6:1 “Be 3 careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. 4 Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.
13:24 He presented them with another parable: 13 “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.
13:31 He gave 14 them another parable: 15 “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed 16 that a man took and sowed in his field.
13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.
19:23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, 25 it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!
20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner 26 who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
24:36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven 27 – except the Father alone.
25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
1 tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
2 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
3 tc ‡ Several
4 tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”
5 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.
sn 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.
6 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.
7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
8 tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.
9 tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
10 tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
11 tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.
12 tn Grk “the mysteries.”
sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
13 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “put before.”
15 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
16 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
17 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.
18 tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.
19 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
20 sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess.
21 tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.
22 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
23 tn Grk “if two of you…agree about whatever they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the pronouns, which change from second person plural to third person plural in the Greek text, have been consistently translated as second person plural.
24 sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
25 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
26 sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.
27 tc ‡ Some important witnesses, including early Alexandrian and Western
28 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.