Matius 11:19

11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him, ¹  a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors ²  and sinners!’ ³  But wisdom is vindicated ⁴  by her deeds.” ⁵ 

Matius 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁶  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁷  tax collectors ⁸  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Matius 23:37

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁹  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ¹⁰  How often I have longed ¹¹  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ¹²  you would have none of it! ¹³ 

Matius 24:3

Signs of the End of the Age

24:3 As ¹⁴  he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things ¹⁵  happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matius 26:47

Betrayal and Arrest

26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas, ¹⁶  one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people.

[11:19]  ¹ tn Grk “Behold a man.”

[11:19]  ² sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[11:19]  ³ sn Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.

[11:19]  ⁴ tn Or “shown to be right.”

[11:19]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses (B² C D L Θ Ë¹ 33 Ï lat) have “children” (τέκνων, teknwn) here instead of “deeds” (ἔργων, ergwn), but since “children” is the reading of the parallel in Luke 7:35, scribes would be motivated to convert the less colorful “deeds” into more animate offspring of wisdom. Further, ἔργων enjoys support from א B* W (˹³) as well as early versional and patristic support.

[21:31]  ⁶ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ⁸ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[23:37]  ⁹ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

[23:37]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:37]  ¹⁰ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

[23:37]  ¹¹ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

[23:37]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[23:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

[24:3]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:3]  ¹⁵ sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

[26:47]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold, Judas.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).