Matthew 5:26

5:26 I tell you the truth, ¹  you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! ² 

Matthew 13:1

The Parable of the Sower

13:1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.

Matthew 13:3

13:3 He ³  told them many things in parables, ⁴  saying: “Listen! ⁵  A sower went out to sow. ⁶ 

Matthew 14:14

14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 15:18

15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.

Matthew 27:32

The Crucifixion

27:32 As ⁷  they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced ⁸  to carry his cross. ⁹ 

[5:26]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:26]  ² tn Here the English word “penny” is used as opposed to the parallel in Luke 12:59 where “cent” appears since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.

[13:3]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:3]  ⁴ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “Behold.”

[13:3]  ⁶ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.

[27:32]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:32]  ⁶ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[27:32]  ⁷ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon. Mark 15:21 names him as father of two people apparently known to Mark’s audience.