Matthew 8:9

8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹  I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, ²  and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ³  ‘Do this’ and he does it.” ⁴ 

Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ⁵  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ⁶  this is the seed sown along the path.

Matthew 24:43

24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ⁷  was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.

Matthew 26:45

26:45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Matthew 27:49

27:49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.” ⁸ 

[8:9]  ¹ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

[8:9]  ² sn I say to this one ‘Go’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

[8:9]  ³ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[13:19]  ⁵ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ⁶ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[24:43]  ⁹ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[27:49]  ¹³ tc Early and important mss (א B C L Γ pc) have another sentence at the end of this verse: “And another [soldier] took a spear and pierced him in the side, and water and blood flowed out.” This comment finds such a strong parallel in John 19:34 that it was undoubtedly lifted from the Fourth Gospel by early, well-meaning scribes and inserted into Matt 27:49. Consequently, even though the support for the shorter reading (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy sa bo) is not nearly as impressive, internal considerations on its behalf are compelling.