Matthew 22:27

22:27 Last ¹  of all, the woman died.

Matthew 26:70

26:70 But he denied it in front of them all: ²  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Matthew 10:22

10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:9

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ³  because of my name. ⁴ 

Matthew 13:32

13:32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, ⁵  so that the wild birds ⁶  come and nest in its branches.” ⁷ 

[22:27]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:70]  ² tn Grk “he denied it…saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:9]  ³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ⁴ sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[13:32]  ⁴ sn This is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically a mustard plant is not a tree. This could refer to one of two types of mustard plant popular in Palestine and would be either ten or twenty-five ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.

[13:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[13:32]  ⁶ sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.