Matthew 8:22

8:22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” ¹ 

Matthew 14:31

14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 15:34

15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.”

Matthew 20:7

20:7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’

Matthew 21:45

21:45 When ²  the chief priests and the Pharisees ³  heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.

Matthew 22:12

22:12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. ⁴ 

Matthew 22:21

22:21 They replied, ⁵  “Caesar’s.” He said to them, ⁶  “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ⁷ 

Matthew 26:38

26:38 Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”

Matthew 27:22

27:22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” ⁸  They all said, “Crucify him!” ⁹ 

[8:22]  ¹ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to follow Jesus.

[21:45]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:45]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[22:12]  ³ tn Grk “he was silent.”

[22:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “they said to him.”

[22:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “then he said to them.” τότε (tote) has not been translated to avoid redundancy.

[22:21]  ⁶ sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.

[27:22]  ⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “Him – be crucified!” The third person imperative is difficult to translate because English has no corresponding third person form for the imperative. The traditional translation “Let him be crucified” sounds as if the crowd is giving consent or permission. “He must be crucified” is closer, but it is more natural in English to convert the passive to active and simply say “Crucify him.”