Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matthew 11:27

11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. ³  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ⁴  to reveal him.

Matthew 12:11

12:11 He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?

Matthew 12:29

12:29 How ⁵  else can someone enter a strong man’s ⁶  house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. ⁷ 

Matthew 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁸  he must deny ⁹  himself, take up his cross, ¹⁰  and follow me.

Matthew 21:23

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ¹¹  entered the temple courts, ¹²  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ¹³  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Matthew 22:24

22:24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children ¹⁴  for his brother.’ ¹⁵ 

Matthew 24:45

The Faithful and Wise Slave

24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, ¹⁶  whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves ¹⁷  their food at the proper time?

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[11:27]  ³ sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.

[11:27]  ⁴ tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.

[12:29]  ⁵ tn Grk “Or how can.”

[12:29]  ⁶ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[12:29]  ⁷ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[16:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ⁸ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[16:24]  ⁹ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[21:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ¹¹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[22:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).

[22:24]  ¹² sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.

[24:45]  ¹³ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[24:45]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “give them.”