Matius 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matius 4:21

4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ³  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁴  he called them.

Matius 8:28

Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, ⁵  two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.

Matius 8:32

8:32 And he said, ⁶  “Go!” So ⁷  they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water.

Matius 9:18

Restoration and Healing

9:18 As he was saying these things, a ruler came, bowed low before him, and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.”

Matius 17:25

17:25 He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, ⁸  “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes – from their sons ⁹  or from foreigners?”

Matius 23:34

23:34 “For this reason I ¹⁰  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ¹¹  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ¹²  and some you will flog ¹³  in your synagogues ¹⁴  and pursue from town to town,

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[4:21]  ³ tn Or “their boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do here); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats), while Matthew does not.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:28]  ⁵ tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. A number of mss (B C [Δ] Θ al sy^s,p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading here. Many other mss (א² L W Ë^1,13 Ï [sy^hmg] bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (892^c latt sy^hmg sa mae) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Luke may be due to uses of variant regional terms.

[8:28]  sn The region of the Gadarenes would be in Gentile territory on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee across from Galilee. Luke 8:26 and Mark 5:1 record this miracle as occurring “in the region of the Gerasenes.” “Irrespective of how one settles this issue, for the [second and] Third Evangelist the chief concern is that Jesus has crossed over into Gentile territory, ‘opposite Galilee’” (J. B. Green, Luke [NICNT], 337). The region of Gadara extended to the Sea of Galilee and included the town of Sennabris on the southern shore – the town that the herdsmen most likely entered after the drowning of the pigs.

[8:32]  ⁶ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[8:32]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[17:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “spoke first to him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[17:25]  ⁹ sn The phrase their sons may mean “their citizens,” but the term “sons” has been retained here in order to preserve the implicit comparison between the Father and his Son, Jesus.

[23:34]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” 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).

[23:34]  ¹¹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ¹² sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ¹³ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.