Daniel P. Barron

Matthew 21

Wednesday, July 7, 2021 

1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethsphage i to the mount of olives, then Joshua sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the town opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey bound and a colt with her. Loose and bring to me. 3 And if someone says to you, 'What?' you shall say that, 'Their Lord ii has need.' And immediately he will send iii them.” 4 And this all happened so that the word through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king comes to you, gentle iv and mounted upon a donkey and v a colt, the son vi of a donkey.'” vii viii


6 And the disciples, going and doing just as Joshua ordered them, 7 brought the donkey and the colt. And they put over them their garments, and he sat upon them. 8 And the large crowd spread their garments on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 And the crowds going before and those following were crying out, saying, “Hosanna ix to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” x


10 And he went into Jerusalem, and the whole city was shaken, xi saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Joshua, the prophet, the one from Nazareth of Galilee.”


12 And Joshua went into the temple of God and cast out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling the doves he overturned. 13 And he says to them, “It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer.'” xii


14 And lame and blind came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 And the chief priests and the scribes seeing the wonderful things that he did and the children crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David,” were angry, 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?”


And Joshua says to them, “Yes. Have you never read that 'Out of the mouths of babes and nursing ones you prepared xiii praise.'”? xiv 17 And leaving them, he went outside of the city into Bethany and stayed there.


18 And returning in the morning xv into the city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing one xvi fig tree at the road, he went to it and found nothing on it except only leaves. And he says to it, “No longer may there be fruit from you forever!” xvii And the fig tree immediately dried up.


20 And seeing it, the disciples were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately dry up?” 21 And answering, Joshua said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, xviii not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer believing, you will receive.”


23 And when he came into the temple, as he was teaching, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him, saying, “In what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?”


24 And answering Joshua said to them, “I will question you, also I, one word, xix which if you tell me, I also will tell you in what authority I do these things. 25 The immersion of John, from where was it? Out of heaven or out of men?”


26 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, 'Out of heaven ,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26 And if we say, 'Out men,' we are afraid of the crowd, for all hold John as a prophet.”


27 And answering Joshua they said, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither am I telling you in what authority I do these things.”


28 “And what do you think? A man had two children. xx And going to the first he said, 'Child, go today in my vineyard.' 29 And answering he said, 'I will not.' But afterwards being remorseful xxi he went. xxii 30 And going to the other xxiii he said likewise. And answering he said, 'I, Lord,” xxiv and he did not go. 31 Who out of the two did the will of the father?”


They say to him, “The first.” xxv


Joshua says to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes precede xxvi you into the kingdom of God. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And when you saw it, you were not remorseful afterward to believe him.”


33 “Hear another parable. A certain man was the master of the house who planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it and dug in it a wine-press and built a tower. And leased it to farmers xxvii and went on a journey. xxviii 34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to receive his fruit. 35 And when the farmers received his slaves, some they beat and some they killed, and some they stoned. 36 Again, he sent other slaves more than the first, and they did to them likewise. 37 And afterwards, he sent to them his son, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the farmers saw the son they said in themselves, 'This one is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.' 39 And receiving him, they cast him outside the vineyard and killed him. 40 When, therefore, the Lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”


41 They say to him, “He will badly destroy those evil ones, and lease it to other farmers, who will give him the fruit in it's time.”


42 Joshua says to them, “Have you never read in the writings, xxix 'The stone which the builders rejected, this one became into the head of the corner. xxx This is from xxxi the Lord and it is marvelous in our eyes.'?”


43 “Because of this I say to you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation doing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls upon this stone will be shattered, xxxii and upon whomever it falls, it will scatter xxxiii him.”


45 And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he speaks concerning them. 46 And seeking to seize him, they were afraid of the crowds, since they held him as a prophet.


Matthew 20 - Matthew 22


Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf. xxxiv

  1. bhysfagh (bêthsphagê) - “Bethsphage” - Critical and Received Texts have bhyfagh (bêthphagê) “Bethphage.” ^
  2. o kuriov autwn (ho kurios autôn) - “Their Lord” - or more literally, “The Lord of them” - KJV, NKJV, NAS translate this sentence, “The Lord has need of them,” which is not necessarily incorrect. Yet, the other times this phrase is found both in the NT and in the LXX it is in the possessive (e.g. “their lord” or “their master”). See Revelation 11:8 (Critical and Majority Texts) and Judges 3:25. See also footnote on Mark 11:3. ^
  3. apostellei (apostellei) - “he will send” - more literally, “he sends” ^
  4. See footnote for Matthew 5:5. ^
  5. Critical Text adds, epi (epi), “upon.” ^
  6. uion (huion) - “son” ^
  7. upozugiou (upozugiou) - “donkey” - compound word, upo (upo) “under” + zugov (zugos) “yoke” - appears to mean a beast of burden. Found also only in 2 Peter 2:16. ^
  8. In Zechariah 9:9 there is no “Say to the daughter of Zion” in the Hebrew or LXX. Moreover, Matthew 21:5 does not include the phrase that is in both the Hebrew and LXX in Zechariah 9:9, “He is just and having salvation” (NKJV). ^
  9. See footnote for John 12:13. ^
  10. ὑψίστοις (hupsistois) - “highest” - found also in Mark 5:7 (“Most High”); 11:10; Luke 1:32, 35, 76; 2:14; 6:35 (“Most High”); 8:28 (“Most High”); 19:38; Acts 7:48 (“Most High”); 16:17 (“Most High”); Hebrews 7:1 (“Most High”). See also footnote for Genesis 14:18.


    Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:10; Luke 2:14; 19:38 are “in the Highest.” Mark 5:7; Luke 1:32; 8:28 are “son of the Most High.” Luke 1:35 is “power of the Highest.” Luke 1:76 is “prophet of the Highest.” Luke 6:35 is “sons of the Most High.” Acts 7:48; 16:17 are “the Most High.” Hebrews 7:1 is “priest of the Most High.” This same term is used for both God and His Holy Habitation. ^

  11. eseisyh (eseisthê) - “shaken” - found also only in Matthew 27:51; 28:4; Hebrews 12:26 (NKJV “shake” - in the first part of the verse “shook” [NKJV] is from another word, esaleuse [esaleuse]); Revelation 6:13. ^
  12. Isaiah 56:7b ^
  13. kathrtisw (katêrtisô) - “prepared” - or may also be “perfected” (NKJV) – used in the sense of “prepared” e.g. in Romans 9:22; Hebrews 10:5 and “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 13:11 (“complete”); 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Hebrews 13:21 (“complete”); 1 Peter 5:10. ^
  14. Psalm 8:2 ^
  15. prwiav (prôias) - “in the morning” - the idea is early morning. This word is also only found in Matthew 27:1; John 18:28; 21:4. ^
  16. mian (mian) - “one” ^
  17. εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (eis ton aiôna) “forever” - NKJV “ever again” - more literally, “unto the age” or “unto the eternity.” This same exact phrase is also only found in Mark 3:29 (“never,” more literally, “unto eternity”); 11:14 (“never again,” more literally, “forever”); Luke 1:55 (“forever”); John 4:14 (“never,” more literally, “forever”); 6:51, 58; 8:35 (2x, “forever”), 51-52 (“never,” more literally “forever”); 10:28 (“never”); 12:34 (“forever”); 13:8 (“never”); 14:16 (“forever”); 1 Corinthians 8:13 (“never”); 2 Corinthians 9:9 (“forever”); Hebrews 1:8; 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21, 24, 28 (“forever”); 1 Peter 1:23, 25 (“forever”); 1 John 2:17 (“forever”); 2 John 2 (“forever”). ^
  18. Matthew 14:31; Romans 14:23; James 1:6 ^
  19. logon (logon) - “word” ^
  20. tekna (tekna) - “children” ^
  21. metamelhyeiv (metamelêtheis) - “being remorseful” - KJV “he repented,” NKJV “regretted it” - found also in Matthew 21:32; 27:3; 2 Corinthians 7:8; Hebrews 7:21. ^
  22. The NAS does not follow the Critical Text here (or Majority, or Received), but rather other texts that have the answer and response reversed in verses 29-30. See NAS and footnote for verse 31. ^
  23. eterw (eterô) - “other” - Received Text has deuterw (deuterô) “second” - NAS follows the RT here with “second.” For more on deuterw (deuterô) “second” see footnote for Mark 14:72. ^
  24. egw kurie (egô kurie) - “I, Lord,” - KJV, NKJV “I go sir,” NAS “I will sir” (in verse 29) ^
  25. prwtov (prôtos) - “first” - NAS has “latter” following not the Critical Text which has prwtov (prôtos), but a few other texts that have escatov (prôtos). ^
  26. proagousin (proagousin) - “precede” i.e. to go before ^
  27. gewrgoiv (geôrgois) - “farmers” - see footnote for Mark 12:1. ^
  28. See footnotes for Mark 12:1. ^
  29. γραφαῖς (graphais) “writings” - YLT “Writings”; WE “holy writings”; NLV “Holy Writings”; NKJV, etc. “Scriptures” - always used of holy writ. Meaning = writings, e.g. LXX Exodus 32:16 (2x “writing” γραφὴ [graphê]; ב תהה כש מכ [mikhttâv]); Deuteronomy 10:4; 1 Chronicles 28:19; 2 Chronicles 2:11(H/LXX10); Daniel 5:7-8, 15-17, 24; 6:8(A/LXX 9). ^
  30. See footnotes for Mark 12:10. ^
  31. para (para) - “from” - The Hebrew reads likewise, taeme (mê'êt) “from,” Psalm 118:23. ^
  32. sunylasyhsetai (sunthlasthêsetai) - “shattered” KJV, NKJV, - NAS “broken in pieces” - only found here and in Luke 20:18. In the LXX it is found for the translation of Åj'm; (mâchats) in Psalm 68:21 (H22), KJV, NKJV “wound,” NAS “shatter,” and Psalm 110:5-6 KJV “wound” and “strike through,” NKJV “execute,” NAS “shatter.” Åj'm; (mâchats) is found also in Numbers 24:8 (“pierce”), 17 (“batter,” with NKJV footnote “shatter”); Deuteronomy 32:39 (“wound”); 33:11 (“strike”); Judges 5:26 (“split”); 2 Samuel 22:39 (“wounded”); Job 5:18 (“wounds”); 26:12 (“breaks up”); Psalm 18:38(H39, “wounded”); 68:23 (H24, “crush”); Habakkuk 3:13 (“struck”).  ^
  33. likmhsei (likmêsei) - “scatter” - KJV, NKJV “it will grind . . . to powder,” NAS “it will scatter . . . like dust” - only found here in the NT and in Luke 20:18. It is found in the LXX in Ezekiel 26:4 (“scrape”); 29:12 (“scatter”); 30:23, 26 (“scatter”); Job 27:21 (NKJV “sweep”); Daniel 2:44 (NKJV “consume”), here the LXX uses it for a translation of the Aramaic word ¹yset; (tâsêyph), “put an end to” (see NKJV footnote). Also, Daniel 2:44 is an example of what Christ is talking about. ^
  34. Mirrored here^

4 Responses

  1. For I say to you, you shall by no means see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” -- They already said this (Matthew 21:9). He said this also in Luke 13:35, but it was fulfilled in Matthew 21:9. This is same wording as in Psalm 118:26.

  2. And receiving the silver, they did as they were instructed. And this word was made known among Jews until today. -- thv shmeron (tês sêmeron) - “today” - NKJV, KJV “this day” - the Greek word is the word for “today” found also e.g. in Matthew 16:3; 21:28; Luke 23:43 (“today”). “This day” is found e.g. in Acts 2:29 (τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης); 23:1 (ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας).

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