Matthew 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John 1  heard in prison about the deeds Christ 2  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: 3 

Matthew 21:1

The Triumphal Entry

21:1 Now 4  when they approached Jerusalem 5  and came to Bethphage, 6  at the Mount of Olives, 7  Jesus sent two disciples,

Matthew 21:34

21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves 8  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. 9 

Matthew 22:3

22:3 He sent his slaves 10  to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come.

1 sn John refers to John the Baptist.

2 tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

3 tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C3 L Ë1 Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 Ë13 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

tn Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

6 sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

7 sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

8 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

sn These slaves represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

9 tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

10 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.