Matthew's Gospel - Free Bible Commentary in easy English (2024)

Matthew’s Good News

An EasyEnglish BibleVersion and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Matthew’s *Gospel

www.easyenglish.bible

Hilda Bright

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Words in boxes are from the Bible.

A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.

The author was a *Jewish Christian who wrote especially for*Jews. One early Christian writer said, ‘Matthew collected what Jesus taught inthe *Hebrew language.’ This book contains much of what Jesus taught. So theearly Christians gave Matthew’s name to the whole book. Matthew collectedtaxes, but he became one of Jesus’ 12 special friends (Matthew 9:9). Matthewdid not write the first book about Jesus’ life. Mark wrote about Jesus first.And Matthew uses much of what Mark wrote. The Christian *church put Matthew’sbook first because Matthew often refers to the *Old Testament.

1. The author arranged what Jesus taught in five main sections:

1. What Jesustaught on the mountain 5:1 - 7:29

2. King Jesussends his friends out with his message 10:5-42

3. Stories aboutwhere God rules 13:1-52

4. Relationshipsin the Christian society 18:1-35

5. When Jesusreturns to the earth 24:1-25:46.

Between these sections, the account emphasises what Jesus did.

2. The author arranges his material in groups of three and seven.This helps his readers to remember it. For example, there are three groups ofthree *miracles (Matthew 8:1-15; 8:23–9:8; 9:18-34). There are seven storiesabout where God rules in chapter 13. There are three stories about the timewhen Jesus returns to the earth in chapter 25.

3. Matthew shows that what God told his people in the *OldTestament came true in the life of Jesus. Therefore, Jesus was the *Messiahthat they were waiting for. Matthew refers to words from the *Old Testamentover 60 times. He often uses words from the book of Isaiah. He introducesimportant *Old Testament words in a special way 12 times. He says, ‘This showsthat the *prophets’ words came true’. (See, for example, Matthew 1:22-23;4:14-16.)

4. He emphasises that Jesus is the King.

1. Jesus comesfrom David’s family (1:1).

2. He was bornin David’s city, which was called Bethlehem (2:5-6).

3. The blind menand the woman from Canaan called him ‘Son of David’ (9:27; 15:22).

4. Jesus is theking in the story about the sheep and the goats (25:24-46).

5. He has ‘allauthority in heaven and on earth’ (28:18).

5. Matthew shows that Jesus is the *Messiah. He was the specialperson that the *Jews had been waiting for. But Matthew does not leave out therest of the world. There were also other people who recognised that Jesus camefrom God (2:11). Matthew records that Jesus healed the *Roman officer’s servant(8:5-13). Jesus said: ‘Many people will come from the east and from the west.’They will join those people where God rules (8:11). People will tell the goodnews about Jesus to the whole world (24:14). Jesus’ final command was to ‘make*disciples in all the nations’ (28:19).

6. Four men wrote the Good News about Jesus. But Matthew is theonly one who uses the word ‘*church’. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said thatnothing would be able to destroy his *church (16:18). The local *church wouldsettle arguments between Christians (18:15-17).

7. Matthew shows that he was interested in the end of the world.He writes a lot of what Jesus said about the end. Jesus will return to earth,and he will be the Judge (chapters 24 and 25).

The *ancestors of Jesus 1:1-17

v1 This is the record of Jesus Christ’s family. His*ancestor long ago was David, and Abraham was an *ancestor before that. (Jesusis the son of Abraham.)

Verse 1 Jesus is the ‘Christ.’ ‘Christ’ is a *Greek word, and thesame word in the *Hebrew language is ‘*Messiah’. Both words mean ‘the man thatGod chose’. Samuel poured a special oil on David’s head long ago. This showedthat he was the king. It showed that God had chosen David to be king (1 Samuel16:13). Jesus was the son of David. In other words, he was David’s *descendantwho lived many hundreds of years after David. Therefore, Jesus was the kingwhom the *Jews were expecting. He would be a great king like David. But Jesusdid not come to use military power to establish himself as king. He had to showby his life and death that he came to defeat the devil. He suffered as hedefeated the devil. He did not come to rule a place or an area. When you acceptJesus as your king, then he rules your life. As king, Jesus invited people intothe place where he rules.

Jesus is also the ‘son of Abraham’. That means that he was alsoAbraham’s *descendant. But he lived many hundreds of years later. God calledAbraham to begin the *Jewish nation. And God promised Abraham that one of hisgrandsons in the future would bring good things to the whole world (Genesis22:18). This promise came true when Jesus came to the world. Abraham waswilling to obey God. He was even willing to kill his only son Isaac and offerhim to God. He was willing, if God wanted him to do that. Jesus always obeyedGod. He offered himself to God when he let people kill him. He died because thepeople of the world needed a *sacrifice for *sin. He died. And so, all peoplesince then have the offer of life with God that will never end.

Verses 2-17 Matthew records Jesus’ *ancestors until Joseph. Jesuswas Mary’s son, but he was not Joseph’s son. Matthew explains this in the nextsection. However, when Joseph married Mary, he became the legal father of Jesus.

Matthew divided the list of these *ancestors into three groups.This made it easy to remember. The first section reminds people of theirhistory up to king David. He was Israel’s best king. The second section recordslater kings when the people did not obey God. Then they went as prisoners to*Babylon. The third section ends with Jesus Christ. He rescued people from theeffect of all that they do wrong.

There are four women in the list: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Uriah’swife. It was not usual to put the names of women in a family list. But Jesusshowed that women are important to God also. Tamar (verse 3), Rahab (verse 5),Ruth (verse 5) and Uriah’s wife, whose name was Bathsheba, (verse 6) were noteven *Jews. The good things that Jesus brought are for everyone. They are for*Jews and for everyone else as well. Three of these four women were guilty ofbad behaviour. Tamar had sex with her father-in-law (Genesis 38). This was theonly way that she could have a son. This son would continue his father’s familyname. Judah had broken the law. He should have arranged for Tamar to marry oneof his other sons. Judah says that Tamar is right (Genesis 38:26). Rahab soldherself for sex in the town called Jericho (Joshua 2:1-7). Bathsheba had sexwith David before she became his wife (2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12). God canuse people in his plans, even if they have done wrong things. Perhaps Matthewincluded these women to remind us about that. Jesus came to rescue people whohave done bad things (Matthew 9:13).

The birth of Jesus 1:18-25

Verses 18-19 Joseph and Mary had promised to marry each other.But Joseph thought that Mary had not been loyal to him. They were *Jews. Andthe only way for *Jews to break this promise was to divorce each other. ButJoseph was kind. He planned to protect her from public gossip. He wanted todivorce her in private. He himself would risk public gossip.

Verses 20-21 Matthew and Luke agree that Mary had the child ‘bythe power of the *Holy Spirit’ (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:20). God showed the truthto Joseph in a dream. ‘Jesus’ is the same as the *Old Testament name ‘Joshua’.The name means ‘the *Lord saves’.

Verses 22-23 ‘Immanuel’ means ‘God is with us’. God’s servantIsaiah lived about 700 years before Jesus. He gave the name ‘Immanuel’ to theson of a young woman. Isaiah wanted to encourage the king and the people totrust God. God would protect them from their enemies (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah’swords came true in an even more wonderful way when Jesus came into the world.The whole *gospel describes how Jesus was ‘God with us’. Everything that hesaid and did showed the power of God. And he showed how much God loves people.

Verses 24-25 Joseph believed the *Lord’s *messenger and he obeyedGod’s message.

Wise men visit Jesus 2:1-12

Verses 1-2 ‘Bethlehem’ means ‘house of bread’. It is a small townsix miles from Jerusalem. It was the home of David (1 Samuel 16). The *Jewswere expecting a king who would come from David’s town. This king would be evengreater than his *ancestor, King David.

The ‘wise men’ studied the stars. The *Greek word for them is‘magi’. They probably came from Persia. Christians often call them ‘kings’.God’s servant Isaiah wrote about this long before this time. He said that othernations and ‘kings’ would come to give honour to God’s light in Jerusalem(Isaiah 60:3). Psalm 72:10-11 describes ‘kings’ who bring their gifts to agreat ruler. The idea of ‘kings’ probably comes from these verses.

Verse 2 We do not know what the ‘star’ was.

Verse 3 The *Romans allowed Herod to rule as Judea’s king. But hewas very afraid that he would lose his power. Herod suspected that some men wantedto be the ruler instead of him. So he killed anyone whom he suspected. He evenmurdered three of his own sons. He thought that they were plotting against him.The great *Roman king Augustus said that it was not safe to be Herod’s son. Hesaid that it was safer to be Herod’s pig.

The people in Jerusalem were worried. They knew that Herod wouldremove the child. And they knew how he might do it.

Verses 4-6 The ‘chief *priests’ were those who had been high*priest. The chief *priests came from a few special families. The men whotaught the law were experts. They explained the *Old Testament. They remindedHerod of what God’s servant Micah wrote long ago (Micah 5:2). God had promisedthat the ruler would come from Bethlehem. They gave the right answer, but theydid not go to Bethlehem. They did not go to see whether Micah’s words had cometrue or not.

Verses 7-8 Herod pretended that he wanted to show respect to thenew king. Instead, Herod was making plans to kill him. He wanted to know whenthe wise men first saw the star. Then he would know how old the child was.

Verses 9-11 The wise men arrived in Bethlehem a long time afterthe birth of Jesus. The men who look after sheep had seen the ‘baby’ at thebeginning. He was in a box where they usually put animal food (Luke 2:16).Matthew says that the wise men went into the house. They saw the ‘child’ withhis mother. The wise men may have travelled for nearly two years to find thisnew king. People think that there were three wise men because there were threegifts. ‘Gold’ showed that Jesus was a king. ‘*Frankincense’ showed that Jesuswas a *priest. The *priests offered it to God when they *worshipped him in the*Temple. Because of Jesus, people would be able to come near to God. Peopleused to put ‘*myrrh’ on dead bodies. This gift showed that Jesus would die. Hewould rescue people from their *sin.

Verse 12 The wise men did not tell King Herod where Jesus was.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus escaped into Egypt 2:13-18

Verses 13-14 Many *Jews had gone to Egypt in the centuries beforeChrist. Egypt was far away from Judea. They found that they could live theresafely. So there were many groups of *Jews in the towns there. In the citycalled Alexandria, there were more than a million *Jews. So Joseph and Marywould not be among strangers. They would find *Jews with whom they could liveand work.

Verse 15 God called Israel’s people his ‘son’ (Exodus 4:22).God’s servant Hosea had said that God greatly loved his ‘son’. He had helpedMoses to bring his son, all Israel’s people, out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). Jesus,God’s Son, had the same experience as the people of Israel. God had called himto return from Egypt.

Verses 16-17 Herod did not know which little boy was the newking. So he killed all those boys that could have been the king. But Jesus hadescaped.

Verse 18 Rachel lived long ago. She was the wife of Jacob, whowas also called Israel. Therefore, she was the mother of Israel’s people. God’sservant Jeremiah imagined that she was sitting by her grave near Bethlehem(Genesis 35:19). She was weeping for her children as their enemies took themaway to *Babylon (Jeremiah 31:15). Now Rachel was weeping for the children inBethlehem whom Herod had killed.

The family returned to Nazareth 2:19-23

Verses 19-22 After Herod died, the *Romans divided his land amongthree of his sons. One of his sons was called Archelaus, and he became Judea’sruler. He was like his father. He was a very cruel man. But God warned Josephin a dream, so that he did not go back to Judea.

Verse 23 Herod Antipas was Galilee’s ruler. He was a better rulerthan his brother Archelaus. So Joseph returned to Nazareth, where he and Maryhad come from first. The town was near the main roads for trade. One road camefrom Africa and Egypt. Another road went to countries in the east. The word‘Nazarene’ means ‘someone who comes from Nazareth’.

The work of John the *Baptist 3:1-12

Verse 1 ‘In those days’. Matthew does not tell us exactly whenJohn began his work. But Luke tells us the names of all the rulers at that time(Luke 3:1-2). It was about 30 years after Jesus was born.

Judea’s wild country was the desert area on the west side of theDead Sea. John may have stayed in the desert with the Essenes. They were agroup of *Jews who lived a very strict life together. They lived at Qumran,which was by the Dead Sea. Nobody had given the people a message from God forabout four hundred years. Then John suddenly arrived in the desert.

Verse 2 John said that people must turn from their *sins. Theymust prepare themselves for God to rule as he does in heaven. The *Jews greatlyrespected God and his name. They would not use God’s name. Instead, they usedthe word ‘heaven’. God rules in heaven. But now God wants to rule in a person’slife. It is not a political idea. People should obey Jesus the king. Then theycan become citizens of where God rules.

Verse 3 John made Isaiah’s words (Isaiah 40:3) come true. Allfour *gospels agree with that. In those days, people had to repair a roadbefore a king travelled on it. John was like someone who gave orders to thepeople. He described himself as ‘a voice that is calling out in the desert’(John 1:23). He was telling people to prepare for the *Messiah.

Verse 4 John had made rough clothes from camel’s hair. They werelike the clothes that God’s servant Elijah wore long ago (2 Kings 1:8). The*Jews believed that Elijah would return. Then he would announce that the*Messiah was coming (Malachi 4:5). John’s food was simple. He ate a kind ofinsect that flies. These insects can cause trouble for farmers. They are called‘locusts’. The *Jewish law allows people to eat these insects (Leviticus11:22-23).

Verses 5-6 Sometimes people who were not *Jews wanted to become*Jews. Then they asked for *baptism. They did not usually *baptise people whowere *Jews already. But John *baptised *Jews in water. They had confessed their*sins and they wanted to obey God. Water cleans a person’s body. In a similarway, *baptism shows that a person is ‘clean’ from their *sins. They would thenbe ready to meet the *Messiah.

Verse 7 The *Pharisees were *Jews who wanted to obey God’s Law.There were many good *Pharisees. One was called Gamaliel (Acts 5:33-39). Butthere were also many proud *Pharisees. They believed that they were the onlypeople who obeyed God’s law. But they destroyed what the law really meant.Through the years, the official writers (called ‘scribes’) had introducedhundreds of extra rules. The *Pharisees said that people must also obey allthose extra rules.

The *Sadducees came from the families of *priests. They werewealthy. They wanted to keep their political power. So they opposed any*religious ideas that might make them lose their authority.

John called the *Pharisees and the *Sadducees ‘a family of poisonoussnakes’. Later, Jesus used the same words about the *Pharisees (Matthew 12:34;23:33). They were dangerous. They were like poisonous snakes. John said thatthey were like snakes that were trying to escape from a fire in a forest. Hemeant that God was angry with them. They were trying to escape from him.

Verses 8-9 A person’s actions show whether they have sincerelychanged their way of life. The *Jews believed that Abraham’s actions were goodenough for himself and for all his children and their families always. So *Jewsthought that they were safe after they died. But John said that that was notenough. A person may have Abraham as his *ancestor but each person must changehis own actions.

Verse 10 A farmer cuts down trees that do not produce good fruit.He throws them into the fire. God is like a farmer. He will punish those peoplewho do not live in the right way.

Verse 11 John knew that he was preparing the way for someone.That person was much greater than he himself was, John said. Only a slave carriedother people’s shoes. John said that he was not good enough to do even thishumble task for the *Messiah. John *baptised people with water. This showedthat people desired to be free from *sin. The *Messiah would give the *HolySpirit. The *Jews had looked forward to the time when the Spirit would come.‘It shall happen that I will pour out my Spirit on everyone’, God’s servant hadsaid long ago (Joel 2:28). The Spirit teaches people how to live in the trueway. The Spirit also gives people the power to live in the right way. Fire isvery powerful. Fire can also destroy. Therefore, it is picture language forGod’s judgement.

Verse 12 At harvest-time, people used a tool like a large fork tothrow dry plants into the air. The grain fell to the ground, and the wind blewthe rest away. The farmer stored the grain. Then he burned the part of theplant that he could not use. In this picture, John showed that the *Messiahwould separate people. The people who believed him would be like the grain.They would be his people. But some people did not accept the *Messiah. Theywere like the part of the plant that the farmer burned. God would judge them.

The *Baptism of Jesus 3:13-17

v13 Jesus came from Galilee to the river Jordan. Hewanted John to *baptise him. v14 But John tried to refuse. ‘I need youto *baptise me’, John said to Jesus. ‘So why do you come to me?’ v15Jesus replied to him. ‘Let it be this way now’, Jesus said. ‘It is right for usto do this. It carries out God’s good plan.’ Then John agreed to *baptiseJesus. v16 Jesus went up out of the water as soon as John had *baptisedhim. At that moment, heaven opened, and Jesus saw God’s Spirit. The Spirit camedown like a gentle bird on Jesus. v17 Then a voice from heaven spoke.‘This is my son whom I love. I am very pleased with him’, the voice said.

Verse 13 Jesus was perfect. He had no *sins to confess. Jesus didnot need John’s *baptism. But he was showing that John’s work was right. Jesushad come to rescue people from their *sins. He wanted to show people that hewas a real person too. His *baptism also showed that he was going to begin hisown public work.

Verses 14-15 Only Matthew’s *gospel records that John protested.Jesus was greater than John was. So John thought that Jesus ought to *baptisehim.

Verse 16 This gentle bird was the sign of peace. It is called a‘dove’. Jesus would bring peace between people and God. He would also bringpeace between different people. The gentle bird was also a sign of a new start.It would remind Matthew’s readers about Genesis 8:8-11. The same kind of gentlebird came back to Noah after the flood. This bird was a sign that Jesus woulddo his work in a gentle way. It was also a sign of the *Holy Spirit. The Spiritgave Jesus the power to do God’s work.

Verse 17 The voice from heaven links words from Psalm 2:7 andIsaiah 42:1. Psalm 2 describes God’s ‘son’. He is the king, and all the rulerson earth must serve him. Bible teachers call Isaiah 42 one of the ‘ServantSongs’. God was very pleased with this special Servant and he would have God’sSpirit. This Servant would then be able to do God’s work. The last of the‘Servant Songs’ was in Isaiah 53. It spoke about a Servant who would suffer anddie for other people.

The Devil tests Jesus 4:1-11

Verse 1 Jesus was God’s servant, the *Messiah. He had to decidehow he should do his work. The desert was a lonely place where Jesus could prayabout his work. The devil wanted Jesus to use his power in the wrong way. Sothe devil tested Jesus in three different ways.

Verses 2-4 Forty (40) days and nights is a long time to behungry. Because Jesus was very hungry, he could have used his power for his ownbenefit. The hot, flat stones there in the desert looked like bread. He couldhave made those stones fit to eat. Jesus could have given people bread so thatthey would follow him. But that would have been a mistake. Food satisfies ahungry body. But it does not help people to have a relationship with God. Jesusused words from the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:3) to answer the devil rather than hisown words.

Verses 5-7 The highest point of the *Temple in Jerusalem wasabout 450 feet (137 metres) above the Kidron valley. Jesus could jump into theKidron valley or into the *Temple court. That would astonish people. Then theywould follow him. The devil used the promise in Psalm 91:11-12 that spoke aboutGod’s protection. But Jesus knew that a sign like this had no use. He mightattract people at first. But people soon forget about the things that had onceastonished them.

Jesus would not take foolish risks. He knew that this was wrong.He would not try to prove that God cared. It would show that he did not trustGod. Instead, Jesus used words from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Verses 8-10 The devil took Jesus to a mountain, from where he hada wide view. He could think about all the countries in the world. He couldcompare them to where God rules. He could use force to become a politicalruler. He could free his people from the *Roman rulers. But Jesus came to freepeople from their *sin. He refused to use the devil’s methods. Jesus would showthe world’s people that he is their king. He would do that, as he loved them.He also suffered for them. He answered the devil with words from Deuteronomy6:13. He emphasised that people must give honour only to God.

Verse 11 Jesus defeated the devil. Then God gave Jesus all thathe needed.

Jesus moves to Capernaum 4:12-17

Verse 12 Matthew does not explain here why Herod put John inprison. Matthew tells the whole story in Matthew 14:3-12. He did so becauseHerodias wanted it. She had been the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. Then HerodAntipas married her. John had said that Herod should not have married her. Thedetails of what happened are in Matthew 14:3-12. John had finished his work. Hehad prepared the way for the *Messiah. So Jesus could begin his own work now.

Galilee was a very rich area for crops. An enormous number ofpeople lived there. Josephus lived at that time and wrote history books. Hesaid that there were 204 villages. Each village had thousands of inhabitants.It was an area with many foreigners. There were foreign lands that surroundedGalilee too. So people called it ‘Galilee of the non-*Jews’. (People who arenot *Jews are called ‘Gentiles’.) Main roads for trade went through Galilee.The people in Galilee were more willing than the people in Judea to believe newideas. The people in Judea did not meet many foreigners. So people in Judeawere less ready to change their opinions. Therefore, Galilee was an ideal areain which Jesus chose to work.

Verse 13 Matthew does not give details of Jesus’ visit to his owntown of Nazareth. Luke tells us about that (Luke 4:14-30). Jesus went thereafter he had already worked for a while in Capernaum.

Verses 14-16 In Isaiah’s time, soldiers from Assyria attacked theregion called Galilee. They caused the people in Galilee to suffer. Galilee wasthe area of the two *tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali. Isaiah’s message promisedgood things to the people in the future. It was like the sun as it rises afterthe dark night (Isaiah 9:1-2). Jesus came to Galilee. That proved that Isaiah’smessage was true. In the darkness, people cannot see the right way to go. To dowrong is like being in the dark. Jesus came to Galilee like a light. He waslike the sun that rises at dawn. He would show people the right way to live.Jesus later described himself as the ‘light of the world’ (John 9:5).

Verse 17 Jesus brought the same message that John had brought tothe people. Jesus spoke with authority. He ordered people to turn from their*sins. God’s rule was about to begin. Jesus the king would invite people tochoose God’s rule.

Jesus chooses the first *disciples 4:18-22

v18 Jesus was walking next to lake Galilee, one day.He saw two brothers there. There was Simon, who was also called Peter. Andthere was his brother, called Andrew. They were throwing a net into the waterbecause they were working. Their work was to catch fish. v19 Jesus spoketo them. ‘Come and follow me. I will show you how to fish for people’, he said.v20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. v21 Jesuswent on from there. Then he saw two other brothers. They were the sons ofZebedee. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with theirfather, Zebedee. They were getting their nets ready for use. Then Jesus calledto them. v22 At once they left the boat and their father, and theyfollowed Jesus.

Verses 18 and 21 Simon and Andrew, James and John had not metJesus before. John tells us in his *gospel that they had been *disciples ofJohn the *Baptist. (See John 1:35-42.) They had already talked to Jesus andthey had probably listened to him several times. Now Jesus was telling them toleave their work and their families. They would not catch fish any more. Hewanted ordinary people to follow him and to learn from him. He wanted them tohelp him in his work.

Verse 19 People who catch fish have special qualities. Their workprepared them to bring men and women to God. They needed patience. When peoplefish, it is sometimes difficult to get quick results. It is like that whenpeople talk to other people about God, too. The person who fishes is like theperson who talks to people about God. They both need to continue their efforts,even if there are difficulties. Men who fish every day need courage. They oftensail their boats on dangerous seas. Some people will want to teach the truth.But they may meet other people who oppose them. And men and women do not alwayswant to hear the truth. The teachers will tell people that they need to change.And this may make people angry.

Verses 20 and 22 The words ‘immediately’ and ‘at once’ tell usthat there should be no delay. We should follow Jesus when he calls. The fourmen had to leave their businesses and their families. Jesus became the mostimportant person in their lives.

Jesus heals sick people 4:23-25

v23 Jesus went all over Galilee district. He taughtthe *Jewish people in the houses where they met. And he explained the Good Newsto them. He urged them to choose God’s rule. He also healed people who weresuffering from every kind of illness and disease. v24 News about himspread over the entire country called Syria. So people brought everyone who wasill or in pain to him. They were suffering from every kind of illness anddisease. Some suffered from evil *spirits which possessed them. Other peoplesuffered from ‘*epilepsy’, and other people could not move at all. Jesus healedthem all. v25 So great crowds of people followed him. They came from allover Galilee district and from the Ten Towns district. They also came fromJerusalem city and the rest of Judea district. And they came from the landacross the Jordan river.

Verses 23-25 The news that Jesus could heal people spreadquickly. And people with all kinds of illness came long distances to get hishelp, even from foreign countries. Many other people came just to listen tohim. They wanted to see him heal people. And they wanted to hear what he wasteaching. *Epilepsy is a terrible illness. It suddenly causes people to shake alot and fall down without control over themselves.

Jesus teaches 5:1–7:29

Introduction

This is the first of the five main sections that report whatJesus taught in Matthew’s *gospel. Chapters 5–7 are where Jesus taught his*disciples. He explained how they should live. He probably gave hisinstructions on more than one occasion. Luke also writes about this, but itappears in different parts of his *gospel. In these chapters, Matthew hascollected together the things that Jesus probably taught at different times.Jesus expected his *disciples to have the same character and qualities that hehad. Matthew includes the things that Jesus taught about the *Law and about*worship. Jesus wanted his *disciples to know about these things. They shouldknow what these things really mean. Jesus wanted people to know the truth aboutGod. They need to trust God and to serve him. Then they will know that Godlooks after them.

v1 Jesus saw the crowds. So he went up a mountain andsat down there. His *disciples gathered together there with him. v2 ThenJesus began to teach them.

Verse 1 A teacher ‘sat down’ when he was giving his *disciplesofficial instruction.

Verse 2 He ‘began to teach’. The *Greek phrase here means thatthe words will be serious and important. They also mean that Jesus taught themmore than once. Although Jesus was speaking first of all to his *disciples,other people were there. And they heard his message at the same time. Matthewtells us in Matthew 7:28 that ‘the people were astonished at his teaching’.

What makes people really happy 5:3-12

The Latin word for ‘really happy’ is ‘beatus’. So people oftencall these words the ‘Beatitudes’. Latin is the language that people spoke inRome. People talk about God ‘blessing’ us. God’s blessing makes us reallyhappy. People usually think of life as ‘happy’ when it is without difficulty.But ‘happy’ here means joy that no difficult circ*mstances can take away. Thebeatitudes are not talking about future happiness. They describe the presentjoy that Jesus’ *disciples can know. ‘Nobody can take your joy from you’ (John16:22).

Verse 3 The ‘poor in their spirits’ refers to people who knowthat they need God. They need him to forgive them. They need him to help them.They depend on God for all that they need. Then they can live in the right way.They will be able to live as citizens where God rules.

Verse 4 People may be very sad because relatives or friends havedied. People may be very sad because they are very sorry about their own *sins.They may be very sad about all the people who suffer in the world. All of themwill find comfort because God loves them. He will forgive them. God will helpthem to change unfair situations.

Verse 5 Some people are humble. They know that they need God to forgivethem. They need God to teach them. Then they can obey him. They trust Godrather than trust themselves. Jesus reminds people about God’s promise (Psalm37:11).

Verse 6 A man who is starving is desperate for food. A man mightbe dying because he has no water. He is desperate for a drink. A *discipleshould be desperate to be good. He is like a starving man or a *thirsty man.His greatest desire is to obey God completely. He is eager to do what Godwants. And he wants to see other people obey God too. Then he will find joybecause God satisfies him.

Verse 7 A person who pities other people will forgive otherpeople. He or she will forgive even when the other people do not deserve it. Weexpect God to forgive us. So we must forgive other people. God really loveseveryone in the world. He pitied people, so he sent Jesus into the world (John3:16). Someone who pities people will also understand another person’sproblems. They will be kind like the foreigner who helped a *Jew in Jesus’story (Luke 10:29-37).

Verse 8 ‘Pure’ means clean and sincere. People may think that aperson’s actions are good. But he may have acted so that other people wouldpraise him. Or perhaps he wanted to be proud of himself. God told Samuel, ‘The*Lord looks deep inside a person’ (1 Samuel 16:7). There are people whosethoughts are ‘pure’. And they will be able to ‘see God’ because they understandmore and more about God all the time. When they die, they will be able to ‘seeGod’ very clearly. This is impossible for us to imagine now.

Verse 9 God is the ‘God of peace’ (Philippians 4:9). People who‘work for peace’ are like God. He wants people to be without trouble with himand with each other. People who are at peace with God will be without troubleinside themselves. Then they can work and struggle to establish rightrelationships between other people and between nations.

Verse 10 The first Christians often suffered because sometimespeople ordered them to *worship a false god. Sometimes it happened at theirwork or during social times and they refused to *worship false gods. Then theauthorities punished them. Family life is important. But sometimes the familysuffers too when a Christian is loyal to Christ.

Verse 11 Jesus explained the last beatitude more. He spokedirectly to the *disciples: ‘How happy you can be...’, he said. He warned themabout how difficult it may be to remain loyal to him. After Jesus returned toheaven, people told many evil lies about the Christians.

a) Peoplechanged the meaning of the words about the ‘body and blood of Christ’ (Matthew26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). They accused Christians of terrible things.They said that Christians *sacrificed children and ate them.

b) Christiansgreeted each other with the kiss of peace (Romans 16:16). So people said thatChristians had lives that were not moral.

People said many other bad things about Christians too.

Verse 12 In the past, people hated God’s special servants. WhenChristians suffered, they were like those special servants long ago. Theworld’s people hated Christ (John 15:18-20). So *disciples are like theirMaster too. They can be glad because they will be with him for ever.

Salt and Light 5:13-16

Verse 13 Salt gives flavour to food so that it tastes better. So,like salt, Christians should make the world a happier place. Salt is a goodthing to add to food. Then the food does not go bad. Christians should make iteasier for other people to be good. They should live as God wants them to live.If they live in a pure way, then they can be an example to other people. InJesus’ time, salt was not as pure as it is today. It could lose its pureflavour. Sometimes Christians may not show that they are happy. Or other peoplemay make them behave badly. They may become less pure and honest. Then they arelike salt that has lost its proper flavour. Such salt is no longer any use.

Verses 14-16 Jesus said that he was the light of the world (John8:12). So his *disciples must be light in the world too. It would be foolish tohide a lamp under a bowl. A lamp gives light to the people in a dark house. Alight also shows the right way to go. So Christians should allow people to seetheir right actions. Christians should obey God because they believe him.People need to see that. Then the Christians’ light can show people the rightway to live. They can warn other people who might make bad decisions.

A city on a hill is easy to see. Jesus’ *disciples are like sucha city. They cannot hide the way that they live. A Christian’s good actionsshould be so attractive that other people will praise God.

Jesus’ attitude to the *Law 5:17-20

v17 ‘Do not think that I have come to destroy the*Law. I have not come to destroy all that God’s servants wrote long ago. But Ihave come to show that it is completely true. v18 I am telling you thetruth. Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter disappearsfrom the *Law. Even the smallest detail will not disappear from the *Law.Everything will happen exactly as the *Law says. v19 A person shouldobey every command in the *Law. Some people think that some commands are lessimportant. So they do not obey such less important commands. They might teachother people not to obey such commands either. But those people will be theleast important where God rules. You should practise all these commands in the*Law and teach them. Then you will be important in the *kingdom of heaven. v20So I am telling you that you must do better than the *Pharisees. And you mustdo better than the men who teach the *Law. If you are not better people, youwill certainly not enter the *kingdom of heaven.’

Verses 17-18 Jesus said that he had come to teach the *Law moreclearly. He showed that God’s messages from long ago were completely true. Hewould show by six examples in verses 21-48 what he meant. The smallest letterthat God’s servants had written was the *Hebrew jodh (some translations call ita ‘jot’). It is like a very small mark. The ‘smallest detail’ is a tiny linethat a pen makes (some translations call it a ‘tittle’). It shows thedifference between two letters. Jesus says that the *Law is very important.Even the very smallest detail is important and will not change.

Verse 19 Everything that is in the *Law is important. It is easyto keep some parts of the *Law and to neglect other parts.

Verse 20 The *Pharisees were proud of themselves because theyobeyed the *Law. The men who taught the *Law had many extra rules. They usedthese rules to explain the *Law. The *Pharisees were willing to obey theseextra rules as well. They appeared to be good. But Jesus knew that the*Pharisees were not sincere. Instead, they worried about small things. Theyblamed Jesus when he healed people on God’s holy day. They blamed people ifthey carried something on God’s holy day. Or even if they just wrote somethingon that day. Jesus obeyed the true meaning of the *Law. He showed what itreally meant to respect God and other people. He showed how we can really livein God’s way.

The authority of Jesus 5:21-48

Each of the examples that Jesus gave in these verses begins withthe same words. ‘You have heard what God told people long ago…’ Then Jesusreminds them of one of the commands, and continues: ‘But this is what I tellyou...’

When Jesus finished teaching the people, Matthew tells us: ‘Hiswords astonished the crowds because he taught like someone with authority. Hedid not speak like the men who taught the *Law’ (Matthew 7:28).

Long ago, God’s special servants used to tell the people what Godtold them. ‘This is what the *Lord says...’, they said. In Jesus’ time, the menwho taught the *Law would not give their own opinion. They would only refer towhat other people had said in the past. Jesus did not argue about what the *Lawmeant. He spoke with his own authority and said what the true meaning was. Itis not surprising that his words astonished people.

Murder 5:21-26

Verses 21-22 Murder is wrong (Exodus 20:13). However, a personmight feel angry, and he might become more and more angry. Then he is guilty aswell. People sometimes used the word ‘Raca’ which meant that a person wasstupid. He had little worth. The word ‘fool’ has the same meaning as in Psalm14:1, ‘The fool has said that there is no God’. The man denied that God exists.Such a person wants to go on living a bad life. So the word ‘fool’ meanssomeone with a bad moral character. Someone might accuse such a person becausethey were not behaving well. But that is putting yourself in God’s place asjudge. ‘Gehenna’ was another name for Hinnom valley. It was just outsideJerusalem city, and the *Jews threw out their rubbish there. They burned firesthere all the time. So it became the name for God’s punishment place. Peopleusually translate it as ‘hell’. God will judge people by the way that theythink. He will also judge them by the way that they speak. And he will judgethem by the way that they behave. God will judge anger. He says that evilinsults are like murder. ‘Anyone who hates his brother is murdering him’ (1John 3:15).

Verses 23-24 A person should only offer something to God whenthey are friends with everyone else. A sincere relationship with God is onlypossible if people forgive each other.

Verses 25-26 Advice to settle trouble quickly is very practical.Otherwise, the situation gets worse. A quarrel between two people could becomea quarrel between two families. The quarrel could last for many years and causegreater trouble. Also, Jesus probably meant that we do not know the future. Wedo not know when life will end. So people should settle quarrels quickly. Weall have to stand in front of God, as he is the judge.

Marriage 5:27-30

v27 ‘You have heard what God told people long ago.“You must not have sex with another man’s wife.” v28 But this is what Itell you. Do not even have wrong thoughts when you look at a woman. A man maylook at a woman and want her. Then he is already guilty in his thoughts. v29Suppose that your right eye makes you *sin like this. Pull it out and throw itaway. Your eye is only one part of your body. It is better if you lose that oneeye. Do not cause them to throw your whole body into hell. v30 Andsuppose that your right hand makes you *sin with a woman. Cut it off and throwit away. It is better if you lose that part of your body. Do not let your wholebody go into hell.’

Verses 27-28 Everyone knows someone else who is already married.If they have sex with that person, they are both guilty. This is called*adultery. The act is wrong and they have not obeyed the seventh *commandment(Exodus 20:14). Jesus said that the thought is wrong as well. The tenth*commandment says that a man must not want his neighbour’s wife (Exodus 20:17).The thought can lead to a wrong act, and more wrong acts may follow. King HerodAntipas began to desire Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Then Herod andHerodias were guilty because they lived together. John the *Baptist told themthat they were wrong. And this led to John’s murder (Matthew 14:3-12).

Verses 29-30 Jesus did not mean that people should actuallyremove their eyes or hands. He was using a picture. People want to do wrongthings. So they should remove anything that causes these *sins. Many things inthe world cause people to do something wrong. Some books and pictures mayexcite wrong thoughts and desires. People might choose to go on looking atthese things. But they would not be obeying God’s commands. It might be painfulto remove these things from their lives. But that would be better than todestroy their whole life now and after death.

Divorce 5:31-32

v31 ‘You have heard what the teachers say. “Supposethat a man divorces his wife. He must write out divorce papers and give them toher.” v32 But this is what I tell you. A man may divorce his wife onlyif she has not been loyal to him. Otherwise, he will cause her to be guilty ifshe marries again. And the man who marries her will be guilty too.’

Verse 31 Divorce was common among *Greeks and *Romans in the timeof Jesus. It was easy for a man to divorce his wife. People often thought thatsex outside marriage as normal. God had said, ‘I hate divorce’ (Malachi 2:16).The *Jewish law allowed divorce if the husband found something ‘indecent’ or badin his wife (Deuteronomy 24:1).

Verse 32 There was a difference of opinion about the word‘indecent’ used here. Shammai was an important *Jewish teacher. He taught thatit meant to have sex outside marriage. That was the reason for divorce. Hillel,another important *Jewish teacher, made divorce much easier for a man. Ahusband could find many reasons for divorcing his wife. She could have put toomuch salt in his dinner. Maybe she talked too much. Jesus told the *Phariseesthat the *Law allowed divorce (Matthew 19:8-9). But God had intended thatmarriage should last for life (Genesis 2:24).

Promises 5:33-37

v33 ‘You have heard what God said to the people longago. “You must obey the promises that you have made to the *Lord. You must dowhat you promise God to do. Especially when you use his name as you promisesomething” (Numbers 30:2). v34 But this is what I tell you. Do not makepromises like that at all. Heaven is God’s special seat. So do not use the name‘heaven’ when you promise something. v35 The earth is where God restshis feet. So do not use the name ‘earth’ either. And do not use the name‘Jerusalem’, because that is the city of the Great King. v36 Do not usethe name of your own head when you promise something. You cannot make even onehair turn black or white. v37 Just say: “Yes” and mean: “Yes”. Say “No”and mean: “No”. Anything more than this comes from the devil.’

Verse 33 A serious promise in front of God is often called an‘oath’. Someone may require a person to tell the truth. Or the person may wantto do something special. Then he will call on God to act as a witness to hispromise. However, God will punish someone who does not keep such a promise.People must keep promises that they make in front of him.

Verses 34-35 The *Jewish teachers said that there weredifferences between promises. A person could make a promise in front of God, orthey could appeal to a different witness. If they did not appeal to God, it wasnot such a serious promise. A person might promise ‘by heaven’ or ‘by earth’ or‘by Jerusalem’. But Jesus said that God hears all these promises. He is inheaven. Earth belongs to him and Jerusalem is his city.

Verse 36 A person’s hair will always keep growing. It will changeto white, as he gets older. But he cannot change it just because he wants to. Aman’s life belongs to God.

Verse 37. A man’s good character should show that he is tellingthe truth. He should not need to promise something in a special way. He shouldsay what he means honestly. People sometimes have to make serious promises in acourt. This is necessary because there are evil things in human nature.Sometimes people think that it is difficult to tell the truth.

Do not hurt people who hurt you 5:38-42

v38 ‘You have heard what God said to the people longago. “A person should lose an eye for someone’s eye that he hurts. He shouldlose a tooth for someone’s tooth that he hurts.” v39 But I tell youthis. Do not fight with a person who has done something bad to you. Supposesomeone hits you on the right cheek. Turn your other cheek to him and let himhit that also. v40 Someone may want to accuse you in court because hewants your shirt. Let him have your coat as well. v41 Someone may forceyou to carry his load for one mile. Then go two miles with him. v42 Giveto the person who asks you for something. Another person might want you to lendhim something. So lend it to him.’

Verses 38-39 People usually want to hurt the people who hurtthem. Before they made this law (Deuteronomy 19-21), an injury to one personoften led to fights between families. These fights could continue for years.The *Law wanted a limit to this. Punishment should be equal to the injury.However, the *Law came to mean something different. Perhaps a guilty person hashurt someone. Then he will need to pay them money. A judge decided how muchmoney the guilty person should pay. Jesus said that his *disciples should notwant to hurt people like this. Someone might insult them. People might hit themon the cheek. But they must not reply in an evil way or hit back. Jesus’enemies often insulted him, but he did not answer back.

Verse 40 The shirt was a man’s inner clothing. The coat waslarge. A person wore it over the shirt and also used it as his blanket.Therefore, nobody must keep a man’s coat after sunset (Exodus 22:26-27). Jesussaid that a Christian should not fight for his legal rights. Christians oughtto think in a responsible way. This should be more important to them than theirrights. Paul blamed the Christians in Corinth because they took legal actionagainst each other (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

Verse 41 The *Romans controlled the *Jews’ country. And a *Romansoldier could make a *Jew serve him. He might make the *Jew guide him or carryhis load for a mile. The *Romans made Simon from Cyrene carry Jesus’ *cross.Someone might demand something that is not fair. But Christians should act in acheerful way. A Christian should not think about his right to do as he likes.He should think of ways in which he can help other people. He must serve beyondwhat anyone expects.

Verse 42 Christians must not encourage other people to becomelazy or greedy. But they must still love people. There are many people who needthings. So Christians should help them. Christians must not be selfish withtheir possessions. They must be generous to other people.

Christian love 5:43-48

v43 ‘You have heard what God said to people long ago.“Love your neighbour. Hate your enemy.” v44 But this is what I tell you.Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. v45 Then you will belike your Father who is in heaven. He causes the sun to shine on wicked peopleand on good people in the same way. He sends rain on people who do the rightthings. And he also sends rain on people who do wrong things. v46 Youmay love people who love you. But God will not reward you for that. Even themen who collect taxes do that. v47 Suppose that you greet only your ownpeople. Then you are doing no more than any other person does. Even people whodo not believe God do the same. v48 So you must be perfect, because yourFather in heaven is perfect.’

Verse 43 The *Old Testament *Law said that people should lovetheir neighbours (Leviticus 19:18). There was no command to hate their enemies.But the *Jews believed that they must hate God’s enemies. That would mean thatthey could hate their own personal enemies. To most *Jews, ‘neighbour’ meantanother *Jew only.

Verse 44 People love in different ways. There are severaldifferent *Greek words to show this. Parents love their children in aparticular way. This is because they are part of a natural family. Friends loveeach other in a different way. But the word here is another word. This worddescribes how a Christian should act. He should want to be kind to otherpeople. He may not like them. He may not want to love them. But he should stilldecide to love them. It may be difficult to do this. Jesus also said thatChristians should pray for their enemies. God wants to help everyone and hewants to forgive everyone. Christians recognise that their enemies need God.And Christians know that God loves them too.

Verse 45 God’s gifts are for everyone. Both good and bad peoplereceive God’s kindness. To be a true child of God means that a person will actlike God the Father.

Verses 46-47 If Christians love only their friends, they are notacting like God. They would be no better than the men who collected taxes forthe *Romans. (People hated those men.) They would be no better than otherpeople who do not believe God.

Verse 48 These words are like those in Leviticus 19:2: ‘You mustbe *holy because I am *holy. I am the *Lord your God and I am *holy.’ We shouldwant to be like God. We need to please him in every part of our lives. To be‘perfect’ means to have the same character that God has. If we want to becomelike God our Father, we must forgive people. We must forgive our enemies too.As Christians, we must love everyone.

The right way to give gifts 6:1-4

Verse 1 Jesus’ *disciples must be careful how they act. They maywant other people to praise them. But they must try to please God alone. Jesusthen gives three examples of what he means:

1. The right wayto give, verses 2-4

2. The right wayto pray, verses 5-15

3. The right wayto act when you are not eating, verses 16-18.

Verse 2 The *Jews taught that to give to the poor was a specialduty. It was a duty that people did for God. Jesus showed that his *disciplesshould continue in this way. But they must give secretly, and they must not beproud about it. He used an example of the wrong way to give. Some *Jews madetheir gift very noticeable. It was like making a loud noise to announce it.They wanted people to look at them. They wanted other people to praise them.But that would be the only reward that they would receive. Jesus used a wordthat came from business. If someone bought something, they received a receipt.Other people may praise you when you do something good. That is like a‘receipt’ for the good action. There will be no reward from God.

Verse 3 When we give things to people or to God, it should be asecret from other people. Some translations say: ‘One hand should not know whatthe other hand is doing’. This is a way to use a picture to say that. We mustnot even want to praise ourselves. God knows how we think. And he knows how weact. So he will reward us properly. And on the day of judgement, God willpraise us (1 Corinthians 4:5).

The right way to pray 6:5-15

Verses 5-6 *Jews usually stood up when they prayed. They prayedthree times in the day. A *Jew might choose to be in the house where peoplemeet. Or he might choose to be in the street when it was time to pray. Thenpeople would notice him. They were selfish, proud people, sometimes called‘hypocrites’. Jesus said that such people were not really praying to God. The*Pharisee in the story in Luke 18:9-14, prayed ‘to himself’. We should eachpray to God in a private place. God can see what we do in secret. He willreward us. Jesus did not mean that nobody should join in public meetings withother people. But he wanted people to be sincere whenever they pray. Christiansmust not pray so that other people will admire them.

Verses 7-8 People who did not believe God also prayed. Theywanted their gods to listen to them. They often repeated the same word orphrase many times. They were like Baal’s special servants who shouted to Baal.‘Baal, hear us’, they shouted, for half a day (1 Kings 18:26). (Baal was afalse god.) Such people also said as many names of the god as possible. Theyhoped that the god would reply to one of those names. God knows what we need.We do not have to persuade him to answer us. It is possible for Christians to repeatprayers. But they should not repeat the words without really thinking aboutthem. They need to really mean those words.

Verse 9 Matthew introduces the ‘*Lord’s prayer’ here. It is as anexample of the right way to pray. Jesus told them this prayer in Luke’s *gospeltoo. He was replying to a request from the *disciples. They wanted to learn howto pray (Luke 11:1). This is both a prayer by itself and it is a model forother prayers. The prayer is for *disciples to use. God and how he rules arethe most important parts of the prayer. So Jesus mentions them in the firstthree parts of the prayer. The next three parts are about people’s needs. Theyare for the present, the past and the future.

‘Our Father in heaven’. The *Greek word ‘Abba’ is a special wordfor ‘father’. A child would use it to his father. It reminds us that God loveshis children. ‘In heaven’ shows that we respect God. He is *holy and his nameis *holy. A father may not always know everything about his child. He may notalways know the best thing that he should do for the child. He may not be ableto help him. He may not have the resources. But God has all the wisdom and thepower. He can combine perfect love with perfect discipline. ‘Our’ reminds usthat we are only one part of God’s family. We should think about other peopleas well as think about ourselves. ‘We pray that people will respect your *holyname.’ This means more than just to say the word ‘God’ in the right way. Weneed to think about who he is. In *Hebrew, a ‘name’ meant the whole characterof a person. ‘The name of the *Lord is a strong *tower.’ The *Lord’s people canbe safe with him (Proverbs 18:10). The writer knew that God is love. He is alsoa powerful God in whom we can trust. *Disciples should help other people to understandGod’s character. People can think strange things about God. *Disciples shouldbe careful what they say.

Verse 10 We want more and more people to accept Jesus as theirking. God’s rule on earth extends as people obey him. There are people who livein heaven. And they do what God wants. So we pray that more people on earthwill want to obey God too. We want God to rule completely.

Verse 11 People depend on God who made them. He gives them foodfor their bodies. Long ago, God gave the *Israelites their food each day in thedesert (Exodus chapter 16). So we ask God to give us food for each day. The*Israelites had to go out and collect their food. God expects us to work. Thenwe can obtain our food. We need both to pray and to work. Then God will providewhat we need. The writer in Proverbs 30:8-9 asks only for his ‘daily bread’.Give ‘us’ reminds us that we must not be selfish. Some people may be hungrybecause other people are greedy. Jesus also called himself ‘the bread of life’(John 6:33-35). Bread is food that makes a person strong. Jesus can givestrength to our characters so that we do good things. Jesus also said that weneed the ‘word’ of God (Matthew 4:4). Therefore, we should also pray that wewill learn the truth in the Bible. Then God will give us strength for our mindsand for our spirits.

Verse 12 Everyone needs God to forgive them. We fail to love God.We fail to love other people. Jesus has died. And that made it possible for Godto forgive us. But we also need to forgive other people. Otherwise, God cannotforgive us. Verses 14–15 repeat this truth.

Verse 13 It is never necessary for someone to do something wrong.God does not act in this way (James 1:13). But he allows situations that testus. We must ask God to help us. Then we can avoid situations that would be avery difficult test for us. We need God to protect us. We must not allow thedevil to win. The *Holy Spirit’s work is to guide us. Then we will live in theright way that God wants.

The right way to act when you are not eating 6:16-18

v16 ‘When you do not eat, do not look miserable likethe proud and selfish people. They make their faces look very pale. They wantto show people that they are not eating. What I am going to tell you is true.They have received their complete reward already. v17 But you may choosenot to eat. So do your hair as usual, and wash your face. v18 Then otherpeople will not know that you are not eating. Only your Father, whom you cannotsee, will know. He sees what happens in secret. And he will reward you.’

Verse 16 When we do not eat by choice, we are ‘fasting’. InJesus’ time there was only one time in the year when *Jews had to stop eating.It was on the day of *Atonement (Leviticus 16:31). Some *Jews chose to ‘fast’at other times. It was a sign that a *Jew did not want to do wrong things. Hewanted to turn away from evil things. Sometimes the whole nation decided to noteat. The people recognised that they had not obeyed God (1 Samuel 7:6). Many*Jews chose to ‘fast’ twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Some wanted otherpeople to see how good they were. So they let themselves look untidy, miserableand pale. Jesus said that this way to ‘fast’ was wrong. Such people got theirreward when other people noticed them.

Verse 17 It was clear to Jesus that people would choose not toeat sometimes. It can be a valuable way to prepare yourself. Then you can waitfor God to show you his plan. Jesus chose not to eat when he was in the desert(Matthew 4:2). The Christians at Antioch ‘fasted’ and prayed. Then they sentBarnabas and Saul on their journey and God *blessed them (Acts 13:2-3).

Valuable things in heaven 6:19-24

Verse 19 A wealthy man can lose his wealth on earth. Jesusdescribes three ways in which this can happen.

1. Beautifulclothes were valuable in the east. But small insects can destroy the clothes’beauty and value. The insects are called ‘moths’.

2. *Rustdestroys metal things.

3. Thieves canbreak into a house. Then they can steal a person’s money.

Verses 20-21 ‘Valuable things’ are completely safe in heaven.Nothing can attack them there. They are still there after a person’s life onearth ends. A relationship with God is more valuable than any riches on earth.God’s rewards are waiting for us in heaven. The rich young ruler (Matthew19:16-22) was sad. But he was not willing for God to be first in his life. Sohe lost the joy that he could have had. His thoughts were about ‘valuablethings’ that could not last for ever. But he could have had ‘valuable things inheaven’.

Verses 22-23 The way that we see things makes a difference. Itchanges the way that we speak. It changes the way that we act. Someone with a‘good’ eye and light inside them is generous. A ‘bad’ eye means that a personcan not see clearly. Someone is dark inside them if they are greedy or selfish.They will be like a person who is in the dark. He cannot see other peopleclearly as those that he should love. John writes: ‘Someone may say that he isin the light. But if he hates his brother, he is still in the darkness’ (1 John2:11).

Verse 24 It was impossible for a slave to serve more than onemaster at the time when Jesus lived. A slave had no free time, as he was theproperty of his owner. The owner could do what he liked with his slave.‘Mammon’ is the Aramaic word for money. Aramaic was the language that Jesus’family spoke. God wants us to serve him. He does not want us to serve money. Itis impossible to do both. God expects us to be completely loyal to him. Ifmoney is more important to us, then ‘things’ become more important than people.The desire to serve God can disappear. Paul writes: ‘To love money is the startof all kinds of evil’ (1 Timothy 6:10).

Do not worry 6:25-34

Verse 25 Jesus had spoken about the danger of wealth andpossessions. Here he is speaking to *disciples who have few possessions. Theymay be quite poor. Life is more than the basic necessities of food and clothes.God gave us life. So he will give us the things that are necessary for us tolive.

Verse 26 The birds do not worry. They do not store food for thefuture. They do not work to grow their food. And they do not work to make theirclothes. But God provides for them. And people are more valuable than birds.

Verse 27 Worry is no use. Nobody can increase the length of hislife by worrying. Worry will probably make his life shorter rather than longer.This verse can also mean that nobody can make himself taller by worrying.

Verses 28-30 Wild flowers have more beauty than the rich clothesthat king Solomon wore. These flowers last only a short time. Then they canbecome fuel for a fire. Someone can use them to heat an oven. A flower may soondie, but God still gives it great beauty. God does this for flowers, so he willlook after people even more.

Verse 32 Someone who does not believe God worries about things.They do not know what God is like. They may believe in a jealous god who canact sometimes with kindness and at other times with hate. A Christian knowsthat the *Lord God himself is different. He is a Father who always acts withlove. He provides everything that his children need.

Verse 33 If God rules our life, worry will disappear. We will beable to trust God for everything.

Verse 34 One day at a time is enough to think about. Each dayproduces problems and difficulties. To worry about the future is foolish in twoways:

1. It will make it more difficult to deal with today’s problems.

2. The things that we worry about may never happen.

Do not be judges of other people 7:1-6

Verses 1-2 Jesus does not forbid us to have an opinion aboutother people. But we must not make a judgement and blame them. God alone is theperfect judge. He knows the reasons why people do things. It is very easy toblame other people. We do not know a person’s circ*mstances or thoughts in theway that God knows them.

Verses 3-5 The word ‘brother’ here does not mean a closerelative. It means another person who believes in Jesus. He is part of the same‘family’ of God’s people. A man with a heavy piece of wood in his eye cannotsee at all. His offer to remove a tiny bit of dust from another person’s eye isstupid. This humorous picture would make people laugh. So they would rememberit. It is wrong to talk about other people’s faults if we refuse to recogniseour own faults. Our own faults may be much worse than the faults that we noticein other people.

Verse 6 Pigs will walk all over anything that people throw tothem. They cannot see the difference between what is valuable and what is notvaluable. Wild *dogs will bite anyone who feeds them. They do not care if themeat is part of a special gift to God. Jesus used the words ‘pigs’ and ‘*dogs’here to refer to certain people. They do not recognise the value of things.They do not recognise the value of what we offer them. The ‘*holy things’ and‘valuable things’ probably refer to Christ’s message. Jesus told his *disciplesnot to continue to teach people who would not listen (Matthew 10:13-16). Thispicture can also mean something else. Perhaps we should be careful aboutteaching God’s truth. There are people who are not ready to appreciate it.

Prayer 7:7-11

Verses 7-8 Jesus teaches that Christians should continue to pray.They must believe that God will answer their prayers. We do not have topersuade God to answer us. He is our Father. He wants us to ask him for things.We depend on God if we continue to pray. And our relationship with God growsstronger.

Verses 9-10 Bread and fish were the usual food in Jesus’ time.Sometimes human fathers can behave badly. But they would not give theirchildren something that was of no use or dangerous.

Verse 11 God is much more willing to give than human fathers. Healways wants to give good gifts to his children. He knows about what we haveasked him for. He knows whether it would be a ‘good’ gift. So he will answer inthe way that is best for us.

The best rule of behaviour 7:12

v12 ‘Always do to other people what you want them todo to you. This is what the *Law and all God’s special servants teach.’

Verse 12 Jesus gave many examples of this rule. We can express itin a negative way too: ‘You must not do to other people what you would not likethem to do to you.’ This is not really a *religious rule. The law of thecountry would punish someone who hurts another person. A man may never hurtanother person in any way. But he might not be a good and helpful citizen. Wewould like other people to do what is best for us. Jesus showed what theChristian attitude should be. Christians should act with generous love towardsother people. The *Law and what God’s special servants wrote were the two mainparts of the *Jewish Bible. (These special servants were called ‘prophets’.) Inthese two books, God gave rules to the people. They should always have theright attitude to other people (Deuteronomy 15:1-9; Isaiah 1:17). Jesus’ ruleof behaviour here puts the *Old Testament rules all together in one briefstatement.

The *Old Testament often speaks about the choice between twoways. Moses said that the *Israelites had to choose between life and death(Deuteronomy 30:19). Jeremiah told the people that the *Lord had shown them twoways to go: ‘the way of life and the way of death’ (Jeremiah 21:8). Psalm 1shows that there is a difference between people. There is the person who obeysGod. And there is the person who is wicked. Matthew 7:13-27 shows that peoplehave a choice:

There are two ways that they can go.

There are two fruits that they can choose.

And there are two types of house that they can build.

The two ways 7:13-14

v13 ‘You should enter through the narrow gate. Thereis also a wide gate to a road that is broad. But it leads to ruin. But manypeople go in that way. v14 There is a small gate to a narrow road. Thisnarrow road leads to life, but it is difficult. And only a few people find it.’

Verse 13 Many people like to choose their own way of life ratherthan to follow Jesus. But that easy road does not lead to true life.

Verse 14 Things may be difficult if we decide to follow Jesus. Thereare many people who oppose his *disciples. It will not be easy to obey Jesus.Matthew recorded some of what Jesus taught people (Matthew chapters 5-7). Butthe few people who choose this narrow road become his *disciples. And they willobtain *eternal life.

The two fruits 7:15-23

v15 ‘Watch out for false people. They say that theyare God’s special servants. They come to you and they look like sheep. Butreally, they are like fierce animals that attack. v16 You will recognisethese people by what they do. *Grapes do not come from sharp bushes. Neither do*figs come from sharp weeds. In the same way, good things do not come from badpeople. v17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit. But abad tree produces bad fruit. v18 A healthy tree cannot produce badfruit. And a bad tree cannot produce healthy fruit. v19 Men cut down anytree that does not produce good fruit. They throw it into the fire. v20You can recognise each tree by its fruit. In the same way, you can recognisethese false people by what they do. v21 Not everyone who says to me,“*Lord, *Lord”, will enter God’s *kingdom. My Father is in heaven. And only thepeople who obey him will enter there. v22 Many will speak to me on thatday. “*Lord, *Lord”, they will say, “you know that we spoke messages from Godin your name. You know that we drove out evil *spirits in your name. You knowthat we did many wonderful things in your name!” v23 Then I will replyclearly. “I never knew you. Get away from me. You do only evil things!’’ I willsay to them.’

Verses 15-20 In the *Old Testament, God’s special servants weretrue to him. Also, there were those people who were false and not true to him.Jeremiah said that the true ones told people to turn away from their *sins. Thefalse ones pretended to say good things from God. They would say that they hada message from God. But then they encouraged people to do wrong things. Thepeople continued to do wrong things, and the false teachers did not obey God’slaws themselves (Jeremiah 23:16-22). People recognise a tree by the fruit thatit produces. In the same way, God’s good servants live a good life. The falseones show that they are false. They show it by their bad life.

Verses 21-23 Just to say “*Lord, *Lord” is not enough. Unless thespeaker obeys God, the words mean nothing. God’s false servants performedwonderful things in the name of Jesus. Even this was possible. But God knewwhat they were really like. An early Christian book of rules was called theDidache. It told how to tell the difference between good and bad people. Itshowed who were really God’s special servants. A person who asked for money forhimself was not true to God. He would be lazy and he would not want to work. Hewould expect other Christians to look after him for more than a few days. If aperson is teaching the truth, he will show it. He will do the right things.Jesus showed that he had the authority to judge people. And he will deny thathe ever knew false people. They are people who act without a sincere desire toplease God. Jesus used words from Psalm 6:8: ‘Go away from me, all you who doevil’. To send someone away like that was a most serious punishment.

The two houses 7:24-27

v24 ‘Some people will hear my words and they willobey them. They are like a wise man who built his house on rock. v25 Therain poured down, and the rivers flooded. The winds blew strongly and they beatagainst that house. But the house did not fall because it was on the rock. v26Other people will hear my words, but they will not obey them. They are like afoolish man who built his house on sand. v27 The rain poured down, andthe rivers flooded. The winds blew strongly and beat against that house. Thenit fell with a great crash.’

It is easy to build a house on the sand by a river. But a wiseman makes sure that he builds his house in a strong place. When the rain comes,the river becomes a flood. That rush of water and the strong winds woulddestroy a house if someone built it on sand. A foolish man does not obey Jesus’words. So he will not continue to believe Jesus when trouble comes. All kindsof problems are like storms that attack us. A person needs to obey Jesus’ wordsin order to stand strong in such problems.

The end of Jesus’ teaching on the mount 7:28-29

v28 Jesus finished saying all these things, and hiswords astonished the crowds. v29 He taught like someone with realauthority. He did not speak like the men who taught the *Law.

Each section of teaching in Matthew’s *gospel ends with wordslike these. Jesus spoke with real authority. So the crowds said that he wassurprising or astonishing. The men who taught the *Law usually referred to whatother teachers had said. However, Jesus declared, ‘I say to you’.

*Miracles when Jesus healed people 8:1–9:38

Matthew showed Jesus’ authority by what he taught in chapters5-7. Now Matthew shows Jesus’ authority by his actions. There are nineincidents. We can divide these *miracles into three sets of three with someteaching in between.

The first set of three is:

1. Jesus healsthe man who had very bad skin disease 8:1-4

2. Jesus healsthe *Roman officer’s servant 8:5-13

3. Jesus healsat the town called Capernaum 8:14-17.

The next set of three is:

1. The storm onthe lake 8:23-27

2. The men withevil *spirits in Gadara 8:28-34

3. The man whocould not walk 9:1-8.

The next set of three is:

1. Jesus raiseda girl to life and he healed a woman 9:18-26

2. He caused twoblind men to see 9:27-31

3. He healed aman who could not talk 9:32-34.

1. The man who had a very bad skin disease 8:1-4

Verse 1 The word ‘leprosy’ appears in many Bibles and it can meanvarious skin diseases. It also means Hansen’s disease, which is the diseasethat we know as ‘leprosy’ nowadays. Anyone with ‘leprosy’ had to stay away fromother people. These people with leprosy had to warn people by shouting ‘I amnot clean!’ So the sick person suffered both from the disease and from the factthat people avoided him or her.

Verse 2 The man believed that Jesus could heal him. But he wasnot sure that Jesus wanted to heal him. He was humble in the way that heapproached Jesus. He behaved as if he was *worshipping Jesus. He was humble ashe requested help.

Verse 3 The *Law said that a person with ‘leprosy’ must not comecloser than 6 feet (2 metres) to another person. They were ‘not clean’ so theymight make the other person ‘not clean’ too. But Jesus is very kind. So hetouched the man who had this bad skin disease. Then he caused the disease toleave the man.

Verse 4 Jesus ordered the man not to spread this news. Nobodyshould know that Jesus had healed him. The *Jews were already looking forsomeone to be their leader. They wanted to fight against the *Romans, who ruledthem. The crowds wanted to make Jesus their king when they heard about these*miracles. Jesus had to prevent them. Jesus also ordered the man to go to the*priest. The *priest also acted as a medical officer at that time. He wouldexamine the person who had been ill. Then that person had to offer certaingifts to God (Leviticus 14:1-32). The *priest needed to be sure that thepatient was clean. Then that person could return to society. Jesus wanted toshow that he respected the *Law. That is why he told the man to do this.

2. The *Roman officer’s servant 8:5-13

Verses 5-7 This *Roman officer was a ‘centurion’. That means thathe commanded a hundred soldiers. He was not a *Jew. He was in the *Roman armyor the army of Herod Antipas. In Luke’s account, the *Jewish leaders askedJesus to help this officer. Matthew records that the officer came for helphimself. It was unusual for someone to care about his slave. Most people didnot care if their slaves suffered. They owned the slaves, so they thought aboutthem as ‘things’ rather than as people. And the slaves had no rights. Theirmaster could easily get another slave if one died. But this officer cared abouthis slave. He did not want to see the slave suffer.

Verse 8. This man was an important army officer, but he washumble. He said that he was not good enough to have Jesus in his house. He mayalso have thought that Jesus would not want to enter his home. *Jews did notwant to be with people who were not *Jews. They did not like to enterforeigners’ homes. They thought that it would make them not ‘clean’ for theirreligion.

Verse 9 It was usual for the officer to receive orders and togive orders. Superior officers had the authority to give orders to him. Also,he knew that his slave and his soldiers would obey him. He was able to orderthem to do things because someone had authority over him. He showed that hebelieved Jesus. He just wanted Jesus to use his power and to give an order.That order would heal the slave, because Jesus had God’s authority.

Verse 10 Jesus was astonished that this foreigner should believehim more than God’s own people, the *Jews.

Verses 11-12 The *Jews believed many things about the future. Theybelieved that, when the *Messiah came, there would be a very special party.They would enjoy the special meal with those who began their nation - Abraham,Isaac and Jacob. They never thought that any foreigners would be there. Jesussaid that many other people would come to share this special meal. The ‘wisem*n from the east’ (also called ‘magi’) had already come to *worship him(Matthew 2:1-12). Many other people who were not *Jews would believe later.Jesus’ *disciples would go ‘to many places all over the world’ to tell peoplehis message (Matthew 28:18-20). Many *Jews, who should have been in God’shouse, will lose their place at the special meal. Although they belong to thefamilies of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they will be out in the darkness, To trustin being a member of the ‘nation that God chose’ is not enough. People can onlyenter where God rules when they believe Jesus.

Verse 13 Jesus was a long way from the slave when he healed him.The *Roman officer believed that Jesus could give such an order. So Jesus didit that way.

3. Jesus healed people at Capernaum 8:14-17

Verses 14-15 Peter’s home was in the town called Capernaum. Jesusmay have used Peter’s house as his own home. Jesus healed Peter’s wife’s motherat once. Usually people feel weak after they have been ill like that. But sheimmediately got up and served a meal to Jesus.

Verse 16 We know that it was God’s rest day. Mark and Luke wrotethat they left the synagogue that day (Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38). The synagogue wasa building where *Jews gathered to pray. Nobody could go for a walk until theevening, when that special day ended. They could not travel very far. Also,they could not carry a sick person.

Verse 17 Matthew added the words from Isaiah’s poem about aservant (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus made these words come true. All his life, hesympathised with those who suffered. He healed those who were ill.

Other people wanted to go with Jesus 8:18-22

Verses 19-20 Jesus attracted a man who taught the *Law. This manrecognised that Jesus was teaching differently from himself and other teachers.Jesus was honest. He never taught that it was easy to be his *disciple. Hewanted the man to think about the kind of life that he would have with Jesus.Jesus did use Peter’s home in Capernaum. Also, there were women who helped him.They provided many things that he needed (Luke 8:2-3). But it was true that hedid not have his own home. Even animals and birds have their own place to live.But Jesus did not have such security.

Jesus used the words ‘Son of Man’ to describe himself. It is likethe name ‘*Messiah’. This idea comes from the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14).Someone who was ‘like a son of man’ came to God. He ‘received power and honourand he became a king’.

Verses 21-22 This man was already a *disciple, but he did notwant to be completely loyal to Jesus. It was the duty of a son to bury hisfather. But this man’s father was probably still alive, so his funeral wouldnot be soon. The man wanted to follow Jesus, but he wanted to postpone it too.He wanted to wait until his father had died. That might still be years later.Jesus knew that the man just wanted to delay. Jesus’ answer was, ‘Follow me’.It showed that a *disciple must make Jesus most important, even more importantthan family relationships.

‘Let the dead bury their own dead’ may mean that someone would besure to bury the man’s father. Or it may refer to people who did not followJesus. They were the people who were *spiritually dead. The people who did notfollow Jesus could carry out the funeral ceremonies.

In the second set of three *miracles, Matthew shows the power ofJesus over nature, over evil *spirits and over *sin.

1. The storm on the lake 8:23-27

Verse 23 The true *disciples went wherever Jesus went.

Verse 24 The lake is below the level of the sea and hillssurround it. So storms can come up without warning. Matthew calls this storm a‘seismos’, which means that the earth shook. So he is suggesting that there wasunusual movement below the lake. This was as well as the sudden strong wind.The waves were so high that they were going right over the boat. But Jesus wasvery tired and he was asleep. Mark’s record (Mark 4:1, 35-36) shows that Jesushad been teaching from the boat.

Verse 26 It is possible for a wind to become less strong veryquickly. But waves usually continue to be rough for some time. Jesus’ ordershowed his authority over nature.

Verse 27 These were the men who followed him. They called him‘*Lord’. They probably thought about the Psalms, where God makes the waterscalm (Psalm 89:9; 107:29).

Christians often remember this account when they meet ‘storms’(problems) in life. They remind themselves not to be afraid. The problems maybe sudden illness or danger. Perhaps something that is not good attracts them.Or there may be other problems. When Jesus is with us, there can be calm in ourlives.

2. The men with evil *spirits in Gadara 8:28-34

Verse 28 Some Bibles say Gergesenes, or Gerasenes, which means‘Gergasa people’ or ‘Gerasa people’. The right word is probably ‘Gadarenes’.

Mark gives many details about this event that Matthew leaves out.But Matthew writes about evil *spirits that possessed two men. Mark mentionsonly one man. The caves where they buried dead people were in the rocks. (Thecaves were also called ‘tombs’.) Men could find shelter there. People believedthat evil *spirits lived among these ‘tombs’. The men were so wild and strongthat other people were afraid to come near them.

Verse 29 But Jesus was not afraid. It was the evil *spirits whowere afraid of him. They called Jesus ‘Son of God’. They knew that God wouldjudge them one day. They knew that God would punish them then. These evil*spirits were afraid that Jesus would punish them immediately.

Verses 30-32 The pigs’ death convinced the men that the evil*spirits had gone for ever. People who tried to drive evil *spirits out ofother people in those days used all kinds of special words and ceremonies.Jesus gave only a brief command and the evil *spirits obeyed him. Peoplesometimes blame Jesus for the pigs’ death, but a human being is much morevaluable than an animal.

Verse 34. The people from Gadara wanted Jesus to leave. They wereafraid of someone with such great power. Jesus never forced people to listen tohim. So he left that region.

3. The man who could not walk 9:1-8

Mark and Luke also record this *miracle (Mark 2:1-12; Luke5:17-26). They give much more information, but Matthew has included theessential facts. He showed that the incident was very important.

Verse 1 We know that Jesus returned to Capernaum (Mark 2:1).Matthew also tells us that Jesus lived there (Matthew 4:13). This town was themain place where he taught. So it was his ‘own town’.

Verses 3-4 Jesus told the man that he had forgiven his *sins. Butthe teachers of God’s law thought that Jesus was insulting God. The teachersbelieved correctly that only God can forgive *sins. But Jesus was God’s Son.Therefore, he had the authority to forgive *sins. He had shown his authorityover the wind and the waves already (Matthew 8:27).

Verses 5-8 Jesus could easily say that God had forgiven the man.But that was difficult to prove. The *Jews believed that the man was ill as theresult of his *sin. So, Jesus showed his authority and healed the man. And thatwas how he proved that God had forgiven the man.

Jesus called himself ‘Son of Man’ again. (See Matthew 8:20.) Hehad many different names.

Jesus calls Matthew 9:9-13

Verse 9 Mark and Luke give Matthew’s other name, Levi (Mark 2:14;Luke 5:27). Only Matthew calls himself ‘Matthew’. Mark and Luke both have alist of the 12 *disciples. Matthew’s name is in these lists. But only Matthewcalls himself: ‘Matthew, the man who collected taxes’. Matthew was probablycollecting taxes on goods that people were importing. Or perhaps they wereexporting the goods into Herod Antipas’ territory. Men who collected taxes wereable to cheat other people. So they became rich. People hated them because theyworked for the foreign authorities (the *Romans). Matthew may have heard aboutJesus before this. He may even have listened to Jesus when he publicly talkedto the people in Capernaum. Proud people who obeyed the law thought that theywere ‘good’ people. And they refused to respect some people in their society.But Matthew knew that Jesus was everybody’s friend. So when Jesus calledMatthew, he gave up his job immediately. And he followed Jesus.

Verses 10-11 Matthew invited his friends to meet Jesus. Heinvited them to have a meal with him. The *Pharisees saw them all theretogether. They would not eat with people like that. They believed that it waswrong. The *Pharisees said that people like Matthew’s friends did not obeyGod’s laws. But the *Pharisees also meant all the extra rules that the teachershad added through the years. The teachers had invented those extra rules. The*Pharisees did not come into Matthew’s house to ask their question. But Jesusheard them and he answered them publicly.

Verse 12 Sick people need a doctor. Jesus meant that bad peopleneed help.

Verse 13 Jesus reminded them about a verse from the book of Hosea(Hosea 6:6). God wants people to love each other and to be kind to each other.God wants more than presents from people. These ‘presents’ were usually specialanimals that people brought to the *Temple. These presents were called‘sacrifices’. The officials killed them and offered them to God. Sometimespeople brought these presents because they were really sorry about their *sins.Sometimes they just wanted to pay God so that he would forgive them. Truereligion is not just about ceremonies. It is the right kind of life when peoplecare about other people. Jesus said that he had come into the world to rescuepeople who needed his help (Matthew 18:11). Some people thought that they didnot need God. Such people thought that God approved of them. The *Phariseeswere like that and they did not recognise their own *sins. They were proud andthey only saw faults in other people. So Jesus could not help them.

A question about not eating 9:14-17

Verse 14 Jesus had spoken about the right way to stop eating(Matthew 6:6-18). When people stop eating for a special purpose, this is alsocalled a ‘fast’. Luke suggests that the *Pharisees also asked the question(Luke 5:32). They wanted another reason so that they could blame Jesus.

Verses 15-17 When Jesus replied, he gave three short *parables:

1. The guests ata wedding are happy so they eat a lot. Jesus was like a bridegroom. John the *Baptisthad described Jesus as the bridegroom (John 3:29). The *disciples were like thefriends of the bridegroom, and Jesus was still with them. So they should behappy like guests at a wedding. Jesus knew that people would take him away todie soon. The *disciples would be sad, so then they would stop eating. Thatwould show how sad they were.

2. You cannot usea new strong piece of cloth to mend a hole in old clothes. Jesus came to offersomething that was completely new. It was like new clothes to replace the oldclothes completely. Jesus came to offer a new relationship with God, not just aset of *religious practices.

3. People storedwine in leather bottles made from animal skins. Old skins, that had containedwine before, became hard. New wine, as it continues to mature, pushes againstthe old, hard skin. So the skin bursts and the wine spills out. Jesus offered anew way of life, like new wine. The *Pharisees’ way of life was like a hard,old leather bottle. It could not contain what Jesus taught. The *Phariseesemphasised rules, but Jesus emphasised love.

The third set of *miracles shows that Jesus has authority overdeath:

1. He raised agirl to life and he healed a woman 9:18-26

2. He made twoblind men able to see 9:27-31

3. He healed aman who could not talk 9:32-34.

1. Jesus raised a girl to life and he healed a woman 9:18-26

Matthew leaves out some details that are in Mark’s *gospel. Butthe main points are clear. The story about the woman who was bleeding comes inthe middle of the account about the official’s daughter.

Verse 18 Matthew says only ‘an official’. Mark tells us that hisname was Jairus. He was a ruler or official in the place where the *Jews mettogether. This place was where they *worshipped God. It was called a‘synagogue’. Jairus was responsible for arranging the ceremonies there. So hewas an important person in the town. *Religious leaders had already begun tooppose Jesus. So Jairus needed courage to ask Jesus for his help. He loved hisdaughter so much that he came to Jesus in a humble way. Jesus started to gowith Jairus to his house.

Verse 20 Because of her illness, the woman could not go into thehouse where the *Jews’ met together. If she obeyed the *Jewish rules, sheshould not have been in a crowd. The rules said that anything or anyone thatshe touched would no longer be ‘clean’.

Verse 22 Jesus encouraged the woman. He called her ‘daughter’,and he did not consider her as ‘dirty’. He was not angry because she hadtouched his clothes. He respected her. But he did not want anybody to thinkwrongly about him. There was no magic in his clothes. He said that God hadhealed her. He had made her well because she believed him. So she would notfeel guilty as she went away. She knew that Jesus had healed her permanently.

Verse 23 It was the custom to hire musicians for a funeral. Theyoften played a flute (a kind of musical pipe). Even a poor family would hiretwo people to play musical instruments. They also hired one woman to cryloudly. Jairus was an important man. So many people would go to his house.Probably many professional people went to play and to cry at his daughter’sfuneral. So there would have been a great noise and much confusion.

Verse 24 Jesus sometimes referred to death as ‘sleep’. In John’s*gospel (John 11:11-13) Lazarus had died. But Jesus went to ‘wake him up’. WhenChristians die, the *New Testament letters sometimes refer to this as ‘sleep’also (1 Corinthians 15:6, 10).

Verse 25 Matthew says that Jesus sent the crowd out of the house.Mark tells us more detail. Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to go with himinto the girl’s room. They were witnesses as well as her parents.

Verse 26 Jesus told the parents to say nothing (Mark 5:43). Butthis kind of news spreads quickly. Many people knew that the girl had died. Andthen she appeared alive again, so many people would soon know about this.

2. Two blind men can see 9:27-31

v27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followedhim. They called out to him. ‘Son of David, pity us!’ they shouted. v28When Jesus went into the house, the blind men came to him. Then Jesus spoke tothem, ‘Do you believe that I can heal you?’ he asked them. ‘Yes *Lord’, theyreplied. v29 Then Jesus touched their eyes. ‘It will happen to youbecause you believed me’, he said. v30 Then they were able to see, soJesus gave them a strict order. ‘Make sure that nobody knows about this’, hesaid. v31 But they went out and spread the news all over the region.

Verse 27 ‘Son of David’ was another name for the *Messiah. Longago God’s servant, Isaiah, spoke about when the *Messiah would come. He hadsaid that blind people would be able to see then (Isaiah 35:5). We see herethat Isaiah’s message was true.

Verse 28 Jesus wanted to discover whether the men had reallybelieved him. So they had to follow Jesus and go away from other people.

Verse 30 Jesus did not want the news about this *miracle tospread. He was not a political leader like the people wanted the ‘Son of David’to be. He did not want to be just a doctor either. He had come to tell peopleGod’s message. He wanted to forgive their *sin and to change them into God’scitizens. People had to learn what type of *Messiah he was.

3. Jesus heals a man who could not talk 9:32-34

Verses 32-33 The crowds saw what Jesus did. They had not seenanything like this before. Jesus had freed the dumb man from an evil *spirit sothat the dumb man could speak again. People often refer to such an evil *spiritas a ‘demon’. This news could not remain a secret.

Verse 34 The *Pharisees accused Jesus. They did not believe thathis authority over evil *spirits came from God. They said that his authoritycame from the chief evil *spirit. The *Pharisees said this again in Matthew12:24-28. But then, Jesus showed that this idea was very silly.

There are only a few workers 9:35-38

v35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages. Hetaught in the buildings where the *Jews met. He told them the good news aboutwhere God rules. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. v36When he saw the crowds, he really pitied them. They worried a lot and they werevery weak. They were like sheep without anyone to look after them. v37Then Jesus spoke about this to his *disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful butthere are only a few workers. v38 Ask the *Lord of the harvest to sendout workers into his harvest field’, he said.

Verse 35 People usually refer to the buildings where the *Jewsmet as ‘synagogues’. Matthew repeats the words that he wrote in Matthew 4:23.From the end of chapter 4 to the end of chapter 9, Matthew shows how Jesus didthat work.

Verse 36 In the *Old Testament, Israel’s people were often called‘sheep’. The kings and the *religious leaders had the duty to look after their‘sheep’ for God. They often failed. (See 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:1-10.) InJesus’ time, the people were weak and worried. They were like tired sheep thatwanted to eat some grass. They wanted to know God. But the *religious leaderscould not guide them. All the laws that they had made were like a great weight.That weight pushed people down so that they were more worried. Jesus careddeeply about these ‘sheep’. He wanted the *disciples to care about the peopletoo.

Verse 37 Jesus could not speak to everyone himself. He neededother people to help him. The *disciples were like farm workers who harvest thegrain. They must bring a harvest of people to God. Great crowds were ready tohear the good news. They were like a big field of ripe grain (John 4:35-38).But the people needed workers to tell them. Jesus told the *disciples to prayto God for more workers. Many people still pray to God for workers. SometimesGod calls them to become workers too.

These verses show that Jesus needed more workers. These versesalso introduce what Jesus taught in the next section. This starts with chapter10, when Jesus sends his *disciples on their journey. Matthew describes theinstructions that Jesus gave to them.

Jesus chooses 12 men and sends them as his workers 10:1-4

Verse 1 Jesus had many *disciples. He chose 12 of them as hisspecial workers ‘to send out’ on his behalf. Another name for these *disciplesthat he sent out is ‘apostles’. He sent them out with his authority. It wasbetter for these workers to go out in pairs. They told the good news aboutwhere God rules. And they showed that God did not want disease and illness.Long ago, Jacob had 12 sons and they began 12 *tribes. These 12 *tribes becamethe nation called Israel. Now 12 of Jesus’ *disciples were beginning new workfor God.

Verses 2-4 The four men whose job was to catch fish are at thebeginning of the list. Peter always comes first on the list. He, with hisbrother Andrew, and James with his brother John, had been *disciples of Johnthe *Baptist first. Jesus wanted them to fish for people rather than for fish(Mark 1:16-20). Bartholomew is probably the same person as Nathanael (John1:44-45). Philip and Nathanael came from Bethsaida. Thomas the *twin (John11:16) is linked with Matthew, who collected taxes for the *Romans. Simonbelonged to the group of *Jews who wanted to force the *Roman rulers out oftheir country. They were called ‘the Eager Men’. But Jesus could unite Matthewand Simon as they served him. James, Alphaeus’s son, has the same name in thethree lists. But Thaddeus is probably Judas, James’s son, in Luke 6:16. And heis Judas, not Iscariot, in John 14:22. Judas Iscariot is always last on thelist. Perhaps he was the only *disciple who did not come from Galilee district.Iscariot probably means ‘man from Kerioth’, and Kerioth was in Judea district.Jesus chose him to be an apostle (a special worker). But for some reason hestopped being loyal to Jesus. He was the man who handed Jesus over to hisenemies.

We do not know much about most of these men that Jesus sent outas special workers. But it is the work that is important, not the workers. Paulhad to explain this truth to the Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).

Jesus gives instructions to his 12 special workers 10:5-15

Verse 5 This order meant that the *disciples would only work inGalilee district. This was a wise decision. They would be more successfulbecause they worked in just a small area. Probably the 12 workers were not yetready to tell the good news about Jesus to foreigners. Later, God sent Paul tothe people who were not *Jews. He had experience of them in the city of Tarsuswhere he had lived. Jesus did not give this order as a permanent order. Jesusgave his final order to his *disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. Then he told themto go everywhere in the world.

Verses 6-7 The special workers had to tell the good news to the*Jews. The *Jews could come into God’s rule. The king had arrived now. Thisking was Jesus and they could follow him. They would no longer be like sheepthat have lost their way.

Verse 8 The *disciples had to do the same work as Jesus did(9:35). They had to heal people’s bodies and minds. They had to look after thewhole person. A *Jewish teacher (called a ‘rabbi’) had to teach his *disciplesbut he could not charge them money. The *disciples did not have to pay Jesuswhen he taught them. So now, they had to go and teach other people. They had toteach what they had learned from Jesus.

Verses 9-10 Jesus said that they should not take any money withthem. They should not take extra supplies. They had to trust God to provide forthem. They could expect someone to be ready to help them. People usuallyprovided food and shelter for a teacher. They considered that this was anhonour. Paul too said that a worker deserves his pay. (See 1 Corinthians 9:14.)

Verses 11-13 The workers had to find someone who welcomed them.They had to stay in the same home all the time that they stayed in that place.They could not look for somewhere more comfortable. They could not look forsomeone who gave them better food. They had to ask for God’s peace on thathome.

Verse 14 They were taking their message to *Jews. The *Jews wereexpecting God to do good things to them. If nobody welcomed the good news aboutJesus, the *disciples were not responsible for those people. They showed thiswhen they shook the dust off their feet. This was a *Jewish custom. The *Jewsdid this when they returned home from another country. Anything that the *Jewstouched among foreigners made the *Jews ‘dirty’. So they shook off those thingsbefore they went into their home.

Verse 15 People knew that Sodom and Gomorrah had been two verywicked cities. The people there behaved very badly with Lot’s guests (Genesis19:1-11). They had refused to accept the men with God’s message. So Goddestroyed them. But the people in Sodom and Gomorrah had no opportunity torefuse the message about Christ. The people in Galilee’s towns and villages nowhad that opportunity. So their punishment would be more severe.

Jesus warns his workers that people will oppose them 10:16-25

Verse 16 Fierce wild animals called ‘wolves’ attacked sheep.Jesus was honest. He told his workers that people would oppose them. The *disciplesmust be wise as they told people the good news. They must be gentle withpeople. And they must live in a good and honest way.

Verse 17 Jesus’ words came true in the future. The *Jewishauthorities opposed the *disciples. They had to answer these authorities abouttheir message in the local courts. They could receive 39 blows from a whip inthe buildings where the *Jews met. Paul himself said that the *Jews hadpunished him in this way five times (2 Corinthians 11:24).

Verse 18 The state would oppose them. At that time, the rulerswere *Roman officials. *Jewish kings like Herod Agrippa tried to please boththe *Jewish authorities and the *Romans. So they attacked and opposed theChristians. Herod Agrippa ordered his men to kill Zebedee’s son, James. He alsoput Peter in prison (Acts 12:1-4).

Verses 19-20 Jesus said that the *disciples should not worry.People might arrest them because they were Christians. But the *Holy Spiritwould give them the right words to say at such times. The men in the *Jewish*religious government were astonished at the way that Peter and John were ableto speak to them (Acts 4:13).

Verses 21-22 Even the *disciples’ own family members might opposethem. The writer Tacitus was not a Christian, but he wrote books aboutChristians. He thought that they were ‘a group of people that behaved wickedly.People hated them’. He also said that Christians ‘hated all people’.

Christians considered that slaves were real people. They calledslaves ‘brothers’ if they were Christians. The *Roman authorities thought thatthis was dangerous to their rule. The *Romans considered that slaves were just‘things’. They bought and sold them. The Christians also upset people who mademoney from their religion. In Ephesus, there were people who made false godsfrom silver. They lost their trade when Paul told the good news about Jesus tothe people there. People believed the message and God changed their lives (Acts19:24-27).

Verse 23 *Disciples should be wise enough to escape from danger.They should not die if it is not necessary. After Stephen died, many Christiansleft Jerusalem. They went to safer places. And the result was that the goodnews about Jesus spread further (Acts 8:1-4). Paul and Barnabas also leftplaces where they were in danger (Acts 14:5-7). It is plain that Jesus meanshimself when he says ‘Son of Man’. But the phrase: ‘before the Son of Mancomes’ is not very clear. So people have explained these words in severaldifferent ways:

Idea 1. The *disciples were going ahead of Jesus to other places.He would follow later. This idea agrees with Luke 10:1. He says that Jesus sent*disciples ‘to every town and place where he would go later.’

Idea 2. Jesus was talking about after his death and when he wouldbe alive again. Then he would return to help the *disciples. They would tellthe good news about him in all the cities of Israel.

Idea 3. Perhaps he was referring to the future time when he willreturn to this earth. His *disciples did not finish their work before the*Romans attacked Jerusalem in *AD 70. In Matthew 24:15-30, Matthew records whatJesus said about this event. He connects it with what some of God’s servantshad told the people long before. They told them about the time when Christ willreturn.

Verses 24-25 *Disciples would suffer in the same way as theirteacher and master. The *Pharisees had accused Jesus. They said that he workedwith Beelzebub, the chief evil *spirit. That means the devil or Satan (9:34).So people would insult the *disciples too. ‘Beelzebub’ means ‘the flies’master’. *Jews had probably changed the name from ‘Beelzebul’, which means ‘themaster of the house’. This was the name of a false god in the *Old Testament (2Kings 1:1-6). Now it was another name for the chief evil *spirit.

Jesus encourages the *disciples 10:26-33

Jesus gave four reasons why true *disciples should not be afraidof anyone:

Reason 1. Verses26-27. If the *disciples’ words and actions are right, later God will show thatthey are right. God will be the judge. He will recognise the people who havetold lies about Christians. Nobody will be able to hide his true character. Godwill praise the Christians, so they can look forward to that time.

They must listencarefully to what Jesus teaches in private. Then they must be bold as theyteach other people in public.

Reason 2. Verse28. People can kill someone’s body. But they cannot damage the person that heor she is inside. We call the part of a person that lives for ever a ‘soul’.However, God can destroy both. God is very, very special, so people shouldrespect him. They should give him honour. Then they will not be afraid of otherpeople.

Reason 3. Verses29-31. God is the Father who cares about everything that he has made. Thelittle birds were called ‘sparrows’. They were very cheap. Poor people wouldbuy them to eat. Luke 12:6 says that people could buy five birds for twopennies. ‘Falls to the ground’ probably means ‘dies’. But it could also meanthat a sparrow lands and jumps along the ground. God cares about these cheapand common little birds. Therefore, he certainly cares about people much more.

Reason 4. Verses32-33. Some people are not ashamed of Jesus. They declare in public that theyknow him. And Jesus will say that he knows those people. But some people willfeel ashamed in public, and Jesus warns those people. He will refuse to saythat he knows them. There are several ways that a Christian may not declare his*faith. Sometimes a Christian may remain silent when he should speak aboutJesus. Sometimes he may speak against Jesus. Sometimes a Christian may behavein the wrong way. Then other people will have wrong ideas about the *Lord thatwe claim to obey.

Jesus tells them that trouble will come to families 10:34-39

Verse 34 Jesus came to give people peace with God. And he wantedthem to have peace with each other. Some people accepted him, and he changedtheir lives. Other people opposed him and this caused trouble. This troubledivides some families. Family members do not always have the same attitude toChrist’s message.

Verses 35-37 Jesus taught that husbands and wives should be loyalto each other (Matthew 5:31-32). He taught that children should look aftertheir parents (Matthew 15:3-6). But people should be loyal to Christ first.Sometimes this may cause fights in a family. In verses 35-36, Jesus used wordsthat God’s servant Micah wrote long ago (Micah 7:6). Jesus himself knew what itwas like to have his own family against him. They thought that he was mad (Mark3:21). Also, his brothers tried to force him to make the wrong decision (John7:1-5).

Verse 38 Everyone would have seen people who were carrying wooden*crosses. They were going to their deaths. When the *Roman authorities saidthat someone must die, they often fixed him to a wooden *cross with nails. Theperson had to carry his own *cross beam to the place where they killed him onit. Judas from Galilee attacked the *Romans in the year *AD 6. So the *Romancaptain killed 2000 *Jews on *crosses in Galilee. This shows us what Jesusmeans here. ‘Pick up their *cross’ means that people must be prepared for hardtimes. They may not die on an actual *cross, but they must give up their ownwishes and ideas. Instead, they must do what Christ wants them to do.

Verse 39 A person may live in a selfish way. Then their life willnot have any real meaning or value. The way to a happy life is to serve Godwhether it is difficult to live like that or not. Then we will serve otherpeople because that is what God wants.

The reward for people who welcome Christ’s workers 10:40-42

v40 ‘Anyone who says, ‘Welcome!’ to you, is saying‘Welcome!’ to me. At the same time, that person is saying ‘Welcome!’ to him whosent me. v41 Someone may say ‘Welcome!’ to God’s servant because he isGod’s servant. That person will receive the same reward as God’s servantreceives. Or someone may say ‘Welcome!’ to a good man because he is a good man.That person will receive the same reward as the good man receives. v42Someone may give just a cup of cold water to one of these little people becausethey are my *disciples. That person will certainly gain their reward.’

Verse 40 Jesus said that God had sent him into the world.Therefore, anyone who says ‘Welcome!’ to Jesus is saying ‘Welcome!’ to God atthe same time.

Verse 41 God’s servant speaks God’s message. The good man showswhat God’s message is by his example. People who say ‘Welcome!’ to one of God’sservants will receive the same reward as God’s servant receives. In the sameway, God will reward the good man and the person who says ‘Welcome!’ to him.

Verse 42 ‘Little people’ can mean young children. It can alsomean people who have believed Jesus for only a short time. Or it can meanhumble people. Here it refers to the *disciples that Jesus is sending out. Aperson will receive a reward from God if he gives even a very little help toone of those *disciples. The best reward will come from God. He will say, ‘Welldone. You are a good and loyal servant’ (Matthew 25:21).

In the next section, Matthew 11:1–12:50, Matthew shows how somepeople said ‘Welcome!’ to Jesus. They were glad to see him. But other peoplerefused to accept him. The *religious leaders especially began to oppose him.

John the *Baptist asked a question 11:1-6

v1 Jesus finished giving instructions to his 12*disciples. Then he went on from there to other towns in the Galilee district.He taught the people and he told them God’s message. v2 John was inprison at that time. But he heard what Jesus was doing. So he sent his*disciples to talk to Jesus. v3 ‘John said that someone would come. Areyou the person that John was talking about?’ they asked him. ‘Or should weexpect someone else to come?’ v4 Jesus replied to them. ‘Go back toJohn’, he said. ‘Tell him what you hear now. Tell him what you see here. v5Blind people came, and now they can see again. People who could not walkproperly can now walk easily. People who had terrible skin diseases are wellagain. Deaf people came, and now they can hear. Some dead people are aliveagain. And poor people are hearing the good news about me. v6 The personwho continues to trust me will be happy.’

Verse 1 Jesus finished what he had been teaching in chapter 10.

Verses 2-3 John was in prison. Matthew refers to this in Matthew4:12 and explains more in Matthew 14:1-12. John had showed that Jesus was the*Messiah (John 1:29-33). But now, in prison, John was not so sure. ‘The personthat John was talking about’ means ‘the *Messiah’. John had spoken aboutjudgement and a powerful *Messiah (Matthew 3:10-12). But Jesus was being kindto people and helping them. Perhaps John thought that Jesus should have freedhim from prison. Jesus did not announce that he was the *Messiah. John may havewondered why he did not announce himself.

Verses 4-5 God’s servant Isaiah had promised what the *Messiahwould do (Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1-3). Jesus showed by his actions and words thatthose promises were true. The *Messiah had come. Jesus wanted John’s *disciplesto tell John about it. They were witnesses. Then John would know that he hadnot made a mistake about Jesus.

Verse 6 Jesus sent this message to John the *Baptist, but it istrue for everyone who trusts Jesus.

Jesus praises John the *Baptist 11:7-15

Verse 7 John had begun to doubt that Jesus was the *Messiah. Whenthe people heard John’s question, they might have doubted too. Also, Jesus’words in verse 6 might seem to blame John. So now, Jesus praised John and toldthe truth about him to the people. Nobody would have gone into the desert tosee a very ordinary man. Tall grasses were very common by the river Jordan. Thewind blew the grass in one direction, and then it blew the grass in a differentdirection. In a similar way, weak people keep changing their opinions. But Johnhad firm opinions. He had the courage to speak the truth for God. He even toldking Herod Antipas that he had done something wrong (Matthew 14:1-12).

Verse 8 John wore clothes that were rough, and he ate simple food(Matthew 3:4). He did not live in luxury in a king’s palace. He did not have aneasy life.

Verses 9-10 Jesus agreed that John was God’s servant. But he waseven more important than every other one of God’s servants. He was God’sspecial *messenger. He prepared the way for the *Messiah. See Malachi 3:1.

Verse 11 John was most important. He announced that a new age wasbeginning. But he did not see what that new age meant to the world. He did notsee all the evidence about how much God loved the world. John did not see Jesusdie (John 3:16). So the most humble Christian has a much greater advantage thanJohn had.

Verse 12 People have explained these words in several differentways:

1. Fierce menhad attacked the idea that God rules people. They started when John was inprison. They continued to attack it because they wanted to rule people’sthoughts.

2. The words mayrefer to the ‘Eager Men’ (see Simon the Eager Man in Matthew 10:4). The EagerMen were *Jews who tried to establish only God’s rule in their land. They didthis as they fought the *Romans. People wanted to force Jesus to become theirking (John 6:15).

3. People wereeager to get the good things that God offers. But they wanted to take them withforce. They were like people who are trying to force their way into a city.

Verses 13-14 Jesus was saying that John was like another Elijah.He spoke the words from the *Old Testament about Elijah’s return (Malachi 4:5).People believed that Elijah would announce that the *Messiah had arrived. Eventoday, *Jews leave an empty chair at their *Passover meal for Elijah. God’s*messenger from heaven spoke to John’s father before John was born. He promisedZechariah that John would be like God’s servant, Elijah. John would have thesame kind of courage and power that Elijah had (Luke 1:17).

Verses 14-15 God can send his *messengers, but people may refuseto listen to them. So Jesus appealed to the people to listen.

People’s attitudes to John and to Jesus 11:16-19

v16 ‘I do not know what to say about the people inthese days. They are like children who sit in the market place. They call outto another group of children. v17 “We played music for you, but you didnot dance. We sang a funeral song, but you did not cry”, they say. v18John came. He did not eat or drink as much as you do. So people say that he hasan evil *spirit. v19 The Son of Man came. He ate and drank exactly asyou do. And so people speak about him. “This man is always eating and drinkingtoo much!” they say. “There are people who collect taxes and other people who*sin. They are his friends!” they say. But you can know what is really wise.Just look at the results. Then you will know.

Verses 16-17 Jesus said that the people round him were likechildren. One group of children complained that the other group would not playwith them. They would not play happy games, and they would not play sad games.None of them could agree.

Verses 18-19 John the *Baptist lived a strict life, so peoplesaid that he was mad. Jesus joined in social events. He spent time with peoplethat other people avoided. So people said that Jesus lived a wicked life. Thepeople did not want to accept either John or Jesus. So those people behavedlike selfish children. They made excuses and would not listen to God’s message.The results showed who was right. John had a strict life while he prepared forhis work. He changed the attitude of many people. Jesus spent time withordinary people. He showed them that God loved them. Both John and Jesus chosethe way that was right for them. Wise people should be able to understand this.

Jesus warned some towns in Galilee 11:20-24

v20 Then Jesus began to warn the people in the townswhere he had performed most of his *miracles. He was disappointed because theyhad not turned away from their *sins. v21 ‘How terrible it will be foryou people in Chorazin!’ he said. ‘How terrible it will be for you people inBethsaida! Suppose I had done the same *miracles in Tyre and Sidon that I didin your towns. The people there would have turned away from their *sins longago. They would have worn rough clothes. They would have put ashes on theirheads to show that they were sorry. v22 I tell you this. On judgementday, it will be easier for the people from Tyre and Sidon than it will be foryou. v23 And as for you, Capernaum people! You think that you are onyour way up to heaven. But no, you will go down to where the dead people go.Suppose that the Sodom people had seen the same *miracles that I have performedin your towns. Sodom would still be here today. v24 But I tell you this.On judgement day, it will be easier for the people from Sodom than it will befor you.’

Verses 21-22 The *gospels do not tell us everything that Jesusdid (John 21:25). So we have no account of what Jesus did in Chorazin. Tyre andSidon were two towns that were on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Thepeople there were very wealthy because they had many merchant ships. But theywere proud and cruel. So God’s servants had told them that God would judge them(Isaiah chapter 23; Ezekiel chapters 27, 28; Amos 1:9). These towns were inGalilee district. They heard what Jesus taught. But they did not change howthey behaved. They had seen his *miracles, but they were not interested. Theyhad seen what Jesus did. So they had an advantage over Tyre and Sidon. And Godwill judge them more severely than he will judge the people from those twonon-*Jewish towns. Sometimes the *Jews deeply regretted that they had donewrong. So they wore very rough clothes called ‘sackcloth’. And they put ashes ontheir heads. That showed that they were very sorry.

Verses 23-24 The Capernaum people were very proud. They said thattheir city ‘reached up to heaven’. Isaiah had used this phrase to describe theproud king of *Babylon (Isaiah 14:13). Jesus had worked in Galilee district. Heused Capernaum as the central town. So the people there had seen him do many*miracles. The Sodom people had been so wicked that God had destroyed theircity long ago. But the people from Capernaum had less excuse than the people fromSodom had. In Capernaum, they had seen all that Jesus had done. So they wouldreceive a more severe judgement from God.

Jesus shows people the Father and he offers an easy *yoke 11:25-30

Verse 25 The people who taught God’s *Law, did not believe Jesus’message. The people who thought that they were wise did not believe hismessage. Humble people knew that Jesus spoke the truth. They were like littlechildren. Some people are proud that they know a lot about God. But they do notreally understand him.

Verse 27 Jesus said that he is the Son. He is the only person whoknows God, the Father. Only Jesus can show people what God is like. Thisstatement is like the one in John’s *gospel, (John 14:9). ‘The person who hasseen me has seen the Father’, it says.

Verse 28 In those days, the *Jewish religion had many laws. Theleaders had made a big series of laws. People who tried to obey all of thembecame very tired. The laws were like a heavy load that people must carry.

Verses 29-30 A *yoke is a special piece of wood. The farmer putsone on the neck of his oxen (big cows) when they work for him. Jesus had workedwith wood. So he knew how to make good *yokes. They fitted well, and they didnot make the animal’s neck sore. The *Jews used the word ‘*yoke’ as picturelanguage. They were talking about how they must obey the law. Peter spoke aboutthe ‘*yoke’ that the *Jews had found difficult (Acts 15:10). In these verses,Jesus was referring to his own and their experience as *Jews. He invited peopleto follow him. They would find that their life with Jesus was ‘easy’. It is‘easy’ because Jesus cares about his *disciples. They would find that his loadis light. It is ‘light’ because a *disciple follows the example of Jesus. A*disciple does not need to obey hundreds of rules. Jesus is gentle and he ishumble. He allows people to be free. Then they obey him because they love him.

Questions about how to use God’s rest day 12:1-14

Matthew gives two examples of the ‘*yoke’ of the *Jewish law:

1. The*disciples in the fields of corn 12:1-8

2. The man witha hand that he could not use 12:9-14.

1. *Disciples in the fields of corn 12:1-8

v1 At that time, Jesus was going through the fieldsof corn on God’s rest day. His *disciples were with him and they were hungry.They began to pick some of the corn. They ate the grains. v2 Some*Pharisees saw them do this. So they spoke to Jesus. ‘Look! Your *disciples arebreaking our Law!’ they said. ‘They are working on God’s rest day.’ v3Jesus answered them. ‘Surely you have read what David did. He and his friendswere hungry. v4 So they went into God’s house. And he and his friendsate the bread that people had offered to God. Our Law did not allow them to eatthat bread. Only the *priests had the right to eat it. v5 You have readin the Law that the *priests in the *Temple work on God’s rest day. But theyremain without blame. v6 I am telling you the truth. Someone who isgreater than the *Temple is here now. v7 You should know what God’swords mean. ‘I want you to be kind’, God said. ‘I want this more than yourpresents.’ If you understood that, then you would not blame those people. Theyare not guilty, v8 because the Son of Man is *Lord of God’s rest day.’

Verses 1-2 The *disciples were not stealing corn. People couldeat some of the corn as they passed a field of corn. The *Law allowed them todo that (Deuteronomy 23:25). God said that people should not work on his restday (Exodus 20:8-11). But the men who taught the *Law had added hundreds ofstrict rules to this command. There were 39 basic extra rules, and the*disciples had broken some of these rules. So the *Pharisees said that theywere ‘guilty’. They said that the *disciples had

harvested the corn;

separated the grain and the straw;

prepared a meal.

Jesus answered the *Pharisees in four ways:

1. Verses 3-4 Hereminded the *Pharisees about King David. He and his men had eaten the breadthat only the *priests should eat (1 Samuel 21:1-6). This was special bread. Itwas a sign that God provided food. Because David and his men were hungry, theyneeded to eat the bread. So the *priest allowed them to break the law.

2. Verses 5-6The *priests had to work in the *Temple, even on God’s rest day. The *Law didnot allow an ordinary person to light a fire on that day. But the *priestscould light the fire on the *altar to burn the animals. That was part of theceremony as they *worshipped God in the *Temple. Jesus said that he himself wasgreater than the *Temple.

3. Verse 7 Jesusused God’s words to his servant, Hosea, long ago (Hosea 6:6). ‘I want you to bekind. I want this more than your presents.’ The *Pharisees had not understoodwhat God meant. They had been wrong to blame the *disciples. They should haveunderstood that the *disciples needed food. This was more important than therules.

4. Verse 8 Mark2:27 has the words ‘God made his rest day for man. God did not make man for hisrest day.’ God told people to rest on his rest day. But God did not try tocontrol people’s freedom. Instead, he wants to help people. ‘Son of Man’ isanother name for ‘the *Messiah’, and Jesus is the *Messiah. So he had the rightto decide what should happen on God’s rest day.

2. The man with a hand that he could not use 12:9-14

Verses 9-10 The *Pharisees met Jesus again in the building wherethey met. Then they asked Jesus a question, because they wanted to accuse him.They did not want Jesus to teach them.

Verses 11-13 Jesus showed that the *Pharisees were willing torescue a valuable animal on God’s rest day. But they did not allow anyone toheal a sick person. But a person is worth much more than an animal. So theirquestion is not right. The question should be, ‘Does the law allow people tohelp someone on God’s rest day?’

Verse 14 The *Pharisees were very angry because they could notanswer Jesus. They had decided that Jesus was wrong. So they began to makeplans, because they wanted to destroy him. Their ideas about what the law meantwere very important to them. They thought that their ideas were more importantthan a person’s life. So they even made plans against God’s command. ‘You mustnot kill anyone’, God said.

Jesus is God’s servant 12:15-21

Verse 15 Jesus knew that he should not stay near those *Pharisees.So he went away from danger and people followed him. They wanted him to helpthem. So he healed everyone who asked him.

Verse 16 Jesus was the *Messiah, but people had wrong ideas aboutthe *Messiah. They believed that the *Messiah would be a military ruler. Theythought that he would be like King David long ago. But Jesus had not come toestablish a political rule. He came to serve and to love people. So he did notwant them to talk about him as the *Messiah yet.

Verses 17-21 This is part of one of the ‘servant’ poems thatIsaiah wrote long before (Isaiah 42:1-4). It describes the character of God’sspecial servant.

Verse 18 Jesus heard some of these words at his *baptism when Godgave him the *Holy Spirit. People should behave in the right way towards Godand towards each other. Jesus taught us how to do that.

Verse 19 Jesus did not argue with people. He did not make loudspeeches. He did not try to make people excited. He taught in a quiet way.

Verse 20 A ‘weak grass stem’ is a picture of a type of person.Bad things have happened which hurt that person.

‘A flame that is burning very low’: this means that someone doesnot believe very strongly. The *Pharisees thought that people like that werenot worth much. So they did not notice or help such people. But Jesus wasgentle and he was patient with people. When he encouraged people, then theybelieved more.

Verse 21 People from other nations would also believe Jesuslater. They would know his character. Therefore, they can trust him for theirfuture life.

Jesus has power over evil *spirits 12:22-32

Verses 22-23 The crowd began to wonder if Jesus was the *Messiah.They had expected the ‘Son of David’ to do other things for them. But Jesus wasnot doing all those things.

Verse 24 The *Pharisees were angry with Jesus because he did notobey their rules for God’s rest day. They were also jealous about his power.They knew that Jesus had done a *miracle. So they suggested that he was workingwith the chief evil *spirit himself. ‘Beelzebub’ was another name that theygave to *Satan.

Verses 25-26 Jesus showed that the *Pharisees’ idea was stupid. Awar inside a nation destroys that nation. Divisions inside a family will ruinthat family. *Satan rules the evil *spirits. So *Satan would be very foolish ifhe helped Jesus. *Satan would be fighting against himself.

Verse 27 Some of the *Pharisees’ *disciples also tried to forceevil *spirits out of people. So Jesus asked who gave those *Jewish people theirpower. They used all kinds of magic and special words. Jesus needed only togive a command. But the *Pharisees did not accuse their own *disciples.

Verse 28 Jesus was sending out *demons because the *Holy Spirit’spower was in him. So God’s rule in heaven had begun to grow in this world.

Verse 29 *Satan is like a strong man. But Jesus is more powerfulthan *Satan. *Satan had made people into his slaves. They were *Satan’sproperty. But Jesus had gone into *Satan’s *kingdom and removed people from it.And *Satan could not stop Jesus.

Verse 30 People belong either to God’s rule in heaven or theybelong to *Satan’s rule on earth. There are only two sides. If people are noton Jesus’ side, they are his enemies. A person who is on Jesus’ side gatherspeople to Jesus. A person who is against Jesus scatters people. He makes themturn away from Jesus.

Verses 31-32 Jesus gave a serious warning to the *Pharisees. Theywere in danger that they would *sin ‘against the *Holy Spirit’. God would neverforgive that *sin. People said and did many things against Jesus. When Jesuswas on the *cross, he asked God to forgive all those things. But the *Phariseesrefused to understand what God wanted. For a long time, they had thought thattheir own ideas were right. They had even said that a good action was a wickedaction. Isaiah had said, ‘Things will be bad for the people who say that evilthings are ‘good’. And they say that good things are ‘evil’ (Isaiah 5:20). The*Pharisees would not understand that God worked through Jesus. The *Phariseeswould not say that they had *sinned. They would not *repent. Therefore, God couldnot forgive them.

Sometimes a person is afraid that he has *sinned against the*Holy Spirit. But that person is not guilty. He is worried that he has *sinned.But he can *repent. He can ask God to forgive him. But the *Pharisees were notaware that they had *sinned. So they would not *repent.

Words show what a person’s character is like 12:33-37

v33 ‘You can tell what a tree is like when you seeits fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, itsfruit will be bad. v34 You are a nest of poisonous snakes! You are evil.You can never say anything that is good. Your words come from everything thatis in your spirit. v35 The good man says good things. These come fromthe good things that he has stored inside him. An evil man says evil things.These come from the evil things that he has stored inside him. v36 Itell you this. On the day of judgement, people will have to give an account forevery careless word that they have spoken. v37 Your words will show thatyou are not guilty. Or your words will show that you are guilty.’

Verses 33-35 These verses emphasise what Jesus had said about the*Pharisees. They had accused Jesus. And they had said that he helped *Satan.Their words showed what kind of people they were. They were like a bad treethat produced bad fruit. Their words were as dangerous as the poison that comesfrom a snake.

Verses 36-37 Often we do not think carefully about what we say.Those words are not good or helpful. Instead, they may hurt other people’sfeelings. Nobody can take back careless words. To say ‘I did not mean it’ doesnot free a person. He is still responsible. God knows what each person hassaid. And God will decide whether a person is guilty. Or whether a person isfree from blame.

The *Pharisees and teachers ask Jesus for a sign 12:38-42

v38 Then some of the *Pharisees and some of the menwho taught the law said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see some evidence fromyou that will astonish us.’ v39 Jesus answered, ‘People ask for evidencethat will astonish them. But only wicked people who are not loyal to God askfor this. The only evidence that they will receive is that of the *prophetJonah. v40 Jonah was in the stomach of a huge fish for three days andthree nights. The Son of Man will be in the grave for three days and threenights. v41 The people from Nineveh and these people who are living nowwill stand up together on the day of judgement. The people from Nineveh willshow that these people are guilty. Jonah *preached to the people from Nineveh.They turned away from their *sins. Now someone who is more important than Jonahis here. v42 The Queen of the South and the people who are living nowwill stand up together on judgement day. She will show that they are guilty.She travelled a long way to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. Now someone who isgreater than Solomon is here.’

Verse 38 The *Pharisees wanted Jesus to do somethingextraordinary. This would prove his authority. *Satan had *tempted Jesus tojump off the *Temple roof (Matthew 4:5-6). Jesus had done *miracles and hehealed people. This was evidence that God loved people. The *Pharisees did notbelieve that these *miracles showed Jesus’ authority.

Verse 39 The phrase ‘not loyal’ describes how a wife leaves herhusband because she loves another man. Jesus said that the *Pharisees had notbeen loyal to God. The *prophet Jonah *preached to the *Gentile city calledNineveh.

Verse 40 Jesus said that he would be in his grave for three daysand three nights. For *Jews, this meant any part of three days. He comparedthis to the time that Jonah stayed in the huge fish. The *Resurrection would bethe final evidence.

Verses 41-42 When Jonah *preached to the wicked people inNineveh, they changed their ways. Jesus had warned the *Jews many times, butthey took no notice. The ‘Queen of the South’ was the queen from the countrycalled Sheba. This was a place in South West Arabia. She made a long journey tolisten to Solomon’s wise words. Jesus was present among the *Jews, but theyrefused to listen to his wise words. On the day of judgement, both the peopleof Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will show how guilty the *Jews were. The*Jews could listen to the message that God gave through Jesus. But they hadfailed to take their greater opportunity.

The *parable about the empty house 12:43-45

v43 ‘When an evil *spirit comes out from a man, itgoes through dry places. It is looking for somewhere to rest. But it does notfind a place. v44 Then it says, ‘I will go back to the house that Ileft.’ When the evil *spirit arrives there, it finds an empty house. The houseis clean and neat. v45 Then the evil *spirit goes out. It gets 7 other*spirits that are more wicked than itself. And they all go in to the house andlive there. Then the man is worse off than he was before. That is what willhappen to the wicked people who live today.’

Verse 43 People thought that evil *spirits lived in deserts.

Verses 44-45 People should send away evil thoughts and actions.But they have to do more than just this. They must replace the evil things withgood things. They must think good thoughts. They must do good actions. The*Holy Spirit must live in a person to protect him.

The *Pharisees thought that they had made their religion morally‘clean’. They had tried to remove evil things. The *Pharisees told peoplehundreds of things that they must not do. But the *Pharisees refused to acceptthe new life that Jesus offered. So they were making everyone’s lives worse.

The true family of Jesus 12:46-50

v46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, hismother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him. v47Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want tospeak to you.’ v48 Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother and who are mybrothers?’ v49 He pointed to his *disciples. He said, ‘Here are mymother and my brothers. v50 Because anyone who does what my Father inheaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.’

Verse 46 Jesus had four brothers and some sisters (Mark 6:3). Jesuswas Mary’s ‘first’ son (Luke 2:7). This suggests that Mary and Joseph marriedand had children in the normal family relationship. Matthew does not say whyJesus’ family wanted to speak to him. Mark says that they came to look afterhim. Perhaps they thought that Jesus spent too much time with the crowds.Perhaps his family were worried. They heard that the *religious leaders wereopposing him (Mark 3:21).

Verses 48-50 Jesus knew that family life was important. However,the *Pharisees changed the rules about families. It became possible for a sonnot to look after his parents (Mark 7:9-13). When Jesus was on the *cross, hestill looked after his mother. He made sure that she had a home (John 19:27).But in these verses, he was emphasising that his work was very important. Thepeople who become his *disciples are part of the Christian family. TheChristian family has even closer relationships than a natural family. Jesus’mother and brothers had stood ‘outside’. This shows that they did not join inhis work at that time. Jesus’ *disciples were near to him. They wanted to joinin his work.

Stories about where God rules 13:1-52

Matthew wrote down a lot of the things that Jesus taught. Thischapter is the third section like that. Jesus told these stories for threereasons:

1. His storieswere about things in ordinary people’s lives. Everyone could understand them.People did not need to be very intelligent to understand them.

2. The storiesmade people think about their meaning. The *Pharisees knew that the story aboutthe wicked *tenants described them (Matthew 21:33-46).

3. People whowanted to obey God would understand these stories. People who did not want toobey God would not understand them.

Often, such stories are called *parables.

There are seven such stories. And Jesus explained two of them.

The story about the man who sowed some seeds 13:1-9

Verse 2 The great crowds would be able to hear Jesus clearly ashe spoke from the boat. A farmer may have been working near to them.

Verse 3 A farmer scattered the seeds by hand.

Verse 4 People walked on the paths and this made them very hard.So the seeds would lie on top and the birds could quickly eat these seeds.

Verses 5-6 In many places, there was only a very thin amount ofearth on top of the rocks in that country. The seeds would begin to growquickly. But their roots could not grow properly because of the rock. So theplant would soon die in the hot sun.

Verse 7 There were already weeds in this ground. Weeds growquicker and use up all the space. The good seeds began to grow, but the lightcould not get to the young plants. So the plants could not last.

Verse 8 The good ground had plenty of earth. So the seeds couldgrow deep roots and find water. There were no weeds and the plants could continueto grow strongly. So there was a good harvest.

Verse 9 Jesus meant that people should think about this story.They should try to understand the extra meaning that he teaches.

The reason why Jesus taught with stories 13:10-17

Verses 10-11 The true things about God’s rule are ‘secrets’.People cannot discover them for themselves. God shows people that Jesus isking. He shows this to the people who are willing to believe him. People who donot want to learn do not understand.

Verse 12 Some people want to obey God’s authority. Those peoplewill understand what Jesus teaches more and more. Other people hear what Jesusteaches, but do not obey Jesus. They will become less able to understand.

Verses 13-15 Stories can only show the truth to people who arewilling to listen. But many people failed to understand because they did notwant to obey God. Jesus reminded them of what Isaiah had said long ago. Godcalled Isaiah to be his special servant. But God warned Isaiah that his workwould be difficult (Isaiah 6:9-10). People had not obeyed God for a long time.So they did not want to listen to Isaiah’s message. They did not want tounderstand what he said. Isaiah’s words were true also about the people whowould not accept Jesus. They did not want to leave their *sins. So Jesus couldnot give them his gift. His gift is life that never ends.

Verses 16-17 The *disciples had the opportunity to see and tohear the *Messiah. God had promised to send the *Messiah to the *Jewish nation.Many of God’s people had waited for the *Messiah to come. But he had not comeduring their lives. God gave the *disciples a gift because he let them meetJesus, the *Messiah. They saw that God’s promise had come true.

Jesus explains the story about the man who sowed some seeds 13:18-23

v18 ‘Listen to what the story about the farmer means.v19 Some of his seeds fell on the hard path. The seed is like themessage about where God rules. But some people do not understand it becausethey are like the hard path. Then *Satan comes and takes away the message fromthem. v20 Some of his seeds fell on the shallow earth on the rocks. Thisshallow earth is like some people who hear the message. They really listen toit and they are very happy. v21 But they do not believe it verystrongly. They are like little plants with small roots. They have not thoughtabout the difficulties, so they last only a short time. Trouble comes and theystop believing. Other people are against them because they believe the message.So they soon stop being loyal. v22 Some seeds fell on earth with weedsin it. That earth is like other people who listen to the message. But theyworry about what will happen to them in this life. And they believe that moneywill make them happy. These things push the message out of their thoughts. Thenthe message cannot produce good things in their lives. v23 But someseeds fell on good soil. That soil produced a good crop. It was a 100, 60 or 30times more than the farmer had planted. That soil is like people who reallylisten to the message. They understand it and believe. So they produce manygood things in their lives.’

These verses show the different ways in which people believe theChristian message. God’s word is like seed and people are like soil in thefield.

Verse 19 Some people hear the message, but they forget itimmediately. A person may be very proud of his own opinions. He will not listencarefully. He has refused to obey God for a long time. He is like a hard path.God’s word cannot even begin to make a change in his life.

Verses 20-21 People may be eager to believe God’s message atfirst. But they have not thought seriously about the results. So they do notbelieve very strongly. They are like the thin soil on top of the rock that doesnot let the plants’ roots grow. These people do not understand that they maysuffer. They will have the same problems as people who do not believe themessage. Family difficulties, illness or other troubles may affect them. Also,people may insult and attack them because they have believed the message. Butbecause they only believe a little, they do not last. Their belief dies likethe plant in the hot sun.

Verse 22 Some people desire to possess money or goods. They thinkabout them very often. They work very hard to earn a lot of money. Some peoplehave many responsibilities and interests, which take much time. Then thesethings push out the Christian life. So those people become too busy to pray.There is no time for them to study the Bible. God is no longer first in theirlives. They do not realise what they are doing.

Verse 23. There are people like the good ground that produces acrop. They are never too proud or too busy to listen to God’s message. Theybelieve it, even when they expect trouble. They realise what might happen tothem as a result. They believe the message. So they change the way that theylive. Also, they tell the message about God’s rule to many other people. Isaiahsaid long ago that God’s word would be successful (Isaiah 55:10-11). *Disciplesshould ‘sow’ God’s message. There will certainly be a ‘harvest’ of people whobelieve it. They will understand and believe the message about Jesus.

The story about the weeds among the wheat 13:24-30

Verses 24-27 Jesus referred to a particular type of weed. When itstarted to grow, this weed looked nearly the same as the wheat. Often peoplecould not tell the difference between them. But when the plants had ripe seeds,it was possible to see the difference. The *Romans had a law against people whoput weeds in other people’s fields. So everyone who was listening to Jesuswould understand this story.

Verses 28-30 It was not possible to pull out the weeds withoutdamaging the wheat plants. But at harvest-time, the servants could separate theweeds and burn them. They could then store the good wheat.

The stories about the tiniest seed and the *yeast 13:31-33

These two stories belong together because they are both aboutgrowth.

Verses 31-32 Although a mustard seed is very tiny, it can growinto a very large bush. The mustard bush is like a small tree, and birds canrest in it. God ruled only a few people’s lives when Jesus was alive. Therewere just a few *disciples who followed him. But their number grew until itspread through the whole world later.

In the *Old Testament, a tree was a powerful nation in picturelanguage. The birds in its branches were the nations to whom it gave protection(Ezekiel 17:22-24). People from all nations will find their security when Godrules them.

Verse 33 Jesus had watched his mother as she made bread. A verysmall amount of *yeast makes a large amount of bread mixture grow bigger. Themixture grows slowly. People cannot see how it happens. In the same way, whenpeople become Christians, they slowly affect society in a good way. The peoplein Thessalonica city realised that the Christians were making a difference totheir society. ‘These Christians have completely changed what happens in theworld!’ they said (Acts 17:6). Christians trust Jesus. They believe that he isthe king. When they believe this, it changes people’s characters for good. Andthen they change the character of their society in a good way.

The way that Jesus used stories 13:34-35

Verse 34 Jesus often used stories to teach the crowds. They wouldhave to think about what those stories meant.

Verse 35 These words come from Psalm 78:1-2. The person who wrotethe psalm spoke words from God. That is why Matthew calls him ‘God’s specialservant’. Jesus used these stories to teach new things. Nobody had really knownabout where God rules before. The people who believed Jesus would understandtheir meaning. Many people in the crowds did not believe him. So they did notunderstand what his stories meant.

Jesus explains the story about the weeds among the wheat 13:36-43

Verses 36-39 Some people belong to God because they have acceptedhis rule. Other people belong to the devil. It may be very hard to tell thedifference between them. But people must not try to be judges over otherpeople. Judgement must wait until God decides the right time for it. Only Godhas the right to be the judge. He can decide because he can see the whole of aperson’s life.

Verses 40-43 In the end, God will remove everything that is evil.He will not let anything bad stay where he rules. Jesus speaks about thejudgement of wicked people. Jesus uses picture language when he speaks aboutfire. Fire means punishment.

Matthew uses the words ‘weep and bite their teeth together’ inseveral places (Matthew 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51). It means that people arevery sad. Also, they suffer great pain. The wicked people will receivepunishment, and it will be terrible for them. The people who belong to God will‘shine like the sun’. This idea comes from Daniel 12:3.

The stories about the hidden *treasure and the *pearl that had great value13:44-46

Verse 44 In those days, people often kept money in the ground.Also, people buried their valuable possessions when they had to escape during awar. Sometimes they never returned to dig them up again. The man was working ina field. He found the valuable thing by accident. So he was willing to selleverything that he owned. He really wanted to gain this valuable thing morethan anything else. We call something like this ‘treasure’.

Verse 45 The merchant was searching everywhere for beautifulstones or ‘*pearls’. At last, he discovered a very valuable one. So he soldeverything so that he could possess that *pearl.

Both these stories compare where God rules to something that isvaluable. It is more valuable than everything else. The first man discoveredsomething that he had not expected. In the same way, a person may suddenlydiscover the truth about Jesus. That person may want to enter where God rules.The man sold everything so that he could buy the field. And if God rulespeople, they must give up their own wishes, relationships and habits. But theyknow that it is worth it. The merchant is like someone who searches for thevaluable things in the world. He can find lovely things in art, music, booksand human relationships. But he discovers that the most valuable thing of allis to become a servant of God. Then he does what God wants him to do. And he isvery happy.

The story about the net with good and bad fish 13:47-50

v47 ‘Where God rules from heaven, it is also like anet for catching fish. The men threw their net into the lake, and it caught allkinds of fish. v48 When the net was full, the men pulled it to theshore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish into baskets. But theythrew the bad fish away. v49 This is how it will be at the end of theage. God’s *messengers will come. They will separate the wicked people from thepeople who belong to God. v50 God’s *messengers will throw the wickedpeople into the fierce fire. There the wicked people will weep and they willbite their teeth.’

Verses 47-50 This story is like the story about the wheat and theweeds. It was natural for Jesus to talk about fishing. At least 4 of his*disciples had worked at fishing. And they were near the lake called Galilee.There are at least 24 kinds of fish in that lake. Some fish were good anduseful. Other fish were not fit to eat. The net would draw a mixture of fishonto the shore. Jesus’ *disciples were like the men who were fishing. They drewall kinds of people into the ‘net’, which is where God rules. God’s ruleincludes people who really believe Jesus. It also includes people who do notreally follow Christ. God will separate these people at the end of time.

The owner of a house who has both old and new valuable things 13:51-52

Verses 51-52 Jesus wanted the *disciples to understand himproperly. Then they could teach other people about where God rules. They shouldbe like good men who taught God’s law. They could use all that they alreadyknew from the *Old Testament. This would be like the old things. Jesus hadhelped them to understand new things also. Matthew was himself like the ownerof a house. In his *gospel, he used both the *Old Testament and the new storiesthat Jesus taught.

The next section of Matthew’s *gospel records mainly the actionsof Jesus. Matthew records the way that some people believed Jesus. He alsorecords how some people opposed him.

The people at Nazareth refuse to accept Jesus 13:53-58

v53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories, hemoved on from there. v54 He came to his own town called Nazareth. Hewent to the building where they met to *worship God. And he began to teach thepeople there. He astonished them. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom? Wheredid he get the power to do *miracles?’ they asked each other. v55 ‘Thisis just the *carpenter’s son. His mother’s name is Mary. His brothers areJames, Joseph, Simon and Judas. v56 And all his sisters are here withus. So where did this man learn all these things?’ they said. v57 Andthey were not happy about Jesus. So he spoke to them, ‘God’s special servantsreceive honour everywhere, except in their own towns or in their own homes’,Jesus said. v58 And he did not do many *miracles there, because they didnot believe him.

Verses 53-56 The people in Nazareth thought that they knew allabout Jesus. They had known him all his life. He was the *carpenter’s son, theman who made their wooden tools and furniture. They did not say Joseph’s name.This probably means that he was dead. They knew Jesus’ mother and the othermembers of his family. So they could not understand how an ordinary person fromthe country could speak so well. They could not believe that he could act insuch a wonderful way.

Verse 57 Jesus used a phrase that people knew well. People do notbelieve someone that they know well. Other people may give honour to thatperson, but his own people do not give honour.

Verse 58 Luke also records this visit to Nazareth. Some peoplethere did not like what Jesus said. So they tried to kill him (Luke 4:16-30).And Mark says that Jesus ‘could not’ do a *miracle in Nazareth (Mark 6:5).Jesus had the power to do *miracles anywhere. But people need to believe himbefore Jesus is able to help them.

John the *Baptist dies 14:1-12

v1 At that time, the ruler called Herod heard reportsabout Jesus. v2 So he spoke to his servants. ‘This is John the *Baptist.He has risen from the dead! That is why he has the power to do *miracles’, hesaid. v3 Some time before this, Herod had arrested John because Herodiaswanted this. Herodias was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. Herod ordered hismen to tie John up. Then they put him in prison. v4 John had beenspeaking to Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have her as your wife’,John said to him. v5 So Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid ofthe people. They thought that John was God’s special servant. v6 OnHerod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter danced for Herod and his guests. Shepleased Herod very much. v7 So he made a promise. He promised to giveher anything that she asked for. v8 Then her mother told her what to askfor. ‘Give me the head of John the *Baptist here on a big plate’, she said. v9This upset the king, but he had promised in front of his dinner guests. So heordered that she should have her desire. v10 Then they went to theprison and cut off John’s head. v11 They brought the head to Herod on abig plate and they gave it to the girl. And she carried it to her mother. v12Later John’s *disciples came. They took away his body and they buried it. Thenthey went and told Jesus.

Verse 1 This Herod was Herod Antipas, who was a son of Herod theGreat. He ruled the areas called Galilee and Perea after his father died.Sometimes people call him ‘the tetrarch’ which meant ‘ruler over a quarter ofthe land’. Later it meant just ‘ruler’.

Verse 2 The news about Jesus made Herod afraid. He had a guiltyconscience. He had ordered someone to kill John the *Baptist. So Herod wasafraid that Jesus might be John. Perhaps John was alive again. Herod thoughtthat John had returned to punish him in some way.

Verses 3-11 describe why they killed John.

Verses 3-4 On a visit to Rome, Herod had seen Herodias. She washis brother Philip’s wife. This Philip had a private business in Rome city. Heis a different Philip from the ruler that Luke mentioned (Luke 3:1). Heroddivorced the Arab princess who was already his wife. Then Herod stole Herodiasfrom his brother. John the *Baptist was not afraid of Herod. John told Herodthat he had done something wrong. Herod was guilty because he already had awife. And Herodias was his brother’s wife. It was wrong to marry his brother’swife, unless he had died (Leviticus 18:16).

Verses 6-7 The daughter of Herodias was a princess. But she didnot seem to feel shame that she danced in public. Then Herod made a foolishpromise to her. She could have anything that she asked for.

Verses 8-9 Herodias hated John. She wanted him to die. And nowshe had the opportunity. Herod would have pleased Herodias before this, but hehad been afraid of public opinion. He was more afraid of his guests’ opinion.So he did not change his decision about his foolish promise. He did not wanthis guests to think that he was a weak leader. He granted Herodias’s wickedrequest, and he broke the *Law. ‘You must not kill’, the *Law says. Many guestswould not have enjoyed looking at someone’s head on a dish. But they hadprobably drunk too much wine, so they did not care.

Verses 10-12 John was in prison in the castle at Machaerus. Herodand his friends were probably there for his birthday party. John’s *discipleswere able to bury John’s body. Then they went to Jesus. And they told him whathad happened.

Jesus feeds 5000 people 14:13-21

Verses 13-14 Matthew says that Jesus wanted to go away byhimself. He was sad because John the *Baptist was dead. Also, Mark and Luke saythat he wanted to take the 12 tired *disciples away from the crowds (Mark6:30-31; Luke 9:10). But Jesus and his *disciples did not escape. The crowds ofpeople saw where Jesus was going. So they walked round the top end of the lakeand they arrived first. Jesus in the boat took longer to cross the lake. Peoplein the crowd wanted Jesus to heal them. He was very sorry for them, so hehealed them. He helped the people and he did not please himself.

Verses 15-17 The *Israelites had asked, ‘Can God provide food inthe desert?’ (Psalm 78:19). God had answered. He sent special food from heavenfor them. The people had to collect it each day (Exodus 16:13-18). The*disciples believed that the supply of food was far too small. They thoughtthat there was not enough food for such a large crowd. Jesus saw what the crowdneeded. Then he trusted God’s great power and provided plenty of food.

Verses 18-19 The *Jewish people thanked God before they ate ameal. Jesus also did this. He used what the *disciples had. Then he increasedit. God uses whatever gifts we bring to him. And he increases them. Jesus askedthe *disciples to give out the food. God helps people. But he also needs*disciples who will help him to do his work.

Verse 20 Everyone had enough to eat. Also, they filled 12 basketswith the extra pieces. Jesus had done a *miracle to satisfy the people’shunger.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all record this *miracle. Matthewleaves out some of the details that Mark and Luke write about. This *miraclereminds us about two things:

1. It reminds usabout God’s *miracle of the harvest. He provides enough food for everyone inthe world. But some people and nations are greedy and selfish. They make somepeople hungry. God is generous, but people must not waste his gifts.

2. The *Jews hadmany firm ideas about the *Messiah. They thought that he would feed them with‘bread from heaven’. John tells us more (John 6:1-15). The crowd believed thatJesus was the *Messiah. So they wanted him to be their king. They wanted him tolead them against the *Romans (John 6:15).

Jesus walks on the lake 14:22-33

Verses 22-23 Jesus needed to continue his work and not causepolitical trouble. So he sent everyone away. Then he went and talked to Godalone.

Verses 24-25 ‘Early the next morning’ was between 3 and 6 a.m.The *Jews called this the fourth period of the night. In Mark 6:39 we read thatthe people sat down on the ‘green’ grass. So the time of year was probablyApril. Jesus knew that the *disciples were in difficulty. They were trying torow against a strong wind. In the other storm that Matthew wrote about (Matthew8:23-27), Jesus had been with them in the boat. That was during the daytime.

Verses 28-31 Only Matthew records Peter’s request. But Peterfailed to keep watching Jesus. So he had trouble. He knew that only Jesus couldsave him then.

Verse 33. The *disciples may have known the words from Job 9:8.‘God alone... walks on the waves of the sea.’ They knew that no ordinary mancould walk on water like that. So they were afraid and they *worshipped Jesus.They would not understand completely that Jesus was the ‘Son of God’ untilafter the *Resurrection.

This account has encouraged Christians in times of difficulty.Jesus is always there when we are struggling with circ*mstances, *temptationsor sad events. He tells us not to be afraid. He tells us to trust him. Peterfailed when he looked at his situation. He should have kept looking at the powerof Jesus. When Jesus got into the boat, the wind decreased. So, in any time ofgreat difficulty, the company of Jesus can make our minds calm.

Jesus heals sick people at Gennesaret 14:34-36

v34 When they had crossed over the lake, they landedat Gennesaret. v35 The men who lived there recognised Jesus. So theysent a message about him to everyone who lived in the whole neighbourhood. Thenthey brought all the people who were ill to Jesus. v36 They asked Jesusto let the sick people just touch the edge of his clothes. And all the peoplewho touched his clothes became well again.

Verse 34 Gennesaret was an area on the north west side of thelake.

Verses 35-36 Everyone who believed that Jesus could help them waswelcome. Jesus did not refuse to help anyone who needed his help. There is norecord here that he taught the people. He showed by his actions what God islike.

This short section contrasts with the beginning of chapter 15.The people of Gennesaret were glad to see Jesus, but the *religious leaders didnot like him. The people who touched Jesus became well again. But the*Pharisees would not touch someone whom they considered ‘not clean’.

The three sections of chapter 15 show Jesus’ attitude to peoplewho were not *Jews. He wanted them to be happy with the good news in hismessage:

1. Verses 1-20Jesus taught about clean food, and food that is not clean. This removed theidea that people who are not *Jews are different.

2. Verses 21-28Jesus healed the daughter of a woman who was not a *Jew.

3. Verses 29-39Jesus fed the crowd of hungry people who were probably not *Jews.

God’s *Law and *Jewish *tradition 15:1-9

Verses 1-2 Usually people wash their hands to remove dirt. Thathelps to prevent disease. But the *Pharisees’ question did not refer to thisordinary action. They had a tradition that they taught people. And thistradition said how people should wash in a special way. This was the only wayto remove everything that was not clean. The *Pharisees considered that certainfoods were not clean. And anyone who touched a foreigner would no longer beclean. Every day they might touch something or someone that would make them nolonger clean.

Verses 3-6 Jesus spoke to the *Pharisees and to the men whotaught the *Law. They considered that their *traditions were more importantthan God’s commands. Jesus reminded them about one command as an example. Godsaid that people should give honour to their parents. When parents needsomething, their children have a responsibility to help them. But the*Pharisees had another *tradition. People could put things aside that theirparents needed. Then they could say that they had given those things to God.Sometimes they only pretended to give these things to God. But this avoided theneed to help their parents. The *Pharisees made serious promises in front ofGod that they must keep. But they were making a *tradition more important thantheir responsibility to their parents.

Verses 7-9 Jesus used words from Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13). He saidthat they did not *worship God sincerely. They were not saying what they werereally thinking. They said that they served God, but they did not obey him.

Clean foods and things that are not clean 15:10-20

Verses 10-11 Jesus continued to teach a crowd of people. A personmight obey all the rules about food, but that does not make their thoughtsgood. What a person says shows what he is like deep inside himself. Peoplecould obey all the *Jewish rules about food, but still they might not pleaseGod in other ways. The people who have a good spirit will see God (Matthew5:8).

Verse 12 The *Pharisees wanted to keep the *Jewish religion pure.Perhaps the *disciples respected them because they were the leaders of the*Jews. But the *disciples knew that Jesus had made the *Pharisees angry.

Verse 13 This verse is like the story that Jesus told about thewheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). It may mean that God had ‘planted’ hiscommands. But later the *Pharisees had ‘planted’ their *traditions as well. Godwill destroy the plants that are not really his. John the *Baptist had spokenabout God’s judgement. He said that it would be like an axe. It would cut downa tree that did not produce fruit (Matthew 3:10). God’s special servantJeremiah also said that God ‘planted’ in the world and that he ‘pulled up theroots of plants’ (Jeremiah 45:4).

Verse 14 Jesus told the *disciples to stay away from the*Pharisees. They should have showed the people the way to God. Instead, theyled people away from God.

Verse 15 Matthew identifies Peter as the *disciple who askedJesus to explain. Mark just says that the *disciples asked. Matthew has aspecial interest in Peter.

Verses 16-20 Jesus seemed surprised that the *disciples did notunderstand. To eat food is normal and natural. The food cannot change people.But evil thoughts come from deep inside a person’s spirit. And they cause aperson to behave in a wicked way. They change a person, so that the person isno longer *clean. Matthew mentions four of God’s commands in the right order(Exodus 20:13-16). A person may not wash their hands before a meal in the waythat the *Pharisees ordered. But that would not change a person if they are*clean deep inside (in their spirit).

Some of the laws about food in Leviticus 11 helped the people tostay healthy. They helped them to choose foods wisely. But Jesus had shown that*traditions about food may be wrong. What people eat does not affect theircharacter. Jesus taught that all food is good to eat. This ended the*Pharisees’ food *traditions. We read this in Mark 7:19.

A woman believes Jesus 15:21-28

Verse 21 Jesus went away partly because the *Jewish *religiousleaders were opposing him. People who were not *Jews lived in Tyre and Sidon.Also, the crowds in Judea were preventing him from teaching his *disciples. Hedid not have time to prepare them and himself for the future.

Verse 22 The woman was a *Canaanite. They had been the *Jews’enemies ever since Joshua’s time long ago. Somehow, she had heard about Jesusand she called him ‘David’s Son’. David had been king over the nation when the*Jews had defeated the *Canaanites.

Verse 23 Jesus did not answer her at once. He was probablytesting her. He wanted to know how strongly she believed him. God does notalways answer people’s prayers immediately. But the *disciples thought that thewoman was a nuisance. They wanted Jesus to send this foreigner away.

Verse 24 Jesus’ main work was with the *Jews. The *Old Testament’swriters had prepared them for when the *Messiah would come. His *disciplescould then take Jesus’ message beyond the *Jews into the rest of the world.Jesus had already spoken about Israel’s people as sheep that had lost their way(Matthew 10:6).

Verses 25-26 Jesus had not sent the woman away. So she repeatedher request to him very humbly. *Jews called foreigners ‘*dogs’ as an insult.They were referring to the wild, dirty *dogs that lived on the streets. ButJesus used a different word when he spoke to the woman. It meant the ‘little*dogs’ that people kept as pets. As he said this, Jesus may have smiled. He wasnot insulting her. He was just reminding her that she was a foreigner to him.

Verses 27-28 Jesus usually only helped Israel’s people. But thewoman knew that Jesus had more power than that. He had enough extra power tohelp her too. Jesus knew that she believed him. In a similar way, he hadrecognised that the army officer believed. And that officer was not a *Jeweither (Matthew 8:10-11). He had healed the officer’s slave without going thereto see him. Jesus did not go to see the woman’s sick daughter either. But hestill healed her.

Jesus heals many sick people 15:29-31

v29 Then Jesus left there. He went along by the seacalled Galilee. Then he climbed a hill and sat down. v30 Great crowdscame to him and they brought sick people with them. They brought people whocould not walk, blind people and many other people. They brought people who hadlegs and arms that hurt. They laid them all down in front of Jesus, and hehealed them. v31 This astonished everyone. They saw that the dumb peoplewere speaking. He healed the people with bad arms and legs. The people withweak legs could walk and the blind people could see. So everyone thankedIsrael’s great God.

Verse 29 In Mark 7:31-37, we read that Jesus travelled a long waynorth. Then he returned through Decapolis, which was the region of the TenTowns. Most of the people who lived in that region were not *Jews.

Verses 30-31 Because Jesus healed all kinds of illness, peoplethanked ‘Israel’s great God’. So it seems that Jesus healed other people whowere not *Jews. Jesus’ main work was for ‘Israel’s sheep that had lost theirway’. But he did care about the other people as well.

Jesus feeds 4000 people 15:32-39

Some people think that Matthew told the same story twice. Theythink that this is the same event as the story he told in Matthew 14:13-21. Butin Matthew 16:9-10 Jesus refers to both *miracles. The main facts are similar.But there are several differences in the details:

1. That timethere were 5000 men in the crowd. This time there were 4000.

2. The crowd hadbeen with Jesus for ‘three days’ this time.

3. There areseven loaves this time, and there were only five before.

4. These fishare ‘small’ and before there were just two fish.

5. This accountdoes not mention grass. The people sat down on the ‘ground’. This suggests atime of year later than April. So probably, the grass had dried up.

6. The word for‘baskets’ is different. In Matthew 14:20 the word means a small narrow basket.A *Jew might carry his food in such a basket when he travelled. The word inthis account was a large basket that could be big enough to carry a man.

7. The*disciples picked up enough pieces to fill 12 small baskets in the firstaccount. In this account, they picked enough to fill 7 big baskets.

Jesus fed 5000 people in the first event. That showed that God isvery kind to the *Jews. He fed 4000 people this time. And this showed that hecared about people who are not *Jews too.

The *Jewish leaders ask for a *miracle 16:1-4

Verse 1 Both the *Pharisees and the *Sadducees were importantpeople, but they had different ideas. The *Pharisees believed God’s *Law, butthey added many other rules from their own *traditions. But the *Sadduceesrefused to accept them. The *Pharisees believed that people would live againafter death. But the *Sadducees denied any life after death. Many *Phariseeshated what Jesus taught. He was not a *Pharisee. So they thought that he shouldnot be teaching the people. The *Sadducees did not like Jesus either, but theyhad a political reason. They saw Jesus’ actions and they knew that he waspopular. The *Sadducees were afraid that this would cause trouble with the*Romans. Then they would lose their authority. They only had authority becausethey worked with the *Romans. So both the *Pharisees and the *Sadducees opposedJesus. They wanted him to show them a sign. They wanted to see a *miracle.Perhaps they wanted to hear God speak from heaven. Or perhaps they wanted to seewonderful events connected with the sun or moon. Jesus had already refused todo something that would astonish people (Matthew 4:5-7).

Verses 2-3 Jesus said that they knew how to interpret theevidence in the sky for good and bad weather. But they could not interpret whatthey saw was happening now. This word ‘now’ is the *Greek word ‘kairos’. Itmeans the ‘right time’. People had the opportunity to follow Jesus. They hadseen his *miracles already. They did not need more evidence. But they hadrefused to see what the *miracles meant.

Verse 4 God sent Jonah with a message to the people who lived inNineveh. He gave the message that saved Nineveh’s people from God’s judgement.When Jonah told the people God’s message, they believed him. So they changedthe way that they behaved. And so God forgave them and he did not destroy them.The sign was in the way that Jesus behaved. His message was a sign too. Also,his *burial and *resurrection was like the time that Jonah spent in the hugefish. (See Matthew 12:39-40.) But the *religious leaders refused to believethis. They refused to believe Jesus’ message about heaven where God rules. SoIsrael’s people opposed the *Romans, and the *Romans destroyed their city, Jerusalem,in *AD 70.

What the *Pharisees and the *Sadducees taught 16:5-12

Verses 6-7 ‘*Yeast’ is something that grows. People put *yeastinto flour and water to make bread. It makes the mixture grow bigger. Only avery small amount of *yeast is necessary. The *disciples immediately thoughtabout bread when Jesus mentioned *yeast. So they were very worried that theyhad not brought any bread with them.

Verses 8-10 Jesus reminded them that he had fed 5000 men one dayand 4000 men another day. He had started with very little bread, but there hadbeen plenty. And there were lots of pieces of bread that they collectedafterwards. So if they trusted him, they did not need to worry about bread.

Verses 11-12 The *disciples at last realised that Jesus was nottalking about actual bread. In the local language, ‘*yeast’ sometimes referredto an evil way to persuade other people. Jesus was warning them not to listento the *Pharisees and the *Sadducees. Their teaching could change the way thatthe *disciples thought.

The *Pharisees had the wrong idea about religion. They thoughtthat people just had to obey a set of rules. But the *disciples must not thinkthat God’s way was only rules and ceremonies.

The *Sadducees were rich. And they thought that political actionwould help God. They thought that God could rule through them. But Jesus didnot want the *disciples to believe that possessions are very important. Andthey must not think that political effort would make God rule on the earth.

The *disciples should not be like either the *Pharisees or the*Sadducees. The *disciples should encourage people to change their innerattitudes to God and to other people. This was the most important thing.

Peter declares that Jesus is the *Messiah 16:13-20

Verse 13 Caesarea Philippi was a town about 25 miles to thenorth-east from the sea of Galilee. It was in the area that Philip, Herod’sson, ruled. He named the place ‘Caesar’s town’ and added his own name. Philippimeans ‘belongs to Philip’. This showed that this town was distinct from thetown called Caesarea on the coast. The river Jordan began in the CaesareaPhilippi region. And there were many places where people *worshipped their owngods in that area. Jesus asked whether his *disciples understood who he was.First, he asked them what other people were saying about him.

Verse 14 The *disciples gave four answers. They were all peoplewho were dead.

1. John the*Baptist. Herod had been afraid that Jesus was John. Herod had been responsiblefor John’s death (Matthew 14:2). But he thought that John had come back to lifeagain.

2. Elijah. The*Jews believed that Elijah would return. He would prepare the way for the*Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).

3. Jeremiah. Hehad suffered because he spoke God’s true message to the people. He had spokenof a new agreement that God would make with his people.

4. Another oneof God’s special servants from long ago.

Verse 15 Someone can know what other people think about Jesus.But this is not enough. Everyone must think about Jesus for themselves. SoJesus asked the *disciples, ‘What do you think about me?’ Jesus asks eachperson that same question today.

Verses 16-17 ‘Christ’ is the *Greek word for the *Hebrew word‘*Messiah’. Before this, the *disciples may have thought that Jesus could bethe *Messiah (John 1:41). Now they had heard what he taught. They had seen his*miracles. And Peter had become sure that Jesus was the *Messiah. But Peter didnot understand this by himself. Jesus said that God had shown Peter the truth.

Verses 18 The name ‘Peter’ means ‘rock’. In the *Old Testament,the word ‘rock’ often describes the security that God gives to his people. Forexample, ‘The *Lord is my rock’ (2 Samuel 22:2). Jesus used the word ‘rock’ orPeter as a name for Simon (John 1:43). There are several ways to explain whatJesus may have meant here.

1. The rock isJesus himself. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul calls Jesus the ‘chief stone’ (the mostimportant part) in God’s building.

2. The ‘rock’refers to what Peter said. He believed that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son.Everyone who can say the same thing is like a stone in God’s building (1 Peter2:4-8). They are the ‘*church’. The *Greek word for *church does not refer to abuilding or to a particular organisation. It refers to all the people whobelieve in Jesus. They realise that he is God’s Son.

3. Peter himselfis like the first rock in God’s building. Jesus is the true foundation. AndGod’s building is the *church. But Peter was the first person to declare thathe believed Jesus. And Peter became a leader and teacher in the *church. He wasthe first to speak to the crowds at *Pentecost about Jesus, the *Messiah. 3000people became Christians that day (Acts 2). Later, he had a dream when he wasstaying at Joppa. As a result, people who were not *Jews believed. And Petergave them a welcome into the *church (Acts 10:1–11:18). He supported thebelievers who were not *Jews at the *Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15).

Peter’s authority was not his alone. God’s special servants andthe men that Jesus sent out were also the foundation of the *church (Ephesians2:20).

Nothing would be able to destroy the *church. The *Greek wordshere mean ‘the gates to Hades’. And ‘Hades’ was the place where dead people go.The *Jews thought that it was a place with gates. Death was not strong enoughto shut Jesus in Hades (Acts 2:27; Psalm 16:9-10). The *church too is strongerthan death, so nothing can destroy the *church. People may attack and killChristians. But the whole *church does not die. Instead, it becomes stronger.

Verse 19 Keys are a sign of authority. Jesus said, ‘I am alive. Iwas dead, but now I am alive again. And I hold the keys to death and Hades’(Revelation 1:18). In Isaiah’s time, Eliakim was a servant who had aresponsible job. He had to open and shut the door (Isaiah 22:22). Peter waslike that servant. He ‘opened the door’ to God for thousands of people. Theybecame part of God’s stones in his building. Every Christian has the same duty.He or she must show people the way to God. Peter guided the *church. He taughtChristians how to behave in the right way. This was an honour and aresponsibility. Peter shared this authority with other members of the *church(Matthew 18:18).

Verse 20 The *disciples now knew that Jesus was the *Messiah. Buthe told them not to spread the news. He did not want people to begin a fightagainst the *Romans. He wanted to teach his *disciples that he would suffer.They needed to know that he would die.

Jesus speaks about his death 16:21-23

Verse 21 Jesus had to suffer and to die. The word ‘must’ showsthat Jesus knew that this was God’s purpose for him. But this was the firsttime that Jesus spoke clearly to his *disciples about it.

Verses 22-23 Peter replied in a very natural, human way. ButJesus realised that it was a test. He must not become this different kind of*Messiah. It was like the test that *Satan had used (Matthew 4:8-10). So hetold *Satan to go away. But he said the words, ‘Get away from me, *Satan’ toPeter as well. Peter did not realise the meaning of what he said to Jesus. Buthe was trying to persuade Jesus to go *Satan’s way. So Peter must get away fromJesus for the moment. He must learn to follow what Jesus decided. Peter mustnot follow his own human ideas.

How to follow Jesus 16:24-28

v24 Then Jesus spoke to all the *disciples. ‘Ifanyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must carry his *crossand he must follow me. v25 If he wants to save his own life, he willlose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will find life. v26 Someonemay gain everything that is in the whole world. But that is no good to him ifhe loses his life. There is nothing that anyone can exchange for his or herlife. v27 The *Son of Man is going to come soon in the very bright lightfrom his Father. His servants from heaven will come with him. And he willreward every person for what each one has done. v28 I tell you thetruth. There are some people who are standing here. They will see the Son ofMan as he comes in his *kingdom. They will not die before they see that.

Verse 24 A *disciple must refuse to obey his own selfish desires.The *Romans killed criminals by fixing them with nails onto wooden beams in theshape of a cross. They made the criminals carry their wooden beams. Then theyfixed them on the *crosses so that they would die outside the town. Jesus usedthis picture to teach his *disciples. They must obey him, even if people punishthem. They must be loyal to him, even when it is very difficult.

Verses 25-26 People must choose. They can live their lives intheir own way, or they can give up their own ambitions. They may suffer andeven die with Jesus. But those people will find real life. People may gaineverything that the world offers. They may have great wealth, power or fame.But it all has no value if they lose their real life. Jesus means life thatwill continue for ever with God.

Verse 27 Everyone will have to give an account to God for the waythat they have lived their life. They must do this when Jesus returns to earthin the bright light from his Father.

Verse 28 People understand this promise in three ways:

1. Jesus wouldreturn with his servants from heaven while some of the original *disciples werestill alive. But Jesus said that nobody knew when the end of the age wouldcome. Only the Father knew when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36).

2. Jesus wasspeaking about when he would change his whole appearance. But this changehappened only one week later (Matthew 17).

Many years afterwards, in 2 Peter 1:16-18, Peter wrote about the*Lord Jesus Christ, his power and the fact that he will return. Peter, Jamesand John were there when Jesus’ appearance changed. They had seen him shinelike the sun. But Peter was still expecting him to return to earth again.

3. After Jesusdied, he became alive again. Later he returned to his Father in heaven, andthen the *disciples received the power of the *Holy Spirit. Very many peoplebecame Christians. Then the *disciples were able to see the change when Jesusis king in people’s lives. They saw God’s greatness and power at work in theworld.

Jesus changed his appearance 17:1-13

Verse 1 Matthew does not tell us the mountain’s name. It isprobably Mount Hermon, which is near the town called Caesarea Philippi.

Verse 2 For a short time, the *disciples were able to see Jesusas he really is. His face shone as Moses’ face had shone (Exodus 34:29-30). Markand Luke find different ways to describe Jesus’ clothes at this time. They wereshining and they were white. Mark says that nobody could make them whiter. Lukesays that they were bright, like lightning.

Verse 3 Moses was God’s special servant. He received the *Lawfrom God for the people. Elijah was the greatest of God’s special servants.Jesus was more important than both these men. He explained what the *Law meant.God gave his message to his special servants to deliver to the people. Jesusmade that message come true. Both Moses and Elijah had left the earth instrange ways. Their appearance with Jesus now suggested that there is lifeafter death. Luke says that they were talking with Jesus about his death inJerusalem. Luke used the word ‘exodus’ for ‘death’, like the ‘exodus’ in Moses’time. Moses rescued Israel’s people from Egypt (Exodus 12). When Jesus died, herescued people from *sin.

Verse 4 Peter offered to make three temporary shelters. He didnot know what to say. Perhaps he wanted to stay on the mountain. Perhaps hewanted this experience of Jesus’ power to last longer. Sometimes Peter spokebefore he really thought about his words.

Verse 5 The bright cloud was a sign that God was present. It wascalled the ‘shekinah’. It had appeared on Mount Sinai when God gave the *Law toMoses long ago. God also spoke the same words when John *baptised Jesus.

Verses 6-8 The *disciples were very frightened. But Jesus cameover to them and touched them. So they knew that he was real. He told them notto be afraid. Then they realised that what they had seen had gone. But they hadheard words, so the experience had been real too. They must listen to whateverJesus said to them. Peter later wrote about this experience. ‘We ourselvesheard the voice that spoke from heaven’ (2 Peter 1:16-18).

Verse 9 Jesus warned his *disciples. They must not tell anyone atthis time what they had just seen. He did not want people to think about him asthe wrong kind of *Messiah. These three *disciples did not understand completelyuntil after Jesus died and rose to life again. So they were not able to explainproperly until then what they had seen.

Verses 10-12 They were confused because they had seen Elijah onthe mountain with Jesus. The men who taught the *Law believed that Elijah wouldcome back before the *Messiah arrived. They did not know how this could betrue. They thought that Elijah had not come. But they wanted to believe thatJesus was the *Messiah. Jesus told them that ‘Elijah’ had already come. The newElijah was John the *Baptist. He had come to prepare people to receive the*Messiah. Then there could be a new relationship between the people and God.There could be new relationships between people as well (Malachi 4:5-6). ButJohn had suffered because people did not believe his message. So Jesus wouldsuffer too. But Jesus also said that Elijah will come again to the *Jews oneday.

Jesus heals a boy who has an evil *spirit 17:14-23

Verses 14-16 The three *disciples returned to the crowd fromtheir wonderful experience alone with Jesus. They found the other *discipleswith a problem because someone was suffering. There was a lot of confusion atthat place, and Mark gives us more details. There was a curious crowd of peopleincluding some men who taught the *Law. And they were arguing with the*disciples. The *disciples were probably ashamed and puzzled. They had beenable to force out evil *spirits before (Matthew 10:8), but this time they couldnot do it. But the sick boy’s father believed Jesus. So he still came to him,even after the *disciples had failed to heal his son. The father called hisson’s illness ‘*epilepsy’. This illness makes a person shake hard and falldown. The boy had fallen into dangerous places. He could burn himself, or hemight even drown.

Verses 17-18 Jesus used the same words that described Israel’speople in the desert long ago (Deuteronomy 32:5). People did not believe Godthen either. In Mark’s account, the father asked Jesus to help him. He reallywanted to believe more. Matthew emphasises that the *disciples had failed toheal the sick boy. Jesus healed the boy with a command.

Verses 19-20 The *disciples wanted to know why they had notsucceeded. Jesus told them that they needed only to believe him a little. Thenthey could deal with the most difficult problems. The *Jews used picturelanguage. To move a mountain meant to remove something very difficult.

Verse 21 is not in many of the old copies that people made fromMatthew’s *gospel. So many modern translations leave it out. The same words arein Mark 9:29.

Verses 22-23 This is the second time that Jesus spoke about hisdeath. He also spoke about the time after his death. He said that someone would‘hand him over to the authorities’. We read that Judas handed Jesus over to thechief *priests (Matthew 26:15). The chief *priests handed Jesus over to Pilate(Matthew 27:2). Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers who killed him(Matthew 27:26). The *disciples did not understand how Jesus would rise fromdeath ‘on the third day’. They only knew that God would be the judge on aterrible day after death.

The *Temple tax 17:24-27

This passage is only in Matthew’s *gospel. Peter is in thisaccount. Matthew likes to write about Peter.

Verses 24-25 Every male *Jew who was over 20 years old had to payan annual tax to the *Temple. The tax was half a ‘shekel’ coin (Exodus 30:13),and it was equal to two days’ wages. This tax provided the money that the*Temple in Jerusalem needed. The men usually collected it in the towns andvillages from March 15th to March 25th. After that date, people had to go tothe *Temple to pay the tax. The men who collected it probably thought thatPeter was the *disciples’ leader. The men may have asked an ordinary questionfor information. But perhaps they wanted to know whether Jesus was a loyal*Jew. Jesus could have refused to pay since, as God, the *Temple belonged tohim. But the people did not understand that. So they would think that he didnot care about the *Temple. That is why Jesus asked Peter the question aboutthe taxes.

Verses 26-27 Peter agreed that kings do not collect taxes fromtheir own families. We do not know whether Peter understood Jesus. He probablyrealised years later what Jesus had meant. Jesus and his *disciples werecitizens where God rules. They were part of the King’s family. So they did nothave to pay the tax. But Jesus did not want to give wrong ideas to people abouttheir financial duties. To ‘offend’ here means to put something in the way thatmakes people fall. So Jesus told Peter how to find the tax for them both.Christians sometimes have a responsibility to do something that limits theirown freedom. They want to avoid offending other people. They do not want peopleto misunderstand what they believe.

There is a fish in the sea of Galilee that has a very largemouth. People call it ‘St Peter’s fish’.

Chapter 18 is the fourth section of what Jesus taught. It ends inthe same way as the other sections ‘Now when Jesus had finished saying thesethings...’ (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1). In this section, Jesus teachesabout relationships among the *disciples. They should be humble. They should beresponsible for people who have just begun to believe. And they should be willingto forgive each other.

People need to be humble 18:1-5

Verse 1 Luke tells us that the *disciples were arguing (Luke9:46). They were arguing about who was the greatest. They may have asked thequestion because Jesus chose only Peter, James and John to go up the mountainwith him.

Verse 2 Children knew that Jesus was their friend, so they had nofear of him.

Verses 3-4 Children have to trust adults to provide for them. The*disciples needed to trust Jesus completely. At that time, children were not important.They may have had a family that loved them. But even the *disciples thoughtthat the children were a nuisance to Jesus. So they tried to send them away(Matthew 19:13-15). Jesus told his *disciples that they must change theirattitude. They must not try to become important. They must be humble if theywanted to become great in God’s *kingdom.

Verse 5 People like to think that they are friends with someoneimportant. But Christians want to do what Jesus wants. So the person who lovesJesus will welcome a little child. Jesus said that it is the same as to welcomeJesus himself.

Do not cause other people to *sin 18:6-9

Verses 6-7 ‘Little people who believe me’ means children. It alsorefers to young Christians. They are like children as they begin to believeJesus. There are many things in the world that are attractive. But they cancause people to *sin. These attractive things are like something in people’sway. Such things cause people to trip. Jesus gave a special warning againstleading a child or a new Christian in the wrong way. It is very serious tocause someone to *sin. It would be better to lose one’s life. Jesus suggests aterrible death. They used a huge stone to make corn into flour. Also, the *Jewshated the sea. They did not usually drown people to punish them. To the *Jews,heaven would be a place where there was ‘no more sea’ (see Revelation 21:1). Sothey would have thought that to drown someone was a terrible punishment.

Verses 8-9 Jesus did not mean that *disciples should actuallyremove a hand, a foot or an eye. He was using picture language. He meant thatthey must move away from *sin. We use our hands and feet to do bad things. Weuse our eyes to look at wrong things. So we must control our hands, feet andeyes. Jesus had already used this picture when he taught about wrong sex(Matthew 5:28-30). It may be difficult to stop going to the wrong places. It isdifficult to stop doing something that is not good. It may be hard to stoplooking at the wrong kind of books or pictures. But the punishment is the fireof ‘Gehenna’. Gehenna was the valley outside Jerusalem that had become the cityrubbish heap. There were always fires that were burning there. The word‘Gehenna’ came to mean ‘Hell’. It described the place where God will send badpeople. They will have no hope.

The sheep that the man lost 18:10-14

Verse 10 Jesus showed that little children and new believers areall precious to God. God’s servants in heaven are very important. They arealways near to God. They are called ‘angels’. Jesus said that these servantswere responsible for children.

[Verse 11] Someone may have copied this verse from Luke 19:10.The most important old copies of Matthew’s *gospel do not have these words. Somost modern translations leave them out.

Verses 12-13 Luke has this story about the lost sheep as ananswer to the *Pharisees. They blamed Jesus because he mixed with ‘*sinners’.He also mixed with men who collect taxes (Luke 15:1-7). Matthew uses the storyto show how much God cares about ‘these little people’. He is like a man whosearches for his one lost sheep. If this man found his sheep, he would be veryhappy. God searches for any person who has wandered away from the right way oflife. God is happy when that person returns to the Christian family again. True*disciples will act like people who look after sheep. They will try to bringback any person who has wandered away from the right way of life. ‘If he findsthat sheep’ suggests that they may not always be successful. But when they aresuccessful, they will be happy to welcome the wanderer back. They will not tryto make him feel foolish and miserable. Later on, Peter urged Christian leadersto be like people who look after sheep. They should serve their people and lookafter them (1 Peter 5:1-4).

When a *disciple hurts another *disciple 18:15-20

Verses 15-17 These verses show what a Christian must do ifanother Christian has done something wrong to them. In the *Old Testament *Law,a person may be guilty because they have done wrong. But there had to be two orthree witnesses to the crime (Deuteronomy 19:15). There is a series of actionsthat they can take:

1. First, they should go to the person alone. The person mayagree that they have done something wrong. If they do, then the relationshipbetween two Christians will be right again. But that person may refuse toapologise. Then the Christian who was hurt should try again to heal therelationship.

2. They should go again with two or three other Christians ifnecessary. Here, the ‘one or two other *disciples’ can help to persuade theperson that they have done something wrong.

3. If the person still takes no notice, they should speak to the*church about it. The word ‘*church’ here means the local group of Christians.It is different in Matthew 16:18, where ‘*church’ means Christians everywhereand in all ages.

4. The guilty person may refuse to listen to all the *churchmembers. Then the members must consider that the guilty person is now outsidetheir group. But Jesus believed that unbelievers and *tax-collectors could comewhere God rules. So the guilty person might realise his fault in the end. Buthe must remain outside the Christian group unless he becomes really sorry aboutthe problem. A group should not allow wrong relationships to continue. TheChristian group would be weak if that happened. And then it would be a poorwitness to the world.

Verse 18 The decision of the local group should agree with whatJesus taught. Then God will approve of their action.

Verses 19-20 ‘Two or three’ people who pray together have Jesuswith them. This promise became true after Jesus died and rose to life again.Jesus wanted Christians to know this. He would be with them, even if they couldnot see him. When he was on earth, his body could be in only one place at atime. But God does not think about large groups only. A small group who are*worshipping together has Jesus there with them. A family at home willsometimes pray together. Then Jesus will be with them. God listens when ‘two orthree’ people pray. When two people agree with Jesus about something, then theycan pray with complete confidence. God will answer their prayers.

The question about forgiving other people 18:21-22

Verse 21 The *Jewish teachers said that a person should forgivesomeone else up to three times. God had told Amos that he would punish thewicked nations ‘for three *sins and for four’ (Amos chapter 1). That isprobably why the *Jewish teachers said just three times. Peter thought that hewas being very generous when he said ‘seven times’.

Verse 22 It is not clear if Jesus said ‘seventy times seven’ or‘77’ here. It is clear that he meant ‘without limit’. Long ago, Lamech saidthat he would pay back an injury seventy seven times (Genesis 4:23-24). ButJesus told Peter that he should always forgive. Nobody should count the timesthat they have forgiven anyone.

The story about the servant who would not forgive 18:23-35

Only Matthew wrote this story down, but Jesus told it as anexample. It shows why he answered Peter like that in verse 22. He told Peterthat we must always forgive. It emphasises what Jesus taught earlier about theneed to forgive (Matthew 6:12-15). People want God to forgive them. So peoplemust forgive each other.

Verses 24-27 The first servant owed his master an enormous sum ofmoney. The *Greek words say that he owed ‘10 000 talents’. 10 000 was thelargest *Greek number, and a ‘talent’ was the largest coin. This is the same asthe value of millions of coins today. The servant could never pay a debt thatbig. But his master forgave him and cancelled the debt.

The ‘debt’ that we owe to God refers to our *sins against God andagainst other people. We can never pay that debt. But God forgives those whotrust Jesus. He has forgiven them all their *sins.

Verses 28-30 The second servant’s debt was a very small amount.The difference in value between the two debts was astonishing. But the firstservant refused to forgive the second servant. He is like someone who refusesto forgive another person. They forget how much God has forgiven them. Paulwrote to Christians about this. ‘Be kind to each other. Forgive each other,exactly as God has forgiven you because of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:32).

Verse 35 People must forgive ‘from deep inside themselves’. Itmust be sincere. A person should not say, ‘I will forgive, but I will neverforget.’ They are not really forgiving the other person, if they say that.

The next main section is chapters 19 –23. It includes some ofwhat Jesus taught his *disciples. It also includes how Jesus answered theauthorities that opposed him.

Marriage and Divorce 19:1-12

Verse 3 Two important *Jewish teachers had different opinionsabout divorce. The *Pharisees wanted Jesus to decide between those twoopinions. One teacher had a strict opinion. He said that there was only onereason why a man could divorce his wife. It was only if she had sex withanother man. The other teacher was not so strict with the husbands. He saidthat a man could divorce his wife if she did not please him in any way.

Verses 4-6 Jesus knew that they had read the *Old Testament. Sohe reminded them by saying, ‘ Surely you have read... .’ The rabbis (*Jewishteachers) often used these words too. Jesus did not speak directly aboutdivorce. Instead, he spoke about God’s purpose for people who get married. Godmade people both male and female at the beginning (Genesis 1:27). So a manshould leave his parents and unite with his wife. They will become like onebody (Genesis 2:4). It was not God’s purpose for any person to break themarriage unity.

Verses 7:9 The *Pharisees then referred to Deuteronomy 24:1-4.They asked about what Moses had ordered. Should a man give his wife a divorceletter, and then send her away? Jesus did not agree with the word ‘order’. Hesaid that Moses had ‘allowed’ divorce. And that was only because people do notknow how really to love each other. They are weak and they fail. So their marriageunity does not last. God’s purpose was that marriage unity should be permanent.The only exception was if the wife was not loyal to her husband. A wife that isnot loyal destroys the unity with her husband.

Verses 10-12 The *disciples thought that the married state seemeddifficult. And divorce was impossible from what Jesus said. So it would bebetter not to marry. Jesus said that not everyone would be able to live likethat. God gives some people a special gift. It is only these people who can do this.Jesus gives three examples of people who do not marry:

1. Some people are born with medical problems. It is impossiblefor them to have children.

2. Sometimes servants worked in a palace among the king’s women.So someone made them unable to have sex.

3. Some people choose to remain single. They think that they canserve God better alone. A man or woman may work in a difficult situation. Theywould not be able to look after a wife, husband or children properly. Paul saysthat a married man has to think about his wife. A married woman has to thinkabout her husband. So they cannot think about God all the time. They may not beable to serve God all the time (1 Corinthians 7:1-10, 32-35). But not everyonewho serves God has to remain single. It is for those people whom God wants toremain single.

Jesus and children 19:13-15

v13 Then some people brought little children toJesus. They wanted him to place his hands on them. They wanted him to pray forthem. But the *disciples told the people to take the children away. v14‘Let the little children come to me’, Jesus said. ‘Do not try to stop them.People like these belong where God rules!’ v15 So Jesus placed his handson them, and then he went away.

Verse 13 In those days, people felt that children were not important.So the *disciples thought that Jesus would have no time for children. Theytried to stop the parents as they were bringing the children to him. Perhapsthe *disciples were trying to protect Jesus. They knew that he was tired. Andthey thought that the children were interrupting his work.

Verses 14-15 Jesus had already said that only people who are likechildren will enter where God rules (Matthew 18:2-4). People who humbly trustJesus belong where God rules (also called ‘the kingdom of heaven’). Jesuswelcomed the children. He placed his hands on them and prayed for them.

Matthew placed these verses immediately after the verses aboutmarriage and divorce. When parents have a good relationship, their childrenfeel safe. They can grow into responsible adults. Divorce makes childrensuffer. They can suffer in many different ways. But they are quite as importantas adults. Often they cannot see both parents together any more. They may findit difficult to be loyal to both parents.

A rich young man comes to Jesus 19:16-22

Verses 16-17 Mark, Luke and Matthew all say that this man wasrich. Only Matthew calls him ‘young’ (verse 20). And only Luke says that he wasa ‘ruler’ (Luke 18:18). The man wanted to have ‘life that lasts for ever’. Hewanted to have God’s life, both on earth and after he died. But he thought thathe must work to obtain that life. Many people have the same wrong idea. Theythink that they must earn their way into heaven. Jesus reminded the young manthat only God is good. The young man should have thought about God’s character.Then he would have realised that he could never be good enough. Jesus said thatGod had said what people should do. The young man must obey those commands.Then the man asked which of those commands he must obey. He still did notunderstand.

Verses 18-19 Jesus reminded him about 5 of God’s 10 commands.These 5 all deal with relationships with other people. He put ‘give honour toyour father and mother’ last. But it comes fifth in the order that we read inExodus 20:1-17. Perhaps Jesus wanted to make the man think. Had he doneeverything that he should do for his parents? Jesus also added words fromLeviticus 19:18. He said that a person should love other people as much as heloves himself.

Verse 20 The young man replied that he had obeyed these commands.In the legal sense, he had. He had not killed, stolen or lied. But he stillfelt that he had to do something more for God to accept him.

Verses 21-22 Jesus told him to sell all his possessions. Then heshould give the money to poor people. So he would be rich in heaven. Jesus theninvited him to come and be a *disciple. Jesus knew that the young man needed toput right his relationship with God and with other people. Money must not be soimportant to him. Money must not be like a god to him. And he should care aboutother people if he wanted to be good like God. But the young man could notaccept this demand. He loved things and money more than he loved God or otherpeople. He loved himself more than he loved God or other people.

Rich people and the place where God rules in heaven 19:23-26

Verse 23 Jesus explained about rich people. This was after hisconversation with the rich young ruler. It is very difficult for rich people toenter where God rules for two reasons:

1. Because oftheir wealth, they may not feel that they need God. This is because their moneymakes them feel safe. It allows them to buy anything that they want. They maybelieve that their money can rescue them from any problems.

2. Rich peoplecan easily forget that life on earth does not last for ever. They may be likethe rich fool in the story that Jesus told (Luke 12:13-21). They may forgetabout life that lasts for ever in heaven.

Verse 24 People try to explain the picture language that Jesususes here in different ways.

Some people say that there was a narrow gate in the city wallcalled a ‘needle hole’. If a camel had a load on its back, it could not get throughthat narrow gate.

But the words were probably a familiar way to describe a verydifficult action. The camel was the largest animal in Israel. The hole in aneedle is very tiny.

Verse 25 The *disciples were astonished about Jesus’ warning.They thought that rich people would always have a place in God’s *kingdom. Theybelieved that God gave wealth to people that he approved of. Now they thoughtthat nobody had a chance to enter where God rules.

Verse 26 Jesus did not say that it was ‘impossible’ for a richman to be his *disciple. Rich people can become citizens where God rules. Godwill help them, but it is difficult for them to forget their money. Matthewhimself left his good job to follow Jesus (Matthew 9:9). Zacchaeus promised topay back all the money that he had taken from people. He also said that hewould give half his money to help poor people (Luke 19:1-10). Also there wereJoseph from Arimathea and Nicodemus who were *Jewish leaders (Matthew 27:57-60;John 19:38-40).

The rewards for the *disciples 19:27-30

Verse 27 Peter thought that he and the other *disciples were verydifferent from the rich man. The rich man had refused to go with Jesus. The*disciples had given up homes, families and possessions so that they couldfollow Jesus. Peter wanted to know what their reward would be.

Verse 28 Jesus told them that loyal *disciples would have threespecial rewards.

1. God will make everything new (Isaiah 65:17). ‘I will make newheavens and a new earth.’ John tells us in Revelation 21:1 that he saw ‘a newheaven and a new earth’. At that time the *disciples will share Christ’ssplendid position. Jesus’ 12 special friends will have the right to rule the 12groups of Israel’s people.

2. *Disciples may need to give up their own family life. But theywill become part of God’s much larger family. Everywhere in the world,Christians have brothers and sisters who also believe Jesus. Christianssometimes love each other more strongly than they love their ordinary families.

3. They will have life that lasts for ever.

Verse 30 Jesus warned Peter and the other *disciples. God doesnot think in the same way that people think. People may decide that someonedeserves a reward. They think that a person is really important. They may seethem as they are serving God. But God knows whether a person is sincere or notsincere. God knows what a person is thinking. And God understands a person’sactions. So people who are humble on earth may become important in heaven.Those who are important on earth may become not important in heaven.

The story about the land-owner’s workers 20:1-16

This story is only in Matthew’s *gospel. It describes a situationthat could have happened in Jesus’ time. Jesus’ purpose here was not to teachabout how people should receive wages. He was teaching about where God rules.So this story was about the way that God deals with people.

Verses 1-7 When the owner harvested his fruit, called ‘grapes’,he needed many workers. Men who had no work would wait in the market place.They waited for someone to employ them. This owner hired the first workersearly in the morning. He decided what he would pay them. Then he hired moreworkers later. He promised to pay the second group what was ‘right’. Finally,he hired the men who had been waiting for work all day. He just told them to goand work for him.

Verses 8-10 Workers had to receive their wages each evening(Deuteronomy 24:14-15). The owner spoke to his manager and told him to payeveryone the same wage. He must begin with the men who started work last. Andfinally, he paid the men who started work first.

Verses 11-15 Those first workers thought that the owner had notbeen fair to them. So they complained. The owner replied to the man who wasprobably complaining the loudest. He said that he had kept the promise that hemade to them. He had a right to use his money as he chose. They were jealousbecause he was generous. The men who came last needed the money as much as theother men.

Verse 16 This verse shows that this story is partly an answer toPeter’s question in verse 27 of chapter 19. Jesus repeats the words that heused there in Matthew 19:30: ‘Many people who are last now will be first. Andthe people who are first now will be last.’ Peter’s question about what theyshould get was not a good question. God invites people to live where he rules.He invites people because he is generous. They can work for God there. God isalways generous when he deals with people. Nobody deserves God’s gifts. Nobodycan earn a reward where God rules. God welcomes everyone, whether they come earlyor late to where he rules.

Jesus speaks the third time about his death and afterwards 20:17-19

v17 As Jesus was going up towards Jerusalem, he tookthe 12 *disciples aside. Then he spoke to them in private. v18 ‘We aregoing up to Jerusalem’, he said. ‘Someone will hand over the Son of Man to thechief *priests and to the men who teach the *Law. They will order that he mustdie. v19 They will hand him over to the foreigners. Those foreignerswill laugh at him. They will beat him with a whip. Then they will fix him to awooden *cross to die. But on the third day after that, he will become aliveagain!’

Verses 17-18 Jesus knew that he would suffer and die. This wasthe third occasion on which he warned his *disciples about this. Matthewemphasises that they were going up into the hills towards Jerusalem. This wastheir capital city, and the *Jewish place to *worship. There the *Jewishleaders would demand that Jesus should die.

Verse 19 Jesus gives more details about what will happen there.He knew that he would suffer severe mental and *physical pain. But he also knewthat ‘he would become alive again on the third day’.

The request about James and John 20:20-28

Verses 20-21 Mark’s *gospel says that James and John made therequest (Mark 10:35-45). Their mother had the same ambition as her sons, butthey were responsible. Jesus spoke directly to them when he replied. They believed that Jesus wouldbecome king. And Jesus had chosen them, together with Peter, to be witnesseswhen he changed his appearance (Matthew 17:1-2). They also saw Jesus make Jairus’ daughter become alive again. But Jesus said that he would suffer. Andthey failed to understand why the king should suffer.

Verses 22-23 Jesus asked if they could share what he was going tosuffer. They said that they could. But they probably did not understand whatthat really meant. James died early in the history of the *church because hebelieved Jesus. King Herod Agrippa ordered his men to kill James (Acts 12:1-2).John lived until he was very old. But he probably had a difficult life inprison, so he may have suffered a lot too.

Verses 24-27 The other *disciples did not like it that James andJohn were asking for special places. But they had the same ambition. Luke saysthat even at the Last Supper they were arguing among themselves. They arguedabout who was the greatest and most important among them (Luke 22:24). Jesustold them that in foreign nations important people tell their servants what todo. They expect their servants to obey their orders. But where God rules, it isdifferent. People who want to be great must serve other people. They must evenbe prepared to act as a slave.

Verse 28 Jesus then spoke about why he came into the world. He isour example, because he came to serve. He would give his life to make peoplefree from their *sin. Then they could enter where God rules. It was Jesus whowould give his life for many people (Isaiah 53:11). Jesus made a way back toGod for people. But to do this he had to live in this world. Then he had to diein a terrible way.

The blind men at Jericho town 20:29-34

Verses 30-31 Mark describes how Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus(Mark 10:42-52). Matthew says that there were two blind men. He did not know orhe did not record their names. The blind men called Jesus ‘David’s Son’, whichwas a name for the *Messiah. The crowd tried to stop the blind men fromshouting. They were a nuisance because they were interrupting people’s journeyto Jerusalem. And they were using the name ‘David’s Son’, which might have beendangerous. It was just before the time for the special *Jewish ceremony called‘Passover’. At that time the *Jews remembered that God had rescued their peoplefrom Egypt long ago. It was not wise to shout the name of the *Messiah. Itmight seem that people were demanding their freedom from their *Roman rulers.But the blind men believed that Jesus could help them. So they continued toshout for his attention.

Verses 32-34 Jesus would have noticed that they were blind. Buthe wanted them to say what they needed. God knows what we need. But he wants usto pray to him. He wants us to show that we trust him. Matthew, Mark and Lukeall record this event, but only Matthew writes that Jesus touched their eyes.

This is the last *miracle that the *gospels record. After this, Jesuswent on his final journey to Jerusalem. This incident is a contrast to thestory about James and John. They had been like blind men because they did notrealise the truth about Jesus. To be a *disciple meant that they would suffer.They were ‘blind’ in a different way from the *physical way that the two mensuffered. There is a link with the next story about Jesus as he entered intoJerusalem. The crowd there called Jesus ‘David’s Son’, exactly as the blind menhad done.

Jesus enters Jerusalem 21:1-11

Verses 1-3 Bethphage was a village near Bethany. Both villageswere on the Mount of Olives. It was only about two miles from Jerusalem. A‘*donkey’ is like a small horse that people ride. Jesus had probably arrangedthis with the animals’ owner some time before. The words, ‘the *Lord needsthem’ would show that the *disciples were not stealing the animals.

Verses 4-5 Jesus was making what God’s special servant said inZechariah 9:9 come true. Jesus chose a *donkey. It was a sign that he came withpeace. A military leader always rode a horse. But Jesus was not a king who rodea horse. He was everyone’s servant.

Verses 7-8 The *disciples used their coats to make a saddle forJesus. Then the crowd spread their coats over the road. In the *Old Testament,the officers had put their coats under Jehu when they made him king (2 Kings9:13). It was a way to show his authority as king. John tells us that what theycut down were branches from trees called palm trees (John 12:13).

Verse 9 When *Jews went to Jerusalem for their great *religiousmeetings, they sang Psalm 118. The people use verses 25-26 of that psalm hereto praise Jesus. ‘Praise’ or ‘Hosanna’ means ‘You save us’. The *Jews usuallygave this welcome to travellers coming into Jerusalem. Now they gave thewelcome to Jesus. ‘In the highest heaven’ is the *Jewish way to say ‘God’, wholives in heaven. ‘He who comes’ and ‘David’s Son’ were both ways to describethe *Messiah. The people sang ‘Hosanna’ or ‘Praise’ to Jesus. They werethinking that Jesus the *Messiah would ‘save’ them from the *Roman rulers.Probably some of the same crowd shouted ‘Fix him to a *cross!’ later (Matthew27:22), because Jesus disappointed them. They hoped that he would bringpolitical freedom to their nation.

Verses 10-11 People in Jerusalem did not know why there was somuch excitement. The crowds with Jesus happily told them who he was.

Jesus’ actions in the *Temple 21:12-17

Verses 12-13 The yard of the *Temple contained several sections.The foreigners’ part was the only place where non-*Jews and women could*worship. But it had become like a noisy market. People were trying to paytheir *Temple tax. But they could pay it only with a special coin. So they wereexchanging their other money for these special coins. Often men charged toomuch for the special coins, so people may have argued about this. Everyone hadto give perfect animals and birds for the *priests to offer to God. So it wasbetter to buy these animals in the yard of the *Temple where a *priest examinedthem. But the *priests made a profit from selling these animals and birds.Often the *priests were not honest. They said that other animals and birds werenot good enough. So people had to buy different birds from them. Jesus usedwords from Isaiah 56:7. Isaiah said that the *Temple was a place where allpeople could pray. Jesus also used words from Jeremiah 7:11. Jeremiah hadaccused the *Jews. He said that they used the *Temple like a place wherethieves hide. So Jesus was angry for two reasons:

1. The place where people *worshipped God had become a noisymarket. Therefore, nobody could pray there.

2. The *priests encouraged people to cheat as they traded. Peoplehad to pay too much money for animals to offer to God and for the specialcoins.

Verse 14 The *Jews believed that ‘blind people and people whocannot walk’ must not go into the *Temple. King David said this (2 Samuel 5:8).A man who could not walk sat outside the Beautiful Gate to the *Temple (Acts3:2). But Jesus was a greater king than David. He let such people come to himthere and he healed them.

Verses 15-16 The leaders did not like it when Jesus healed peoplein the *Temple. The children were copying what the crowd had said. ‘PraiseDavid’s Son’, they shouted. The authorities had allowed all the noisy tradersand animals to be there. But they thought that children should not be shoutingin a holy place. Nor did they want people to call Jesus ‘David’s Son’. So theywanted Jesus to stop the children. But Jesus refused. He referred to Psalm 8:1to show that God wanted children to praise him.

Verse 17 Jesus had friends in Bethany, including Martha, Mary andLazarus. He may have stayed with them that night.

Jesus and the *fig tree 21:18-22

Matthew wrote a shorter account of this incident than Mark (Mark11:12-25). Mark tells the story about the *fig tree in two parts. He recordsthe incident in the *Temple between the parts.

Verse 19 *Fig trees are very common fruit trees in Israel. This*fig tree had not produced fruit because it was not the right season. It seemsstrange that Jesus destroyed it because it had no fruit. But Jesus was probablyacting in the same dramatic way that God’s special servants acted long ago. Forexample, Jeremiah threw a pot down so that it broke into pieces. Jeremiah haddestroyed the pot. He was showing that God would destroy Jerusalem (Jeremiah19:10-11). Luke tells Jesus’ story about a *fig tree that had no fruit (Luke13:6-9). The owner kept it for a while. He waited to see whether it wouldproduce fruit. Matthew’s story showed that the tree had failed. So it was theright time to destroy it. The *fig tree represented the nation called Israel. A*fig tree produces small green fruits before the leaves appear. This tree hadproduced only leaves. This showed that it would have no fruit. The incidentrepresented God’s judgement on the *Jews who were Israel’s people. They hadrefused to listen to Jesus. The *worship in the *Temple was impressive, but itwas not sincere. In this story, to ‘produce fruit’ means ‘to obey God’.Israel’s *Jews were a nation which had not produced this ‘fruit’.

Verses 21-22 Jesus said that when people really believe him, theresults can astonish other people. ‘To remove mountains’ was the *Jewish way tosay ‘to remove great difficulties’. Jesus was encouraging his *disciples tobelieve him when they prayed. Jesus said ‘this’ mountain. He probably meant theMount of Olives. Zechariah had spoken about the Mount of Olives in Zechariah14:4. He said that it would split in two halves. This would happen when God’snew age arrives. So perhaps Jesus meant that they really needed to believe himmore. Then God’s new age would come sooner.

The question about Jesus’ authority 21:23-27

Verse 23 The *religious leaders were responsible for whathappened in the *Temple. But Jesus had forced out the traders. He had alsotaught there. So he was claiming that he had more authority than them.

Verses 24-25 Jesus taught in the usual *Jewish way. The peopleasked teachers to answer a question. The teachers often asked another questionwhen they replied. Jesus wanted to know what they thought. Had John *baptisedwith God’s authority? Or did they think that John’s work was only a man’saction?

Verses 25-26 The *Jewish authorities had the duty to tell thedifference between true and false teachers. They must say if someone was reallyGod’s special servant or not. But the *religious leaders could not agree thatJohn was doing God’s work. Jesus was the man that John identified. But theywould not believe that Jesus was the *Messiah. However, they could not say thatJohn’s work was just a man’s work. They were afraid of the crowds. The peoplebelieved that John was God’s special servant. So the *religious leaders wereashamed. They had to say, ‘We do not know.’

Verse 27 The leaders could not decide about John. But John hadannounced who Jesus was. So Jesus was not prepared to say any more about hisown authority.

The story about the two sons 21:28-32

Verse 28 The *religious leaders had not been able to answerJesus. Now he was going to tell them a story and ask for their opinion.

Verses 28-31 The first son refused to obey his father. But hechanged his decision. Then he went to work as his father had asked him to do.The second son was polite. He emphasised that he would go. But he was notsincere and he did not go.

Verses 31-32 Neither son was perfect, but the older son obeyedlater. He was better than his brother. The younger one only said that he wouldobey. The *tax-collectors and women who received money for sex (prostitutes)were like the first son. When they listened to John the *Baptist, they changedtheir ways. The *religious leaders did not follow that example. Their religionwas only about words and rules. They claimed to be God’s servants, but they didnot really obey God. They did not do what John said.

The story about the wicked farmers who rented property 21:33-46

Verse 33 Long ago, God’s servant Isaiah referred to Israel asGod’s *vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7). A *vineyard is a field where people grow busheswith fruit called *grapes. Isaiah spoke about the way that God protected his*vineyard with a wall. The ‘tall place to watch over the land’ was a smallshelter that had a flat roof. Someone could go up onto its roof. He could lookover the *vineyard and see any animals or thieves. He could guard the *grapes.He could also store *grapes in the building. The big hole was in two sections.In the top part of the hole, the workers pressed the *grapes with their feet.The juice then flowed into the lower section to make wine. Isaiah’s picture meantthat God was expecting a good harvest in Israel. He was not expecting the fruitcalled *grapes. But he was expecting Israel’s people to obey him. He wantedthem to live good lives. But God was disappointed because Israel’s people didnot produce that kind of ‘fruit’. In Jesus’ story also, God is like the ownerand Israel is like his *vineyard.

Verse 33 An owner often rented his *vineyard to other farmers.Then he would receive a share of the *grapes at harvest time. The *Jewishleaders were like the farmers. God had given responsibility to them. Godexpected them to look after the people. They should be a good example.

Verses 34-36 The servants who went to collect the *grapes werelike God’s special servants long ago. God is very patient. He sent his servantsto Israel’s people many times. They reminded the people that God wanted ‘fruit’from his ‘*vineyard’. God wanted them to obey him. Then they would live goodlives. God gives us every opportunity so that we can obey him. But Israel’sleaders took no notice. Instead, they made God’s servants suffer. For example:

They insulted Amos (Amos 7:12).

They beat Jeremiah and they put him in prison (Jeremiah37:14-15). The king destroyed the book in which Jeremiah had recorded hismessage (Jeremiah 36:20-26).

They killed Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-21).

Stephen spoke to Israel’s leaders later about all God’s specialservants. He said that their relatives who lived long ago had caused God’sservants to suffer (Acts 7:52).

Verses 37-39 Finally, God sent his own Son. Jesus knew that hewas different from God’s special servants. They were servants, but he was theSon. Jesus knew that the *Jewish leaders would plan to kill him. The farmersthrew the son out of the *vineyard. The soldiers killed Jesus outside Jerusalem.

Verses 40-41 The farmers thought that the owner was far away.They thought that he did not know what they had done. Many people today behavelike that. They think that God does not know what they are doing. Some of the*Jewish leaders were listening to Jesus’ story. They agreed that the ownerwould return. And he would punish the wicked farmers. He would certainly killthem. This came true for the *Jews in *AD 70, when the *Romans destroyedJerusalem city.

The owner would rent his *vineyard to other people, they agreed.But they did not like the idea that God would *bless other people. They couldnot accept the idea of a new *kingdom, where people believe Jesus.

Verses 42-44 Jesus used verses 22-23 from Psalm 118. He spokeabout himself as a stone that builders use. But the builders thought that thestone was of no use. Then that stone became the most important stone in thebuilding. It became the stone that unites the two parts at the top of a curve.Or it became the stone that unites two walls at the base of the building. Thisstone makes a strong base, and Jesus is the strong base of the Christian*church. Peter used the same verse to describe Jesus (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7).

Jesus also spoke about himself as a stone that men would tripover. These words from Isaiah 8:14-15 speak about what happens to people whooppose Jesus. The second word-picture speaks about a stone that falls on tosomeone. This picture comes from Daniel 2:34-35. A stone destroyed an image inthe king’s dream, and the image broke into pieces. In both pictures, Jesus islike the stone.

Verses 45-46 Jesus had told these stories about the two sons andabout the wicked farmers. The chief *priests and the *Pharisees realised thatthese stories were about themselves. They were so angry that they wanted toarrest Jesus. But they were afraid of the crowds of people. The people believedthat Jesus was one of God’s special servants. Because it was *Passover time,these *Jewish leaders did not want any crowd to cause problems. The *Romanrulers were watching and would punish the *Jews.

The story about the wedding meal 22:1-14

Verse 2 The *Jews thought that there would be a special meal whenthe *Messiah came. Jesus spoke about a king who invited guests to his son’swedding meal. God was inviting the *Jews. He wanted them to receive his SonJesus. Then they could be very happy.

Verses 3-4 At that time it was the custom to send out twoinvitations. The first invitation told the guests about the special meal. Thenwhen the meal was ready, the guests received a second invitation. It was timefor them to go to eat the special meal.

Verses 5-6 In Jesus’ story, the guests refused to go to eat themeal. They acted as if the king’s invitation did not matter. They went off tolook after their own business first. The business itself was not bad. But theyput their own business before the king’s invitation. This seriously insultedthe king. In the same way the *Jewish leaders were insulting God. They refusedthe opportunity to come where he rules.

Verses 7-8 The king punished those people who had killed hisservants. And he burned their city. These details seem to refer to the eventsin *AD 70. That was when the *Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

Verses 9-10 None of the people in the streets expected aninvitation to be the king’s guests. They were both ‘good and bad’ ordinarypeople. Jesus welcomed *sinners as well. The new guests were both *Jews andforeigners. They gained a place where God rules.

Verses 11-14 These verses have a special meaning. The *Jewishteachers told similar stories about a king and wedding clothes.

It does not seem fair that the king blamed the man. The man hadcome in from the street, so he was not wearing special clothes. But the kingmay have provided wedding clothes for his guests, as that was the custom. Theman had come in to the wedding meal without suitable clothes. But he had noexcuse because he knew the customs. He had insulted his host. Isaiah says thatpeople try to make themselves good. However, to God, all their efforts are likevery dirty clothes (Isaiah 64:6). But God gave Isaiah special clothes becausehe saved him. So Isaiah praises and thanks God (Isaiah 61:10). Paul urged theChristians at Ephesus to ‘take off’ or leave the old way that they lived. Theymust ‘put on’ or change to the new way to live. They must obey God (Ephesians4:22-24).

In this story, the special wedding clothes are picture language.They show that God had saved the person. The man’s clothes were not suitablefor a wedding. They are picture language for the bad way that he lived. Theother guests had taken off their own clothes and put on the special weddingclothes. This means that God had forgiven them. He had saved them.

Verse 13 God offers to save people. The story refers to the timewhen God will be the judge. He will punish all the people who have refused hisoffer. The darkness was something that they should be afraid of. So Jesus warnsthem about it. The people who are out in the darkness will be very unhappy.They will probably be hurting and angry with themselves. That is why they willbe biting their teeth together.

Verse 14 The story shows that God invites many people. But fewpeople completely accept the invitation to enjoy a place where he rules.

The question about taxes 22:15-22

Verses 15-17 The *Herodians were friends with King Herod’sfamily. They did not usually join with the *Pharisees. They did not want toobey all the rules that the *Pharisees obeyed. What they said about Jesus wastrue. He always said what God wanted. He did not allow other people to changewhat he taught. The *Pharisees praised Jesus. But they only wanted to maketheir question sound sincere. They thought that they could test Jesus. Theythought that their plan was very clever. And they thought that they wouldsucceed. Whatever answer Jesus gave would cause people to be angry. The *Jewshated to pay taxes to their *Roman rulers. It reminded them that they were nota free nation. Some *Jews thought that it was against God’s commands. They werepaying money to people who did not believe God, they said. Jesus might agreewith them. Then he would say that it was not right to pay the tax. That wouldcause trouble with the *Romans. Jesus might say that they should pay the tax.Then the people would be angry. And they would stop listening to him.

Verses 18-19 But Jesus realised what the *Pharisees were tryingto do. The coin that he asked for was called a ‘denarius’. It was a silvercoin. It was equal to a man’s wage for one day’s work. There was a picture ofTiberius Caesar’s head on one side. On the other side words described him ashigh *priest for the *Roman religion.

Verses 20-21 The *Pharisees had to say that the picture and namewere Caesar’s on the coin. So Jesus told them to pay to Caesar what belonged tohim. It was the payment that they owed him. The state provided security, goodroads and other public services. So a Christian has a duty to pay his taxes. Heis a citizen of the country in which he lives. But a Christian is also acitizen of heaven. He has a duty to God as well. A good citizen where God ruleswill be a good citizen in their own country on earth too. They will pay whatthey owe to both God and to other people.

Verse 22 The plan had failed. So the *Pharisees went away.

The question about life after death 22:23-33

Verse 23 The *Sadducees were the rich *Jewish leaders. Many ofthem were *priests. They worked with the *Roman rulers in order to keep theirown power. And they were afraid that Jesus might cause a difficult politicalsituation. Then the *Romans would be angry, and the *Sadducees might lose theirpower. They did not believe that people would live again after death. And theydid not believe that God has *angels (see Acts 23:8). They hoped that Jesuswould not be able to answer their question. Then he would look foolish, and sothe crowd would lose interest in him. They would no longer listen to what hetaught.

Verses 24-28 They told a story about marriage and the *Jewish*Law (see Deuteronomy 25:5-6). A husband may die. But if he has no children,his brother or a close relative must marry his widow. The first son of thewidow and her new husband would continue the dead man’s family name. Peoplewould also consider that he was the first husband’s son. The *Sadducees told astory about a woman who had married seven brothers in turn. But none of themhad children. Whose wife would she be when they all lived again after death?They thought that such a situation would be impossible to solve. They thought thatJesus could never give a satisfactory answer.

Verses 29-30 Jesus showed that their question had no meaning. The*Sadducees thought that life in heaven would be the same as life on earth. Theydid not know God’s power. God is able to give people a new life. There will beno marriage in heaven and people will not need to continue the human race.People will be like God’s *messengers, who do not die. In heaven, God will givepeople a new life. And he will provide bodies that are suitable.

Verses 31-32 The *Old Testament tells us about life after death.But the *Sadducees denied it. Jesus said that they did not know what God hassaid. The *Sadducees thought that the five books about the *Law were the mostimportant part (the first five books in the Bible). Jesus reminded them about astatement in Exodus, which was one of these books. God spoke to Moses. “I amthe God that Abraham *worships. I am Isaac’s God and Jacob’s God” (Exodus 3:6).*Jews who lived long ago are alive with God. He said, “I am”. He did not say,“I was”. Nothing can end the relationship with God. It begins on earth and itcontinues after *physical death. (The *Pharisees believed about God’s*messengers and life after death.)

Verse 33 The *Sadducees tried to make Jesus less popular, butthey failed. The people in the crowd were astonished at the clever way thatJesus had answered the question.

The greatest command 22:34-40

Verses 34-36 Jesus had answered the *Sadducees. Now the*Pharisees (the other *Jewish leaders) prepared to test Jesus. The *Jewishteachers said that the *Law contained 613 commands from God. Some of these lawswere more important than other laws. The expert about the *Law asked Jesuswhich was the most important command.

Verses 37-38 Jesus used words from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus19:18. The most important command is part of what the *Jews call the Shema. Itis their statement of what they believe. So *Jews say the Shema every day. Themost important of God’s commands is that people should love him. They shouldlove him with their whole *soul - the whole of their thoughts, all of theirfeelings and their entire life.

Verse 39 Jesus added a second command. When people really loveGod, then they love other people. We should love other people as much as welove ourselves, Jesus said.

Verse 40 The man had asked about the *Law and Jesus had repliedfrom the *Law books. But he added the other books that God’s special servantswrote. The *Law and these other books are the two great divisions in the *OldTestament which is the *Jewish Bible. So these two commands are the sum of allthat the *Old Testament taught.

The question about David’s son 22:41-46

Verses 41-42 Jesus asked this question after the *Pharisees hadbeen asking him questions. He wanted them to think more about Christ, their*Messiah. They should be thinking about the kind of Christ (*Messiah) that theywere expecting. They believed that he would belong to King David’s family. Butthe popular idea was that he would be a soldier like David. The *Messiah wouldfree Israel’s people from their *Roman rulers and he would defeat othernations. Then Israel would have great political power in the world.

Verses 43-45 Jesus agreed that he belonged to David’s family. Buthe reminded them about Psalm 110:1. This psalm showed that Jesus was moreimportant than David. The *Jews knew that David wrote many psalms. And Psalm110 was about the *Messiah. The first words, ‘The *Lord’, refer to God. So Godis inviting the man whom David called ‘my *Lord’. David’s *Lord is the*Messiah, Christ, and God is giving him the most important place next to him.He would remain with God until God had defeated all his enemies.

Verse 45 David called the *Messiah “*Lord”. So Jesus wanted toknow how the *Messiah could be David’s son. Jesus wanted to show that the*Messiah was not a military hero like David. He was a different kind of kingwho had come to rule with peace. He would invite people to enter where herules. He was someone much greater than David, so he received a place of honourin heaven with God.

Peter also used the message from Psalm 110:1 when he spoke to thecrowd on the day of *Pentecost (Acts 2:34-35). He said that Jesus was ‘both*Lord and Christ’, like the words from Psalm 110.

And Paul used this message when he wrote to the Christians atCorinth. Christ will destroy all his enemies, including the last enemy, whichis death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).

Verse 46 The people who opposed Jesus had asked him manyquestions. He answered them all with great wisdom. They had not been able towin this battle of words. And now they had no answer to his question. So theycould not ask him any more questions and they went away.

These chapters are the last section about what Jesus taught.Jesus is warning the crowds and his *disciples. First, Jesus warns them aboutthe *Pharisees.

Jesus accuses the *Pharisees 23:1-12

Verse 1 Jesus is talking to everyone round him.

Verses 2-3 God had given the *Law to Moses long ago. The *Jewshad to obey God’s laws. The men who taught the *Law and the *Pharisees wereresponsible to teach the *Law to the people. They taught that people shouldrespect God and respect other people. So all the *Jews should obey them. But the*Pharisees had hundreds of their own rules to explain God’s *Law. They saidthat people should obey all these rules. But they often avoided their ownrules. Jesus did not want people to copy this bad behaviour. These teacherstried to appear good, but they wanted honour for themselves rather than forGod.

Verse 4 All their rules were like a great load that people had tocarry. For example, there were many rules about how to keep God’s day special.It should have been a day when people rested and were happy. But it became aday when people were anxious about all the rules. So these rules had become avery heavy load. But the *Pharisees did not make the smallest effort to helpwith the load.

Verse 5 The *Pharisees liked people to think that they were very*holy. They wore little leather boxes that contained tiny paper rolls. Theycalled these little boxes ‘phylacteries’ and they wrote four passages fromGod’s Word on each little roll. *Jews wore one or more on their arms and one onthe front of their heads. They reminded people about God’s commands. The*Pharisees wore very large ‘phylacteries’. They wanted to make people noticethem. People could see how well they obeyed God’s laws. The man wore hisspecial coat with corners when he prayed to God. These coats also remindedpeople about God’s laws. But the *Pharisees would make the corners extra longso that people would notice them.

Verse 6 The *Pharisees liked people to think that they wereimportant. So they wanted the seats that were next to their hosts at parties.They liked to sit on the seats in front of everybody in the building where theymet to *worship God. Then they could look at everyone who was there. Andeveryone would notice who was sitting on the front seats.

Verses 7-10 They liked people to give them the greatest respect.They liked titles that gave them honour. Some translations use the word ‘Rabbi’which means ‘My teacher’. They even liked people to call them ‘father’. Jesussaid that Christians have only one teacher. And that teacher is Christ.Christians have only one father who made them. That Father is God. And with Godas their father, Christians are all brothers and sisters.

Verses 11-12 Jesus emphasised that a Christian should serve otherpeople. And he or she should be humble. God gives honour to people who deserveit. Proud people do not really praise God. Instead, they just praisethemselves. But God will destroy their pride. He will also know which peopleare really humble. He will reward them and give them honour.

Jesus warns the *scribes and *Pharisees 23:13-36

Verse 14 is not in most old copies of Matthew. It is extra.Perhaps someone copied it from Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 long ago. Withoutverse 14, there are seven times that Jesus warns the *Pharisees and *scribes.Jesus accused them of having double standards. Many translations use the word‘hypocrites’ here. This means that they are like actors who are hiding theirtrue character.

Jesus warned the *religious leaders seven times:

1. Verse 13 Most of the men who taught the *Law and the*Pharisees opposed Jesus. He wanted people to enter where God rules. But theseleaders refused to listen to Jesus. Also, they tried to stop other people fromlistening to him. They did not want anyone else to accept Jesus’ invitation.This was like shutting a door to keep people out, Jesus said. When Jesus healeda blind man, the man’s parents were afraid to answer questions about their son(John 9:20-23). Some people accepted Jesus as the *Messiah. But the *religiousleaders refused to let such people stay in the buildings where they met to*worship God (John 9:22).

2. Verse 15 The *Pharisees made every effort to teach foreigners.They wanted them to believe like the *Jews believed. But the *Pharisees did notreally help them to know God. They only tried to make people accept all theirrules. They tried to make people follow their example. When someone changes hisreligion, he is usually very eager to obey the new religion’s rules. So thiswas the danger for other people who believed the *Pharisees. They could becomeworse than the *Pharisees themselves.

3. Verses 16-22 Jesus had already spoken about serious promises(Matthew 5:33-37). There were different kinds of promises. The *Phariseesthought that they only had to keep certain promises. They did not have to keepother promises. If they did not promise with the name of the *Temple, or theholy table or heaven, then they could break that promise. But Jesus said thateverything belongs to God. And it should not be necessary to make promises withthe names of holy things at all. Jesus said that they should be honest. Theyshould mean what they said.

4. Verses 23-24 The *Levites worked in the *Temple. They did notown any land. The other *Jews had a duty to provide for the *Levites. So fromall their grain, oil and wine the *Jews had to give them one part out of ten.But the *Pharisees also gave one out of ten, even from the small plants intheir gardens. These tiny plants were their medicines and gave extra flavour tofood. Jesus showed that the *Pharisees were emphasising the wrong things. It isfar more important to be fair to other people. It is better to help people whoneed help. It is better to be loyal to God and honest with each other. The *Phariseeswanted to avoid everything that they thought was not ‘clean’. So Jesussuggested an impossible word picture. They were careful to take any tiny insectout of their drink. But they were prepared to swallow something as large as acamel! This funny picture showed that the *Pharisees were stupid. Some thingsare important and other things are less important. The *Pharisees could not seethe difference.

5. Verses 25-26 The *Pharisees’ many rules included how to washdishes. They had to make sure that the outside of a cup or a dish was cleanenough for God. It may not have looked dirty. But nothing that their rulesconsidered ‘not clean’ must touch the outside. That touch would make it ‘notclean’. They did not worry much about more important wrong things. When someonehad cheated, it did not worry them. When someone had stolen food and drink, itdid not worry them. So the *Pharisees were like their own cups and dishes. Theymade sure that they seemed pure on the outside. But they were greedy inside,where it did not show. They wanted to please themselves rather than to pleaseGod.

6. Verses 27-28 *Jews believed that a person must not touch adead body. It would make the person ‘not clean’ (Numbers 19:16). In someplaces, there were graves by the road. Someone might touch a grave by accident.So then they would no longer be ‘clean’. If this happened at *Passover time,that person could not be part of the *Passover ceremonies. So in the spring,*Jews painted the graves white. They looked beautiful, but inside they werefull of dead bodies or just bones. Jesus said that the *Pharisees were like thewhite graves. They looked so good on the outside. But deep inside, the*Pharisees were as awful as it was inside the graves.

7. Verses 29-32 The *Pharisees pretended to give honour to God’sspecial servants who died long ago. They made their graves look beautiful.Sometimes they even built new rock graves for them. The *Pharisees said thatthey would not have killed God’s servants. But Jesus was bringing God’smessage, and they were planning to kill him. He had shown that he knew theirthoughts in his story about the wicked farmers (Matthew 21:33-41). All through*Jewish history men had killed God’s special servants and refused to listen totheir message. The *Pharisees were the same.

Verses 33-36 Jesus used words that John the *Baptist had alsoused. He warned the *Pharisees about the punishment in hell. God had sent hisspecial servants with messages in the past, and he would send more in thefuture. But they would all suffer because they were doing God’s work. And Jesusknew that they would fix him on a *cross to die as well. The entire *Jewishhistory showed how the *Jews had murdered God’s servants. Abel was the first.His brother Cain murdered him (Genesis 4:8). Zechariah was the last becauseChronicles is the last book in the *Jewish *Old Testament. He told the peoplethat God would punish them for their bad behaviour. But king Joash encouragedthe people to throw stones at Zechariah. And those stones killed him (2 Chronicles24:20-22). In Genesis, Abel’s murder meant that God would judge Cain (Genesis4:10). Before he died, Zechariah prayed to God. He asked God to judge hismurderers (2 Chronicles 24:22). Jesus said that the people living then wouldsuffer because of the murders in their history. Jesus gave a very seriouswarning to them. He knew what would happen. The nation had always refused tobelieve God’s message and soon God would punish them. The *Pharisees were amongthose who opposed Jesus. But Jesus was God’s final message to them.

Jesus weeps about Jerusalem’s people 23:37-39

v37 ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people kill God’sspecial servants. They throw stones to kill people when God sends them to you.Many times, I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to belike a chicken that gathers her little chickens under her wings. But you wouldnot let me. v38 Look, your *Temple will become empty and alone. v39I am telling you the truth. You will not see me again until you say, “We praythat God will *bless the man who comes in the *Lord’s name.” ’

Verse 37 Jesus greatly loved Jerusalem city, and he greatly lovedhis own people, the *Jews. Luke says (Luke 19:41-44) that Jesus wept as he camenear to the city. He had wanted the people to enter where God rules and becomesafe. Because he loved them, he wanted to protect them. This was like a chickenthat protects her little chickens under her wings. Matthew, Mark and Lukerecord only one *Passover visit to Jerusalem. This visit happened after Jesus beganhis public work. Jesus says ‘Many times’, which shows that he had visitedJerusalem many times. And John’s *gospel records some of these other visits.

Verse 38 Jesus was giving a last, sad warning to his people. Buthe knew that they would not listen. And foreigners would destroy God’s house,their *Temple.

Verse 39 The crowd had shouted, ‘We pray that God will *bless theman who comes in the *Lord’s name!’ when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matthew21:9). One day Jesus will return. Then the words that welcome him will besincere.

Jesus tells what will happen to the *Temple 24:1-2

v1 Then Jesus left the *Temple. He was walking awaywhen his *disciples came up to him. They wanted him to notice all the *Templebuildings. v2 But Jesus replied to them. ‘Yes, you see all thesebuildings. And I am telling you the truth. Not one stone here will remain inits place in the building. Soldiers will throw down every stone.’

Verses 1-2 The *disciples admired the *Temple. They thought thatit was very beautiful. They were astonished at what Jesus said because thestones were enormous (Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5). Jesus could see that the *Templewas beautiful. But it had no value unless sincere people went there to *worshipGod. Jesus knew that the *Jews would oppose the *Romans later. And the *Romanswould deal with the *Jews then. There would be war and the *Romans woulddestroy Jerusalem. They would destroy the *Temple itself completely. Jesus’words came true in *AD 70.

Troubles will come in the future 24:3-8

Verses 3-4 The *disciples wanted to know when the *Temple wouldend in that way. They also asked Jesus about when he would return. Matthew usedthe *Greek word ‘parousia’ for when Jesus will return. It became a specialword. It referred to the time when Jesus would return to earth. And that wouldhappen when ‘this age is ending’.

Jesus answered both questions in thenext verses (verses 5-44).

Verse 5 Jesus warned the *disciples that there would be manyfalse *Messiahs in the future. They would tell people that God had sent them.Many people said that they were the *Messiah after Jesus died. And there arefalse *Messiahs even today.

Verses 6-8 Jesus spoke about wars and terrible natural events.Such events might make people think that the world’s end was near. But Jesussaid that these troubles were only like the beginning of the new age. They arelike the pains that happen before a baby’s birth.

Jesus warns that people will suffer 24:9-14

v9 ‘Then people will hand you over to theauthorities’, Jesus continued. ‘They will punish you and they may kill you.People in every nation will hate you because you trust me. v10 At thattime many people will turn away from believing me. They will hand each otherover to their enemies and they will hate each other. v11 Many falseteachers will tell you lies about the future. They will make many people thinkthat they really have a message from God. v12 Because evil things willincrease, many people will stop loving me. v13 But God will save anyonewho believes him to the end. v14 *Disciples will teach people all overthe world about where God rules. They will tell this good news to people in allthe nations. Then the end will come.’

Jesus warns his *disciples about four things:

1. Verse 9 *Disciples must expect that people will hate them. The*disciples will suffer wherever they go to tell the good news. They will sufferbecause they belong to Christ. People will oppose them and they will attackthem. People will really hurt them and they may even kill them.

2. Verse 10 There will be confusion in society. People will stopbelieving God. They will not be able to trust each other, so they will helpeach other’s enemies.

3. Verse 11 False teachers will say that they are giving God’smessages. But they will only teach their own ideas, because they want to makethemselves important.

4. Verse 12 Many people will love God less and less. They willsee all the evil things that are happening in the world. And they will allowthose evil things to destroy the good in their lives. Then they will stopbelieving God.

Jesus made two important promises:

1. Verse 13 God will say, ‘Welcome!’ to people when they enterwhere he rules. But those people must believe him until the end of their lives(Revelation 2:10). ‘To the end’ may also mean until God has finished his workhere on earth. Some people will still be alive when Jesus returns.

2. Verse 14 The good news about where God rules will spreadthrough the whole world. *Disciples should share this good news in all nationsand then the world’s end will come.

People will suffer in Jerusalem 24:15-22

v15 Jesus continued to speak to them. ‘Long ago God’sspecial servant Daniel spoke about “the thing that people hate which destroyseverything. You will see it standing in the holy place”, he said. (The readershould understand what this means.) v16 You people live here in Judea.When you see this, you should escape to the mountains immediately. v17If anyone is outside their house at that time, they should not take time to goback inside. They should not take anything from the house. v18 If anyoneis in the field, they should not go home to get their coat. v19 In thosedays it will be terrible for women who are expecting babies! And it will beterrible for mothers who are feeding young babies! v20 Pray that youwill not have to escape in winter. And pray that you will not have to escape onGod’s rest day. v21 People will suffer terrible things in those days. Itwill be worse than anything that has ever happened before. And there will neverbe anything like it again. v22 If God does not make the time shorter,nobody will be alive afterwards. But God has decided to make the time shorter.That is because he pities the people that he has chosen.’

Verse 15 ‘The thing that people hate which destroys everything’is a description from Daniel 9:27. Everywhere people recognised that the*Temple was the *Jews’ most *holy place. So rulers who defeated the *Jews putsomething there to represent their own gods in God’s holy place.

‘The reader should understand what this means.’ Matthew probablywanted his readers to think about the reference from Daniel. It described adangerous situation. So, people should be prepared for a bad time like that.Foreign kings had tried to destroy the *Jewish religion. And by the time whenMatthew wrote, the *Romans were already fighting a war with the *Jews.

Verses 16-18 When the first signs of trouble come, people mustescape quickly. They must not spend time to try to collect any goods. They mustescape as fast as possible. Jesus advised them to escape to the mountains. Thiswas practical advice because the caves there could provide shelter for thepeople.

Eusebius, a writer, said that Christians left Jerusalem when the*Romans attacked it later. Christians crossed the River Jordan, and they foundsafety in a city called Pella. The *Jewish writer called Josephus describesother people’s actions. They thought that they would be safe. So they stayed inJerusalem because the city had strong walls. The *Jews believed that the*Temple would protect them. But Titus, the *Roman leader, camped outside thecity for five months. He waited for the people to starve and die.

Verse 19 When this happened, some women would be expectingbabies. Other women would have very small children. Jesus warned that it wouldbe terrible for them. Mothers would suffer when they could not feed theirchildren. Josephus said that people in Jerusalem were very hungry during the*Roman attack. One mother even killed her baby and ate it.

Verse 20 In the winter, it was difficult to travel. The weatherwas bad and the paths were muddy. The river would have filled with water.People could escape only slowly. And *Jews believed that they should travelonly a short distance on God’s rest day.

Verse 21 The *Jewish writer Josephus tells how terribly peoplesuffered in Jerusalem. Thousands of *Jews died while the *Romans were fightingthem. Their dead bodies were all still in Jerusalem when the *Romans enteredthe city. (This was 70 years after Christ was born. It happened in the year *AD70). And they hated the sight of all the dead bodies. Thousands more *Jewsbecame slaves when the *Romans took them as prisoners. The *Romans took manyprisoners to other countries.

Verse 22 God controls the events in the world. He does not want peopleto suffer for a long time. He will not allow anyone to destroy the people thathe has chosen. The *Jews were the people that he had chosen. So these words mayrefer to when the *Romans defeated the *Jews in Jerusalem. But Christians arethe people whom God has chosen also. So the words may refer to other times whenpeople suffer too. Many such bad times will happen before the world ends.

Jesus warns about false *Messiahs 24:23-28

Verses 23-24 In verse 5 and verse 11, Jesus warned the *disciplesabout false *Messiahs and false teachers who announce future events. Manypeople with false messages came and said that God had sent them. That wasbefore the *Romans defeated the *Jews in Jerusalem. Now Jesus is talking aboutevents that are further still in the future. One day, Jesus, also called theSon of Man, will return to this earth. He will return to earth with power andauthority. He will arrive like a king. But people will try to make Christiansbelieve wrong things about him. Before Jesus returns, false teachers and false*Messiahs will even perform ‘signs and *miracles’. False *Messiahs can bepeople who oppose Jesus the Christ. Sometimes they say that they areChristians. But they teach false things. Christians must be very careful. Theymust not believe false teachers.

Verse 25 Jesus told his *disciples about this so that they willbe prepared. They will be able to guard themselves against what is false.

Verse 26 They must not believe that Christ is out in the desertaway from people. But some Christians went there to avoid the evil things insociety. Christ is not hiding in the inner room in a house. There are nosecrets about him that only special people can discover.

Verse 27 Jesus, the *Son of Man, will come suddenly and with agreat light, exactly as a flash of lightning comes. People everywhere will beable to see him.

Verse 28 Vultures are big, black birds that eat dead things. Theyalways gather round a dead animal. They give clear evidence that a dead animalis there. This verse probably means that there will be clear evidence whenJesus returns. Nobody will miss him. Everyone will see him.

The *Son of Man will return 24:29-31

These verses describe how history will end. And how the *Son ofMan will come. The language is similar to words in the *Old Testament (Isaiah13:10; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:31; Zephaniah 1:14-15 and other verses). Theydescribe how God controls everything in human history.

Verse 29 The words in this verse come from Isaiah 13:10 andIsaiah 34:4. These signs refer to God’s judgement on *Babylon’s people atfirst, and on people from all the nations.

Verse 30 In Daniel 7:13-14, we read about when the *Son of Manwill come. He will come with great power and wonderful bright light. Jesus usedthese words about himself when he was answering the high *priest (Matthew26:64). Zechariah wrote about the *Jews. They would look at the man that theyhad killed. Then they would be sad (Zechariah 12:10).

Verse 31 *Trumpets are metal musical instruments that you blowinto. People used them to call everyone together. They also warned people aboutdanger. When God gave the *Law on *Mount Sinai, the people heard a loud*trumpet. And Jesus said that the loud *trumpet call would be part of thisevent too. The *Lord will come with a great pure light so that everyone giveshim honour. The *Old Testament speaks about a time when God will bring the*Jews together. He will bring them from all the places where he has scatteredthem. In the same way, the *Son of Man will send his servants from heaven withhis message. They will call Christians together from every part of the world.Then they will all be with him.

The lesson from a fruit tree 24:32-35

v32 ‘Learn a lesson from the *fig tree. When itsbranches become soft and green, the leaves appear. Then you know that summer isnear. v33 In the same way, you will see all these things happening. Thenyou will know that the time is near. God is ready to begin. v34 I amtelling you the truth. Some people who are living will not have died until allthis has happened. v35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words willnever disappear.’

Verse 32 Everybody who was listening to Jesus recognised thiscommon fruit tree. They were always glad to see the new leaves because summerwas surely coming.

Verses 32-34 These verses may be a warning about the time whenthe *Romans would defeat the *Jews in Jerusalem. This would happen in less than40 years. But Jesus had described different things in verses 29-31. In them, hereferred to the time just before he would return to earth at the world’s end.And he spoke about the signs that people will see when the world is ending.

Verse 34 Many of Jesus’ *disciples believed that Jesus wouldreturn to earth soon. They thought that they would still be alive then.Christians at Thessalonica did not continue with their normal work because theywere waiting for him. Paul had to correct their ideas. They should work in theusual way while they waited, he told them (2 Thessalonians 3:6). Jesus hadpromised his *disciples that he would return to them (John 14:18). This promisecame true when he lived again after he died. And it came true when the *HolySpirit came at *Pentecost. But Jesus will return to earth with power andwonderful light at some time in the future. The people who are still alive thenwill see that event.

Verse 35 Everything will end. The sky and the earth willdisappear because they are of no more use. But the authority of Jesus willnever change. He is always the same (Hebrews 2:17).

Jesus will return, so be ready 24:36-44

Verse 36 Some people try to work out when the world will end.Sometimes, people say that they know the actual date. Jesus said that the Sonwould return to earth with power and in that wonderful bright light. But hesaid that only God the Father knew when that would happen. Jesus was God’s Son.But as a human person, he did not know the date.

Verses 37-39 Jesus gave the example about the people who lived duringNoah’s time. While he was preparing the big boat, other people were livingordinary lives. Noah was prepared, but the other people were not prepared. Noahwas safe in the big boat, but the other people died in the flood.

Verses 40-41 Jesus explained that he would come and bringjudgement. One man who was at work would be ready for Jesus. The other manwould not be ready. Two women would be making flour. But only one woman wouldbe ready for Jesus. The other woman would not be ready.

Verses 42-44 The *Son of Man will return. People do not expect athief to come during the night. And people would not expect Jesus to return.Later, Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica. He repeated what Jesus hadsaid (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

The story about the wise and the wicked servants 24:45-51

v45 ‘Think about a loyal and wise servant. His masterhas put him in command of the other servants in his house. This chief servantshould give food to the other servants at the right time. v46 Theirmaster will return home later. If the chief servant is doing his work properly,then it will be very good for him. v47 I am telling you the truth. Themaster will make that servant head of everything that he owns. v48 Butsuppose the chief servant is wicked. Suppose he says to himself, “My master isstaying away a long time!” v49 So then he begins to beat the otherservants. And he eats and drinks with drunks. v50 The master will comeback one day when his servant is not expecting him. He will return. But theservant does not know the time when he will return. v51 Then his masterwill cut that servant into pieces. He will send him to join other bad servants.They only pretended to serve their master. In that place they will weep andbite their teeth together in pain.’

Verses 45-47 The servant did his work well while his master wasabsent. The master rewarded him with more responsibility. Christ wants hisservants to be loyal like that. They should work for Christ until he returns.

Verses 48-51 This servant thought only about his own happiness.He did not care about the other servants or about his master. But his masterwould give him a severe punishment when he returned. In the end, the servantwould join those who only pretended to serve the master. This is a picture ofpeople who only pretend to live good lives. But they do not please God. ‘Weepand bite their teeth together in pain’ was a way to say ‘They were sad and theyregretted past actions.’

The story about the ten young women 25:1-13

Verse 1 The young women would be waiting with the bride. Thebridegroom would come to fetch his bride. He would take her to their new home.In the *Old Testament, the writers often call God the ‘husband’ or the‘bridegroom’. Israel’s whole nation is called the ‘wife’ or the ‘bride’ (Hosea2:16; Isaiah 62:5). In the *New Testament, the whole *church is called Christ’sbride (Ephesians 5:23).

Verse 5 The bridegroom did not come for a long time. Christiansthought at first that Christ would return very soon. But Jesus still has notcome back to earth. He has not yet claimed his bride, which is the *church.

Verses 2-13 This story warns us that Jesus will return. Peoplehave the opportunity to be ready for him. He is the bridegroom. The wise girlshad prepared their lamps for the bridegroom, so they were ready. However, allthe girls went to sleep.

The foolish girls could not get any more oil. Perhaps this showsthat people must have their own relationship with God. They cannot depend onthe experience that other people have. In the Bible, oil is sometimes picturelanguage for the *Holy Spirit. People must have their lamps burning well. Thatmeans that they have prepared themselves (Luke 12:35-36). *Disciples mustalways be ready to give a welcome to Jesus.

Once a wedding meal began, they shut the door. Nobody else couldenter the room. So this story warns us that someone can be too late.

The story about three servants 25:14-30

Verses 14-15 The master gave out very large sums of money. Eachservant had as much as he could work with.

Verses 16-17 Two servants used their money wisely. The story doesnot tell us how they used the money. But they were able to increase the amount.

Verse 18 In those days, it was difficult to look after somethingthat was valuable. People would hide the object in the ground.

Verses 19-23 The master praised the two servants in the same way.As a reward, they received greater responsibility. To ‘be happy’ with theirmaster may refer to a special meal with him. The *Jews often thought about the*Messiah’s special meal.

Verses 24-27 The servant with one thousand coins tried to makeexcuses because he had not worked with the money. He even insulted his master.So the master called him ‘wicked and lazy’. Sometimes people do something thatis wrong. At other times, people do not do what is right. But this is wrongtoo. ‘We all know the good things that we ought to do. If we do not do them, weare *sinning’ (James 4:17).

Verses 28-30 People should use what God gives to them. They willfind that these gifts increase. But people will lose their gifts andopportunities if they fail to use them. This happens all through life. But oneday God will judge people and how they have used their gifts. The punishmentwill be the same as the punishment of the bad servants in these stories. (Seeverse 30 at the end of this story, and Matthew 24:51 at the end of the previousstory about the servants.)

The story about the sheep and the goats 25:31-46

Verses 31-33 In Israel, sheep and goats mixed together. Theylooked very similar. The man who looked after them sometimes needed to separatethem.

Verses 34-40 The ‘*Son of Man’ is the King. So Jesus is the King.At the end of time, Jesus will be the judge. He knows the way that people havebehaved here on earth. Some people may not seem very important. But everyoneshould be willing to help such people, even in small ways. If you want to helpthe King himself, then you should help poor people. Some people had acted inthe right way. They did not realise that they were helping the King.

Verses 40 and 45 ‘These least important people that belong tome’. Jesus was probably referring to the people who were present. The peoplewho follow the *Son of Man are with him as he judges. Paul wrote ‘Surely youknow that the saints will judge the world’ (1 Corinthians 6:2). The saints arepeople who believe Christ and have a relationship with him.

Verses 41-45 Those people by his left side were astonished whenthe king blamed them. They had not noticed the people who needed help. So theyhad failed to help the king himself.

Verse 46 ‘live with God for ever’ refers to the future age. So‘punishment that will never end’ means that people cannot share that life withGod. The ‘fire that burns for ever’ (verse 41) probably refers to Gehenna. Thatwas a valley outside Jerusalem where people threw all their rubbish. Fires wereburning there all the time. Jesus used this picture to compare life with Godand life without God in hell.

This story increases the Christians’ sense of responsibility.They should serve people who need help. But it also shows that it is good toserve other people. The story does not mean that a person’s good actions willsave them. God saves a person who believes him. Because of his great kindness,he saves people who trust him. We cannot earn a place in heaven by what we do.But we must show that we really believe him. If we love people, then we areobeying God (James 2:14-26).

Thesecret arrest

The *trialbefore the authorities

His death

How he livedagain after death

Plans to kill Jesus 26:1-5

Verse 1 The story about the sheep and the goats ended the lastteaching section in Matthew’s *gospel. Each section finished with similarwords. (See Matthew 7:28; 13:53; 19:1.)

Verse 2 Jesus warned his *disciples again. He said that he woulddie during the *Passover. The *Jews kept this important ceremony each year.During the ceremony, they remembered how God had rescued their people fromEgypt long ago.

Verses 3-5 The *Romans controlled the *Jews, so they appointedthe chief *priest. The *priest called Caiaphas was chief *priest for 18 years.This was a long time that he remained friends with the *Roman rulers. SoCaiaphas must have been very skilled while he worked with them. He would havelost his job if there was any form of trouble in the city. There were thousandsof *Jews in Jerusalem for the *Passover ceremony. And many came from Galilee,where Jesus was popular. So Caiaphas decided to wait. They could arrest Jesuslater when it would cause less trouble.

A woman poured *perfume on Jesus at Bethany 26:6-13

Verse 6 Simon would not have been with other people if he actuallyhad a skin disease at that time. Perhaps he used to have a skin disease and hehad recovered. Maybe Jesus had healed him. Or he may have become ill later, butbefore Matthew wrote this.

Verses 7-9 The woman’s expensive gift showed how much she lovedJesus. The *disciples could not understand this.

Verses 10-11 Jesus used words from Deuteronomy 15:11. There wouldalways be poor people and they could be generous to such people. But Jesuswould not always be with them. The woman had used this opportunity. She hadshown that she loved Jesus in this special way. Sometimes there are manyopportunities to do something good. But sometimes there is only oneopportunity.

Verse 12 Jesus was called the *Messiah, which means that God hadchosen him for this special job. When God chose someone in Israel, their customwas to pour oil or *perfume on that person’s head. God sent Samuel to do thisfor king David long ago (1 Samuel 16:1-13) and for other men. This was called‘anointing’ a person. Nobody had ‘anointed’ Jesus during his life. This womanhad shown by her action that he was the *Messiah. Jesus said that she had‘anointed’ his body. She had done this even before he died. Usually women‘anointed’ a dead body by rubbing it with special *perfumes. Some women wantedto do this for Jesus after he died. So they went to the place where the men hadburied him. But they could not ‘anoint’ Jesus’ body because Jesus had alreadycome back to life (Mark 16:1-6: Luke 24:1-3).

Verse 13 Jesus knew that Christians would tell the good newsabout him everywhere in the world. What the woman had done for him was part ofthe good news. She had shown that Jesus was the *Messiah. He was a king whowould die. People would always remember her action. They would remember howmuch she loved Jesus.

Judas plans to hand over Jesus to his enemies 26:14-16

v14 Then one of the 12 *disciples went to the chief*priests. That *disciple’s name was Judas Iscariot. v15 ‘What will yougive me if I hand over Jesus to you?’ he asked them. So they counted out 30silver coins and they gave the coins to him. v16 After that, Judaswatched for the right time, so that he could hand over Jesus to them.

Verse 14 Judas and the *priests made a plan. Their actionscontrast with the woman who ‘anointed’ Jesus (see note about verse 12). Sheacted because she loved Jesus. They acted because they hated Jesus. Judasbelonged to the 12 *disciples. Jesus had taught Judas for three years. AndJesus had trusted him as a friend. This emphasises how wicked Judas’s action was.He was not loyal to Jesus. Judas knew where Jesus went to get away from thecrowds. So he went to tell the *priests where they could arrest Jesus. Nobodyknows why Judas agreed to help the *priests. Some possible reasons for hisaction are:

· He was greedy to get more money. John says thatJudas looked after the *apostles’ money. He used to steal small amounts forhimself (John 12:6). He may have expected more than the 30 silver coins. Heasked how the *priests would reward him (verse 15).

· His name ‘Iscariot’ may mean that he was a ‘manfrom Kerioth’. The village called Kerioth was in the Judea region. The other*disciples came from the Galilee region. Perhaps Judas thought that he was moreimportant than them. Perhaps he thought that he deserved special honour. ButJesus had not given him that honour. Instead, Peter, James and John had beenwith Jesus on some special occasions.

· He may have been a secret member of the ‘Zealots’.They were a *Jewish group who wanted to free the nation from the *Roman rulers.And they were prepared to use force. Perhaps Judas thought that Jesus wouldbecome a political king or ruler on earth. Judas wanted to be important. He mayhave hoped that he would have an important position in Jesus’ government. Butthen he saw that Jesus did not intend to make himself king. So Judas would havebeen disappointed. Perhaps that was why he turned against Jesus. Or he may havewanted to force Jesus to show his power. He thought that he knew what Jesusshould do.

· Judas realised that Jesus would soon be in serioustrouble. He wanted to protect himself, so he helped the *priests.

Verse 15 A slave cost 30 pieces of silver (Exodus 21:32). Thatwas also the amount that they paid to God’s special servant (Zechariah 11:12).He worked for God and looked after Israel’s people. But they only paid him 30pieces of silver as an insult.

Preparations for the *Passover meal 26:17-19

Verse 17 The ceremony when they ate bread without *yeast’ is alsocalled the ‘*feast of *unleavened bread’. It reminded the *Jews about the past.Long ago, their people had escaped from the country called Egypt. God hadrescued them, but they had to leave very quickly. So they had no time to makeproper bread with *yeast in it (Exodus 12:17-20). Usually they put *yeast inthe mixture to make it grow. On the first day of the *Passover ceremony, the*Jews removed all the *yeast from their houses.

Verse 18 Jesus had made plans already. Matthew speaks only of a‘certain man’. He does not give the details. Mark and Luke write about a manwho was carrying a jar of water (Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10). But Matthew includesan important detail. Jesus said, ‘My time is near.’ In the *Greek language,there are two different words for ‘time’. ‘Chronos’ refers to the hours, daysand years. ‘Kairos’ means the special time when something important happens.Jesus used ‘kairos’ because the special time had come for him. It was right forhim to end his work on earth.

Verse 19 The *disciples had to obtain everything necessary forthe meal. They needed the special leaves that tasted unpleasant. The *Jews hadsuffered as slaves in Egypt and these leaves reminded them about this. They hadto make a mixture of fruit and nuts to remind them about the ground in Egypt.The *Jewish slaves had made bricks for their masters from the mud there. The*disciples also had to provide wine. They had to fill four cups and pass themround during the meal. They had to eat a young sheep for the main part of the*Passover meal.

Jesus says that someone will hand him over to his enemies 26:20-25

Verses 20-21 To share a meal was a mark of friendship. To handover a friend to their enemies is especially wicked. Jesus probably rememberedthe words in Psalm 41:9. ‘Even my close friend has turned against me. He was theman that I trusted. He shared my food.’

Verse 22 The *disciples could not believe that one of them wouldhand over Jesus like this. Nobody suspected that Judas would do such a thing.Their question to Jesus meant, ‘I cannot believe that I would hand you over tothe enemy!’

Verse 23 There was a dish that contained the mixture of fruit andnuts. People usually put their bread into it to eat it.

Verses 24-25 Jesus’ words were a last appeal to Judas to changehis decision. Jesus also warned them about the terrible fate that was waitingfor his enemies. That fate would also happen to the person who handed him overto them. Jesus could have stopped Judas. The other *disciples would have helpedhim at once, if they had known about Judas. But Jesus knew that his death wasin God’s plan. At the same time, Judas was responsible for his own actions. Goddid not force him to help Jesus’ enemies. Jesus knew what Judas had planned.But Judas was free to make his own decisions. To know that something willhappen does not make it happen.

Judas asked the same question as the other *disciples askedJesus. They would have noticed if he had said nothing. Jesus did not allow theother *disciples to suspect Judas. So Jesus probably replied quietly, so thatonly Judas could hear.

The *Lord’s Supper 26:26-30

Verse 26 The head of a family thanked God before a meal. Jesuswould probably have said the same prayer. ‘Thank you, *Lord our God. You areKing of the world, and you bring food from the earth.’ Jesus broke the bread inpieces and called it his body. This was a picture way to tell them about hisdeath. He was telling them that he was going to die for them. He told them totake the bread. They must eat it. This showed that they accepted God’sagreement. They were free to do so. God would forgive their *sins because Jesusdied.

Verse 27 They used four cups of wine at the *Passover meal. Thesedrinks reminded the *Jews about the promises that God had made long ago. He hadpromised to rescue them from the country called Egypt. And he promised to makethem his special people (Exodus 6:6-7). Jesus probably spoke at the time of thelast cup of wine because they drank it at the end. Paul also wrote about thisin 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. He said that Jesus took the cup ‘after supper’.‘All’ the *disciples had to drink from the same cup of wine. That was to showtheir unity.

Verse 28 Jesus said that the wine represented his blood. Itpoured out from his body when he was on the *cross. The relationship betweenGod and Israel’s people depended on how much they obeyed God’s *Law (Exodus24:3-8). But Israel’s people had broken that relationship. Jeremiah spoke abouta new agreement (Jeremiah 31:31-34). An animal’s blood represented ‘the oldagreement’. When Jesus gave his life, he represented the new agreement. He madeit possible for God to forgive people’s *sins. And that mends their relationshipwith God. Then people want to obey God. They realise how much he loves them.The old agreement had been just between God and the *Jews. The new agreement isfor ‘many’ people.

The Christian *Church has always remembered what Jesus did atthis special supper. They use bread and wine too. Different churches call itdifferent names like: the *Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, Holy Communion, theBreaking of Bread.

Verse 29 Jesus spoke about his death. But he knew that it was notthe end. He spoke about the time when he would drink wine with his *disciplesin the future. That would be where his Father rules. He knew that he would cometo life again. At the *Passover, *Jews thanked God that he had made wine. SoJesus was using the picture language about the *Messiah’s special meal.

Verse 30 This song was one of the Psalms that they sang atspecial events. It may have been Psalm 118. Then they ‘went out’ from their*worship. They went outside the city to the hill where *olive trees grew. Thiswas called the Mount of Olives. Jesus knew that he would soon be suffering.

Jesus warned Peter 26:31-35

Verse 31 Jesus knew how easily the *disciples would lose theircourage. They would say that they did not know him. He had looked after themcarefully exactly as if they were his sheep. A man who looks after sheep iscalled a ‘shepherd’. When he is not there, the sheep scatter. Jesus used thissheep and shepherd picture from Zechariah (Zechariah 13:7).

Verse 32 Jesus was confident because he knew the future. He woulddie, but he would become alive again. He said that he would go ‘ahead’ of them.A ‘shepherd’ in that country always walked in front of his sheep. Matthewrecords that Jesus met his *disciples later in the Galilee region (Matthew28:10, 16). They were still his ‘sheep’, even after they had failed him.

Verses 33-35 Peter believed that he was strong like a rock. Hewas confident that he would always remain loyal to Jesus. It was easy to saythat he would die with Jesus. But when it became a really dangerous situation,he was afraid. The male chicken calls very early in the morning. But this‘chicken’ might refer to the *Roman soldiers’ *trumpet call. It sounded at theend of the third period while they were on guard during the night. That was at3 o’clock in the morning. Before the night was over, Peter would have brokenhis promise. The other *disciples agreed with Peter that they would not runaway from Jesus.

Jesus’ prayer 26:36-46

Verse 36 Gethsemane was a place on the hill called the Mount ofOlives. The name Gethsemane means that there was special equipment there. Itwas a place where they squeezed the oil from the *olive fruit. John said thatJesus often went there with his *disciples (John 18:2).

Verses 37-39 Jesus took his three closest friends with him. Heknew that he must die. When they fixed people on a *cross with nails, theycaused the person to suffer in terrible ways. Jesus’ body will hurt. But hewill suffer in other ways. In the *Old Testament, the *prophets wrote aboutGod’s judgement ‘cup’ as punishment for *sin (Isaiah 51:17). As the *Messiah,Jesus was the ‘Servant who Suffered’. Jesus knew the words in Isaiah chapter53. There the servant suffered and died because other people *sinned. Jesus haddeep mental pain. He knew that he would carry the responsibility for otherpeople’s *sins. He was the only person who never *sinned. But he knew that hewould be responsible for everyone’s *sin. That caused his great mentalstruggle. But he was willing to die in this painful way in order to do what hisFather wanted.

Verses 40-41 Jesus’ warned them that there was going to be atest. He was thinking especially about Peter. The only way to be strong was topray. Jesus knew that they were willing to help him. But they were very tired.So they had not been able to control their desire to sleep.

Verses 42-45 Jesus was disappointed three times that his friendshad not stayed awake with him. And they had not prayed for him or forthemselves. Later that night, Peter denied that he knew Jesus three times.Perhaps he remembered the three times that he had not prayed for strength.

‘The time has come now’ meant that the special time had arrived.Jesus would complete his work for his Father. He knew that Judas was coming.And Judas was going to hand over Jesus to his enemies.

The men arrest Jesus 26:47-56

Verse 47 Matthew identifies Judas as ‘one of the 12 *disciples’.This again emphasises how wicked Judas was. He handed Jesus over to hisenemies. But the *religious leaders expected that Jesus would fight. Theythought that his *disciples might defend him. So they had sent their soldiersready to fight them. People were saying that Jesus was the *Messiah. So theleaders were afraid that he might try to establish himself as a political kingby force.

Verses 48-50 Judas had arranged to kiss Jesus. Then the soldierswould know who was the right person. Then they could arrest him. It wasprobably dark among the *olive trees. So it was difficult to identify Jesus.Judas did not appear at Jesus’ *trial, and soon after this he killed himself.

Verses 51-52 John tells us more details (John 18:10-11). It wasPeter who attacked the servant. The servant was Malchus, and the high *priestwas Caiaphas. Luke tells us also that Jesus healed the servant’s ear (Luke22:51). Jesus did not want his *disciples to defend him. It was not like a war.That only leads to more war. Jesus had chosen to show how much he loved people.

Verses 53-54 In the *Old Testament *scriptures, God spoke abouthis purpose. Jesus knew that it must come true. He spoke about God’s specialservants from long ago (also verse 56) whose words must come true. He couldhave asked God for thousands of his *messengers to protect him. But in Gethsemane,he had accepted his Father’s purpose for him.

Verses 55-56 Jesus said that they could have arrested him on anyday in the *Temple. He had been teaching there every day. But they had comesecretly when it was dark. And they came ready to fight. He told them that hewas not a criminal like the Zealots. (The Zealots were *Jews. They wanted touse force to remove the *Romans from their country. Their actions caused war.)The *disciples had all said that they would remain loyal to Jesus (verse 35).But Jesus’ words of warning came true (verse 31). The *disciples all ran away.

They took Jesus to Caiaphas 26:57-68

Verse 57 The *Jewish government was called the ‘Sanhedrin’. Thatwas the chief *Jewish court and it had the power to deal with *religiousmatters. But the court broke many of the rules when they made their judgementthat night. They were meeting in the high *priest’s house, but they should havebeen meeting in a special hall in the *Temple. It was night and an official*trial should not have happened at night.

Verse 58 Peter had the courage to follow. He wanted to know whatwould happen to Jesus. Peter did not realise that he was in a dangerous place.It would be very hard for him to admit that he was one of Jesus’ *disciples.

Verse 60 The witnesses told lies about Jesus. But they did notagree because they all told different lies. And the law said that one witnesscould not make a person guilty by himself. Two or three witnesses had to agreewith each other in every detail (Deuteronomy 17:6).

Verses 60-61 Finally, two witnesses accused Jesus about a seriouscrime. Jesus had warned the people that someone would destroy the *Temple(Matthew 24:1-2). Also he had spoken to the *Pharisees. ‘Something greater thanthe *Temple is here’, he had said (Matthew 12:6). The *Jews did not understandwhat he meant. ‘Destroy this *temple and in three days I will build it upagain’, he had said (John 2:19-22). Jesus had said ‘*temple’, but he wasreferring to his own body. The *Jews could kill his body, but he would comealive again. The *Jews thought that he meant to do a wicked thing. They thoughtthat he would destroy their *Temple.

Verses 62-63 Jesus did not answer the high *priest’s question. Heknew that no reply would be of any use. The *Sanhedrin had decided to kill him.Long ago Isaiah had written a poem about God’s special servant:

‘A sheep makesno sound when people are cutting its wool.

So he did notopen his mouth’ (Isaiah 53:7).

Jesus was God’s special servant and he was like the sheep.

Verse 63 The high *priest was guilty because he broke their lawagain. He should not have ordered Jesus to answer while God was watching. Thisis called ‘under oath’. Jesus told them the truth. But they said that he wasguilty.

Verse 64 Jesus agreed that he was the *Messiah. He used the name‘*Son of Man’ when he referred to himself. Then he used words about hisimportant position. He would be with God, who is powerful. He would sit atGod’s right side. This is the place that has honour. He said that he would comein the clouds and with power. He was using words from Psalm 110:1 and fromDaniel 7:13 to refer to himself. Jesus knew that the *Jewish authorities couldjudge him now. But in the future, he would have the power to judge them.

Verse 65 The high *priest chose to describe Jesus’ words as ‘evilwords against God’, which are also called ‘blasphemy’. Then the high *priesttore his clothes. This showed that he was both angry and sad. He thought thatJesus had insulted God.

Verses 66 They said that Jesus was guilty. But they should havewaited until the next day before they gave their decision. Again, they did notbehave in the correct legal way towards Jesus.

Verses 67-68 Mark tells us that they covered Jesus’ eyes. So hecould not see when they hit him (Mark 14:65). Then they asked him, ‘Who hityou?’ He had said that he was God’s special servant. So he should know theanswer, they thought.

Peter denies Jesus 26:69-75

The record about Peter’s failure is in all four *gospels.Matthew’s account is very similar to Mark’s account. But Mark’s *gospel haseven more details (Mark 14:66-72). Many people think that Mark wrote what Petertold him. So Peter was honest about his failure.

Verses 69-70 Peter had the courage to follow Jesus into the yardof the high *priest’s house. But the servant girl said that he was with Jesusfrom Galilee. Then Peter lost his courage. The girl may not have been accusingPeter. She may have just been curious about him. But Peter told his first lieand he denied his master.

Verses 71-72 He did not leave the yard, but moved away to thegate. Perhaps he thought that people would not notice him there so much. Hetold his second lie with the knowledge that God was watching him. He might havesaid ‘by heaven’ or ‘by the *Temple’ to support his answer (Matthew 5:34-37).

Verses 73-74 The people who lived in the *Judea region spoke witha particular accent. The people who came from the Galilee region spoke with adifferent accent. So Peter’s accent showed that he came from Galilee. Jesuscame from Galilee too. When they asked him for a third time, Peter was veryafraid. So he asked God to punish him if he was lying.

Verse 75 The bird cried out or the *Roman *trumpet sounded. ThenPeter remembered what Jesus had said to him. His tears showed that he was verysad. He had said that he did not know his close friend and master.

This incident warns us how easy it is to fail to be loyal toJesus. Peter may have told it to show that even a close *disciple can fail. ButPeter was very sorry. And Jesus promises to forgive everyone who is reallysorry. So this incident is a promise too.

Judas kills himself 27:1-10

Verses 1-2 The *Jewish government (called the Sanhedrin) had thepower to decide *religious matters. But the *Romans did not allow them to killanyone as punishment. Only the *Roman ruler could decide to do that. The nameof the *Roman ruler was Pontius Pilate. He ruled the *Judea region from theyear *AD 26 to *AD 36. He ruled from the town called Caesarea. But he had cometo Jerusalem city with his soldiers for the *Passover. Crowds of *Jews were inJerusalem city at *Passover time. They remembered how Moses had led theirpeople out from Egypt long ago. Moses led them to freedom. These crowds couldeasily cause trouble for their *Roman rulers. They might even attack them toget freedom again. The soldiers were there to prevent such an attack.

Verses 3-4 Judas saw that the *priests had handed over Jesus toPilate. Then Judas realised how serious his action had been. He tried to returnthe 30 silver coins to the *priests that had paid him. But they did not carethat he was sorry now.

Verse 5 Only Matthew records that Judas killed himself. But Acts1:18-19 says that he bought a field with the money. And he died because he fellin the field. Both Matthew and in Acts they say that people called the field‘Akeldama’. That means the ‘Field of Blood’. They had paid the money as theprice of a man’s life. Also, Judas died there.

Verses 6-8 The *priests were guilty because they acted againstthe law. They did not worry about that. But they thought that it was wrong touse the money in the *Temple funds. So they used it to buy a field for a goodpurpose. This field was for foreigners to bury their dead people.

Verses 9-10 Matthew used a verse from Zechariah 11:13. There,God’s special servant’s wages were only 30 pieces of silver. So he threw themto the man who made earth pots in God’s house. This was a picture of what wouldhappen later. Matthew said that this had come true. Judas’ wages had bought thefield from the man who made pots. Matthew says that these were Jeremiah’swords. Perhaps this is because Zechariah’s book was in the same bigger *scrollas Jeremiah’s book. The Jews called this big *scroll ‘Jeremiah’.

Pilate questions Jesus 27:11-14

Verse 11 The *Sanhedrin had to accuse Jesus of a political crime.They had accused Jesus of ‘speaking evil words against God’. But they knew thatPilate did not care about that. So they said that Jesus had caused trouble forthe *Romans. He said that he was the *Jews’ *Messiah, a king (Luke 23:1-2). But*Roman law did not allow the *Jews to have a king. Pilate’s question to Jesusemphasised the word ‘you’. ‘Are you the king of the *Jews?’ He could notbelieve that Jesus was a king. Jesus did not look like someone who was tryingto win political power. Pilate realised that the *Jewish authorities hatedJesus. They had accused him to a *Roman ruler. Jesus replied that he was aking. But ‘what you say’ depended on how Pilate understood the word ‘king’.Jesus was not trying to rule a territory. He was a king. But he wanted to rulethe people’s hearts because he loved them.

Verses 12-14 Most people would protest that they were innocent.Especially if the soldiers might fix them on a *cross to die. So it astonishedPilate that Jesus remained silent. *Roman law said that a person who refused toanswer was guilty. The chief *priests wanted Jesus to die. They wanted Pilateto order his soldiers to kill him on a *cross. So Jesus knew that a reply tothem was no use at all. He was also aware of what God wanted. He knew that hewas obeying God, his Father.

Pilate offers the choice between Jesus and Barabbas 27:15-26

Verses 16-17 Pilate thought that he could escape from hisproblem. It was the custom to free one prisoner as a sign of *Roman kindness.He would offer a choice to the crowd. Barabbas was in prison because he hadattacked the *Romans. He had murdered people during the attack. But the *Jewishpeople probably thought that he was a hero. He had opposed the *Romans.Barabbas means ‘a father’s son’, so he may have come from a good family.Perhaps not to use the father’s name protected the family from their son’swrong actions. Or his character may have been similar to his father’scharacter. Jesus was the ‘the Father’s Son’. He was like his Father because heloved other people. Some writers record Barabbas’s first name as ‘Jesus’. Otherwriters may have left the name out on purpose.

Verses 17-18 So Pilate offered the choice between Jesus andBarabbas. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. He should have freed him atonce, but he was afraid of the *Jewish people. They had complained to hissuperior officers about his actions several times:

1. When he first went to the *Judea region, he brought the *Romanflags into Jerusalem. But they had the image of the great king in Rome on them.The *Romans considered their king to be a god. So this was against what the*Jews believed. Pilate had to remove the flags. The *Jews were prepared to dierather than to allow pictures of any other god in their city.

2. Pilate improved the water supply to Jerusalem. But he usedmoney that the *Jews had given for the *Temple.

3. He had ordered his soldiers to kill some people from Galileein the *Temple (Luke 13:1-4). It was against *Jewish *Law for foreigners toenter the *Temple. It was also against the *Law to kill people like that,especially in that holy place.

4. Pilate wanted to free Jesus. But the *Jews accused him of notbeing loyal to Caesar, the great king (John 19:12).

Verse 19 Pilate’s wife may have come from an important family.She may have been interested in what the *Jews believed. She may even haveheard Jesus when he was teaching. *Romans believed that dreams could warnpeople about bad events. So Pilate may have tried to persuade the crowd evenmore when he received her message. He may have thought that the people reallywould choose Jesus.

Verses 20-23 A crowd can be dangerous. Someone can easilyencourage them to cause trouble. The *priests and other *Jewish leaders mayhave found ways to make the crowd excited. Some of Barabbas’s friends couldhave been in the crowd to cause trouble. Some people would have supportedanyone who opposed the *Romans.

Verses 24-25 It was a *Jewish custom for someone to wash hishands in that way. It showed that he was not responsible for a crime or for a*sin. And the *Jews said that they would accept responsibility for Jesus’death. They and their children did suffer because they had refused to acceptJesus. The *Romans attacked Jerusalem city and destroyed it in the year *AD 70.Since that time, some people have said that all *Jews are responsible forJesus’ death. Because of this, some people have been cruel to the *Jews. Andthey have been glad when *Jews suffer. But it is wrong to blame only the *Jews.The *sins of every person caused Jesus’ death. So, all people everywhere sharethe responsibility.

Verse 26 Pilate wanted to protect his job. So he freed the guiltyman called Barabbas. And he ordered his soldiers to kill Jesus. They beat himbefore they fixed him on the *cross with the nails. It was a terriblepunishment. They made the whips from long pieces of leather and they tiedpieces of sharp bone or metal to them. The men in the prison suffered terribleinjuries from these whips. Even strong men went mad sometimes. Some men evendied before the soldiers could fix them to a *cross.

The soldiers insulted Jesus 27:27-31

v27 Then the *Roman ruler’s soldiers took Jesus intothe ruler’s palace. All the rest of the soldiers gathered round him as well. v28They took off his clothes and put a bright red coat on him. v29 Thenthey wound *thorns together to make a crown. They placed the crown on his head,and they put a stick in his right hand. Then they bent down on their knees infront of him and they laughed at him. ‘Welcome, king of the *Jews!’ they said. v30They *spat on him. They took the stick and they hit him on the head many times.v31 After they had finished laughing at him, they took off the coat.They put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to fix him on a*cross.

Verse 27 The soldiers who belonged to Pilate lived in the ruler’spalace with him.

Verses 28-29 The *Jews had accused Jesus of being a king. Thesoldiers knew that, so they laughed at him. They pretended to give him honouras a king. A soldier wore a red coat that looked like the king’s clothes. Sothey put a red coat on Jesus. They made the crown from ‘*thorns’, which werethe very sharp small branches of a tree. The *Roman rulers wore crowns. Perhapsthe soldiers wanted their crown to look like the *Roman crown. The pictures on*Roman coins show crowns. They had beams of light like the sun. Instead oflight, Jesus’ crown had sharp *thorns which hurt him. The stick looked like thespecial stick that a king carried. It showed that he had authority. Thesoldiers would have given a welcome to the great king in Rome. So theypretended to give Jesus a welcome in the same way. People bent down on theirknees to show respect to important officials. The soldiers knew that the *Jewsdid not have a king. So they insulted and joked about both Jesus and the *Jews.

Verse 30 Then the soldiers became more cruel. They *spat at Jesusand they hit him with the stick.

They kill Jesus on a *cross 27:32-44

Verse 32 Jesus was on his way to die on a *cross. So he had tocarry the *cross himself. Jesus had spent the night with the *Jewish leadersand then with Pilate. The soldiers had beaten him so much that his back wasvery painful. For these reasons, he was too weak to continue to carry his*cross. So the soldiers forced Simon to carry it for him. Simon was aforeigner. He came from Cyrene, which is in North Africa. Mark tells us thatSimon was the father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21).

Paul mentions someone called Rufus in Romans 6:13. This may bethe same person as Simon’s son. So, in later years, people in Rome may haveknown these men who had become Christians after Jesus died. And Simon may bethe same person as Simon Niger that Luke mentions in Acts 13:1. He had seenJesus die. So perhaps he had become a Christian then. He was a leader in thechurch at Antioch.

Verse 34 Some women in Jerusalem provided a drink for the men whowere going to die. It was wine that contained a drug. It would make the pain alittle less terrible. They offered it to a person before the soldiers fixed himto a *cross with nails. But Jesus refused it. He wanted to be aware of what washappening to the very end. He needed to show how much he loved other people.

Verses 35-36 The soldiers kept the dying men’s clothes. Matthew’sreaders would remember the words in Psalm 22:18, ‘They shared my clothes amongthem. They played a game to win my clothes.’ The soldiers had to stay there toguard the *cross. They waited until the person on the *cross had died. Theyprevented any friends from trying to rescue him from the *cross.

Verse 37 The notice over Jesus’ *cross said, ‘This is Jesus, theKing of the *Jews.’ The *priests complained to Pilate about this. They wantedto change the words. They did not like, ‘the King of the *Jews’. Instead, theywanted the words, ‘He said that he was the King of the *Jews’ (John 19:21-22).Pilate refused to change the words. So the sign remained, and it showed thetruth. Jesus was really a king. The *Jews were his own people, although theyhad refused to accept him.

Verse 38 Jesus had always been a friend to *sinners. Now he waswith two *sinners, two criminals. This made the words of Isaiah come true. Hehad said that God’s Suffering Servant would be among those who were criminals(Isaiah 53:12). James and John had asked for places of honour next to Jesus(Matthew 20:20-23). Now the thieves were in those places, but nobody gavehonour to those thieves.

Verses 39-44 record the different ways in which people insultedJesus. The cruel insults show how wicked people can be. But they also show whatwas true about Jesus.

1. Verses 39-40 The people who were passing by accused him. Hehad said that people would destroy the *temple. They thought that he himselfwould destroy the *Temple. And he had said that he could build it again. If hecould do that, he could certainly save himself, they said. If he was the Son ofGod, he could come down from the *cross. Their insults remind readers aboutPsalm 22:7-8. But Jesus was really God’s Son. He talked about his body as the*temple. And he would build it again after the *Jews had destroyed it. They didnot understand what he meant. He built his body again when he became aliveagain.

2. Verses 41-43 The *religious leaders spoke the truth, but theydid not believe it. ‘He saved other people’, they said. Jesus had rescuedpeople from disease, from *sin and from death. They also said that Jesus couldnot save himself, which was not true. Jesus could have saved himself, but herefused to do that. It was because of his painful death that he was able to saveother people. The *priests said that a *miracle would make them believe him.They would even believe that he was the *Messiah. Because Jesus did not comedown from the *cross, those important people threw away their opportunity tobelieve him. But many people have believed him since then and have becomeChristians. Jesus suffered. But this showed how much God loves everyone.

3. Verse 44 The two criminals next to Jesus also insulted him.Luke records that one man changed. He asked Jesus to remember him later. Hebelieved that Jesus was the King (Luke 23:39-43). So even when Jesus wassuffering painfully, he cared about the people with him. He promised a believerlife for ever with him. So he separated the believer from someone who refusedto accept him.

Jesus dies 27:45-56

Verse 45 The darkness may have had a natural cause. It may havebeen a sudden dust storm. But it could not have been the moon hiding the sun.That could not happen at *Passover time because there was a full moon at night.In the *Old Testament, darkness was a sign to show God’s judgement. In Egypt,the ruler would not let the *Israelites leave his country. There was darknessfor three days (Exodus 10:22). Amos also wrote about God’s judgement. ‘At thattime I will make the sun go down at noon. The earth will become dark in themiddle of the day’, (Amos 8:9).

Jesus had said that he was the Light of the World (John 8:12).The darkness was a sign of God’s judgement because people *sinned. So Jesus hadtaken our place. Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 5:21.‘Christ never *sinned. But for our benefit, God punished him as if he had*sinned’, Paul wrote.

Verses 46-49 Jesus cried out from the *cross in Aramaic. (Thiswas the language that his family spoke.) He was saying the first verse of Psalm22. Jesus had lost the sense that God was with him. He still said ‘my’ God. Buthe felt completely alone and in despair. Jesus understands every emotion thatpeople feel. His *disciples had run away and left him alone. Now he felt thatGod was not with him any more. The people who heard Jesus’ words did notunderstand them. The *Jews thought that he was calling Elijah. They believedthat God’s servant from long ago would come to them. He would come to helppeople in trouble. The *Roman soldiers may have thought that he was calling outto the sun god, called Helios. Then someone brought him some sour wine in a*sponge. Perhaps Matthew thought about the words from Psalm 69:21. ‘I was*thirsty. So they gave me sour wine to drink’, the psalm says. Other peoplewere curious. They wanted to know whether Elijah really would return to helpJesus.

Verse 50 The loud cry was probably the cry, ‘It is finished!’John recorded it in his *gospel, (John 19:30). See Psalm 22:24. The psalm saysthat God heard Jesus. God heard him when he cried for help. God had given Jesuswork to do. And Jesus knew that he had finished that work. So he cried outbecause he was glad that it was complete. Luke records that Jesus gave hisspirit to his Father (Luke 23:46).

Verse 51 The curtain in the *Temple separated the main room (the*Holy Place) from the special room (the Most *Holy Place). Only the chief*priest could go into the Most *Holy Place. He went in once a year to pray. Heasked God to forgive him together with all the *Jewish people (Leviticus16:11-19). Jesus died for people’s *sin. So there was no more need for peopleto offer dead animals to God. The curtain tore ‘from the top to the bottom’.God tore it. A person would have torn it from the bottom to the top. That was asign that, from now, everyone could go directly to God. A *priest on earth nolonger needed to act between the people and God. Now Jesus himself is thepeople’s *priest (Hebrews 10:11-12). After Jesus became alive again, some ofthe *Jewish *priests believed and trusted him. Those *priests probably gave theinformation about the curtain (Acts 6:7).

Verses 52-53 The *earthquake broke open the *holy people’sgraves. They had died in the past. And this was a sign that Jesus had defeateddeath. After Jesus became alive again, these *holy people appeared in the city.Perhaps this emphasised that people should believe that there is life afterdeath. Jesus was the first person to rise from death for ever. Jesus made somepeople live again but they died later. Jesus will never die again. Because helived again, people no longer need to fear death (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Verse 54 What happened astonished the *Roman officer and thesoldiers with him. And they were very frightened. They said, ‘This really isGod’s Son.’

Jesus had spoken about this (John 12:32). ‘When they lift me upon the *cross, I will draw all men to myself’, he had said. Their statement wasa sign. It meant that many other people who were not *Jews would believe Jesusin the future.

Verses 55-56 The women from Galilee had courage, so they stayednear the *cross. They watched Jesus die. They may have had less to fear fromthe authorities because they were women. The 12 *disciples were all men. Peopledid not consider women important in that society. The rulers would not thinkthat women were dangerous. But those women followed Jesus to the end, becausethey loved him.

Mary Magdalene came from Magdala. It was a town on the west coastof the Sea of Galilee.

James’s and Joseph’s mother, Mary, was either Cleopas’s wife (John19:25), or Jesus’ mother, Mary (Matthew 13:55).

Zebedee’s wife was Salome (Mark 16:1). She was probably Jesus’mother’s sister.

They buried Jesus 27:57-61

v57 In the evening, a rich man called Joseph arrived.He came from the town called Arimathea, and he had become one of Jesus’*disciples too. v58 He went to Pilate and he asked for Jesus’ body.Pilate ordered the soldiers to give it to him. v59 Joseph took the body,and he wrapped it in a clean *linen cloth. v60 He placed the body in hisown new grave. He had already dug this grave in the rock like a cave. Then herolled a big stone across the entrance to close it. And he went away. v61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the grave as theywatched him.

Verse 57 Joseph’s home was in a town north west of Jerusalem.Mark and Luke both say that he was a member of the *Jewish government (the*Sanhedrin). Luke also says that Joseph had not agreed with the decision tokill Jesus (Luke 23:51). John wrote that Joseph was a secret *disciple (John19:38). The *Jewish holy day each week begins at six o’clock on Friday evening.They could not work on the holy day, so there was little time. It was nowevening. Also, the *Jews believed that someone must bury a dead person beforesunset the same day. Especially if they had hung the person on a tree(Deuteronomy 21:22-23). A *Roman *cross was wood like a tree.

Verses 58-60 Joseph risked danger to himself. People might thinkthat he was Jesus’ friend. Pilate might have refused his request. Pilate allowedhim to have Jesus’ body. But Mark tells us more about this (Mark 15:44-45).Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead. He waited until the *Romanofficer reported to him. It was true, so he agreed to Joseph’s request. Josephused a ‘clean *linen cloth’ to wrap the body. *Linen is usually white cloth,and this cloth was probably new. The grave (also called ‘the tomb’) was a largecave. He had dug it out of the rock. This grave belonged to Joseph, and it hadnever had a body in it before. Matthew describes Joseph as a ‘rich’ man. Thisreminds us that the Suffering Servant had his grave with rich people (Isaiah53:9).

Verse 61 Matthew notes that the women were sitting near thegrave. They saw where Joseph had put the body.

The guard at the grave 27:62-66

Verses 62-63 The time for Preparation was between three and sixo’clock on Friday. The next day was the *Jews’ holy day (called the *Sabbath).The *priests and the *Pharisees probably went to Pilate on that day. If theywent then, they broke the *Law. They had opposed Jesus because he healed peopleon the *Sabbath. They said that he broke the *Law. So they had plotted to killhim (Matthew 12:9-14). Now they wanted to be sure that Jesus was out of theirway. So they broke the *Law themselves. They knew what Jesus had said. He hadsaid that he would become alive again after three days. Jesus had told this tohis *disciples on several occasions. But his words were more public when hespoke about Jonah. And some *Pharisees were present on that day (Matthew12:40).

The *priests spoke to Pilate with respect. But they referred toJesus as a man who told lies.

Verse 64 They said that the *disciples might steal the body. Thenthe *disciples could say that Jesus had become alive again. That would disturbthe public. So there would be worse trouble than when he was alive.

Verse 65 Pilate’s words to them can mean:

· ‘You have a guard.’ This would mean that they coulduse their own *Temple police.

· ‘Take a guard.’ This would mean a guard fromPilate’s soldiers. He was then allowing *Roman soldiers to guard the grave.

Verse 66 They used some soft stuff to stick the stones together.Then they made the ruler’s mark in it and let it get hard. Anyone who broke theruler’s mark (also called a ‘seal’) would suffer.

Jesus becomes alive again 28:1-10

Verses 1-4 The *Sabbath ended at six o’clock on Saturday evening.Very early on Sunday morning, the two women called Mary came to the grave. Theyhad seen the men bury Jesus in the cave. Mark 16:1-2 and Luke 24:1 say that thewomen brought ‘spices’. They had prepared these ‘spices’ from plants that havea beautiful smell. And they were going to put them on Jesus’ body. The reportsabout this day have different details in each of the four *gospels. But theyall agree that women received the news first. Nobody saw Jesus at the momentwhen he became alive again. But the stone had rolled away and the grave wasempty. It is only Matthew who records that an *angel rolled the stone away.

Verses 5-7 The *angel said that he knew why the women were there.God knows all about us. ‘Jesus said that he would do that’ reminds us that Godalways keeps his promises. The man who wrote Psalm 145 knew this. ‘The *Lorddoes everything that he has promised to do’ (Psalm 145:13). The women had totell the *disciples that Jesus would ‘go ahead of’ them to Galilee district.Jesus ‘goes ahead of’ his people in every situation. He guides and he comfortsthem.

Verses 8-10 Jesus told the women to tell his ‘brothers andfriends’. The *angel had told them to ‘tell his *disciples’. Jesus perhaps usedthe word ‘brothers’ to include his own family. His own family did not believehim during his public work. But after he went back to heaven, they were withthe other *disciples (Acts 1:14). Paul records that Jesus appeared later to hisbrother James (1 Corinthians 15:7).

The report from the guards 28:11-15

Verses 11-14 The *priests were desperate. They did not wantanyone to know the true story. They wanted the soldiers to tell lies aboutJesus’ body. So they had to pay a lot of money to the soldiers. This was a veryserious matter. A *Roman soldier should never have slept while he was on duty.The *priests promised that they would deal with the ruler. There would be notrouble for the soldiers.

Verse 15 The story was a weak story because it was a lie. Butpeople still heard it at the time when Matthew was writing this *gospel. Nobodycould deny that the grave was empty. It is strange that the *priests did notsearch for the *disciples. The *priests probably knew that they would not findJesus’ body. And some *priests later believed that Jesus was alive again (Acts6:7).

Jesus gives his last instructions 28:16-20

v16 Then the 11 *disciples went to Galilee. They wentto the mountain that Jesus had told them about. v17 When they saw Jesusthere, they *worshipped him. But some of them doubted that it really was Jesus.v18 Then he came close and spoke to them. ‘God has given me allauthority in heaven and on earth’, he said. v19 ‘So you must go to thepeople in all the nations and make them my *disciples. *Baptise them in thename of the Father, the Son and the *Holy Spirit.’ v20 Teach them toobey everything that I have told you. And you can be sure that I will be withyou always. I will be with you until the world ends.’

Verse 16 Jesus had called his first *disciples in Galileedistrict. Now it was the place where he gave his last instructions to them. Hehad promised to go to Galilee ahead of his *disciples (Matthew 26:32). The*angel and Jesus had both repeated this message (Matthew 28:7, 10).

Verse 17 It is not clear who doubted him. There may have beenmore than the 11 *disciples present. Some people could not believe that Jesuswas really alive again after his death.

Verses 18-20 Matthew records how Jesus had shown his authority.He showed it by all that he did. And he showed it by all that he taught. Jesushas universal authority. So therefore he can order his *disciples to obey him.Jesus’ authority is more powerful than that of any ruler or official in thisworld. So his*disciples serve a powerful master. His instructions were clear.

1. His *disciples had to go to ‘the people in all nations’. Jesusmeant that both *Jews and other people should hear the *gospel. Jesus hadtrained his *disciples. He had told them that all of the people in the worldwould hear the *gospel message (Matthew 24:14).

2. The book called Acts tells us about the first Christians. Fromthe very beginning, Christians *baptised people. And Peter declared that*baptism was a sign. It showed that people trusted Jesus (Acts 2:38). It showedthat God had forgiven people. Water washes people’s bodies clean. In a similarway, *baptism shows other people that new *disciples are ‘clean’ from their*sins. Jesus said that they should use God’s complete name during the *baptism.Believers trust that God is their Father. They believe that Jesus has savedthem. They know that the *Holy Spirit will give them power. With the *HolySpirit they can live a new life.

3. ‘Teach them to obey everything that I have told you’, Jesussaid. The *disciples needed to teach new Christians how to behave as believers.They had to think about new things. *Jews may have learned from the *OldTestament. But they needed to understand completely what the *Law meant.*Gentiles used to behave badly. So they had to learn how to behave in adifferent way. Matthew wrote in five sections what Jesus had taught. And new*disciples would be able to learn from this. Many of them came from placeswhere nobody knew the truth about God. Later Paul wrote his letters because itwas necessary to teach these people.

4. Jesus had given his *disciples an enormous task. He had warnedthem that people would hate them. People would oppose them. But he did not wantthem to be afraid. So he promised that he would be with them always. Then theycould obey his commands. He will be with his *disciples every single day. Whenthe ‘end of the world’ comes, they will have finished their work for him.

Jesus told some stories that we can read only in Matthew’s*gospel. See:

The weeds among the wheat 13:24-30;36-43

The hidden *treasure 13:44

The *pearl that had great value 13:45-46

The net with good and bad fish 13:47-50

The owner of a house 13:52

The story about the servant who would not forgive 18:23-34

The story about the land-owner’s workers 20:1-16

The story about two sons 21:28-32

The story about a wedding meal 22:1-14

The story about ten young women 25:1-13

The story about three servants 25:14-30

The story about the sheep and the goats 25:31-46

AD ~ after the date when Jesus was born.

adultery ~ to steal someone's wife or husband.

altar ~ a table on which people placed *sacrifices.

ancestors ~ people in the past from whom one's parentscame.

angels ~ God's special *messengers.

apostle ~ one of the 12 special men that Jesus sent out.

Atonement ~ the special day when *Jews ask God to forgivethem.

Babylon ~ a country in the *Old Testament. Today it ispart of Iraq.

baptise ~ to put a person under water or put water on aperson to show that they want to follow Christ.

baptism ~ when they put a person under water or put wateron a person to show that they want to follow Christ.

Baptist ~ someone who *baptises people.

being ~ a person or animal that is alive.

bless ~ to say or do much good to a person; to callsomething *holy; to ask for good things to happen; to keep from bad things.

bow ~ lean your body forward, as a mark of respect tosomeone.

burial ~ when you put a dead body in a grave.

Canaanites ~ people who lived in Canaan. This was the landthat God gave to Israel.

carpenter ~ a person who works skilfully with wood.

church ~ a group of Christians who meet together. A churchis not just the building that they meet in. It can also mean all the Christiansin the world.

clean ~ when someone does good things and thinks goodthoughts.

colt ~ young animal.

commandments ~ God's rules.

Council ~ important men who meet together to discuss anddecide events.

cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed togetherin the shape of a cross.

demons ~ evil *spirits.

descendant ~ a child, grandchild, and so on; a person inyour family who lives after you are dead.

disciples ~ those who follow another person to learn fromhim.

dog ~ an animal that some people have in their houses.

donkey ~ animal with large ears related to a horse. Peopleuse it to carry people and goods.

earthquake ~ when the earth shakes.

epilepsy ~ a disease that makes the person fall to theground, sometimes with strange movements of the muscles.

eternal ~ with no beginning or end.

faith ~ belief in someone or something; things that peoplebelieve about Jesus.

feast ~ a special meal; a *religious ceremony.

fig ~ small soft fruit full of tiny seeds, people eat itfresh or dried.

frankincense ~ a substance that people burnt in *religiousceremonies to give a nice smell.

Gentiles ~ people who are not *Jews.

ghost ~ a *spirit; when someone thinks that they have seenthe spirit of a dead person.

gospel ~ 1. good news; 2. one of the first four books inthe *New Testament.

grape ~ a small, sweet fruit that people make wine from.

Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the *NewTestament.

Hebrew ~ the language that the *Jews wrote the *OldTestament in.

Herodians ~ a political group. They supported the *Romangovernment.

holy ~ all good with no bad in it; separate from *sin.

Holy Spirit ~ one person of the three persons who are God.He comes to help Christians to become more like God. We cannot see him. Hecomes to give people the power to do what God wants.

Israelite ~ a *Jewish person.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaacand Jacob; a person who believes the *faith of the Jews, called Judaism.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a *Jew or anything to dowith a *Jew.

Judea ~ a part of the country where the *Jews lived.

kingdom ~ people or place that a king rules; or peoplethat God rules.

kingdom of heaven ~ where God rules.

Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the *Jews.

Levite ~ a person from the*tribe of Levi. God chosethem to work for him in his*temple.

linen ~ a type of material that is like cotton. Linen is avery good quality material.

Lord ~ master; a name that we call God or Jesus; we callGod or Jesus Lord when we obey them.

messenger ~ a person who gives a message.

Messiah ~ the *Jews' word for the king who would come andrescue them.

miracle ~ a great thing that only God can do.

Mount ~ a short word for mountain; small mountain.

myrrh ~ oil with a pleasant smell.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which thewriters wrote after the life of Jesus.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which thewriters wrote before the life of Jesus.

olive ~ a tree with small fruits (or the fruitsthemselves) that people use to make oil. They use the oil to cook food.

parable ~ a story with a hidden meaning.

Passover ~ the time when the *Jews remember that God freedthem from Egypt.

pearl ~ a little white ball of hard material that shines.It is very valuable. A small, soft animal that lives inside a shell (a hardthing round it) makes pearls. This animal lives in the sea.

Pentecost ~ 1. the time when the *Jews thank God for theirfood; 2. the time when God gave the *Holy Spirit to the *church.

perfume ~ something that smells nice to put on the skin.

Pharisee ~ one of a group of *Jews who thought that theyobeyed all God’s rules. They did not like the things that Jesus taught. Theythought that they did not do any wrong things. So, they thought that they werevery important and clever.

physical ~ about the body.

preach ~ tell and explain the good news about Jesus.

pregnant ~ when a woman is carrying a child inside thebody before birth.

priest ~ a man whom God chose to do a special work forhim. The *priests worked in the *Temple.

prophesy ~ tell people what God thinks and will do; totell about things before they happen; to speak with God’s (or a false god’s)help and on God’s (or a false god’s) behalf.

prophet ~ a person who told people what God wanted.

prostitute ~ a person who has sex with another person formoney.

religious ~ something that people do as part of the*worship of God.

repent ~ change from doing wrong things to obey God.

resurrection ~ when someone comes back to life again.

Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at thattime. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.

rust ~ the material that comes on wet metal.

sabbath ~ the seventh day, *Jewish day of rest.

sacrifice ~ a gift to God to ask him to forgive sins; orto thank him for something. A gift to God, often an animal or bird, by the*Jews to ask God to forgive their *sins. Jesus gave himself to die as asacrifice for our *sins.

Sadducee ~ one of a group of *Jews who did not believe inheaven and *resurrection; an important group of Jews at the time of Jesus. Theyonly used the five books at the beginning of the *Old Testament. They believedthat people would not live again after death.

Samaritan ~ a person from Samaria.

Sanhedrin ~ the group of *Jewish *priests and otherleaders.

Satan ~ the chief evil *spirit.

scribes ~ writers, especially the *Jews who taught the*Law.

scriptures ~ the books in the *Old Testament or in theBible.

scroll ~ a long piece of paper or animal’s skin; peoplefixed it round two pieces of wood; it usually had writing on it.

seal ~ a sign that something is genuine.

sin ~ when we do not obey God's commands.

sinners ~ those who do wrong things.

skull ~ the bone of the head.

Son of Man ~ a name that Jesus called himself. See Daniel8:17.

soul ~ the part of a person that we cannot see. It liveson after we die.

spirit ~ the part of us that lives when our body dies; a*being that is alive, even without a body; the part of a person that willalways be alive, even after their body is dead. There are good spirits, likeGod’s Spirit and his *angels. And there are bad spirits, like *Satan and his*angels.

spiritual ~ belonging to the spirit or *soul.

spit, spat ~ to make water come out of your mouth veryquickly.

sponge ~ soft material that holds liquid.

tax-collector ~ a man who collected taxes for the *Romans.

Temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the *Jews*worshipped God.

tempt ~ try to make someone do wrong things.

temptations ~ testing; efforts to make someone do wrongthings.

tenants ~ people who pay rent to use someone's property.

thirsty ~ when someone wants or needs a drink.

thorn ~ sharp, hard point on a plant or bush.

thresh ~ to beat wheat or other plants so that the grainsfall out; to separate grain from straw.

tower ~ a very high building.

traditions ~ usual beliefs that pass from person toperson.

treasure ~ anything of great value.

trial ~ a legal examination by which a judge decides if aperson is guilty of a crime; the examination of a person in a court of law todiscover whether he is guilty or not of a crime.

tribe ~ the whole family of one of Jacob’s 12 sons; afamily from the same father.

trumpet ~ musical instrument; you blow into a tube.

twin ~ someone born about the same time as a brother orsister; one of two children born together, of the same mother.

unleavened ~ without *yeast.

vineyard ~ a place where people grow *grapes.

virgin ~ a woman who has never had sex with a man.

worship ~ show honour to God, usually with other people.

yeast ~ people put yeast into flour and water in order tomake bread. The yeast grows in the bread and it makes the bread bigger. Itspreads through all the bread, so Jesus compared it with other things thatspread.

yoke ~ 1. a bar of wood that joins two animals together;2. something which unites people in a common task.

William Barclay ~ The Gospel of Matthew ~ Daily Study Biblerevised edition, 1975

F. F. Bruce ~ St Matthew in the Daily Commentary, 1974

Francis Foulkes ~ A Guide to St Matthew's Gospel ~ SPCKInternational Study Guide 37, 2001

Craig S. Keener ~ Matthew ~ IVP *New Testament Series, 1997

Alfred Plummer ~ An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel accordingto St Matthew, 1909

Chamber's 21st Century Dictionary, 1996

English Thesaurus ~ Geddes and Grosset, 1999

Bibles

New International Version

New Light Bible (New International Readers Version)

© 1997-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2005

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