IVP Bible Background Commentary

Matthew 4:17 thru 7:29

Keener, Craig S

 Matthew 4:17

4:17

Jesus’ message, like John the Baptist’s (3:2), is summarized as *repentance to
be ready for the *kingdom. First-century Jewish hearers would have heard in this
proclamation a warning of the imminent day of judgment.

Matthew 4:18

4:18-22 Examples of Repentance

Ancient writers often illustrated their teachings (here, 4:17) with *narrative
examples. See comment on Mark 1:14-20 for further details.

Matthew 4:18

4:18

Most people in Jewish Palestine depended on salted fish, wheat and barley
for sustenance; fish products like fish gravies were thus also common. The fish of
the Sea of Galilee included large carp; the fish would be dried, salted or pickled
to preserve them. Fishermen were central to the Galilean economy and made a
good living by the standards of their culture, far better than the large numbers of
peasants who worked the land through much of the Roman Empire. It is thought
that the casting net had a narrow end pulled by the boat and a wide end sunk by
leads (contrast the larger dragnet of 13:47); nets were probably made of rope or
cords woven from flax, papyrus or hemp.

Matthew 4:19

4:19-20

*Disciples normally chose to become students of a particular *rabbi, rather
than a teacher calling his own disciples.

Matthew 4:21

4:21-22

Fishermen had more income than average people in Galilee, so James and
John left behind a good job. More than that, however, they suddenly left behind
their father and the family business; such abandonment could easily bring them
dishonor in the community. (Both Jews and Greeks, however, had similar stories
and would recognize this sudden departure as a sure sign of radical discipleship.)

Matthew 4:23

4:23-25 Examples of Kingdom Authority

Ancient literature commonly includes not only longer *narrative segments
but also summary statements like this passage (also 9:35; 19:1-2; etc.).

Matthew 4:23

4:23

Visiting teachers, especially popular ones, were normally invited to speak in
*synagogues, which in this period were led by priests or laymen who were
prominent members of their communities.

Matthew 4:24

4:24

Because many Jewish people lived in Syria, Matthew presumably intends
Syrian Jews here (Matthew would have eagerly mentioned *Gentiles had they
come). The presence of multitudes seeking relief at hot springs (like Hammath-
Tiberias) in Galilee testifies to the vast numbers who sought healing in the first
century; teachers reputed as healers (usually Gentile magicians) also drew great
crowds.

Although some contemporary medical writers (such as the second-century
A.D. Greek physician Aretaeus, but unlike the fifth-century B.C. Greek
Hippocrates) thought epilepsy was due to demonic activity, Matthew here
distinguishes the two.

Matthew 4:25

4:25

The Decapolis, the “Ten Cities,” was a *Gentile area that included a large
Jewish population.

Matthew 5:1

5:1-12 The Beatitudes, or Blessings

Matthew 5–7 is the first block of teaching material in Matthew, dealing with
the ethics of the *kingdom. In 4:17 Jesus summarizes his message: “*Repent, for
the kingdom is at hand”; Matthew 5–7 shows in greater detail the repentant
lifestyle that characterizes the people of the kingdom. This block is introduced by
a common *Old Testament literary form called beatitudes: “Happy are those
who…, for they shall….” (e.g., Ps 1:1). Here the blessings are the promises of the
kingdom for those who live the repentant life. Jesus’ hearers would have
understood them especially as promises for the future time of God’s reign; we
must read them in the light of the present aspect of the kingdom as well (see
“kingdom” in the glossary). The future kingdom was sometimes defined by
images from the creation narratives or from Israel’s exodus from Egypt, which
the Jewish people regarded as their original redemption.

Matthew 5:1

5:1-2

Although one would stand to read Scripture publicly, Jewish teachers would
sit to expound it, often with *disciples sitting at their feet. Many scholars have
compared the “mountain” (cf. Lk 6:17) here to Mount Sinai, where God through
Moses first taught his ethics by the *law (Ex 19–20; cf. Isaiah 2:2-3).

Matthew 5:3

5:3

Ancient writers and speakers would sometimes bracket a section of material
by beginning and ending with the same phrase. These blessings thus deal with the
gift of the kingdom (5:3, 10).

Many Jewish people believed that the kingdom would be ushered in only by a
great war and force of arms; Jesus promises it for the “poor in spirit,” the
“humble” or “meek” (5:5), the peacemakers (5:9). Poverty and piety were often
associated in Judaism; the term poor could encompass either physical poverty
(Lk 6:20), or the faithful dependence on God that it often produced (“in spirit,”
as here).

Matthew 5:4

5:4

Mourning was usually associated with either *repentance or bereavement; the
conjunction with “comfort” means that the second aspect is in view here. It could
mean grief over Israel’s sins, but in this context probably refers to the pain of the
oppressed. “Comfort” was one of the blessings promised for the future time when
God would restore his mourning people (Isaiah 40:1; 49:13; 51:3, 12; 52:9;
54:11; 57:18; 61:2; 66:13).

Matthew 5:5

5:5

Here Jesus cites Scripture (Ps 37:9, 11). Not those who try to bring in the
kingdom politically or militarily but those who humbly wait on God will “inherit
the earth.” The Hebrew of the psalm could mean “inherit the land” in a narrower
sense (Ps 25:13), but in Jesus’ day Jewish people expected God’s people to reign
over all the earth, as some other *Old Testament passages suggest.

Matthew 5:6

5:6

Jewish people understood that God would also satisfy his people’s needs in
the future kingdom (Isaiah 25:6; 41:17-18; 55:2), as he had supplied for them in
the exodus when he first redeemed them (Deut 6:11; 8:7-10). But the greatest
object of longing should be God (Ps 42:1; 63:1) and instruction in his
righteousness (Ps 119:40, 47, 70, 92, 97, 103; Jer 15:16).

Matthew 5:7

5:7

Some later *rabbis uttered similar statements (cf. also Prov 11:17). Like the
peacemakers (v. 9), the merciful are not those who seek to bring in the kingdom
by force. The mercy Jewish people generally hoped to receive was expected in
the day of judgment (cf. Mic 7:18-19).

Matthew 5:8

5:8

The “pure in heart” (Ps 73:1) were those in Israel whose hearts were “clean,”
or undefiled, those who recognized that God alone was their help and reward (Ps
73:2-28). The righteous would see God on the day of judgment (e.g., Isaiah
30:20), as in the first exodus (Ex 24:10-11).

Matthew 5:9

5:9

Both the Jewish people and the righteous were called “sons of God” in
Jewish tradition; the ultimate declaration of that fact would be made in the sight
of the nations on the day of judgment. Those Pharisaic *rabbis who prevailed in
Palestinian Judaism after the war of A.D. 66-70 were the ones who emphasized
the way of peace rather than the way of revolt espoused by others. But most other
Jewish leaders, including all groups in Jerusalem except the Christians and some
of the Pharisees, had joined in the spirit of revolt and were killed or came to be
viewed as illegitimate leaders after the revolt’s failure.

Matthew 5:10

5:10-12

Many of the Old Testament prophets suffered in bringing God’s word to
Israel (e.g., Jer 26:11); Jewish tradition amplified the number of prophetic
martyrs further and made it a major emphasis. The burden of proof was always
on the prophet who spoke what people wanted to hear (Jer 28:8-9; cf. 6:14; 8:10-
11; 23:17).

Most Jewish people did not believe that prophets still existed in the Old
Testament sense, so Jesus’ comparing his followers to the prophets indicated that
they would have an extraordinary mission. To suffer for God was meritorious (Ps
44:22; 69:7), and Judaism highly honored martyrs for God’s *law; yet no other
*rabbi called *disciples to die for his own teachings or name.

Matthew 5:13

5:13-16 Real Discipleship

A *disciple of the *kingdom who does not live like a disciple of the kingdom
(5:3-12) is worth about as much as tasteless salt or invisible light.

Matthew 5:13

5:13

Various scholars have emphasized different uses of salt in antiquity, such as a
preservative or an agent regularly added to manure; but the use of salt here is as a
flavoring agent: “if salt has become tasteless” (the Greek word can also mean
“become foolish,” so it may include a play on words).

Although the salt recovered from impure salt substances taken from the Dead
Sea could dissolve, leaving only the impurities behind, the point here is closer to
that expressed by a *rabbi at the end of the first century. When asked how one
could make saltless salt salty again, he replied that one should salt it with the
afterbirth of a mule. Being sterile, mules have no afterbirth, and he was saying
that those who ask a stupid question receive a stupid answer. Real salt does not
lose its saltiness; but if it did, what would you do to restore its salty flavor—salt
it? Unsalty salt was worthless.

Matthew 5:14

5:14

Jewish tradition considered Israel (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6) and Jerusalem (as well
as God and the *law) the light of the world. The “city” here may thus be
Jerusalem; or it may be any elevated city at night, whose torch lights would make
it visible to the surrounding countryside.

Matthew 5:15

5:15-16

The small wicker oil lamps of this period gave little light in the average
home, which had few windows; they would be most effective by being set on a
lampstand. Something large placed over them would presumably extinguish the
light altogether.

Matthew 5:17

5:17-20 The Law Enforced

Jesus’ ethical demands (5:3-16) are no weaker than those of the law given by
Moses; cf. 5:21-26.

Matthew 5:17

5:17

Jewish teachers said that one “abolished” the law by disobeying it (cf. Deut
27:26), because one thereby rejected its authority. Such highhanded rebellion
against the law—as opposed to particular sins—warranted social and spiritual
expulsion from the Jewish community. The charge of openly persuading others
that the law was no longer in force would be even worse. Jesus opposed not the
law but an illegitimate interpretation of it that stressed regulations more than
character.

Matthew 5:18

5:18

Jesus refers here to the yod, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Later
*rabbis told the story that when God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, the yod that
was removed complained to God for generations till he reinserted it, this time in
Joshua’s name. Jewish teachers used illustrations like this to make the point that
the law was sacred and one could not regard any part as too small to be worth
keeping.

Matthew 5:19

5:19

Later *rabbis decided that the greatest commandment was honoring one’s
father and mother, and the least, respecting a mother bird; they reasoned that both
merited the same reward, *eternal life (based on “life” in Ex 20:12; Deut 22:7). A
modern reader might ask, What happens to the person who breaks one and keeps
another? But such a question misses the point of this *hyperbolic language which
other Jewish teachers also typically used to say, “God will hold accountable
anyone who disregards even the smallest commandment.”

Matthew 5:20

5:20

The *Pharisees were the most respected religious people of the day, and the
*scribes the supreme experts in the law (especially, no doubt, the Pharisaic
scribes). Verses 21-48 show what Jesus’ demand for a “higher” righteousness
involves. The Pharisees also stressed the right intention of the heart (kavanah);
Jesus’ criticizes not their doctrine but their hearts as religious people. Religious
communities led by Pharisaic teachers may have also been opponents of Jewish
Christians in Syria-Palestine in Matthew’s day, giving Matthew additional
incentive to record these words.

Matthew 5:21

5:21-26 Anger as Murder

Six times in verses 21-43 Jesus cites Scripture and then, like a good *rabbi,
explains it (5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). The sort of wording he uses (“You have
heard,… but I say”) was used by other Jewish teachers to establish the fuller
meaning of a text, although Jesus speaks with greater authority than Jewish
teachers normally claimed.

Matthew 5:21

5:21-22

“Raca” is *Aramaic for “empty-headed one”; the insult is about the same as
the one that follows it, “Fool!” The punishments are also roughly equal: the (day
of God’s) judgment, the heavenly *Sanhedrin or supreme court, and hell. (Jewish
literature described God’s heavenly tribunal as a supreme court, or sanhedrin,
parallel to the earthly one.) “The hell of fire” is literally “the *Gehenna of fire,”
which refers to the standard Jewish concept of Gehinnom, the opposite of
paradise; in Gehinnom the wicked would be burned up (according to some
Jewish teachers) or eternally tortured (according to other Jewish teachers). Not
only the outward act of murder but also the inward choice of anger that generates
such acts violates the spirit of God’s law against murder.

Matthew 5:23

5:23-24

Judaism stressed reconciliation between individuals; God would not accept
an outward offering if one had oppressed or mistreated one’s neighbor and did
not make it right. In the *Old Testament God accepted only sacrifices offered
with a pure heart toward him and one’s neighbor (Gen 4:4-7; Prov 15:8; Isaiah
1:10-15; Jer 6:20; Amos 5:21-24).

Matthew 5:25

5:25-26

Again Jesus returns to the image of the heavenly court. Here he may use the
custom of debt imprisonment as another image in the *parable; this was a non-
Jewish custom, but Jewish hearers would have known about it among the
*Gentiles. No mercy would be shown: the amount of money to be repaid
extended to the last (literally) quadrans, almost the least valuable Roman coin,
the equivalent of only a few minutes’ wages. (Details like the “officer” make the
parable work as a story but do not symbolize anything in particular. Ancient
storytellers did not invest meaning in every detail of their parables; see “parable”
in the glossary.)

Matthew 5:27

5:27-30 Lust as Adultery

Matthew 5:27

5:27-28

Other Jewish teachers also looked down on lust; some even went as far as
Jesus in regarding it as adultery. The issue is thus not the doctrine of Jesus’
hearers but their heart. The Greek word here is the same as in the opening line of
the tenth commandment in the *Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old
Testament): “You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife” (Ex 20:17). The tenth
commandment, against coveting, forces Jesus’ hearers to internalize Moses’ other
commandments.

Matthew 5:29

5:29-30

Corporal punishment (cutting off appendages, e.g., Ex 21:24-25) is easier to
bear than capital punishment, the decree of eternal death pronounced by the
heavenly court. Some Jewish thinkers believed that one would be *resurrected in
exactly the form in which one had died (e.g., with limbs missing, as in the case of
many martyrs) before being made whole, and Jesus employs this image.

Matthew 5:31

5:31-32 Remarriage as Adultery

Under Jewish law, “adultery” referred only to the wife’s misbehavior, not the
husband’s. Matthew does not agree with this view (5:28); but because his readers
must obey the law of their communities, he deals only with the issue of the wife.

Some Pharisaic *rabbis allowed divorce for almost anything (just as Roman
law did); others allowed it only if the wife were unfaithful (see comment on 19:1-
10; both Jewish and Roman law required divorce for adultery). Yet the stricter
rabbis did not view more lenient divorces as invalid. Jesus thus goes beyond the
stricter position: not only does he allow divorce only if one’s wife is unfaithful,
but he regards divorce for any other reason as invalid, thus making remarriage in
those cases adulterous. This seems, however, to be *hyperbole (as in 5:29-30), a
graphic way of forbidding divorce except when the other partner has already
irreparably broken the marriage covenant.

If Jesus’ interpretation of the law was stricter than what the law said at face
value, no one would have thought that he was therefore contradicting the law;
“building a fence” around the law was a standard Jewish practice that involved
making certain that the law’s intent was not broken.

Matthew 5:33

5:33-37 Integrity, Not Oaths

People swore by all sorts of things other than God to testify that their word
was true. They reasoned that if they broke their oath based on any of these lesser
things, at least they were not bringing God’s name into disrepute. It eventually
became necessary for *rabbis to decide which oaths were completely binding.
Jesus says that everything by which one could swear is ultimately God’s, and
demands that people simply be as good as their word. Jesus argues the point in
part from Scripture; Isaiah 66:1 declared that heaven is God’s throne and earth is
his footstool.

Most people in Jewish Palestine had black or dark hair, unless they were
older, in which case their hair was turning white; verse 36 would have been heard
as referring to God’s control over aging. Jesus’ rule here is stricter than the letter
of the law but in accord with its spirit (Deut 23:21-23; Eccles 5:5). It is possible
that the *Essenes also avoided oath-taking after their initial oath to join their sect.

Matthew 5:38

5:38-42 Nonresistance

The language is partly hyperbole—*disciples did not engage in behavior that
would immediately lead to homelessness (cf. 2 Cor 11:20). But hyperbole was
meant to provoke hearers to consider the radical nature of what they were being
told: Jesus is quite literally calling them to value relationships supremely and
regard possessions as nothing. (The point is absolute unselfishness, motivated by
love; cf. 5:43-44.)

Matthew 5:38

5:38

The “eye for an eye” and “tooth for a tooth” are part of the widespread
ancient Near Eastern law of retaliation. In Israel and other cultures, this principle
was enforced by a court and refers to legalized vengeance; personal vengeance
was never accepted in the *law of Moses, except as a concession for a relative’s
murder (Num 35:18-21). The *Old Testament did not permit personal vengeance;
David, a great warrior, recognized this principle (1 Sam 25:33; 26:10-11).

Matthew 5:39

5:39

The blow on the right cheek was the most grievous insult possible in the
ancient world (apart from inflicting serious physical harm), and in many cultures
was listed alongside the “eye for an eye” laws; both Jewish and Roman law
permitted prosecution for this offense. A prophet might endure such ill treatment
(1 Kings 22:24; Isaiah 50:6).

Matthew 5:40

5:40

The poorest people of the Empire (e.g., most peasants in Egypt) had only an
inner and outer garment, and the theft of a cloak would lead to legal recourse.
Although conditions in first-century Palestine were not quite that bad, this verse
could indicate divestiture of all one’s possessions, even (*hyperbolically) one’s
clothes, to avoid a legal dispute affecting only oneself. Jesus gives this advice in
spite of the fact that, under Jewish law, a legal case to regain one’s cloak would
have been foolproof: a creditor could not take a poor person’s outer cloak, which
might serve as one’s only blanket at night as well as a coat (Ex 22:26-27).

Matthew 5:41

5:41

Roman soldiers had the legal right to impress the labor, work animal or
substance of local residents (cf. Mk 15:21). Although impressment may not have
happened often in Galilee, it happened elsewhere, and the fact that it could
happen would be enough to raise the eyebrows of Jesus’ hearers at this example
of nonresistance and even loving service to the oppressor.

The Jewish hierarchy favored the status quo with Rome; some revolutionaries
wanted to revolt. Most Palestinian Jews in this period wanted freedom but were
not revolutionaries. But by A.D. 66 Jewish Palestine was caught up in a war, and
by 70 the wisdom of Jesus’ course was evident: Rome won the war, and the
Jewish people, led to defeat by the revolutionaries, were crushed.

Matthew 5:42

5:42

Beggars were widespread. The Bible stressed giving to those in need (Deut
15:11; Ps 112:5, 9; Prov 21:13). God would take care of the needs of those who
helped the poor (Deut 15:10; Prov 19:17; 22:9; 28:8). Biblical laws against usury
and especially about lending to the poor before the year of release (Deut 15:9;
every seventh year debts were to be forgiven; cf. Lev 25) support Jesus’ principle
here, but Jesus goes even farther in emphasizing unselfish giving (especially Lk
6:35).

Matthew 5:43

5:43-48 Beyond Nonresistance

Matthew 5:43

5:43-44

The *Old Testament did not explicitly teach hatred for one’s enemies (Ex
23:4-5; Prov 25:21-22), although hating God’s enemies was a pious way to feel
(Ps 139:19-22); some Jewish groups, like the *Essenes, emphasized hatred
toward those outside the covenant. Greek ethics sometimes stressed learning
from one’s enemies’ criticism but also could stress making sure to hurt one’s
enemies more than one was hurt by them (so Isocrates, a fourth-century B.C.
Athenian orator and rhetorician).

Prayer for one’s persecutors (except that God would strike them dead!) had
not generally characterized even the most pious in the Old Testament (cf. 2
Chron 24:22; Jer 11:20; 15:15; 17:18; 18:23; 20:12; often in Psalms, e.g., 137:7-
9). Greek philosophers generally answered their critics harshly and arrogantly.

Matthew 5:45

5:45

Jewish teachers emphasized this universal aspect of God’s mercy (they also
stressed that the prayers of the righteous could bring rain in times of drought;
Jesus’ statement does not deny that idea). Some Jewish texts said that by being
like God, one would be his children (i.e., imitators; e.g., Ecclus 4:10).

Matthew 5:46

5:46-47

Some Jewish teachers emphasized kindness to pagans (*Gentiles) to draw
them to the truth, but most people greeted and (apart from charity) looked after
only those they knew. *Tax gatherers were considered among the most apostate
Jews; Gentiles were considered (usually rightly) immoral, idolatrous, often anti-
Jewish pagans. Jews agreed that one should not be like the pagans (so also the
Old Testament: Lev 18:3; Deut 18:9; Jer 10:2).

Matthew 5:48

5:48

This verse summarizes 5:21-47. The *Aramaic word for “perfect” can mean
“complete” or “whole,” including the nuance of “merciful” (Lk 6:36); in this
context, it means fulfilling the requirements of Matthew 5:21-47. The Bible
already commanded being holy as God is holy (Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26), and
Judaism (as well as some Greek philosophers) sometimes argued ethics on the
basis of imitating God’s character.

Matthew 6:1

6:1-4 Secret Charity

Matthew 6:1

6:1

This verse is the thesis statement that introduces the three examples of private
piety in 6:2-16. Judaism stressed that one should not perform deeds for the sake
of reward but nonetheless promised reward, as Jesus does here; this reward is
rendered at the day of judgment, as in Judaism. Prayer, fasting and gifts to the
poor were basic components of Jewish piety (Tobit 12:8), and many *rabbis
listed qualities (e.g., virtues on which the world was founded) in sets of three.

Matthew 6:2

6:2-4

Greeks and Romans did not support personal charity; wealthy contributions
to public projects or to poorer *clients were meant to secure the giver’s
popularity. In contrast, charity was central to Jewish piety; some writers even
said that it saved a person, although later Jewish laws technically did not permit
one to give over 20 percent above his tithes.

Some commentators have taken the trumpet sounding literally, but it is
*hyperbolic (people did not blow trumpets when giving alms) and may reflect a
play on words (charity boxes were often shaped like trumpets). Not letting one’s
left hand know about the right hand’s gift is clearly hyperbole. The language of
“having” a reward “in full” is the language of repayment in ancient business
receipts.

Matthew 6:5

6:5-15 Secret Prayer

The parallel structure of the larger section (6:1-18) and of this passage on
prayer is augmented by the presence of a sample prayer (6:9-13; thus how one
should not pray, 6:5, 7-8; and how one should pray, 6:6, 9). Judaism was much
more serious about regular prayer than were Greek and Roman religions.

Matthew 6:5

6:5-6

The problem is not public prayer but motives directed toward other people
rather than toward God. It was probably common for pious people to recite their
prayers individually in the *synagogue; it is not clear that everyone prayed
simultaneously in all synagogues as early as Jesus’ time. The “chamber” could
have been a storeroom; most people did not have private rooms in their houses,
and only that room would have a door on it. Standing was a common posture for
prayer.

Matthew 6:7

6:7

Jewish scholars were debating the use of fixed prayers in this period; they
generally held them to be acceptable if one’s intent was genuine. Greek prayers
piled up as many titles of the deity addressed as possible, hoping to secure his or
her attention. Pagan prayers typically reminded the deity of favors done or
sacrifices offered, attempting to get a response from the god on contractual
grounds.

Matthew 6:8

6:8

Judaism recognized that God knew everything; the issue here is thus not
Jesus’ hearers’ doctrine but their hearts. Jewish people saw God differently than
Greeks saw their gods (even though even monotheistic faith was not always what
it should have been). In Judaism, God was a Father who delighted in meeting the
needs of his people; Judaism also recognized that God knew all a person’s
thoughts. Jesus predicates effective prayer on a relationship of intimacy, not a
business partnership model, which was closer to the one followed by ancient
paganism.

Matthew 6:9

6:9-10

Jewish people commonly addressed God as “Our heavenly Father” when they
prayed, although such intimate titles as “Abba” (Papa) were rare (see comment
on Mk 14:36). One standard Jewish prayer of the day (the Kaddish) proclaimed,
“Exalted and hallowed be his … name … and may his kingdom come speedily
and soon.”

Jewish prayers recognized that God’s name would be “hallowed,” or
“sanctified,” “shown holy,” in the time of the end, when his *kingdom would
come, as the Bible also said (Isaiah 5:16; 29:23; Ezek 36:23; 38:23; 39:7, 27; cf.
Zech 14:9). In the present God’s people could hallow his name by living rightly;
if they lived wrongly, they would “profane” his name, or bring it into disrepute
among the nations (cf. also Ex 20:7; Jer 34:16; 44:25-26; Ezek 13:19; 20:14;
Amos 2:7).

It was understood that after his *kingdom came God’s will would be done on
earth as in heaven.

Matthew 6:11

6:11

This verse alludes to God’s provision of “daily bread” (manna) for his people
in the wilderness after he first redeemed them. Prayers for God to supply one’s
basic needs—of which bread and water are the ultimate examples—were
common in the ancient world (cf. Prov 30:8).

Matthew 6:12

6:12

Jewish teaching regarded sins as “debts” before God; the same *Aramaic
word could be used for both. Biblical law required the periodic forgiveness of
monetary debtors (in the seventh and fiftieth years), so the illustration of
forgiving debts would have been a graphic one (especially since Jewish lawyers
had found a way to circumvent the release of debts so that creditors would
continue to lend).

Matthew 6:13

6:13

Parallels with ancient Jewish prayers, and possibly the *Aramaic wording
behind this verse, suggest that the first line means: “Let us not sin when we are
tested”—rather than “Let us not be tested” (cf. 4:1; 26:41 in context; cf. Ps 141:3-
4). Some scholars have suggested an allusion to the final time of suffering here,
which was expected to precede the coming *kingdom. Because Jewish prayers
were commonly used in liturgical contexts that ended with a statement of praise,
later texts’ addition of the benediction (“Thine is the kingdom….”) to the original
text of Matthew is not surprising.

Matthew 6:14

6:14-15

The principle of forgiveness that Jesus states here seems to be that only
people of grace know how to accept grace. See comment on 18:21-35.

Matthew 6:16

6:16-18 Secret Fasting

During at least the dry seasons, many of the most pious people fasted
(without water, though this was unhealthy) two particular days a week. This
fasting was considered meritorious, although *ascetic fasting (e.g., fasting only to
“beat down the flesh”) was forbidden. Jewish fasting required abstinence not
only from food but also from other pleasures, which would include the usual
practice of anointing one’s head with oil to prevent dry skin; avoiding all these
practices made fasting obvious. (Greeks oiled their bodies before exercise and
then used a metal utensil called a strigil to scrape off the sweaty dirt
accumulated on the oil. But Jews did not practice this custom, and it is not in
view here in Mt 6.) God had never settled for outward fasting only (Isaiah 58:3-
12; Jer 36:9).

Matthew 6:19

6:19-24 Don’t Seek Possessions

One should not value possessions enough to seek them (6:19-24)—or enough
to worry about them—because God will provide one’s basic needs (6:25-34).

Matthew 6:19

6:19

Ancient teachers like *Hillel, a famous Jewish teacher, generally
acknowledged the corruptibility of earthly treasure. Because thieves could dig
through walls and steal a strongbox in one’s home, well-to-do people usually
tried one of several other methods to safeguard their wealth: investing money
with moneychangers, depositing it in a temple for safekeeping (even most
robbers balked at “robbing gods”) or burying it in the ground or in caves, where,
however, moth (for expensive apparel) or rust (for coins) could destroy its value
in time.

Matthew 6:20

6:20-21

Jewish texts spoke of “laying up treasure” with God (e.g., Tobit 4:7-10).
Sometimes this meant that the generous person could trust that God would help
him in time of need; sometimes it referred (as here) to treasure in the world to
come.

Matthew 6:22

6:22-23

Jesus speaks literally of a “single” eye versus a “bad” or “evil” one. This
saying may involve several plays on words. A “single” eye normally meant a
generous one but also sets the reader up for 6:24. A “bad” eye in that culture
could mean either a diseased one or a stingy one. Many people believed that light
was emitted from the eye, enabling one to see, rather than that light was admitted
through the eye. Although here Jesus compares the eye to a lamp, he speaks of
“diseased” eyes which fail to admit light. Such eyes become a symbol for the
worthlessness of a stingy person.

Matthew 6:24

6:24

Two masters rarely shared slaves, but when they did it always led to divided
interests. “Mammon” is an *Aramaic word for possessions or money, and Jesus
seems to be personifying it as an idol, using another ancient figure of speech
(personification).

Matthew 6:25

6:25-34 Don’t Worry About Possessions

Matthew 6:25

6:25

Most people in antiquity had little beyond basic necessities—food, clothing
and shelter. Because their acquisition of these necessities often depended—
especially in rural areas—on seasonal rains or (in Egypt) the flooding of the Nile,
they had plenty of cause for stress even about food and clothing.

Matthew 6:26

6:26-27

Some ancient philosophers taught about or drew morals from nature as well
as from philosophy. Many Jewish teachers said that God’s concern in the laws of
the Bible was only for humans (although it was clear that God watched over all
creation; cf. Ps 104:27). But Jesus’ argument was a standard Jewish “how much
more” (qal vahomer) argument: If God cares for the birds (and *rabbis
agreed that he sustained all creation), how much more does he care for humans?

Matthew 6:28

6:28-30

Some commentators have suggested that the flowers here may be anemones,
which were purple, the color that many ancient readers would have envisioned
for Solomon’s royal robes (6:29). Yet such flowers were fuel for the oven. The
perishing of grass and flowers as they dried up in each year’s summer heat was a
natural image for human mortality (cf. Ps 103:15-16; Isaiah 40:6-8).

Matthew 6:31

6:31-33

The pagan world did indeed seek after such necessities, but Jesus reminds his
hearers that they could trust their Father (v. 32; see comment on 6:7-8) and
should seek the *kingdom (v. 33).

Matthew 6:34

6:34

Other Jewish teachers after Jesus gave the same advice; whether Jesus used a
common saying or his teaching in this case became a common saying is hard to
determine.

Matthew 7:1

7:1-5 Reciprocal Judgment

Matthew 7:1

7:1-2

The idea of a measuring scale (the image is from the ancient marketplace)
was used elsewhere for the day of judgment or divine retribution; “As a man
measures it will be measured back to him” occurs a number of times in later
Jewish sources and may have been a maxim. For the principle, see 5:7, 6:14-15
and Proverbs 19:17. Compare also the Old Testament principles that false
witnesses were to receive the penalty they sought for the accused (Deut 19:18-
21) and that God opposed unjust judges (Ex 23:6-8; Deut 16:18-20).

Matthew 7:2

7:2-5

Although ancient eye surgery often involved lancing the eye, here Jesus
clearly uses *hyperbole. The imagery is vivid, shocking, ludicrous and probably
humorous to Jesus’ hearers, but it communicates the point. The prophets had
appealed to graphic images, often employing plays on words to communicate
their message (e.g., the Hebrew of Mic 1; Jer 1:11-12). The *Old Testament (e.g.,
Prov 15:32) and subsequent Jewish tradition stressed that people should always
be humble enough to accept correction.

Matthew 7:6

7:6-12 Imitating God’s Gifts

Matthew 7:6

7:6

Pigs and dogs were considered unclean animals (Prov 26:11; 2 Pet 2:22),
which had no appreciation for valuable things (Prov 11:22). Pigs typically ate the
vilest foods, and dogs were scavengers, consuming even human blood. Stray
dogs were known to growl at those who tossed them food as well as those who
ignored them. The image would thus be forceful and beyond dispute for ancient
hearers.

The question is what the verse means in the context. Perhaps it means not
correcting (cf. Mt 7:1-5) those who would not listen (cf. Prov 23:9). Perhaps it
means giving only to those who want what one offers, as God does (Mt 7:7-11);
in this case the text returns to the idea of giving and of reciprocity in verse 12.

Matthew 7:7

7:7-8

The boldness with which this text promises answers to prayer is quite rare in
ancient literature.

Matthew 7:9

7:9-11

Jesus adapts a standard Jewish argument here called qal vahomer:
arguing from the lesser to the greater (if the lesser is true, how much more the
greater). Fish and bread were basic staples, integral to the diet of most of Jesus’
hearers; they do not stand for the fineries of the wealthy.

Matthew 7:12

7:12

That one should not do to others what one would not wish done to oneself
was a common teaching; it occurred in the Jewish book of Tobit, in the teaching
of the early Jewish teacher *Hillel and in Greek sources as well.

Matthew 7:13

7:13-27 The Two Ways

Matthew 7:13

7:13-14

Jesus’ hearers would have been familiar with the image of “two ways”—one
leading to life and the other to death; it was common in Judaism. Jesus’ emphasis
that few are on the right way occurs in 4 Ezra but is not as common as the
general image of the two ways. Most Jewish people believed that Israel as a
whole would be saved and that the few who were lost would be exceptions to the
general rule.

Matthew 7:15

7:15

Although most educated Jewish people did not believe that prophets had
continued in the *Old Testament sense, they believed that false prophets (cf.,
e.g., Jer 2:8; 5:30) continued; *Josephus mentioned many of them in the first
century. The contrast between vicious wolves and harmless lambs or sheep was
proverbial.

Matthew 7:16

7:16

Like wheat and barley, grapes and figs were among the most valuable and
widely consumed fruits of the earth; thorns and thistles were worthless and
troublesome to harvesters, as the Old Testament often mentions. For a figurative
use of “fruits” in the Old Testament, see Isaiah 5:6 and comment on Matthew
3:8.

Matthew 7:17

7:17-20

The repetition of “know them by their fruits” (7:17, 20) brackets this
illustration; such bracketing was commonly used as a literary device (called
inclusio) to mark off a paragraph. Prophets were known to be false if they led
people away from the true God (Deut 13) or their words did not come to pass
(Deut 18:21-22). The *rabbis allowed that prophets might temporarily suspend a
teaching of the law the way rabbis themselves would, but if they denied the law
itself or advocated idolatry, they were false prophets. Jesus teaches that if they do
not live right, they are false (Mt 7:21-23). Cf. Luke 6:43-45.

Matthew 7:21

7:21-23

The miracles Jesus mentions are not necessarily false; it is possible to
prophesy by the *Spirit’s inspiration and yet be disobedient to God and unsaved
(1 Sam 19:20-24). The admonition to depart is from a psalm about the
vindication of the righteous (Ps 6:8; cf. 119:115; 139:19).

Matthew 7:24

7:24-27

The *rabbis debated whether hearing or doing the law was more important;
most concluded that hearing it was more important, because one could not do it
without hearing it. But they did insist that both were necessary.

Again the image is of the day of judgment. The idea of ultimately being
judged for hearing but not obeying was familiar (Ezek 33:32-33). But no Jewish
teacher apart from Jesus claimed so much authority for his own words; such
authority was reserved for the law itself. Some of Jesus’ more biblically literate
hearers may have thought of Proverbs 24:3 (“by wisdom a house is built”) and
the contrast between wisdom (which builds a house in 9:1) and folly in Proverbs
9:1-18.

Matthew 7:28

7:28-29 Response of the Masses

The teachers of the law never claimed as much authority as Jesus had (7:24-
27); they derived their authority especially from building on previous tradition.

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