The Jewish Annotated New Testament (199 page)

41
:
8.11; Acts 13.46. The leaders condemn themselves.

42
:
Ps 118.22–23, also from the Hallel prayer (see 21.9n.); cf. Acts 4.11; 1 Pet 2.7.

43
:
People that produces the fruits
, followers of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles.

46
:
Prophet
, see 21.11. There is nothing surprising about this contention—although later rabbinic sources claimed that prophecy had ceased centuries earlier, Josephus and others suggest a widespread belief that prophecy continued through the late Second Temple period.

22.1
–14: Parable of the wedding banquet
(Lk 14.15–24). Cf. 21.33–41;
Gos. Thom
. 64.

2
:
Wedding banquet
, kingdom of heaven (25.1–13; Prov 9;
b. Ber
. 64a;
b. Shabb
. 153a).

3
:
Slaves
, see 21.34n.

5
:
Made light of it
, a gross insult to the host.

6
:
Killed them
, the tenants move from insult to rebellion.

7
:
Burned their city
, a reference to Jerusalem’s destruction; Israel’s prophets predicted the destruction of the First Temple, (Isa 5.24–25; Jer 4.5–8).

10
:
Whom they found
, for Matthew, Jew and Gentile (see, e.g., 13.47).

11
–12:
Wedding robe
, a garment representing righteous deeds or a righteous state. Clothing often symbolized righteousness (Rom 13.12; Gal 3.27; Rev 3.4–5,18; 6.11; 7.13–14; 19.8; 22.14).

13
:
Outer darkness
, 8.12; 25.30.

14
:
Few are chosen
, some reject Jesus’ message; others apostasize.

22.15
–22: Taxes to Caesar
(Mk 12.13–17; Lk 20.20–26).
Gos. Thom
. 100; cf. 17.24–27.

16
:
Herodians
, Political group supporting the royal family, Rome’s client rulers.

17
:
Pay taxes to the emperor
, Rome levied an annual census tax of one denarius (Lk 2.1–2; Josephus,
J.W
. 1.154; 2.118; Tacitus,
Ann
. 2.42). See “Paying Taxes” above.

18
:
Putting me to the test
, see 4.7; 16.1; 19.3; 22:35.
Hypocrites
, see 6.2,5,16; 15.7; 23 passim; 24.51.

19
:
Denarius
, a day’s wage; see 20.2n.; 18.28; 20.10; 22.19.

21
:
Jesus asks the interlocutors to determine for themselves what belongs to God. His early followers generally paid taxes (see 17.27n.; Rom 14.13–23; 1 Cor 9.19–23; 1 Pet 2.17; contrast Rev, particularly ch 13).

22.23
–33: Questions about resurrection
(Mk 12.18–27; Lk 20.27–40).

24
:
Saying there is no resurrection
, Sadducees denied the concept of bodily resurrection (Acts 4.1–2; 23.6–10). See 3.7n.

25
:
His brother shall marry the widow
, see 1.3n.; Gen. 38.8; Deut 25.5–10;
Ant
. 4.254–56;
m. Yebam
. 2.2.

28
:
Whose wife of the seven will she be
, the Sadducees reason that heavenly existence is equivalent to earthly life (cf.
2 Bar
. 51.10–11;
1 En
. 39.5; 69.11; Josephus,
J.W
. 3.374 [the righteous dead in the world to come “dwell in chaste bodies”]
b. Ber
. 17a).

32
:
God of Abraham … Jacob
, Ex 3.6. Torah emphasizes the eternal nature of God’s relationship with Israel (cf.
2 En
. 22.3–14; 62.15–16; 2 Macc 7.9, 36).

22.34
–40: The greatest commandment
(Mk 12.28–34; Lk 10.25–29).

35
:
Lawyer
, Gk “nomikos”; the word occurs only here in Matthew, and in Lk 7.30; 10.25; 11.45,46,52; 14.3; Titus 3.13. Except for Titus, where “Zenas the lawyer” seems to be a member of the community, lawyers appear only in the gospels, as here, to provoke Jesus with a question. There is not enough textual evidence either in the NT or elsewhere to determine whether this title indicates a special class of Jewish authorities different from the scribes (on the latter, see 7.28–29n.; 13.52n.).
Test
, see 4.7; 16.1; 19.3; 22.18.

36
:
Which commandment
, the traditional number of commandments in later rabbinic literature is 613; some attempted to epitomize the Law (see, e.g.,
b. Makk
. 23b;
b
.
Yebam
. 47b, citing Mic 6.8 and other verses).

37
:
You shall love the Lord
, Deut 6.5. Deut 6.4–5 is the “Shema,” the basic affirmation of Jewish belief.

39
:
Love your neighbor
, Lev 19.18;
m. Avot
1.2; cf. Rom 13.9; Gal 5.14; Jas 2.8.

40
:
Hang all the law
, see 7.12n.

23.1
–36: Seven woes against scribes and Pharisees
(Mk 12.38–40; Lk 11.37–52).

2
:
Sit on Moses’ seat
, Jesus acknowledges the Pharisees’ Torah knowledge (cf.
Pesiq. Rav Kah
. 1.7).

4
:
Heavy burdens
, Jesus accuses Pharisees of imposing harsh teachings (contrast 11.28–29). Jews traditionally look upon Torah as a blessing, not a burden.

5
:
Phylacteries
(Gk “phylaktēria,” “safeguard”; Heb “tefillin,” from “tefillah,” “prayer”), boxes containing scriptural passages (Ex 13.1–10; 13.11–16; Deut 6.4–9; 11.13–21), which are worn on the forehead and arm during prayer (Ex 13.9,16; Deut 6.8; 11.15;
b. Ber
. 6a;
b. Men
. 34b; 35b; 37a).
Fringes
, see 9.20n.

7
:
Rabbi
, Heb, lit., “my great one,” meaning “teacher” or “master,” a negative term in Matthew (e.g., 26.49; contrast Jn 20.16).

11
:
Greatest among you
, (Mk 9.33–37; 10.41–45; Lk 9.46–50). See 18.4; 20.26.

12
:
18.4; Lk 14.11; 18.14.

13
:
Woe to you
, see 11.21n.
Scribes and Pharisees
, the pairing suggests scribes of the Pharisees (cf.
m. Sot
. 3.4;
b. Sot
. 22; contrast Mt 13.52; 23.2).
Hypocrites
, see 6.2n.
Lock people out
, for Matthew, to follow Pharisees is to be damned.

15
:
To make a single convert
(Gk “proselytos”), there was some active Jewish proselytizing at the time of the Roman Empire, although the practice was not formally condoned (see
Ant
. 20.17,34–36). Here the concern is Pharisees attempting to convince other Jews to follow their teaching (Acts 2.11; 6.5; 13.43;
b. Sanh
. 99b;
b. Shabb
. 31a;
Gen. Rab
. 47.10; 98.5;
Num. Rab
. 8.4).

16
:
Blind guides,
see 15.14n.
Swears
, see 5.33–37; 23.24.

17
:
Ex 30.29.

21
:
Ex 29.37.

23
:
Tithe
, Lev 27.30; Deut 14.22–23; Mic 6.8.
Mint, dill, and cumin
, dill and cumin were well-known aromatic plants (Isa 28.25,27;
m. Ma
‘
as
4.5;
m. Demai
2.1), but mint is never mentioned in Jewish sources as a tithing herb. Jesus was likely criticizing the Pharisees’ attention to detail, at the expense of more important matters.
Weightier matters of the law
, see 7.12; 22.34–40.

24
:
Strain out a gnat
, see Lev 11.4,41–45; compare 19.24.

25
–26:
Clean the outside
, Lk 11.33–34. Jesus charges the Pharisees with having impure hearts (6.22; 15.16–20), while outwardly appearing pious (23.2; cf.
b. Ber
. 28a;
b. Yoma
72b).

27
:
Whitewashed tombs
, marked so that people could avoid corpse impurity; see Num 19.11–22; Lk 11.44.

33
:
Brood of vipers
, see 3.17n.; 12.34; Lk 3.7.

34
:
Lk 11.49–51.
Prophets, sages, and scribes,
the heroes of the Tanakh and their successors (2 Chr 36.15–16).
You will kill
, see 16.24n.; 20.19n.
Flog in your synagogues
, see 5.10–11n.