Matthew 28

²⁷ The first five books of the Old Testament are called the Law. The law was given to the Jewish people by God. It consisted of ten main commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and then many other rules. The Jews believed that by following the law they could find salvation. For further discussion, see Word List: Law.

The remainder of the Old Testament consists of the history of the Jewish people and the writings of the Jewish prophets. The entire Old Testament, therefore, is often called the Law and the Prophets.

²⁸ “New covenant” is the real meaning of the words “New Testament.” The New Testament describes the new covenant that God has made with man through Jesus Christ.

²⁹ Notice that it’s not a question of who is at fault or mostly at fault. If you are aware that another person is grieved by you or feels negative toward you, Jesus says you must go and be reconciled to your brother (verse 24).

³⁰ God and Jesus are one (see John 10:30).

³¹ Sometimes the Holy Spirit will lead us to pray a long time for a special reason. Jesus prayed all night before He chose His twelve disciples (Luke 6:12-13). But in most situations this is not necessary.

³² The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language.

³³ We must love our children, but we must love them for their own sakes and not for our sakes. We must not love our children because of the benefit we hope to receive from them. That is a selfish “love.” It is really a form of self-love.

³⁴ In place of the words a single hour to his life, some versions of the Bible say, “a single cubit to his height.” The Greek text of this verse can be translated either way. However, it fits better with the context to say, add a single hour to his life. People worry more about the length of their life than they do about their height.

³⁵ In Jesus’time, only Jews and those Gentiles who followed the Jewish religion believed in the one true God.

³⁶ God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one (see General Article: Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit; therefore, the Holy Spirit is also Christ’s Spirit.

³⁷ The Law and the Prophets is another name for the Old Testament. The first five hooks of the Old Testament are called “the law.” For further discussion, see footnote to comment on Matthew 5:17.

³⁸ In John 15:16, the word “fruit” also means new believers. Bearing fruit also means bringing others to Christ through our witness.

³⁹ In Bible times, the Jews despised Gentiles, that is, all non-Jews. Supposing that Jesus was like all other Jews, the centurion was afraid to go to Jesus directly.

⁴⁰ Notice that in this account of the healing of the centurion’s servant, Matthew does not mention the Jewish elders and friends coming to Jesus, and Luke doesn’t mention that the centurion himself came to Jesus. By joining the two accounts, the full story can be obtained. We must remember that as each of the Gospel writers wrote down their account of Jesus’ life, they did not include every possible detail; one writer would include one detail, and another writer, another (see John 20:30; 21:25).

⁴¹ This centurion had deep faith in Jesus’ power. He now needed to take one more step of faith and believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the Savior.

⁴² In the Bible, the word Israel is most commonly used as a name for the Jewish people. Thus, in this verse, “Israel” means the Jewish people. For further discussion, see Word List: Israel.

⁴³ The Samaritans lived in Samaria, which was a region of Israel that lay between the provinces of Judea and Galilee. They were half-Jews, who had long ago intermarried with foreign women. Thus they were despised by all true Jews (see John 4:8-9 and comment).

⁴⁴ Jesus called Himself the Son of Man (see Mark 2:10 and comment).

⁴⁵ The Jews used to call Satan Beelzebub.

⁴⁶ It is possible for one to become a true believer, but for some time to keep it hidden. At the beginning of one’s Christian life, one’s faith may be weak. But sooner or later, every Christian must become ready to confess his faith openly—or else he will show that his faith was never real to begin with. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are good examples of so-called “secret believers” (see Mark 15:42-47: John 3:1-2 and comments). But, in time, they too came forward and identified themselves as followers of Jesus.

⁴⁷ ”Messiah” is the Hebrew word for Christ; it means “anointed one.”

⁴⁸ In Isaiah 61:1, the word poor can also be translated “afflicted“ or “humble“

⁴⁹ In place of the words has been forcefully advancing, some versions of the Bible say, “has suffered violence.” The Greek text can be translated either way.

⁵⁰ Here the Law means the first five books of the Old Testament. The Prophets and the Law together refer to the entire Old Testament.

⁵¹ Korazin was a city three miles north of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was nearby. Nothing is known about the miracles Jesus performed at Korazin. From this we can understand that Jesus did many things that are not written in the four Gospels (John 21:25).

⁵² In Bible times, to wear sackcloth and to apply ashes to the face was a sign of repentance.

⁵³ In Jeremiah 31:34 and Hebrews 8:12, God says: “I will remember their sins no more.” This means that on the day of judgment, those who believe in Christ will not receive condemnation (Romans 8:1). When God judges believers, He will not take into account their sins. It will be as if their sins had been erased, forgotten. But for believers there will be another kind of”judgment,” in which God will reward them for everything they have done on this earth. When God judges what our reward should be, He will examine every work we have ever done and every word we have ever spoken.

⁵⁴ The heart of the earth here means the abode of the dead, or Hades.

⁵⁵ Solomon was the son of King David. He was known for his wisdom. He wrote most of the Old Testament book of Proverbs.

⁵⁶ It is not only parables that we need special spiritual insight to understand; we need help to understand the deeper meaning of the entire Bible. The Holy Spirit gives us this help. Whenever we study the Bible, we must pray that the Holy Spirit will give us spiritual understanding.

⁵⁷ Not all ancient manuscripts of Matthew contain verse 21. A similar verse is found in Mark 9:29.

⁵⁸ The drachma was a Greek coin. Four drachmas equaled one “shekel,” a small Jewish coin. In place of the words two-drachma tax, some translations of the Bible say “half-shekel tax.”

⁵⁹ Not all ancient manuscripts of Matthew contain verse 11. A similar verse is found in Luke 19:10.

⁶⁰ For example, if our brother knowingly and blatantly persists in sinning against us, or if we see that from his sin harm is going to come either to himself or to the church, then we must take the steps outlined in verses 15-17 to oppose his sin.

⁶¹ Their prayer must not be contrary to God’s will as revealed in the Bible; the Holy Spirit never guides in any way that opposes what is written in the Scriptures.

⁶² In place of the words seventy-seven times, some versions of the Bible say “seven times seventy.” The original Greek text can be translated either way. The point of the teaching is the same in either case.

⁶³ The denarius was a Roman coin in common use during New Testament times.

⁶⁴ In heaven all believers receive the same salvation, the same eternal life. But they do receive different rewards according to their work on earth (see Matthew 16:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10 and comments).

⁶⁵ Eternal life is not like a real wage, because eternal life is always a gift. We never earn our eternal life.

⁶⁶ Not all ancient manuscripts of Matthew contain verse 14. A similar verse is found in Mark 12:40.

⁶⁷ The father of the Zechariah mentioned in this verse was Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20). Berakiah was the father of another Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1). It is not known if this second Zechariah was killed or not. Therefore, there is some uncertainty as to which Zechariah Matthew means here.

⁶⁸ When a person dies, for him the world has, in effect, come to an end. After death, there is no longer any chance to repent and become righteous in God’s sight. Those who have died will be judged at the end of the world according to how they have behaved while they were alive.

⁶⁹ A talent was a weight or measure of money. One talent was worth more than a thousand dollars.

⁷⁰ A mina was worth three month’s wages.

⁷¹ Usually in the New Testament, only Christians are called brothers of Christ. Only Christians are sons of God. But according to the context of this verse, Christ here calls all men “brothers.” We are to show love to all men, not only to Christians (Matthew 5:44; Mark 12:31).

⁷² The word potter in Zechariah 11:13 can also be translated “treasury.”

⁷³ Preparation Day was the day before the Sabbath; that is, it was the preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday). Preparation Day, therefore, was always on a Friday (see Mark 14:12 and comment).

⁷⁴ The Greek word for nation that Matthew uses means any group of people of similar culture and outlook. Such groups today are called “people groups.” Within any country, there can be many of these “nations,” or “people groups.”