Matthew

Chapter 18

The Greatest in the Kingdom

1At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?” 2And summoning a little child, He set him in their midst 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of the heavens. 4Whoever then humbles himself like this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens. 5And whoever receives one such little child in My name receives Me.

Causes of Stumbling

6But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is necessary that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes. 8And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than having two eyes to be thrown into the Gehenna of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in the heavens continually see the face of My Father who is in the heavens. 11For the Son of Man came to save what was lost.𝔐 TR12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is going astray? 13And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14So it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones perish.

A Brother Who Sins

15And if your brother sins [against you]𝔐 TR, go and reprove him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly; and if he refuses to listen even to the assembly, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. 18Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. 19Again [truly]𝔐 I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in the heavens. 20For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in their midst.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave

21Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times. 23For this reason the kingdom of the heavens may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24And when he began to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25And since he did not have the means to repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26So the slave fell down and worshiped him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 27And the master of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the loan. 28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29So his fellow slave fell down and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30But he was unwilling, and went and threw him into prison until he should repay what was owed. 31So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly grieved, and they went and reported to their master all that had happened. 32Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34And his master, angry, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed. 35So also My heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.”

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Context & Translation Notes

Original Reader Horizon • Lexical & Canonical Mesh

Textual Notes

NA28/UBS5 • Majority Text (𝔐) • Textus Receptus (TR)

† 18:11 — Not in NA28: verse 11 is found only in the Majority Text (𝔐) and the Textus Receptus (TR) ↩ back to text

  • NA28/UBS5 (TWB text): “verse absent: 18:10 is followed by 18:12”Witnesses: draft: witnesses to be verified from the NA28 apparatus
  • 𝔐 and TR: ἦλθεν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός (ēlthen gar ho huios tou anthrōpou sōsai to apolōlos), “For the Son of Man came to save what was lost.”

Why the editors chose the NA28 reading: Draft; full note after the decisions.

Effect on the translation: A whole verse.

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Book InsightsMatthew

Author

Matthew, also called Levi, the tax collector whom Jesus called to follow Him and who became one of the Twelve (9:9; 10:3; compare Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). The Gospel does not name its author, but the evidence for Matthew is strong:

  • Unanimous early testimony. Every ancient manuscript that preserves a title reads “According to Matthew” (Κατὰ Μαθθαῖον Kata Maththaion), and no other author was ever proposed. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in the early 2nd century A.D., wrote that “Matthew compiled the sayings (λόγια logia) in the Hebrew language” (quoted by Eusebius, Church History 3.39.16). Irenaeus (c. A.D. 180), Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome all name Matthew.
  • Clues in the text. Only this Gospel calls the converted tax collector “Matthew” (9:9) and lists him as “Matthew the tax collector” (10:3), a humble self-reference. It has the most interest in money: the temple tax (17:24–27), the coin of the tribute (22:19, where Matthew alone uses the technical term νόμισμα nomisma), and talents and debts (18:23–35; 25:14–30). A tax collector would have been literate and used to keeping careful records, probably in Greek as well as Aramaic.
  • Matthew first. In John Wenham, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke (1991), John Wenham argues that the early church’s order is correct: Matthew wrote first, then Mark, then Luke. Clement of Alexandria reported that “the Gospels containing the genealogies were written first” (Eusebius, Church History 6.14.5), which places Matthew and Luke before Mark, and every early writer who names an order puts Matthew first.
  • One shared teaching, with some borrowing. Wenham’s own model is “an oral theory with some measure of successive dependence.” All three Gospels draw on the Jerusalem catechesis, the apostles’ carefully taught oral account of Jesus’ words and deeds. On top of that shared teaching, Mark made some use of Matthew, and Luke made some use of both Matthew and Mark. On this view the hypothetical source Q is unnecessary, and each Gospel is an independent witness to the apostolic preaching.

Papias’s report that Matthew wrote “in the Hebrew language” is read by many who hold Matthew’s priority as evidence of an earlier Hebrew or Aramaic edition, followed by the Greek Gospel we have; others take it to describe a Hebrew style of writing or a collection of sayings.

Other views — What Papias meant

Papias’s words are debated. Some take them to mean Matthew first wrote a Hebrew or Aramaic Gospel that was later translated into the Greek we have. Others think he meant a collection of Jesus’ sayings rather than this Gospel. Still others read “in the Hebrew language” as “in a Hebrew style.” Our Greek Matthew does not read like a translation, and it often quotes the Old Testament from the Septuagint.

Other views — The Synoptic Problem

Most scholars today explain the shared material in Matthew, Mark, and Luke differently from Wenham:

  • Two-Source Hypothesis (the majority view): Mark wrote first. Matthew and Luke each used Mark plus a lost collection of Jesus’ sayings called Q, from the German Quelle (“source”). Material found only in Matthew is often labeled M.
  • Farrer Hypothesis: Mark wrote first, Matthew used Mark, and Luke used both, so no Q is needed.
  • Two-Gospel (Griesbach) Hypothesis: Matthew wrote first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark combined both. Wenham charts what this would require in Mark 1:1–13: Mark switching between Matthew, Luke, and his own words every few words, a process he finds implausible (pp. 13–15).

Supporters of Mark’s priority point to Mark’s rougher Greek, which Matthew and Luke seem to smooth, and to Matthew’s inclusion of nearly all of Mark. No manuscript of Q has ever been found. Many conservative scholars hold Mark’s priority and still affirm the apostle Matthew as author.

Other views — An unnamed Jewish-Christian author

Many critical scholars hold that the Gospel was written by an unknown Jewish believer, perhaps a scribe trained for the kingdom (13:52), and later attached to Matthew’s name. They argue that an eyewitness apostle would not have relied on Mark, who was not one of the Twelve.

Audience

Primarily Jewish believers, along with Jews being invited to believe. Matthew assumes his readers know the Law, the Prophets, and Jewish customs. He leaves customs unexplained that Mark explains for Gentiles (compare 15:2 with Mark 7:3–4), and traces Jesus’ line back to Abraham. Out of reverence he usually says “kingdom of heaven” rather than “kingdom of God.” Yet the Gospel looks outward from the start, with Gentile magi at the cradle (2:1–12), and ends with the command to make disciples of all nations (28:19).

Date Written

c. A.D. 40–65, before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70. Conservative scholars hold two main positions within that range.

c. A.D. 50–65. Matthew writes as though the temple is still standing: he includes instructions about offering gifts at the altar (5:23–24), paying the temple tax (17:24–27), and swearing by the temple (23:16–22). Twice he says something remains “to this day” (27:8; 28:15). Jesus predicts the temple’s fall (24:1–2), but the Gospel never reports it as having happened. Many conservative scholars, including those who hold that Matthew used Mark, place the Gospel in this period.

c. A.D. 40 (John Wenham). Those who hold Matthean priority often place it earlier still, in the A.D. 40s or 50s. Wenham reaches c. A.D. 40 by working back from Acts:

  • Acts was finished in A.D. 62. It ends with Paul two years under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30–31) and says nothing of his death (c. A.D. 67), the great fire of Rome and Nero’s persecution (A.D. 64), the outbreak of the Jewish War (A.D. 66), or the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70).
  • Luke came before Acts (Acts 1:1). Wenham dates Luke to about A.D. 54 and identifies Luke with “the brother whose praise is in the gospel” (2 Corinthians 8:18), in a letter he dates to A.D. 56.
  • Mark came before Luke, about A.D. 45, from Peter’s preaching in Rome. Wenham reads Peter’s escape from Herod Agrippa I to “another place” (Acts 12:17, A.D. 42) as his journey to Rome.
  • Matthew came first, about A.D. 40, before the persecution under Herod Agrippa I scattered the apostles from Jerusalem in A.D. 42 (Acts 12:1–17). Eusebius says Matthew wrote for the Hebrews when he was about to leave them to preach to others (Church History 3.24.6).

Source for Wenham’s dates: John Wenham, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke (1991), Chronological Table, pp. xxv–xxvi.

Other views — Critical dating (c. A.D. 80–90)

Many critical scholars date Matthew after A.D. 70. They reason that Matthew used Mark, usually dated around A.D. 65–70, and that the parable of the king who “burned their city” (22:7) looks back on Jerusalem’s fall. They also point to sharp conflict with synagogue leaders (23:34), which they place in the decades after the war. Conservative scholars respond that 22:7 uses the common language of ancient warfare and judgment (compare Judges 1:8; Isaiah 1:7), not specific details of A.D. 70, and that predictive prophecy should not be ruled out in advance.

Location Written

Judea, most likely Jerusalem. Wenham, following the early tradition, places Matthew’s writing in the land of Israel for Jewish believers before the apostles left Jerusalem.

  • Early testimony. Irenaeus says Matthew wrote “among the Hebrews” (Against Heresies 3.1.1), and Eusebius says he wrote for them before leaving to preach to others (Church History 3.24.6).
  • The audience. The Gospel assumes readers who know Jewish customs without explanation (compare 15:2 with Mark 7:3–4), care about the temple and the Law, and need answers to questions raised by the synagogue.

Other views — Other proposed places

Many scholars, conservative and critical, suggest Syrian Antioch, a city with a large Jewish population and an early church of both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26). Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (c. A.D. 110), is the earliest writer to show clear knowledge of Matthew. Galilee, Caesarea Maritima, and Phoenicia have also been suggested.

Purpose

To show that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Χριστός Christos), the Son of David and Son of Abraham (1:1). He fulfills the Law and the Prophets and brings the kingdom of heaven near. Matthew also trains disciples in how to live under that kingdom, and sends them to make disciples of every nation.

Matthew does this through two patterns. Ten times he introduces an Old Testament text with a fulfillment formula such as “this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet” (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:9). He also gathers Jesus’ teaching into five great discourses, each closing with “when Jesus had finished” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Many readers see an echo of the five books of Moses:

  • The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7)
  • Instructions to the Twelve (chapter 10)
  • Parables of the kingdom (chapter 13)
  • Life in the community (chapter 18)
  • The Olivet Discourse, on the end of the age (chapters 24–25)

Historical Problem Being Addressed

Jewish believers faced a hard question. If Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, why did Israel’s own leaders reject Him and hand Him over to be crucified? And why were Gentiles now streaming into the people of God? Believers were being opposed in the synagogues (10:17; 23:34) and needed to know that following Jesus was not abandoning the faith of Abraham and Moses, but its fulfillment. Matthew answers that the rejection itself was foretold. Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (5:17), and Abraham’s family was always meant to bless the nations (8:11; 28:19).

Through the Original Readers’ Eyes

Matthew’s first readers lived in a land ruled by Rome through Herod’s family and Roman governors (2:1, 22; 27:2), worshiping in synagogues and arguing over how to keep the Law. Several things they knew shape how they heard this Gospel:

  • Hope for a Son of David. Many Jews longed for a king who would restore Israel. The Psalms of Solomon (1st century B.C.) pray for “the son of David” to purge Jerusalem of Gentiles and rule in righteousness (Psalms of Solomon 17). Some Qumran texts expect both a royal and a priestly messiah (1QS 9:11). Matthew’s Son of David heals the blind and lame (21:14) and dies under the charge “King of the Jews.”
  • The Son of Man. Daniel 7 pictures one like a son of man receiving everlasting dominion. The Similitudes of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71, whose date is debated) speak of a heavenly Son of Man who judges from a glorious throne. Readers who knew these texts would hear Jesus’ favorite self-designation as a claim to that throne (19:28; 25:31).
  • Caesar’s claims. Augustus was called “son of god” (divi filius), and an inscription from Priene (9 B.C.) calls his birthday the beginning of “good news” (εὐαγγέλια euangelia) for the world. A Gospel announcing a different King, a different Son of God, and a different kingdom would have sounded like a rival claim.
  • Pharisees, scribes, and synagogues. The disputes over Sabbath, purity, oaths, and tithing (chapters 12, 15, 23) were live questions for Jewish communities. Matthew’s readers needed to know how Jesus’ followers related to the Law and to the synagogue leaders.

Among the early church, Matthew quickly became the most quoted Gospel. The Didache (late 1st or early 2nd century) gives the Lord’s Prayer in a form very close to Matthew’s (Didache 8:2), and Ignatius of Antioch (c. A.D. 110) shows knowledge of it. It was placed first in the New Testament, as the bridge from Israel’s Scriptures to the gospel.

Key Words

Kingdom of heaven: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν basileia tōn ouranōn

The phrase appears more than thirty times in Matthew and nowhere else in the New Testament. Following Jewish reverence for God’s name, “heaven” stands for God Himself, so it means the same as “kingdom of God,” which Matthew also uses a few times (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43).

Fulfill: πληρόω plēroō

Ten times Matthew introduces an Old Testament text with a fulfillment formula (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:9), and Jesus says He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (5:17). In Matthew, fulfillment means more than prediction coming true: Israel’s story and Scripture reach their goal in Jesus.

Righteousness: δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē

Jesus is baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15), and His disciples must hunger for righteousness (5:6), have a righteousness greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20), and seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (6:33). It names the life that matches God’s will.

Key Verses

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17 (TWB)

The main key verse: Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. The whole Gospel unfolds this claim.

And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Matthew 16:16 (TWB)

Peter’s confession, the turning point of the Gospel: Jesus is the Messiah (Χριστός Christos), the Son of the living God.

Matthew 28:18–20

The Great Commission: the risen Jesus, with all authority in heaven and on earth, sends His disciples to make disciples of all nations, and promises to be with them always, echoing “Immanuel, God with us” (1:23).

Outline

Matthew alternates narrative with five major blocks of teaching, each ending with “when Jesus had finished” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).

  1. The coming of the King 1:1–4:25
    1. Genealogy, birth, and infancy 1:1–2:23
    2. John the Baptist, the baptism, and the temptation 3:1–4:11
    3. Ministry in Galilee begins 4:12–25
  2. First discourse: the Sermon on the Mount 5:1–7:29
  3. Mighty works: ten miracles 8:1–9:38
  4. Second discourse: sending out the Twelve 10:1–11:1
  5. Growing opposition 11:2–12:50
  6. Third discourse: parables of the kingdom 13:1–53
  7. Peter’s confession and the road to the cross 13:54–17:27
  8. Fourth discourse: life in the community 18:1–19:1 You are here
  9. In Judea and Jerusalem 19:2–23:39
  10. Fifth discourse: the Olivet Discourse 24:1–25:46
  11. Death and resurrection; the Great Commission 26:1–28:20

Christ in the Book

Matthew presents Jesus above all as the King.

  • The Son of David, heir to the throne promised in 2 Samuel 7:12–16 (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 20:30–31; 21:9).
  • The Son of Abraham, the seed through whom the nations are blessed (1:1; compare Genesis 12:3; 22:18).
  • Immanuel, “God with us” (1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14). The Gospel ends where it began: “I am with you always” (28:20).
  • The Messiah, the Son of the living God, as Peter confesses at Caesarea Philippi (16:16), where TWB renders Χριστός Christos as “Messiah.”
  • The new Moses: spared as an infant from a king’s slaughter (2:13–18; compare Exodus 1:22–2:10), called out of Egypt (2:15, quoting Hosea 11:1), and teaching from the mountain (5:1).
  • The Son of Man of Daniel 7:13–14, who receives dominion and comes on the clouds (24:30; 26:64).
  • Greater than the temple, Jonah, and Solomon (12:6, 41–42).
  • The Servant of Isaiah, who carries our sicknesses and brings justice to the nations (8:17; 12:17–21).
  • The humble King riding into Jerusalem (21:5, quoting Zechariah 9:9), crucified under the charge “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (27:37).
  • The risen Lord with all authority in heaven and on earth (28:18).

The Divine Council Worldview in the Book

What is the Divine Council Worldview?

The Divine Council Worldview reads Scripture the way its first readers did. The Lord, God Most High, presides over a heavenly assembly of spiritual beings, called “sons of God,” “holy ones,” and “gods” (אֱלֹהִים ʾĕlōhîm) (Psalm 82:1; Psalm 89:5–7; 1 Kings 22:19–22; Job 1:6). He alone is Creator, and none of them is like Him (Psalm 89:6; Exodus 15:11). Some of these beings rebelled: in Eden, before the flood, and at Babel, after which the nations were placed under lesser powers while the Lord took Israel as His own portion (Deuteronomy 32:8–9). The rest of Scripture tells how God reclaims the nations through the Messiah. Not every interpreter reads these texts this way; where views differ, they are noted.

Matthew presents Jesus’ ministry as the beginning of God’s campaign to take back the nations from the powers that rebelled at Babel. The kingdom of heaven advances against an opposing kingdom.

  • The kingdoms of the world (4:8–9). The devil offers Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” if He will worship him. On a Divine Council reading, the offer is real because the nations had been placed under other powers (Deuteronomy 32:8–9; compare Luke 4:6; John 12:31). Jesus refuses to receive the nations from the rebel and quotes Deuteronomy: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (4:10).
  • Binding the strong man (12:28–29). Jesus’ exorcisms show that “the kingdom of God has come upon you.” He enters Satan’s house, binds the strong man, and plunders it.
  • The gates of Hades (16:13–18). Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon. A cave there held a shrine to the god Pan and was thought to be a gateway to the underworld, and Jewish tradition remembered Hermon as where the rebellious sons of God of Genesis 6 came down (1 Enoch 6:6). There Jesus promises that “the gates of Hades will not overpower” His assembly.
  • The high mountain (17:1–8). Six days later Jesus is transfigured on “a high mountain.” Many scholars think this was Hermon itself, given its height and nearness to Caesarea Philippi; tradition since the 4th century has favored Mount Tabor.
  • Their angels (18:10). The little ones have angels who “always see the face of My Father in heaven,” a picture of heavenly beings attending God’s presence.
  • The Son of Man and the thrones (19:28; 26:64). Jesus draws on Daniel 7, where thrones are set up, the court sits, and one like a son of man receives the dominion over the nations (Daniel 7:9–14). He promises the Twelve that they will sit on twelve thrones, so that redeemed humans share in God’s rule.
  • The devil and his angels (25:41). The eternal fire was “prepared for the devil and his angels,” not originally for people.
  • All authority, all nations (28:18–20). The risen Jesus claims “all authority in heaven and on earth” and sends His disciples to make disciples of “all the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη panta ta ethnē), the very nations once given over at Babel.

Divine Council notes in the chapters translated so far

How the Book Connects to Other Books

  • Genesis: Matthew opens with “the book of the genealogy” (βίβλος γενέσεως biblos geneseōs, 1:1), the same wording the Septuagint uses in Genesis 2:4 and 5:1. A new beginning is announced in the language of the first one.
  • 2 Chronicles and Malachi: In the order of the Hebrew Bible, the Scriptures close with 2 Chronicles, which opens with genealogies and ends with an invitation to go up to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:23). Matthew opens with a genealogy. In the Christian order, Malachi’s promise of Elijah (Malachi 4:5) leads into John the Baptist, whom Jesus identifies as that Elijah (11:14; 17:12–13).
  • The Prophets: Matthew quotes or echoes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel, including Isaiah 7:14 (1:23), Micah 5:2 (2:6), Hosea 11:1 (2:15), Jeremiah 31:15 (2:18), and Zechariah 9:9 (21:5).
  • Mark and Luke tell much of the same story (see the Synoptic Problem under Author), and John complements them with Jesus’ ministry in Judea.
  • Acts carries out the Great Commission (28:18–20), beginning in Jerusalem and reaching the nations (Acts 1:8).
  • James echoes the Sermon on the Mount more closely than any other letter (compare 5:3 with James 2:5; 5:11–12 with James 1:2; 5:34–37 with James 5:12; 7:7 with James 1:5).
  • Revelation: the Son of Man coming with the clouds (24:30; Revelation 1:7) and the kingdom of the world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah (Revelation 11:15).

TWB Translation Decisions

The main rendering decisions made so far in Matthew. Each one with a study note links to it.

“Messiah” for Χριστός

TWB renders Χριστός Christos as “Messiah” throughout, showing that it is a title (“Anointed One”) rather than a surname. The notes show the Greek wherever it matters.

Speech colors

Jesus’ words are printed in red and God the Father’s in blue (for example, the voice from heaven at the baptism, 3:17). The words of ordinary angels, such as the angel who speaks to Joseph in dreams (2:13, 19–20), are not colored.

Old Testament quotations in capitals

Direct quotations of the Old Testament are printed in capitals, so readers can see where Matthew is citing Scripture (for example, Micah 5:2 at 2:6 and Hosea 11:1 at 2:15).

Read the full note →

“Magi” (2:1)

Rather than “wise men,” which hides their priestly and astrological role, or “magicians,” which gives a negative sense Matthew does not intend.

Read the full note →

“His star at its rising” (2:2)

Not “in the east”: the singular with the article is an astronomical expression for a star’s rising.

Read the full note →

“Worship” (2:2, 11)

For προσκυνέω proskyneō, rather than “pay homage,” because Matthew uses the same verb for the disciples’ worship of Jesus (14:33; 28:9, 17).

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“He had been mocked” (2:16)

Rather than “tricked,” to keep the link with the mockery of Jesus at His trial and crucifixion, where Matthew uses the same verb.

Read the full note →

“That He would be called a Nazarene” (2:23)

Rendered as indirect speech, without quotation marks or capitals, because the words are not found in any one Old Testament book.

Read the full note →

Textual Notes

Base text: Nestle-Aland, 28th edition (NA28). Where the Majority Text or Textus Receptus reads differently, the notes record both readings and the manuscripts behind them.

The doxology of the Lord’s Prayer 6:13

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” is found in the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus but not in the earliest manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. A shorter doxology appears in the Didache (8:2), which shows it was used in worship very early. TWB follows NA28 and records the longer reading in the note.

Verses not found in the earliest manuscripts 17:21

Three verses found in the Majority Text and Textus Receptus are absent from the earliest manuscripts: 17:21 (“this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”), 18:11 (“the Son of Man came to save the lost”), and 23:14 (on devouring widows’ houses). Each closely matches a verse in another Gospel (Mark 9:29; Luke 19:10; Mark 12:40), and most scholars think scribes added them from there. Supporters of the Majority Text regard them as original. TWB follows NA28 and records each in the notes.

“Without cause” 5:22

The Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “whoever is angry with his brother without cause” (εἰκῆ eikē). The earliest manuscripts lack the phrase, which softens Jesus’ saying. TWB follows NA28.

The spear at the cross 27:49

Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus add that a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear before He died, wording that closely matches John 19:34. NA28 places it in the apparatus, judging it an early addition from John.

Textual notes in the chapters translated so far

Contested Questions

Major questions on which careful readers and Christian traditions disagree. TWB states each view fairly and does not take a side, per the Master Specification Record.

What is “this rock” in Matthew 16:18?
Peter, with a continuing office

Jesus plays on Peter’s name (Πέτρος Petros, “rock”) and builds His assembly on him, giving him the keys (16:19). Catholic teaching sees this office continued in Peter’s successors, the bishops of Rome.

Peter, as the first apostle

The rock is Peter himself, as the leading apostle and first preacher (Acts 2; 10), without a line of successors. Held by many Protestant scholars today.

Peter’s confession of faith

The rock is the truth Peter confessed, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16). Common in Orthodox and in much Protestant teaching; Orthodox tradition also sees every bishop as sharing Peter’s ministry.

Christ Himself

The rock is Christ, the one foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11; compare 1 Peter 2:4–8). Augustine argued for this reading in some of his writings.

What does the exception for “sexual immorality” allow (5:32; 19:9)?
Divorce and remarriage after adultery

Sexual unfaithfulness (πορνεία porneia) breaks the marriage, so the innocent party may divorce and remarry. Held in most Protestant traditions.

Separation without remarriage

A valid sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved; the exception allows separation, or applies to unions that were never valid marriages (the basis of annulment). Catholic teaching.

Remarriage permitted by pastoral mercy

Marriage is meant to be lifelong, but the church may permit a second marriage after divorce as an act of mercy (οἰκονομία oikonomia). Orthodox practice.

A narrow case

πορνεία porneia refers to unfaithfulness during betrothal (as Joseph suspected of Mary, 1:19) or to marriages within forbidden family relationships (Leviticus 18; Acts 15:29).

When is the Olivet Discourse (chapter 24) fulfilled?
In A.D. 70

Most of the discourse was fulfilled when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, within “this generation” (24:34). Held by preterist interpreters.

At the end of the age

The discourse describes events still future, before Christ’s return. Held by futurist interpreters.

Both

The fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 fulfills the near prophecy and foreshadows the final judgment at Christ’s return. Held by many interpreters across traditions.

Did Mary have other children (1:25; 13:55)?
Mary remained a virgin

“Until” (1:25) does not imply anything afterward, and Jesus’ “brothers” (13:55) were relatives. Catholic and Orthodox teaching, and held by Luther and other early Reformers. Orthodox tradition sees them as Joseph’s children from an earlier marriage; Catholic tradition, following Jerome, as cousins.

Mary and Joseph had other children

“Until” most naturally implies a normal marriage afterward, and the brothers and sisters named in 13:55–56 were younger children of Mary and Joseph. Held by most Protestants today.

Places in the Book

  • Babylon Identified first mentioned 1:11
  • Bethlehem Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Judea Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Jerusalem Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Egypt Identified first mentioned 2:13
  • Ramah Identified first mentioned 2:18
  • Israel Identified first mentioned 2:20
  • Galilee Identified first mentioned 2:22
  • Nazareth Identified first mentioned 2:23
  • the wilderness Identified first mentioned 3:1
  • the Jordan Identified first mentioned 3:5
  • Capernaum Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Zebulun Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Naphtali Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Sea of Galilee Identified first mentioned 4:18
  • Syria Identified first mentioned 4:24
  • Decapolis Identified first mentioned 4:25
  • the mountain Location unknown first mentioned 5:1
  • Gehenna Identified first mentioned 5:22
  • country of the Gadarenes Disputed first mentioned 8:28
  • Samaria Identified first mentioned 10:5
  • Sodom Disputed first mentioned 10:15
  • Gomorrah Disputed first mentioned 10:15
  • Chorazin Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Bethsaida Disputed first mentioned 11:21
  • Tyre Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Sidon Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Nineveh Identified first mentioned 12:41
  • Gennesaret Identified first mentioned 14:34
  • Magadan Disputed first mentioned 15:39
  • Caesarea Philippi Identified first mentioned 16:13

The map shows unlabeled physical relief, with no modern borders or names. Hollow pins mark proposed sites for disputed places; places of unknown location are not pinned. This list grows as more chapters are translated.

The conservative view is given first; other views follow where scholars differ. Status: draft, version 0.7.0, updated 2026-10-10.