Matthew 8:11-12

8:11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet ¹  with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ²  in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ³ 

Matthew 20:16

20:16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Matthew 21:31-32

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁴  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁵  tax collectors ⁶  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 ⁷  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ⁸  and believe him.

Mark 10:31

10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Luke 7:29-30

7:29 (Now ⁹  all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, ¹⁰  acknowledged ¹¹  God’s justice, because they had been baptized ¹²  with John’s baptism. 7:30 However, the Pharisees ¹³  and the experts in religious law ¹⁴  rejected God’s purpose ¹⁵  for themselves, because they had not been baptized ¹⁶  by John. ¹⁷ ) ¹⁸ 

Luke 13:30

13:30 But ¹⁹  indeed, ²⁰  some are last ²¹  who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 18:13-14

18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ²²  far off and would not even look up ²³  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ²⁴  to me, sinner that I am!’ ²⁵  18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ²⁶  rather than the Pharisee. ²⁷  For everyone who exalts ²⁸  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Romans 5:20-21

5:20 Now the law came in ²⁹  so that the transgression ³⁰  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 9:30-33

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ³¹  a law of righteousness ³²  did not attain it. ³³  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ³⁴  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ³⁵  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³⁶  9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ³⁷ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ³⁸ 

Galatians 5:7

5:7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying ³⁹  the truth?

Hebrews 4:1

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ⁴⁰  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

[8:11]  ¹ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery. The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of being among the people of God at the end.

[8:11]  ² tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:12]  ³ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[21:31]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ⁶ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[21:32]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the comment by the author.

[7:29]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[7:29]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[7:30]  ¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[7:30]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Or “plan.”

[7:30]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “by him”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:30]  ¹⁸ sn Luke 7:29-30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.

[13:30]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:30]  ²⁰ tn Grk “behold.”

[13:30]  ²¹ sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”

[18:13]  ²² tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ²³ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ²⁴ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[18:14]  ²⁶ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ²⁸ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “slipped in.”

[5:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “trespass.”

[9:31]  ³¹ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ³² tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ³³ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ³⁵ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[9:33]  ³⁷ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ³⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

[5:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “following.” BDAG 792 s.v. πείθω 3.b states, “obey, follow w. dat. of the pers. or thing…Gal 3:1 v.l.; 5:7.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “let us fear.”