¹ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

² sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

³ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

⁴ 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.

⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

⁶ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

⁷ sn Nazareth was a very small village in the region of Galilee (Galilee lay north of Samaria and Judea). The town was located about 15 mi (25 km) west of the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee. According to Luke 1:26, Mary was living in Nazareth when the birth of Jesus was announced to her.

map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

⁸ tn There is no expressed subject of the third person singular verb here; the pronoun “he” is implied. Instead of this pronoun the referent “Jesus” has been supplied in the text to clarify to whom this statement refers.

⁹ tn The Greek could be indirect discourse (as in the text), or direct discourse (“he will be called a Nazarene”). Judging by the difficulty of finding OT quotations (as implied in the plural “prophets”) to match the wording here, it appears that the author was using a current expression of scorn that conceptually (but not verbally) found its roots in the OT.

¹⁰ tn Grk “answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been changed for clarity.

¹¹ tn Or “a person.” Greek ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

¹² tn Grk “will not live.” The verb in Greek is a future tense, but it is unclear whether it is meant to be taken as a command (also known as an imperatival future) or as a statement of reality (predictive future).

¹³ sn A quotation from Deut 8:3.

¹⁴ tn Grk “if, falling down, you will worship.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

¹⁵ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

¹⁶ tn Grk “and leaving Nazareth, he came and took up residence in Capernaum.”

sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

¹⁷ tn Or “by the lake.”

sn By the sea refers to the Sea of Galilee.

¹⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹⁹ tn Grk “having been thrown down.” The verb βεβλημένην (beblhmenhn) is a perfect passive participle of the verb βάλλω (ballw, “to throw”). This indicates the severity of her sickness.

²⁰ sn Note how the author distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.

²¹ tc ‡ Codex B and some Sahidic mss read simply ὄχλον (oclon, “crowd”), the reading that NA²⁷ follows; the first hand of א, as well as ˹ and a few others, has ὄχλους (oclous, “crowds”); other witnesses read πολὺν ὄχλον (polun oclon, “a large crowd”). But the reading most likely to be original seems to be πολλούς ὄχλους (pollou" oclou"). It is found in א² C L Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï lat; it is judged to be superior on internal grounds (the possibility of accidental omission of πολλούς/πολύν in isolated witnesses) and, to a lesser extent, external grounds (geographically widespread, various texttypes). For reasons of English style, however, this phrase has been translated as “a large crowd.”

²² tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.

²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁴ sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.

²⁵ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

²⁶ tn Grk “saved.”

²⁷ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.

²⁸ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁹ tn Grk “demoniac, and he healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.”

³⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

³¹ tn Grk “except by Beelzebul.”

sn Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.

³² tn Or “prince.”

³³ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

³⁴ tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.

³⁵ 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.

³⁶ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

³⁷ 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.

³⁸ 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).

³⁹ sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.

⁴⁰ tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

⁴¹ tn Grk “put before.”

⁴² tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

⁴³ sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.

⁴⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

⁴⁶ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁴⁹ tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

⁵⁰ tn Grk “Those of little faith.”

⁵¹ tn Or “discussing.”

⁵² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁵³ map For location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.

⁵⁴ tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.

⁵⁵ tn Grk “to come after me.”

⁵⁶ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

⁵⁷ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

⁵⁸ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

⁵⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁶⁰ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

⁶¹ tn Grk “Collectors of the double drachma.” This is a case of metonymy, where the coin formerly used to pay the tax (the double drachma coin, or δίδραχμον [didracmon]) was put for the tax itself (cf. BDAG 241 s.v.). Even though this coin was no longer in circulation in NT times and other coins were used to pay the tax, the name for the coin was still used to refer to the tax itself.

sn The temple tax refers to the half-shekel tax paid annually by male Jews to support the temple (Exod 30:13-16).

⁶² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. All the “if” clauses in this paragraph are third class conditions in Greek.

⁶³ tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).

⁶⁴ tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 ˹ 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [Jamarthsh] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the mss were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these mss. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

⁶⁵ tn Grk “go reprove him.”

⁶⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15.

⁶⁷ tn Grk “about the third hour.”

⁶⁸ tn Traditionally, “scourged” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “The ‘verberatio’ is denoted in the passion predictions and explicitly as action by non-Israelites Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33”; the verberatio was the beating given to those condemned to death in the Roman judicial system. Here the term μαστιγόω (mastigow) has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.

⁶⁹ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

⁷⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁷¹ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

⁷² sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

⁷³ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

⁷⁴ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

⁷⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

⁷⁶ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

⁷⁷ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

⁷⁸ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

⁷⁹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

⁸⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸² tn Grk “he sent his soldiers, destroyed those murderers.” The verb ἀπώλεσεν (apwlesen) is causative, indicating that the king was the one behind the execution of the murderers. In English the causative idea is not expressed naturally here; either a purpose clause (“he sent his soldiers to put those murderers to death”) or a relative clause (“he sent his soldier who put those murderers to death”) is preferred.

⁸³ tn The Greek text reads here πόλις (polis), which could be translated “town” or “city.” The prophetic reference is to the city of Jerusalem, so “city” is more appropriate here.

⁸⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

⁸⁵ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

⁸⁶ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

⁸⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁸⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁹⁰ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

⁹¹ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205).

sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This perfumed oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.

⁹² tn Grk “as he was reclining at table.”

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.

⁹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁹⁴ tn Grk “For she.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁹⁶ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁹⁷ tn Grk “this”; the referent (the cup) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹⁸ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

⁹⁹ tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”

¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

¹⁰¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁰² tn The words “slave girl” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the feminine singular form ἄλλη (allh).

¹⁰³ sn When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.