶ 

John 6:27

6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ³⁷  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ³⁸  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ³⁹ 

Ephesians 6:11-13

6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes ⁴⁰  of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle ⁴¹  is not against flesh and blood, ⁴²  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ⁴³  against the spiritual forces ⁴⁴  of evil in the heavens. ⁴⁵  6:13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground ⁴⁶  on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.

Philippians 2:12

Lights in the World

2:12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, ⁴⁷ 

[21:23]  ¹ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ² tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ³ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:25]  ⁵ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[21:27]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ⁸ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[21:27]  ⁹ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[21:28]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:29]  ¹² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:29]  ¹³ tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.

[21:30]  ¹⁴ tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:30]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[21:32]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ²⁰ sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.

[7:29]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the comment by the author.

[7:29]  ²² sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[7:29]  ²³ tn Or “vindicated God”; Grk “justified God.” This could be expanded to “vindicated and responded to God.” The point is that God’s goodness and grace as evidenced in the invitation to John was justified and responded to by the group one might least expect, tax collector and sinners. They had more spiritual sensitivity than others. The contrastive response is clear from v. 30.

[7:29]  ²⁴ tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[7:30]  ²⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[7:30]  ²⁶ tn That is, the experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 5:17, although the Greek term is not identical there, and Luke 10:25, where it is the same).

[7:30]  ²⁷ tn Or “plan.”

[7:30]  ²⁸ tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as means (“for themselves, by not having been baptized”). This is similar to the translation found in the NRSV.

[7:30]  ²⁹ tn Grk “by him”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:30]  ³⁰ sn Luke 7:29-30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.

[13:24]  ³¹ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

[16:16]  ³² tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).

[16:16]  ³³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[16:16]  ³⁴ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

[16:16]  ³⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[16:16]  ³⁶ tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.

[6:27]  ³⁷ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ³⁸ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ³⁹ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.

[6:12]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  ⁴⁴ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ⁴⁵ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[6:13]  ⁴⁶ tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anqisthmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (sthnai; cf. also στῆτε [sthte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.

[2:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “with fear and trembling.” The Greek words φόβος and τρόμος both imply fear in a negative sense (L&N 25.251 and 16.6 respectively) while the former can also refer to respect and awe for deity (L&N 53.59). Paul’s use of the terms in other contexts refers to “awe and reverence in the presence of God” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 284; see discussion on 282-84). The translation “awe and reverence” was chosen to portray the attitude the believer should have toward God as they consider their behavior in light of God working through Jesus Christ (2:6-11) and in the believer’s life (2:13) to accomplish their salvation.