HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  27Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold,d and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

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  a Other ancient authorities read except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; others add at the end of the verse and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery

  b Other ancient authorities add from my youth

  c Gk lacks the money

  d Other ancient authorities read manifold

  19.1–20.34 The author rejoins the Markan outline (cf. note on 18.1–35). Jesus, with his disciples and the crowd(s), moves from Galilee to Jerusalem.

  19.1–12 Cf. Mk 10.1–12.

  19.1 When Jesus had finished. See note on 7.28. Left Galilee. See note on 4.23–25.

  19.3 Pharisees. See note on 3.7. To test. See notes on 12.14; 16.1; 22.15.

  19.4 Have you not read? See note on 12.3. Male and female. See Gen 1.27.

  19.5 Gen 2.24, quoted also in 1 Cor 6.16; Eph 5.31.

  19.7 On Moses’ command, see note on 8.4. Certificate of dismissal. See note on 5.31; Deut 24.1.

  19.8 Hard-hearted, stubborn or obstinate. Paul also argues that the law of Moses cannot annul what was established earlier, in this case from the beginning (Gal 3.17).

  19.9 And I say to you. See note on 5.18. Except for unchastity. See note on 5.32.

  19.11 This teaching, either Jesus’ teaching on divorce (vv. 3–9), the disciples’ comment on not marrying (v. 10), or the eunuch saying in v. 12. Not everyone…but only those, an inner core.

  19.12 Eunuchs, emasculated males, were often keepers of the royal harem (see Esth 2.3, 14; Acts 8.27); in early Israel they were excluded from the community (see Deut 23.1). Have made themselves eunuchs, probably hyperbole for practicing celibacy (see also 22.30; 1 Cor 7.8, 25–40). Kingdom of heaven. Cf. note on 4.17.

  19.13–15 Cf. Mk 10.13–16; Lk 18.15–17. See Gospel of Thomas 22; 46.

  19.13 Little children, here actual children (but see 18.3–4; 18.6–10). Lay his hands on them, i.e., to impart a blessing (see Gen 48.8–16).

  19.14 To such as these, to those of humble status (see note on 18.4). Kingdom of heaven. See note on 4.17.

  19.16–30 Cf. Mk 10.17–31; Lk 18.18–30.

  19.16 What good deed must I do? See note on 3.8.

  19.17 Enter into life, i.e., enter the kingdom; see vv. 23–24; note on 4.17.

  19.18–19 See Ex 20.12–16; Lev 19.18; Deut 5.16–20; see also Mt 5.21–37; Didache 2.2–3. Honor your father and mother. Cf. 12.46–50. Neighbor. See notes on 18.15–20; 22.39.

  19.21 Perfect. See note on 5.48. Give…to the poor. See 26.9–11. Treasure in heaven. See 6.19–21. For social ranking in the Roman Empire, see Introduction.

  19.23–26 Cf. Mk 10.23–27; Lk 18.24–27.

  19.23 Truly I tell you. See note on 5.18. Hard for a rich person. See 1 Tim 6.9–10, 17–19; Jas 5.1–6.

  19.24 Camel…through the eye of a needle, hyperbole suggesting virtual impossibility.

  19.26 All things are possible. See also Gen 18.14; Mk 14.36; Lk 1.37.

  19.27–30 Cf. Mk 10.28–31; Lk 13.30; 18.28–30;22.28–30.

  19.27 Peter. See note on 14.28. Followed. See 4.18–22.

  19.28 Truly I tell you. See note on 5.18. Renewal, a revitalized creation following the final judgment (see also 2 Pet 3.10–13; Rev 21.1–22.5). Son of Man…on the throne. See note on 8.20; see also 16.27; 25.31–46. Twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes. See note on 10.1; see also 1 Cor 6.2; Rev 3.21;4.4.

  19.29 On leaving family and possessions, see 8.20–22; 10.21–23, 37; 12.46–50. The church provides a hundredfold of brothers and sisters (see 12.50).

  19.30 First…last here and the same terms in 20.16 frame the following allegorical parable. See note on 18.4; see also Lk 13.30; Gospel of Thomas 4.

  20.1–16 A general illustration of reversal: “the last will be first” (cf. 19.30; 20.16).

  MATTHEW 20

  The Laborers in the Vineyard

  1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,a he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.b 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.c 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?d 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’e 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”f

  A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

  17While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 18“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

  The Request of the Mother of James and John

  20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”g They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

  24When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

  Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

  29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord,h have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 32Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34Moved with compassion, J
esus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

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  a Gk a denarius

  b Gk a denarius

  c Gk a denarius

  d Gk a denarius

  e Gk is your eye evil because I am good?

  f Other ancient authorities add for many are called but few are chosen

  g Other ancient authorities add or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

  h Other ancient authorities lack Lord

  20.1 Early in the morning, about 6:00 A.M.

  20.2 Daily wage. A denarius (see text note b) was about enough to feed a large peasant family for one day.

  20.3 Poor day laborers gathered in the marketplace hoping to find work; for social ranking in the Roman Empire, see Introduction.

  20.4 Whatever is right, i.e., whatever is just. No precise wage is stated (cf. v. 2).

  20.8 Evening. The poor must be paid on the working day before sunset (see Lev 19.13; Deut 24.15). The owner, lit. “the lord.” See note on 7.21; see also 21.40. Beginning with the last. See 19.30;20.16.

  20.13 Friend, intended sarcastically (see 22.12;26.50). Agree. See v. 2.

  20.15 Envious, lit. having an “evil eye”(see text note c; see also note on 6.23), a powerful and evil-causing look often associated with envy and resentment, here contrasted with the good “lord.”

  20.16 Last…first. See v. 8; note on 19.30; Gospel of Thomas 4.

  20.17–19 Cf. Mk 10.32–34; Lk 18.31–33. The third passion prediction (see note on 16.21–23).

  20.17 Twelve disciples. See 10.1.

  20.18 Son of Man. See note on 8.20. Handed over. See note on 10.4.

  20.19 Specificity of content characterizes the third prediction (cf. 16.21; 17.22–23). For fulfillment of the predictions, see 27.26–31.

  20.20–23 Cf. Mk 10.35–40.

  20.20 The mother of the sons of Zebedee (James and John; see note on 4.21) later observes the crucifixion and was apparently a follower of Jesus (see 27.55–56).

  20.21 Seats at the right hand and at the left were the second and third positions of power and honor (see 22.44; cf. 25.33; 27.38). The scene envisioned is probably the judgment court (see 19.28). Your kingdom, i.e., the kingdom of the Son of Man (see note on 13.41). Two. See note on 4.18–22.

  20.22 You, plural; therefore Jesus responds directly to James and John. The cup symbolizes one’s destiny (see Pss 11.6; 16.5;23.5), here suffering and death (see Mt 26.39).

  20.23 You will indeed drink my cup. Cf. v. 22. James was later martyred (see Acts 12.2) and various legends report John’s death. Not mine to grant. Here the author subordinates the Son to the Father (cf. 11.27).

  20.24–28 Cf. Mk 10.41–45; Lk 22.24–27.

  20.27 See note on 18.4.

  20.28 Son of Man. See note on 8.20. Ransom, the cost of freeing a prisoner or slave; see Titus 2.14 (“redeem”); 1 Pet 1.18–19. For many. See Isa 53.12.

  20.29–34 A doublet of 9.27–31; cf. Mk 10.46–52; Lk 18.35–43.

  20.29 Jericho, city about ten miles east of Jerusalem in the Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea where Herod the Great had a winter retreat and built three Hellenistic-Roman palaces. The region is associated with John the Baptist and Khirbet Qumran; cf. note on 3.3; Zacchaeus in Lk 19.1–9.

  20.30 Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David. See notes on 7.21; 9.27.

  20.34 Compassion. See notes on 9.36; 25.35–36. Touched. See note on 8.3. “Seeing” leads to “following”(see notes on 4.19;5.1).

  MATTHEW 21

  Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

  1When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.a” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

  5“Tell the daughter of Zion,

  Look, your king is coming to you,

  humble, and mounted on a donkey,

  and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

  6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowdb spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

  “Hosanna to the Son of David!

  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

  Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

  10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

  Jesus Cleanses the Temple

  12Then Jesus entered the templec and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13He said to them, “It is written,

  ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’

  but you are making it a den of robbers.”

  14The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heardd the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry 16and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

  ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies

  you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

  17He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

  Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

  18In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. 19And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 22Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

  The Authority of Jesus Questioned

  23When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

  The Parable of the Two Sons

  28“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29He answered, ‘I will not’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30The fathere went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’ but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

  The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

  33“Listen to another parable. There
was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

  42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

  ‘The stone that the builders rejected

  has become the cornerstone;f

  this was the Lord’s doing,

  and it is amazing in our eyes’?

  43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.g 44The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”h

  45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

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  a Or ‘The Lord needs them and will send them back immediately.’