23Jesusc went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good newsd of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
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a Gk he
b Or is at hand
c Gk He
d Gk gospel
4.1–11 Cf. Mk 1.12–13; Lk 4.1–13. The author expands Mark with stories of three temptations (from Q; see Introduction). Quotations from Deuteronomy in Q suggest a legend based on the testing of Israel in the wilderness.
4.1 The Spirit. See note on 3.16. The devil, Hebrew Satan (see v. 10), also called the tempter (see v. 3; Job 1–2) and the evil one (see 6.13).
4.2 Forty days and forty nights, like Moses and Elijah (see Ex 24.18; 34.28; Deut 9.9; 1 Kings 19.8). Israel was tested in the wilderness forty years; see Deut 8.2; note on 2.16–18.
4.3 Son of God. See note on 3.17. Loaves of bread recall Israel’s miraculous feeding with manna in the wilderness; see Ex 16; cf. Mt 14.13–21; 15.32–39; Jn 6.41.
4.4 Jesus quotes Deut 8.3.
4.6 The devil quotes Ps 91.11–12.
4.7 Jesus’ quotation is from Deut 6.16. Jesus, unlike Israel, does not test God.
4.8 The first of several references to a mountain (see 5.1; 8.1; 14.23; 15.29; 17.1, 9;24.3; 28.16), often in Matthew a sacred place of revelation suggesting that Jesus is like Moses (see Ex 19; Deut 34.1–4). See note on 2.16–18.
4.9 Worship. See note on 2.2.
4.10 Jesus quotes Deut 6.13. Satan. See note on 4.1.
4.11 Jesus is fed by angels like Elijah (see 1 Kings 19.5–8); cf. notes on 3.1; 28.2.
4.12–17 Cf. Mk 1.14–15; Lk 4.14–15.
4.12 John had been arrested. See 14.3–4.
4.13 Capernaum, a fishing, farming, and trading village on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee associated with Peter’s house and several healing stories (8.5–13; 8.14–15; 9.1–8; 9.18–26), as well as the call of Matthew the toll collector (9.9–13). The traditional sites of Jesus’ recruitment of his first disciples (4.18–22), the Mount of the Beatitudes (5.1–12), and a fish with a coin in its mouth (17.24–27) are near Capernaum. Jesus condemned Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for failing to repent (11.21–24 [Q]). A Roman milestone has been discovered not far away. Some archaeologists think that they have evidence for Peter’s house at a traditional pilgrimage site (covered by a church). There are ruins of a later synagogue where one might have stood in the first century.
4.14–16 The seventh formula quotation (see note on 1.22–23) cites Isa 9.1–2. Galilee is the main location of Jesus’ activity (but see Jn 1.46; 7.41–42, 52). Of the Gentiles, perhaps suggesting the mission to the Gentiles. See notes on 1.2–6a; 3.9; 28.19.
4.17 From that time, a phrase signaling a shift in the narrative (see Introduction; 16.21). Repent. See 3.2. Kingdom (Greek basileia), perhaps “rule,” “reign,” but also “empire.” The contrast of God’s empire with the Roman Empire would have had serious political implications (see Introduction). The kingdom is Jesus’ central teaching (see, e.g., chs. 5–7, 13, 18–20). Heaven, lit. “the heavens,” a spatial term (see note on 3.16) that avoids using the divine name, usually preferred by the author over “kingdom of God” (but see 6.33; 12.28; 21.31, 43; cf. Mk 1.15). Has come near. Though the kingdom is present in some way with the coming of Jesus (see 11.12; 12.28), it remains primarily future. See, e.g., 5.20; 6.10; 21.31.
4.18–22 Cf. Mk 1.16–20; Lk 5.1–11. Jesus recruits his first disciples, two sets of two brothers. The author likes the number two (cf., e.g., 6.24; 8.28; 9.27; 10.10, 29; 14.17, 19; 18.8–9, 15–20; 20.21, 24, 30; 21.1, 28;22.40; 24.40–41; 25.15, 17, 22; 26.60; 27.38) and will give two accounts of essentially the same story (“doublets” cf. 9.27–31 = 20.29–34; 9.32–34 = 12.22–24).
4.18 On the naming of Simon as Peter, see 16.17–19. Peter is the most prominent disciple in the author’s story. Fishermen were from among the lower social strata (but cf. Mk 1.20).
4.19 Follow me. True discipleship; see also 8.22; 9.9; 10.38; 16.24; 19.21. Fish for people. See 13.47–50; cf. Jer 16.16. See note on 5.1.
4.21 James son of Zebedee (see also 10.2; 17.1; 20.20–23; 26.37; cf. Lk 9.51–56; Jn 21.1–8; Acts 1.13), not to be confused with Jesus’ brother (cf. 13.55; Gal 1.19; 2.9, 12; 1 Cor 9.5; 15.7), was martyred by Herod Agrippa I; see Acts 12.1–3. John (see also 10.2; 17.1), his brother, became a Jerusalem church “pillar” see Gal 2.9.
4.23–25 Cf. Mk 1.39. The author’s first major summary of Jesus’ acts (see also 8.16; 9.35; 14.35–36; 15.29–31;19.1–2). It introduces the teachings and miracles of chs. 5–9.
4.23 The substance of this verse is repeated in 9.35, providing a summary beginning and ending, or framework (“bookends”), for chs. 5–9. Their synagogues, usually those of the Pharisees (see 9.35; 10.17;12.9; see also their scribes, 7.29; note on 2.4; Introduction). The good news of the advent of the kingdom (see v. 17) is made concrete through Jesus’ merciful and compassionate healings.
4.24 Syria. See Introduction.
4.25 Crowds appear often in Matthew. Although sometimes unperceptive (13.13), they are mainly neutral or sympathetic to Jesus (see, e.g., 7.28; 9.33; 12.23; 14.13;21.45–46) until swayed by Jerusalem’s religious leaders (see 26.47; 27.20; cf. 27.25).
The Herods: A Simplified Family Tree
MATTHEW 5
The Beatitudes
1When Jesusa saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falselyb on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
The Law and the Prophets
17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,c not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaksd one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Concerning Anger
21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’ and �
��whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister,e you will be liable to judgment; and if you insultf a brother or sister,g you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hellh of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sisteri has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister,j and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to courtk with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Concerning Adultery
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.l 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.m
Concerning Divorce
31“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Concerning Oaths
33“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’ anything more than this comes from the evil one.n
Concerning Retaliation
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,o what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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a Gk he
b Other ancient authorities lack falsely
c Gk one iota
d Or annuls
e Gk a brother; other ancient authorities add without cause
f Gk say Raca to (an obscure term of abuse)
g Gk a brother
h Gk Gehenna
i Gk your brother
j Gk your brother
k Gk lacks to court
l Gk Gehenna
m Gk Gehenna
n Or evil
o Gk your brothers
5.1–7.29 Cf. Lk 6.20–49. “The Sermon on the Mount,” the first of Jesus’ five great discourses (see Introduction), inserted, partly from Q, into a Markan outline. Jesus both reinterprets the old law and offers a new law, recalling the revelation of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Ex 19–24). See note on 2.16–18.
5.1–12 Cf. Mk 3.13; Lk 6.17, 20–23; Jn 6.3. The author’s nine beatitudes (see also 11.6; 13.16; 16.17;24.46) focus on both the future and present ethics.
5.1 Crowds. See note on 4.25. Mountain. See note on 4.8; but cf. Lk 6.17. He sat down, teaching like a rabbi (see 23.2; 24.3), or, according to contemporary Israelite interpretations of Deut 9.9, like Moses (see note on 2.16–18). Disciples, lit. “learners,” those who are willing to sacrifice everything to follow Jesus and his teachings (see esp. 4.18–22; 8.19–23; 9.9; see also 12.49–50).
5.3 Blessed, “happy” or “fortunate” (see Ps 1.1–2; Prov 8.32, 34). Poor, or “broken,” in spirit, a Matthean interpretation (softening?) of the literal poor; cf. Lk 6.20 (“you poor”); Gospel of Thomas 54 (“the poor”); Polycarp, Philippians 2.3 (“the poor”); Jas 2.5; cf. Isa 61.1; Lk 4.18. Yet the author criticizes worldly wealth; cf. 6.19–34; 10.9–10. For disdain of wealth among the Essenes, see, e.g., Philo, Every Good Man Is Free 12.76–77; Josephus, Antiquities 18.20–22; War 2.122; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.15.4 (73); cf. Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule (1QS) 6.22; 9.22. Kingdom of heaven. See note on 4.17. For social ranking in the Roman Empire, see Introduction.
5.4 Mourn. See Isa 61.2–3.
5.5 Meek, “humble” or “powerless” see 11.29; 18.4; 21.5. Earth, or “land” see Deut 4.1; 16.20.
5.6 Righteousness. See note on 3.15; cf. Lk 6.21; Gospel of Thomas 69; Polycarp, Philippians 2.3.
5.7 Merciful. See 9.13; 12.7; 18.21–35.
5.8 Heart, considered the region of thought, intention, and moral disposition; see 9.4; 11.29; 12.34; Ps 24.3–4; Isa 61.1. In the Bible one hears but does not usually see God; but cf. Job 19.26.
5.9 Peacemakers. See vv. 38–48; cf. 10.34. Children, lit. “sons” (see 3.17).
5.10 Persecuted for righteousness’ sake. See note on 3.15; 5.11–12;10.16–31; 23.34–35; 1 Pet 3.14; 4.14; Gospel of Thomas 68; 69; Polycarp, Philippians 2.3.
5.11–12 The final beatitude has an unusual, long form (see Lk 6.22–23). Reward…in heaven. See, e.g., vv. 19–20; 10.32–33. Persecuted the prophets. See note on 23.29–36.
5.13–16 Cf. Mk 9.50; 4.21; Lk 14.34–35; 8.16; 11.33. Three short sayings stress conduct.
5.14 A city…on a hill. See Isa 2.2–4; Gospel of Thomas 32.
5.15 Lamp…under the bushel basket. See Gospel of Thomas 33.
5.16 Your Father in heaven. See v. 48; 6.1, 9; note on 3.16.
5.17–20 Cf. Lk 16.17. This strong statement shows readers/hearers of the story that Jesus’ teachings are pro-law and pro-prophets despite the following antitheses (see note on 5.21–48); observance of the law should be stricter than among the writer’s opponents (cf. 3.15).
5.17 The law, the prophets, two of the three Israelite divisions of scripture; see 7.12; 11.13;22.40. To fulfill, to realize, complete.
5.18 Truly I tell you, a frequent introduction to Jesus’ authoritative teaching; see also note on 5.21–48. Letter, lit. a Greek iota (corresponding to i) and one stroke of a letter (a serif, or ending brush stroke, on certain Hebrew letters). Either mark would be very small. Until all is accomplished, i.e., the end of the age; see 28.20; Isa 65.17.
5.19 On the correlation of God’s final judgment with present conduct, see also 6.14–15; 7.1–2; 12.32. Least, great. For ranking in the kingdom of heaven, see also 11.11; 18.4; cf. also 18.1; 20.26–27; 23.11, 12.
5.20 Righteousness. See note on 3.15. Scribes and Pharisees. See notes on 2.4; 3.7; see also 23.2–36. Enter the kingdom, a metaphor with spatial overtones (see notes on 3.16; 4.17; see also 7.13–14, 21; 18.8–9; 19.23–24;23.13; 25.21, 23).
5.21–48 Six antitheses (two sets of three; see notes on 1.2–6a; 4.18–22) contrast Israelite law or interpretations of it (You have heard…) with Jesus’ authoritative teaching altering or radicalizing this law (But I say to you…). The teachings oppose anger, adultery, divorce, swearing oaths, retaliation, and hating one’s enemies.
5.21–26 Cf
. Lk 12.57–59.
5.21 See Ex 20.13; Deut 5.17; see also Ex 21.12; Deut 17.8–13.
5.22 Hell, lit. Gehenna (text note e), a valley south of Jerusalem (Valley of Hinnom), site of an ancient Canaanite rite of child sacrifice; later as Jerusalem’s smoldering city dump it became a metaphor for the fires of hell (see 2 Chr 28.3; 33.6; Jer 7.30–34; 19.1–15; Mt. 5.29, 30;10.28; 18.9; 23.15, 33; see also 3.10; 27.3–10; Rev 20.14–15).
5.24 Reconciled. See note on 18.15–20.
5.26 Truly I tell you. See note on 5.18; Didache 1.5.
5.27–30 Cf. Mk 9.43–47.
5.27 See Ex 20.14; Deut 5.18.
5.28 Looks at a woman, a male perspective (adultery?). Heart. See note on 5.8; Job 31.1.
5.29–30 The same sayings are given a different application in 18.8–9. Causes…to sin, lit. “causes to stumble.” See note on 13.21. Tear it out, cut it off, hyperboles to dramatize the need to eliminate the causes of adultery.
5.31–32 Cf. Mk 10.11–12; Lk 16.18.
5.31 This verse summarizes Deut 24.1–4 and assumes current Israelite practice, that the husband initiates divorce by giving his wife a certificate of divorce (see Deut 24.1; see also Mt 1.19;19.7).
5.32 Except on the ground of unchastity (cf. 1 Cor 7.10–11). This “exception clause” (not in Mk 10.11) is an interpretation of an ambiguous expression in Deut 24.1, “something objectionable” (Hebrew ‘erwat dabar, lit. “nakedness of a thing” cf. “anything indecent,” Deut 23.14). Some first-century Israelite teachers interpreted it to mean “a disgrace and/or some other thing,” thus permitting a man to divorce his wife for almost any reason, even burning the dinner (Rabbi Hillel) or not being as beautiful as another woman (Rabbi Akiba); cf. Mishnah Gitin 9.10; similarly Josephus, Antiquities 3.276–77; Life 426; Philo, On the Special Laws 3.30–31. A more restrictive interpretation was that it referred specifically to her “unchastity,” i.e., adultery (Rabbi Shammai; cf. Mishnah Gitin 9.10). The Greek term porneia in Matthew means any form of “sexual immorality,” not just adultery; yet, since the Matthean statement is polemical (“But I say to you”), the author’s single exception (unchastity) may have meant adultery. In Mk 10.11 there are no exceptions, therefore no grounds for divorce; this was probably the historical Jesus’ view (cf. 1 Cor 7.10; Justin, First Apology 15.3). Paul also softened Jesus’ view, allowing non-believers to “separate” cf. 1 Cor 7.10–16. The Matthean author apparently preferred the position of Shammai.
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