The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  13:34 without a parable He did not speak to them. For the rest of His Galilean ministry all Jesus’ public teaching consisted only of parables.

  13:35 spoken by the prophet. The “prophet” in this case was the psalmist. See Ps. 78:2.

  13:37 He who sows. The true sower of salvation seed is the Lord Himself. He alone can give the power in the heart to transform. He is the One who saves sinners, even through the preaching and witnessing of believers (Rom. 10:14).

  13:43 shine forth as the sun. Cf. Dan. 12:3. Believers already shine in that they possess the Spirit of Christ and the glorious message of the gospel (5:16; 2 Cor. 4:3–7). We will shine even more in the glory of Christ’s kingdom and eternal heaven (Rom. 8:16–23; Phil. 3:20, 21; Rev. 19:7–9).

  13:44–46 These two parables have identical meanings. Both picture salvation as something hidden from most people (see note on v. 11), but so valuable that people who have it revealed to them are willing to give up all they have to possess it.

  13:47 dragnet. Some fishing was done with a large weighted net dragged along the bottom of the lake. When pulled in, it contained an assortment that had to be separated. In a similar way the visible kingdom, the sphere of those who claim to be believers, is full of both good and bad and will be sorted in the judgment.

  13:49 angels. They serve God in judgment (cf. v. 41; 2 Thess. 1:7–10).

  13:52 brings out of his treasure things new and old. The disciples were not to spurn the old for the sake of the new. Rather the new insights they gleaned from Jesus’ parables were to be understood in light of the old truths, and vice versa.

  13:54 His own country. I.e., Nazareth.

  13:55 His brothers. See note on 12:46. The fact that Joseph does not actually appear in any of these accounts suggests that he was no longer living.

  13:57 A prophet…in his own country. This is an ancient proverb paralleling the modern saying, “familiarity breeds contempt.” They knew Jesus too well as a boy and a young man from their own town—and they concluded that He was nothing special. Verse 58 gives the sad result (cf. Mark 6:4).

  13:58 He did not do many mighty works there. See note on Mark 6:5.

  Matthew 14

  14:1–12 The record of the murder of John the Baptist is also in Mark 6:14–29; cf. Luke 9:7–9.

  14:1 Herod. See note on 2:22. This was Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. tetrarch. One of 4 rulers of a divided region. After the death of Herod the Great, Palestine had been divided among his sons. Elsewhere, Matthew refers to Herod as “King” (v. 9), because that was the title by which he was known among the Galileans.

  14:3 Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, another son of Herod the Great; so when she married Philip, she was marrying her own father’s brother. What precipitated the arrest of John the Baptist was that Herod Antipas (another of Herodias’ uncles) talked Herodias into leaving her husband (his brother) in order to marry him (Mark 6:17)—thus compounding the incest, as well as violating Lev. 18:16. John was outraged that a ruler in Israel would commit such a sin openly, so he rebuked Herod severely (v. 4). For this, he was imprisoned and later killed (Mark 6:14–29).

  14:6 the daughter of Herodias. Salome, daughter of Herodias and Philip. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, she married yet another son (her own father’s brother and her mother’s uncle) of Herod the Great, thus further tangling the web of incest in that family.

  14:8 prompted by her mother. See note on v. 6.

  14:9 because of the oaths. A promise made with a certain oath was considered sacred and inviolable (see note on 5:34)—especially when made by a ruling monarch. Herod was widely known for his duplicity, so it was not honesty that he was concerned about, but rather the appearance of things. He did not want to be embarrassed in front of his dinner guests.

  14:12 buried it. In a cave (Mark 6:29).

  14:13 multitudes…followed Him on foot. They traveled great distances over land to reach the secluded spot where He had come by boat.

  14:14 moved with compassion. See note on 9:36.

  14:16 give them something to eat. Jesus knew they did not have enough food to feed the crowd. He wanted the disciples to state it plainly so the record would be clear that a miracle by His power occurred (vv. 17, 18). See 16:9, 10.

  14:24 tossed by the waves. See notes on 8:24, 27.

  14:25 fourth watch. 3:00—6:00 a.m.

  14:33 You are the Son of God. Cf. 27:43, 54.

  14:34 Gennesaret. A town on the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee.

  14:36 the hem of His garment. See note on 9:20.

  Matthew 15

  15:2 tradition of the elders. This was a body of extrabiblical law that had existed only in oral form and only since the time of the Babylonian captivity. Later it was committed to writing in the Mishna near the end of the second century. The law of Moses contained no commandment about washing one’s hands before eating—except for priests who were required to wash before eating holy offerings (Lev. 22:6, 7).

  15:3 transgress. The nature of this sin is identified in vv. 4–6 as dishonoring one’s parents in a cleverly devised way. The commandments of God were clear (quoted from Ex. 20:12; 21:17; Deut. 5:16); but to circumvent them, some people claimed they could not financially assist their parents because they had dedicated a certain sum of money to God, who was greater than their parents. The rabbis had approved this exception to the commandments of Moses and thus in effect nullified God’s law (v. 6).

  15:6 you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. See note on Mark 7:13.

  15:8, 9 Quoted from Is. 29:13.

  15:11 what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. People might defile themselves ceremonially (under the Old Covenant) by eating something unclean, but they would defile themselves morally by saying something sinful (cf. James 3:6). Here Jesus clearly distinguished between the law’s ceremonial requirements and its inviolable moral standard. Ceremonial defilement could be dealt with through ceremonial means. But moral defilement corrupts a person’s soul.

  15:14 Let them alone. This severe judgment is a form of God’s wrath. It signifies abandonment by God and is described as “giving them over” in Rom. 1:18–32 (see notes there). Cf. Hos. 4:17.

  15:15 this parable. I.e., v. 11. The “parable” is not at all hard to understand, but it was hard for even the disciples to accept. Years later, Peter still found it hard to accept that all foods are clean (Acts 10:14).

  15:22 Son of David. See note on 1:1.

  15:24 lost sheep of the house of Israel. See note on 10:6.

  15:26 the children’s bread. The lost sheep of the house of Israel must be fed before the “little dogs” (see note on 10:5). Christ employed a word here that speaks of a family pet. His words with this woman are not to be understood as harsh or unfeeling. In fact, He was tenderly drawing from her an expression of her faith in v. 27.

  15:29 skirted the Sea of Galilee. He actually traveled N from Tyre to Sidon and then cut a wide path around the eastern shore of Galilee to Decapolis (Mark 7:31), a primarily Gentile region. He may have taken this route to avoid the territory ruled by Herod Antipas (cf. 14:1, 2). The events that follow must have occurred in Decapolis (see note on 4:25).

  15:33 Where could we get enough bread. No wonder our Lord called them men of little faith (8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20), when they asked a question like that in the light of the recent feeding of the 5,000 (14:13–21).

  15:34 See note on 14:16. Again the Lord had them confess for the record how little food they had in comparison to the size of the crowd. This made clear that the feeding was miraculous evidence of His deity.

  15:38 four thousand. Christ ended His ministry in Galilee with the feeding of the 5,000 (14:13–21). Here, He ended His ministry in the Gentile regions by feeding the 4,000. He later would end His Jerusalem ministry with a meal in the upper room with His disciples.

  Matthew 16

  16:1 a sign from heaven. See note on 12:38. This time Jesus rebuk
ed them for being so concerned with heavenly signs that they could not even interpret the signs of the times all around them. Then He referred them to the same sign He gave them before, the sign of the prophet Jonah (v. 4; cf. 12:39).

  16:2, 3 As primitive as their method of predicting the weather was, their ability to discern spiritual matters was worse. They had the long-promised and long-awaited Messiah in their midst and refused to acknowledge Him.

  16:6 the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. When Jesus warned of this dangerous influence, the disciples thought He was talking about bread. Again, He reminded them of the fact that the Lord provided plenty of bread, so they didn’t need the bread the Pharisees were offering. How soon they forgot the miracles. See note on 13:33.

  16:12 the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Here the leaven of the Pharisees is their “doctrine.” In Luke 12:1 it is their “hypocrisy.” The two things are inextricably linked. The most sinister influence of the Jewish leaders was a pragmatic doctrine that made room for hypocrisy. They were too concerned with externals and ceremonies and the way things appeared, and not concerned enough with matters of the heart. Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy again and again. See note on 23:25.

  16:13 Caesarea Philippi. A district about 25 mi. N of Galilee, at the base of Mt. Hermon. This was different from the city of Caesarea built by Herod the Great on the Mediterranean coast.

  16:16 the living God. An OT name for Jehovah (e.g., Deut. 5:26; Josh. 3:10; 1 Sam. 17:26, 36; 2 Kin. 19:4, 16; Pss. 42:2; 84:2; Dan. 6:26; Hos. 1:10) as contrasted with the dead, dumb idols (Jer. 10:8; 18:15; 1 Cor. 12:2).

  16:17 flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. Christ’s messianic claims had always been subtle allusions to OT prophecies, combined with miraculous works that substantiated those claims. Never before had He explicitly taught Peter and the apostles the fullness of His identity. God the Father had opened Peter’s eyes to the full significance of those claims, and revealed to him who Jesus really was. In other words, God had opened Peter’s heart to this deeper knowledge of Christ by faith. Peter was not merely expressing an academic opinion about the identity of Christ; this was a confession of Peter’s personal faith, made possible by a divinely-regenerated heart.

  16:18 on this rock. The word for “Peter,” Petros, means a small stone (John 1:42). Jesus used a play on words here with petra which means a foundation boulder (cf. 7:24, 25). Since the NT makes it abundantly clear that Christ is both the foundation (Acts 4:11, 12; 1 Cor. 3:11) and the head (Eph. 5:23) of the church, it is a mistake to think that here He is giving either of those roles to Peter. There is a sense in which the apostles played a foundational role in the building of the church (Eph. 2:20), but the role of primacy is reserved for Christ alone, not assigned to Peter. So Jesus’ words here are best interpreted as a simple play on words in that a boulder-like truth came from the mouth of one who was called a small stone. Peter himself explains the imagery in his first epistle: the church is built of “living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5) who, like Peter, confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Christ Himself is the “chief cornerstone” (1 Pet. 2:6, 7). church. Matthew is the only gospel where this term is found (see also 18:17). Christ called it “My church,” emphasizing that He alone is its Architect, Builder, Owner, and Lord. The Gr. word for church means “called out ones.” While God had since the beginning of redemptive history been gathering the redeemed by grace, the unique church He promised to build began at Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit, by whom the Lord baptized believers into His body—which is the church (see notes on Acts 2:1–4; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13). the gates of Hades. Hades is the place of punishment for the spirits of dead unbelievers. The point of entry for such is death. This, then, is a Jewish phrase referring to death. Even death, the ultimate weapon of Satan (cf. Heb. 2:14, 15), has no power to stop the church. The blood of martyrs, in fact, has sped the growth of the church in size and spiritual power.

  16:19 the keys of the kingdom of heaven. These represent authority, and here Christ gives Peter (and by extension all other believers) authority to declare what was bound or loosed in heaven. This echoed the promise of John 20:23, where Christ gave the disciples authority to forgive or retain the sins of people. All this must be understood in the context of 18:15–17, where Christ laid out specific instructions for dealing with sin in the church (see note on 18:15). The sum of it all means that any duly constituted body of believers, acting in accord with God’s Word, has the authority to declare if someone is forgiven or unforgiven. The church’s authority is not to determine these things, but to declare the judgment of heaven based on the principles of the Word. When they make such judgments on the basis of God’s Word, they can be sure heaven is in accord. In other words, whatever they “bind” or “loose” on earth is already “bound” or “loosed” in heaven. When the church says the unrepentant person is bound in sin, the church is saying what God says about that person. When the church acknowledges that a repentant person has been loosed from that sin, God agrees.

  16:20 tell no one. See notes on 8:4; 12:16.

  16:21 From that time. This marks the beginning of a new emphasis in Matthew’s account. He turns his attention from Jesus’ public ministry, to His private instructions for the disciples, which took on a new, somber tone. The disciples had confessed their faith in Him as Messiah. From then on, He began to prepare them for His death. See note on 20:19.

  16:23 “Get behind Me, Satan!” The harshness of this rebuke contrasts sharply with Christ’s words of commendation in vv. 17–19. Jesus suggested that Peter was being a mouthpiece for Satan. Jesus’ death was part of God’s sovereign plan (Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28). “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him” (Is. 53:10). Christ had come with the express purpose of dying as an atonement for sin (John 12:27). And those who would thwart His mission were doing Satan’s work.

  16:24 take up his cross. See note on 10:38.

  16:26 exchange. At the judgment when he faces the disastrous hell of remorse and suffering for his lost soul, with what will he buy it back from perdition? Nothing.

  16:27 will come…will reward. There is coming a time of rewards in the future for believers (1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:8–10; Rev. 22:12). Here, however, the Lord was concerned with the reward of the ungodly—final and eternal judgment (Rom. 2:5–11; 2 Thess. 1:6–10).

  16:28 some standing. In all 3 of the synoptic gospels, this promise is made immediately prior to the Transfiguration (Mark 9:1–8; Luke 9:27–36). Furthermore the word for “kingdom” can be translated “royal splendor.” Therefore, it seems most natural to interpret this promise as a reference to the Transfiguration, which “some” of the disciples—Peter, James, and John, would witness only 6 days later (see note on 17:1).

  Matthew 17

  17:1 after six days. The precise reference to the amount of time elapsed is unusual for Matthew. It seems he is carefully drawing the connection between Jesus’ promise in 16:28 and the event that immediately follows. Mark agrees on the figure of 6 days (Mark 9:2), but Luke, probably counting the day of Peter’s confession and the day of Christ’s Transfiguration separately at the start and end of this time period, says it was “about eight days” (Luke 9:28). Peter, James, and John. These 3, in the inner circle closest to Christ (see note on 10:2), are often seen alone together with Jesus (26:37; Mark 5:37; 13:3).

  17:2 transfigured. Christ underwent a dramatic change in appearance, so the disciples could behold Him in His glory.

  17:3 Moses and Elijah. Representing the law and the prophets respectively, both of which had foretold Christ’s death, and that is what Luke says the 3 of them were discussing (Luke 9:31).

  17:4 three tabernacles. This is undoubtedly a reference to the booths that were used to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Israelites dwelt in booths for 7 days (Lev. 23:34–42). Peter was expressing a wish to stay in that place.

  17:5 Hear Him! Peter erred in placing Moses and Elijah on the same level as Christ. Christ was the very one to
whom Elijah and Moses had pointed. The voice of the Father (v. 5) interrupted while Peter “was still speaking.” The words were the same as those spoken from heaven at Christ’s baptism (3:17).

  17:6 fell on their faces. A common response to the realization that the Holy God of the universe is present. Cf. Is. 6:5; Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 1:17.

  17:9 Tell the vision to no one. See notes on 8:4 and 12:16.

  17:10 Why…Elijah must come first? Because it was so prophesied by Mal. 4:5, 6. See note on 11:14.

  17:12 Elijah has come already. See note on 11:14. The Jewish leaders had failed to recognize John the Baptist (though the disciples did, v. 13). John came in the spirit and power of Elijah—and the Jewish leaders had killed him. The Messiah was “about to suffer” similarly.

  17:17 O faithless and perverse generation. Verse 20 indicates that the Lord was referring to the disciples and their weak faith (see note on 15:33).

  17:19 “Why could we not cast it out?” When Christ sent the disciples out (10:6–8), He explicitly commissioned them to do these kinds of miracles. Less than a year later, they failed where they had once succeeded. Christ’s explanation for their failure was that their faith was deficient (v. 20). The deficiency did not consist in a lack of confidence; they were surprised that they could not cast out this demon. The problem probably lay in a failure to make God—rather than their own gifts—the object of their confidence (see note on v. 20).

  17:20 faith as a mustard seed. True faith, by Christ’s definition, always involves surrender to the will of God. What He was teaching here is nothing like positive-thinking psychology. He was saying that both the source and the object of all genuine faith—even the weak, mustard-seed variety—is God. And “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). See also note on 21:21. nothing will be impossible. Here, Christ assumes the qualifying thought that is explicitly added by 1 John 5:14: what we ask for must be “according to His will.”