The Resurrection Life Study Bible^TM

Introduction

You've never seen a Bible like this.

I say that because this New Testament breaks all the rules, and it breaks them for the same reason that the alabaster vial in the Gospels had to be broken: To get to the precious ointment within. Thus, "traditional" people won't like it much--but this wasn't written for them; it was written for however many, or however few, can be helped to learn what the Scriptures teach through the way this Bible is designed.

Over the centuries, many fine Bibles have emerged with the goal of getting the Scriptures out of the church pulpit and into the hands of the average man, yet one problem always remained: While the chief message of the New Testament--"Repent ye, and believe the Gospel"--was simple enough that anyone could understand it, many things beyond that message remained clouded by text that was either written in a language centuries removed from the readers, or else was too difficult for normal people to understand without someone to explain it to them. (The Ethiopian "eunuch" of Acts 8 is a good example.)

When modern paraphrases came along, they did a good job in simplifying the text of Scripture in a way that much more of the Bible became comprehensible to normal people. Even so, because the paraphrases--with good reason--adhered to the actual Scripture text, many people still had the same problem as the Ethiopian in Acts 8: They understood the words, but not necessarily the meaning of the words or their full implications. This is because the Bible, and in particular Paul's writings, are difficult to understand without a guide who is able to explain what they meant in the time they were written.

An example of what I mean can be found in the song Yankee Doodle, which we all know from our grade school days. The fact is, even if you know every word of the song in every language it's ever been translated in, if you do not read other written works apart from the song that explain the culture and context of the time it was written in, you will never understand--no matter how sincere you are, and no matter how many times you read the lyrics--that the words, "Stuck a feather in his cap, and called it 'Macaroni,'" are neither nonsensical words, nor do they refer to pasta, but are sarcastically equating Americans with British dandies who tried to appear cultured by mimicking European culture and fashion!

We have the same problem in translating and understanding the Scriptures. Without knowing the culture behind the writings that the Bible does not convey because the original readers already knew it, we can never understand what much of the New Testament means, because words that mean one thing to us may have meant something totally different to the original writers living in Judea or other parts of the Roman Empire!

And so, each week from behind the pulpit, or in commentaries that most of you won't buy, theologians who've spent years learning about the Bible try to teach you the things about it that you really can't know on your own through normal devotions.

While both are necessary and edifying, getting your education through Sunday morning preaching, or from a dry theological treatise, will never make an imprint upon your mind and spirit the way that simply reading the Scriptures with understanding will.

Even if a good paraphrase renders a hard verse into modern language, many verses exist whose full meanings can't properly be clarified merely by paraphrasing them--especially, again, in the case of Paul. This is where the study Bible in your hands comes in. It will address that problem by coupling a true Bible--the King James Bible--with an expanded paraphrase to help you get the full impact of the Scriptures in a natural, free-flowing manner rather than through tidbits of information in commentary notes that are typically ignored anyway. (When it does this, the expanded text will often be bracketed as this text is.) Also, because there are many passages where Christ and the Father are both being spoken of but referred to as "He," the personal pronoun in the paraphrase text will only be capitalized when it is referring to God the Father or the Holy Spirit in order to avoid confusion.

The reader will note that this work goes beyond simply paraphrasing verses by expanding the text, incorporating into it the historical and cultural background behind it, along with the implications of what various passages mean when factored against other verses that may modify them. While controversial, this is done in order to be as comprehensive as possible without losing sight of the actual Scripture text as the foundation upon which the paraphrase builds.

Now while the author explains, and prefers explaining, the text in the commentary notes at the bottom of each chapter, readers shy away from commentary notes. In fact, Bible teachers are lucky to get people to pick up a Bible to start with! A lot of information is therefore placed in the paraphrase itself because this is the best way to help the reader learn it.

Do not make the presumption that the paraphrase is claiming to be true Scripture!

The true Scripture is on the left-hand side of the page. The right-hand side is merely an aid to help you understand the left side of the page. It may look like regular Scripture in form, but it's just a teaching aid. The King James is side-by-side with the paraphrase, allowing the reader to compare the paraphrase against the actual Scripture as food for thought. He may then agree or disagree as seems best to him.

However, not everything can be covered by simply expanding the text, and so I ask you to take the time to read through the following pages since there is some important information to help you understand what follows. If you won't read anything else, I urge you to read the article, What you never knew about the Pharisees. This article is absolutely critical to understanding the New Testament! Even if you have every word of the New Testament memorized, if you do not know who Shammai and his followers were, what they believed, and the attitudes they had, you will never see more than one side of a two-sided coin in so far as the New Testament is concerned, nor you will never understand the background of what was going on around Jesus and Paul. (You'll also be confused by the repeated references to "Shammaiites" in the Gospel paraphrases.)

You should also read What you never knew about the New Testament's view of the Law in order to understand how the Law was viewed with respect to Gentiles who were not Jews.

But first, when reading a work that seeks to teach from the Bible, you should always have a clear understanding of the author's background and core religious beliefs. To put mine in a nutshell, I was born in the 1950s and was raised a Roman Catholic. In the late 1960s I became swept up in the occult wave that grew out of the era, and became a Spiritualist medium. Although in spiritual deception, God made great use of that time, for through these practices I came to understand the reality of the supernatural, and so in future years I was unaffected by intellectual or philosophical arguments questioning the existence of God or the devil. Ultimately, it was because the Catholic Church taught me to believe the Bible above all else, that when an educated Christian showed me that the practices I was involved in were opposed by the Bible, I rejected Spiritualism to follow Christ.

Today I am an evangelical Christian who believes that salvation and forgiveness of sin come by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone as the atonement for our sins. After that, I believe one keeps his salvation in the same manner: By grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone. I do believe it is possible to lose one's salvation by making a conscious choice to abandon Christ, or by ceasing to hold faith in Christ through becoming "hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." I hold to the core doctrines of Christianity: The virgin birth, Trinity, inerrancy of Scripture, water Baptism, etc. While I am not personally a Charismatic, I believe the New Testament teaches that so-called "Gifts of the Spirit" are for all generations of believers until the Messianic Age comes.

What else makes this Bible different from many others?

A major difference between this and other study Bibles lies in the fact that this work is written in a way to help the reader comprehend the Jewish background from which the New Testament sprung--but without drifting into the heresy of some modern Jewish-Christian commentators who still fail to understand Paul's view on the Law by teaching that keeping the Law of Moses is a part of the Christian experience that we Gentiles have (supposedly) been deceived into abandoning!

Despite this teaching, it is critically important to understand the New Testament from a Jewish perspective, for every writer of the New Testament including (probably) Luke was a 1st century Jew who wrote in a manner consistent with their Jewish backgrounds. Because of this, Gentile readers and Bible commentators are often unaware of many fascinating things in the Scriptures because the culture that gave birth to them is so foreign to those from a Western culture.

The background of Pentecost is a great example. We've all read of how the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples, and tongues of fire appeared over their heads as they spoke in foreign languages. People usually conclude this was a unique, first-time occurrence, but few know that what we call Pentecost was the Jewish Festival of Shavuot which, although the culmination of an agricultural Festival, also commemorated the giving of the Law at Sinai. Jewish legend held that at the time the Law was given on Mount Sinai, God's voice issued forth in all known languages and visibly formed as tongues of fire upon the heads of those present! Each was then asked personally if he would abide by the terms of the Law. The Jews would have seen the events of Acts 2 as a direct parallel with the most important event of Jewish history, and some would have understood it to mean that the Kingdom of God had come to earth, and that the Law was now being written in the hearts of the people as the Old Testament foretold.

This is just one small example of the many wonderful facts we often miss by our lack of understanding the culture and background of the New Testament.

The commentary is also not written with any intentional denominational bias other than the foundation of the evangelical understanding of salvation's being by faith alone. While the author has attempted to allow the text to impart its doctrine outside of any pre-conceived notions based on a specific denominational belief, all key doctrinal positions in this work will be made by sifting the biblical text through the filter of understanding that salvation comes through faith alone. Beyond that, here and there will be points that may seem Protestant or Catholic, or Charismatic or non-Charismatic in their presentation for one simple reason: The author believes the Scriptures should be taken as they stand, and no denomination has a monopoly on truth, including his own.

Last of all, this Bible places the Epistles in their correct chronological order, starting with Galatians instead of Romans, which was written years later.

Is our Bible inerrant?

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding on what "inerrancy" means with respect to the Scriptures. First and foremost, when we say that the Bible is inerrant, we mean that the first-generation manuscripts penned by the original authors were inerrant. Copies that date anywhere from 200 to 2000 years later are not regarded as inerrant to the same degree, but from available manuscripts we can reconstruct what the original source documents said with a 99% degree of certainty. Where we err from that point is in translating the words into our own language without somehow altering or misunderstanding the original message of the writer.

"Inerrant" also doesn't mean that every word in the document is true in an overly literal sense. For instance, John writes at the end of his Gospel: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Obviously, this is not literally true. Even if Jesus had done a billion miracles in His life, there would be enough room in all the earth to hold the books detailing those miracles. What John is doing is using hyperbole, which isn't always noted by we readers. Hyperbole is an exaggerated, intentionally distorted statement of fact to express an important point. In another example, Paul writes that he was 'chief among sinners.' Now is this literally true? Does that mean that Nero sinned less than Paul, or that Caiaphas was a more righteous man? Of course not! Paul is using hyperbole, and making an intentionally exaggerated statement to express a more important point. There is nothing wrong with this, and the usage doesn't mean that the Bible is in error because the legitimate use of hyperbole exempts the text from being held to a microscopic standard of accuracy.

Also, keep in mind that writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit isn't necessarily writing under the dictation of the Holy Spirit! For instance, if God tells a prophet: "Write these words I have spoken to you," the man is writing under the direct dictation of the Holy Spirit and thus his work can be presumed to be free of any error or inaccuracy.

Another prophet, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rather than the direct dictation of the Holy Spirit, however, can be used by God to convey an idea rather than a specific message. (Perhaps as he writes poetically or metaphorically.) Because of this, it might be possible to split hairs and detect a technical "error" in such a passage. However, such incidents, if they exist, would not compromise the overall idea that God means to convey. Thus, any good Bible--be it translation or paraphrase--can impart the inerrant messages that God wishes humanity to have. This is because when the Scriptures speak regarding areas of doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16), they are manifestly inerrant. If it's possible for "errors" to be present anywhere in the text of Scripture, they will always deal with extraneous points of minutiae that have no bearing on any issues of consequence, or they will trace themselves to our mistranslating, misunderstanding, or misusing the text.

Why the King James Version and a paraphrase?

I chose the King James Bible as the foundation text of this commentary because it has withstood the test of time, and is unsurpassed as the best version to memorize passages from. Unfortunately, its archaic English and the texts it employed in its creation are causing this historic Bible to lose relevancy and influence in the face of more modern translations. It is the hope of the author to strengthen the KJV by buttressing it with both a paraphrase and commentary notes so that it will continue to have a place of eminence within Christianity.

However, because it was the most widely used English Bible for so long, some of its flaws became accepted as norms in Christianity. An example is the false teaching that "Lucifer" was once the proper name of the devil. In fact, it was simply a Latin word referring to Venus (the Morning Star) that appeared in the Vulgate, and the KJV translators, to the detriment of accuracy, retained it in Isaiah 14. As a result, there are good theologians to this day--along with people like Joseph Smith who mistakenly used it in the Mormon books he wrote--who have an incorrect belief that Lucifer was some sort of pre-fall name of the devil!

Thus, the KJV is no perfect transmission to us from the hand of God! It has many flaws, some serious. But since no Bible is perfect, there is no basis to dismiss the KJV in favor of less universally known translations even if they are a bit more precise because of using better texts than those available in the 17th century. Where the KJV uses a flawed translation, or where text was improperly added by the translators or earlier scribes, the commentary notes or paraphrase will address that.

As stated earlier, the reason for the paraphrase is that many people--especially ministers and theologians--using the King James Bible rarely, if ever, go beyond a superficial understanding of the words they see, misunderstanding hosts of passages because of the archaic English they are written in.

For instance, if you read 1st Corinthians 16:13, where Paul says to, "Quit you like men," a normal person of average education will never comprehend that Paul means something along the lines of, "Act like grown men," unless someone explains that to him or if he reads that in a commentary note.

Apart from that, some of the New Testament epistles weren't written in a way that we could easily see and understand exactly what they mean. Originally, they were written down and then a messenger would have been briefed on what the writer (for instance, Paul) meant in a particular section. The messenger would then take the letter to its intended audience and read it, explaining what it meant as he did.

The problem for us is that we don't have the messenger! Therefore, we are sometimes left with only a skeleton that outlines the writer's main points without flushing them out sufficiently so that we can understand exactly what he means. This is why theologians frequently disagree on the meaning of certain passages.

This is especially true in the case of Paul. His supernatural understanding of the Scriptures, coupled with a very fallible writing style, is why we've wound up with so many different denominational interpretations of his words, and why his writings continue to be misunderstood to this day by many people.

Here is one example from Romans 3:31: Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

This is a perfect example of Paul's leaving us a skeleton with no meat on it whatsoever. And naturally, theologians debate what he means in this one brief sentence. However, an in-depth comparison of this verse with the theme of Romans and the statements Paul has been making up to this point can allow a good theologian to flush the verse out and determine his actual train of thought along with the full implications of what he is saying. His points can then be written down in a commentary note to help a reader understand the verse.

Unfortunately, normal people hate reading commentary notes! This is why the paraphrase will often expand the text to impart its full meaning for the reader who does not have the messenger to explain what the writer originally meant.

Following is an example of the paraphrased Romans 3:31, showing how it amplifies the verse to convey Paul's full thoughts behind the statement:

Actual text: Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Paraphrased text: But am I saying that we make void the authority and warnings of the Torah through faith? God forbid! Rather, through faith, we uphold and establish what the Torah tries, yet fails to do despite its threats of judgment: Make men holy before God.

The fact is, most Christians--even ministers--do not have the training or skill to study their Bible in such a way that they can look at many hard verses and understand exactly what they mean. If you ask them for an explanation of a verse like this, either you'll get a blank stare, or else an off-the-cuff speculation that if we have faith in Christ, then we're not under the Law.

This work is consequently written in order to teach and explain the writings of the New Testament--and especially the King James Bible--rather than to simply make the actual text a bit easier to read, which would still leave the student confused in many instances about what a verse actually means. Thus, by teaming up the KJV with a paraphrase, those who appreciate the King James Bible will hopefully understand it to a greater degree, while those employing other fine Bibles may find this work to be a useful supplement to whatever Bible they normally study from.

Now as good as the King James Bible may be in some ways, it is also guilty of some very bad translations, despite what some of its proponents think. The paraphrase will correct some of that, but there won't be a footnote every time it's done since too many footnotes will cause the important facts to be swallowed up by listing a bunch of minutiae. Thus, every so often, you might see the paraphrase translate something in a completely different way than that of the King James translators without explanation.

While occasionally this will be because the author has simply made a mistake, often it will be because he believes there is a better rendering of the verse than the King James translators came up with. A quick glance at an NASB, RSV, or Greek interlinear Bible might help the reader understand the author's rationale in some cases.

Another major problem with most Bibles is the way the Scriptures are divided into verses*, often breaking up one sentence or paragraph into as many as eleven (!) verses, causing the reader to miss the impact of what's written as he pauses to drop down to the next verse and pick up reading again. Here is a great example from Philippians 3:8-11:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The paraphrase restores it into one long sentence as it was originally written:

Yes, undoubtedly I count everything to be worth losing for the priceless knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things--considering them dung--that I may obtain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness based on Torah observance, but the righteousness which comes from God through faith alone, so that I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, thereby following in the pattern of his death if by any means I can likewise attain the resurrection from the dead.

Paul, of course, is notorious for his run-on sentences. Because of this, there will be places where the verses are reorganized for easier reading on the part of a Western audience, where the rules of language differ somewhat from that of the East. (Remember, Eastern people also read and write from right to left as well!)

* Numbered Bible verses originated with a Jewish rabbi of the 1400s who applied the idea to the Old Testament. The idea was later adopted by Stephanus, a Christian monk in the middle 1500s, who did likewise with the New Testament as he traveled about on horseback.

Christian anti-Semitism and its effect on the New Testament

There is no question that in some places, Christian animosity toward unbelieving Jews resulted in the transcription and translation of the New Testament being diluted and altered from its original meaning--but only on non-critical issues. For instance, great care was taken by ancient scribes and the later translators of the KJV to distance the translation from Judaism as much as possible, resulting at times in a slanted portrayal of the text. Here is an example:

James 2:2 traditional translation: For if there come unto your assembly** a man with a gold ring...

James 2:2 actual translation: For if there come unto your synagogue a man with a gold ring...

** This is the same word conveniently translated as synagogue if the sense is to be negative, such as Rev. 2:9, "The synagogue of Satan."

The good news is that the important issues of theology dealing with salvation haven't been compromised. But error is still error, and only bad fruit can come of it. As a result, some have used the words of the New Testament to justify anti-Semitism, while the Jews, meanwhile, concluded that Christianity taught hatred of them as a people.

One can hardly blame either side when we see apparent wide-sweeping condemnation of "the Jews" and "the Pharisees" without an educated understanding that: 1--the word "Jew," when used in a negative sense, is often more correctly translated as "Judean"***; and 2--that the problem with "the Pharisees" traces itself not to the entire movement, but to only one particular group of ultra-conservative Pharisee hypocrites who were in power during the time of Christ, and who died out by the end of the 1st century to be replaced by the more liberal group of Pharisees Jesus often got along with, whose leaders He quoted, whose oral traditions He sometimes observed, and with whom He had relatively few complaints. (This is covered by What you never knew about the Pharisees.)

*** In the time of the Gospels, there was much regional animosity between the Judeans and other Jews, much like the animosity between the Yankees and Southerners, or the arrogance of Parisians toward other Frenchmen--and much of the condemnation of “the Jews” is more of a cultural than a racial or religious bias. A perfect example of this can be shown in the ridiculous traditional translation of John 11:8: His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? The disciples, not to mention Jesus Christ, were themselves Jews, and would no more speak such a nonsensical sentence than a Californian would say to a Texan, “Of late, the Americans sought to stone thee.” What they actually said was: “Master, the Judeans of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?”

Common misunderstandings within the New Testament

Apart from the term "the Jews," there are some words used in the New Testament that had different meanings in that time and culture than they do today. They include:

Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven. These are, by and large, synonymous terms referring to the age brought about by the Messiah, and the establishment of his kingdom. The Paraphrase will sometimes use the term Messianic Kingdom in place of these terms.

The Law/The Law & the Prophets. The word Law is the most misunderstood and perverted word in the Bible! In Hebrew, the word is Torah, which means Instruction. Universally among the translations of the New Testament, Law seems to convey something negative, taking it from something that Paul says is holy, and instead making it something to be shunned as bad. It would be helpful to substitute in your mind the term God's commandments when you see the words the Law. This will aid you in understanding the Torah to be the righteous commandments of God without over-exalting it. It is also helpful to understand that the Jews break the commandments down into three categories:

Mishpatim--moral laws. (Thou shalt not kill.)

Edos--witnesses to the Jewish faith or the will and nature of God. (Baptism falls into this category along with things like wearing prayer shawls or tefillin).

Chukim--commandments that were given without an explanation as to why they should be followed. (Such as the ceremonial and dietary laws.) The term Law & the Prophets, meanwhile, sometimes referred to the Old Testament writings as a whole, but most of the time it referred to the written and oral Law of the Jews.

Lawlessness. To us, this seems to suggest anarchy. The term is actually better understood as a rejection of the Torah/Law of Moses.

Scribes. These were not copyists, but teachers of the Law of Moses.

Servant. The word should usually be translated as slave.

Sinners. Throughout the Gospels, you will see phrases like: "This man eateth and drinketh with sinners." This is more than just a generic term for unrighteous people. In Judaism of the time, the "People of the soil"--or, "the Sinners"--were a classification created by the Pharisees to label the vast majority of Jews who failed to walk in the various written and oral laws with an approved degree of commitment.

Son of God/Son of Man. Originally, Son of God was not a reference to the virgin birth or that Jesus is the 2nd person of the Trinity. (Although I affirm both doctrines.) To the Jews, the term was synonymous with "Messiah" or more specifically, "King of Israel." In fact, any Jewish king from Solomon forward**** was called both "Son of God" and "Messiah" (meaning anointed).

While the phrase sometimes does refer to Christ as the 2nd person of the Trinity, most of the time it means to make the claim that Jesus is the Messiah and king of Israel. The term Son of Man (or bar Enash in the original language) refers to Jesus as the immortal and supernatural Messiah of Dan. 7:13.

**** This was based on God's promise to David that He would be like a father to Solomon (2 Sam. 7:14).

Spirit. Among the uses for this word in the East, spirit can mean something along the lines of a prophetic teaching, a prophetic utterance, or a mystic interpretation of Scripture. If you don't realize that, you may misunderstand a few verses in the New Testament using the word in that way when they say things like: "Now the Lord is that Spirit," "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," and so on.

Weak/Weakness. There are a few instances in the New Testament where words like weak, weakness or infirmities do not refer to our frailty or lack of strength, but to a lack of knowledge or understanding. The best example is in Romans 14:1, which refers to someone "weak in the faith," who is still unnecessarily bound by some Jewish dietary laws due to his lack of full understanding. Even the word faith is arguably used a handful of times (Matt 16:8, 2 Cor. 10:15) as a synonym for knowledge, because the Jews considered knowledge to be an actual component part of faith.

Works. The word can refer to religious or ceremonial observances, or to good or bad deeds. Apart from these examples, many statements in the New Testament are idiomatic. Just as we might use phrases like, "It's raining cats and dogs," or, "Give me your John Hancock," Eastern people used many phrases that had a different meaning from the sum of the words. Some of these you may recognize: Thou hast said it; The day and the hour; Give God the glory; Reigned as kings; I never knew you; Bought with a price; and Smite you on the cheek are all Eastern idioms.

In other cases, different regions might use the same language differently, and sometimes we must go beyond what the words seem to say in order to find out what they really mean. A friend of mine, for example, once went to visit relatives in Mexico. While there, she told her grandmother, "I'll be back later," using California Spanish. The woman got a very puzzled look on her face at hearing that, because the same words that mean I'll be back later to a Mexican-American from California mean I'll walk backwards to an actual Mexican, even though both technically speak Spanish!

In another instance, the Beatles recorded a song in 1967 called, Within you/without you. Though people from the UK and the US both speak "English," people in the UK still use the word without to mean outside of something, while people in the US only use it to mean not including something. Thus, American teenagers with a predisposition toward viewing the word in the one way their own culture used it wrongly believed the lyrics were saying that life goes on not including someone, when the message was actually that life goes on both inside and outside of someone! There are a few cases where the New Testament arguably presents similar problems for us in our Western culture.

Some final notes about the Paraphrase

In the end, the author can do no more than offer up his views based on nearly 40 years of studying history and the Bible with an open mind, trying to get to what the Scriptures actually teach, irrespective of pre-conceived doctrinal notions. Thus, the reader will undoubtedly find things he likes and dislikes, along with things he agrees or disagrees with. It must also be acknowledged that some fine theologians would have vastly different opinions than the author on some points, and the reader should reference a variety of views on certain passages to come to his own view on which position seems most reasonable. So check what the Catholic believes. Check what the Protestant believes. Consider the view of the Dispensationalist and the Amillennialist, the Charismatic and the Cessationist. See what makes sense to you, and cleave to that which is true. There are numerous arguable issues of biblical theology, and beyond the essentials of who Christ is and the means of salvation, we can all vigorously argue our positions so long as we can also admit that we can always be wrong.

Keep in mind that a paraphrase reflects the writer's own views, so it will always have error here and there due to the writer's fallible understanding of the Bible!

Thus, a paraphrase should never be considered inerrant in the sense of a true Bible like the KJV, NASB, etc. Paraphrases are only study tools, and should not be viewed as the equal of true Bibles. This is why you should never view any paraphrase or thought-for-thought Bible translation as an authoritative exposition of Scripture, but merely the understanding one person or group has about the Scriptures, which may or may not be wholly accurate. Having said that, the reader should still understand that even true Bibles add, delete, or flavor text to impart what the translators believe the original text means in the receptor language, again making even the best Bible fallible and in error here and there because of the translators' own prejudices.

One example is in Isaiah 34:14. In Hebrew, it incorporates the name of the female demon Lilith. Theologians, however--not just in the case of the KJV, but in most every other Gentile-published Bible--are uncomfortable with the fact that the Bible speaks about a female demon, and so they change the actual Scripture by taking it upon themselves to substitute everything from the words night creature to screech owl in place of Lilith's actual name to avoid having to deal with the problem of the actual Hebrew text!*****

If these same theologians believe the Scriptures are inerrant and should not be altered, one wonders why they see the need to improve upon what God has written by deleting the name of a demon simply because they do not like its implications.

***** Apart from most Jewish Bibles, I can only recall a few Gentile-published Bibles that keep Lilith's name in the passage. By the way, the myth that she was Adam's first wife is a newer, revisionist legend from hundreds of years after Christ. In ancient times, Lilith was a demon of lust who may have had some identification with Isis, Hathor, and a variety of other goddesses. Many rabbis also believed that she was the 'Night Terror' of Psalm 91 as the word for "Night" there is "Lil" or "Layil."

Vince Garcia (newbible@earthlink.net) December, 2005

Bibliography and suggested reading

A Dictionary of Paul and His Letters by Gerald P. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid

The Bible, From Ancient Eastern Manuscripts by George Lamsa

The Book of Enoch by R.H. Charles and Richard Laurence

Commentary on the New Testament from Talmud & Hebraica by John Lightfoot

Dead Sea Scrolls--A New Translation by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., & Edward Cook

Holy Bible (from the Vulgate) by Monsignor Ronald Knox

Jerusalem Bible by J R R Tolkien (among others)

Jesus the Pharisee by Rabbi Harvey Falk

Jesus the Jewish Theologian by Brad H. Young

Jerusalem in the time of Jesus by Dr. Joachim Jeremias (a must-read for any student of biblical history!)

The Jewish Encyclopedia by Funk & Wagnalls

Jewish New Testament & Jewish New Testament Commentary by David Stern

Jewish Sources in Early Christianity by David Flusser

Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg

Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah by Dr. Alfred Edersheim

Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament by George Abbot-Smith

New Jerusalem Bible published by Doubleday Books

New Manners & Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower

New Testament Commentary by George Lamsa

Poet & Peasant by Kenneth Ewing Bailey

Strong’s Concordance by James Strong

Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary

The Talmud by Soncino Press

The Talmud by Adin Steinsaltz

The Temple & its Ceremonies by Dr. Alfred Edersheim

Word Meanings in the New Testament by David Earle

Works of Flavius Josephus by William Whiston

Yeshua by Ron Mosely

Matthew

No one knows when the Gospel of Matthew was written, though it was probably around 50-60 AD in Antioch. It was almost certainly written first in Aramaic, and then translated later into Greek. This early "Hebrew Matthew" was probably the foundation for Mark's subsequent Gospel..

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

1 The book of the generation1 of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar2; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David3 the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias4and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus5 who is called Christ.6 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.7 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD8 appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS9 : for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin10 shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

1 This is a record of the ancestry of Jesus the Messiah, inheritor of David’s throne, and descendant of Abraham. 2 Abraham (Father of a Multitude) fathered Isaac (Laughter); and Isaac fathered Jacob (Heel-catcher or Supplanter); and Jacob fathered Judah (He Shall be Praised) and his brethren; 3 And Judah fathered Perez (A Breach) and Zara (Rising) of Thamar (Date Palm); and Perez fathered Esrom (Enclosed); and Esrom fathered Aram (High); 4 And Aram fathered Aminadab (One of the Prince’s People); and Aminadab fathered Naasson (Enchanter); and Naasson fathered Salmon (A Garment); 5 And Salmon fathered Boaz (In Him is Strength) of Rahab (Wide); and Boaz fathered Obed (Serving) of Ruth (Female Friend); and Obed fathered Jesse (Wealthy); 6 And Jesse fathered David (Beloved) the king; and David the king fathered Solomon (Peaceful) of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon fathered Roboam (Enlarger of the People); and Roboam fathered Abijah (My Father is Yah); and Abijah fathered Asa (Doctor); 8 And Asa fathered Josaphat (Whom Yahweh Judges); and Josaphat fathered Joram (Whom Yahweh Has Exalted); and Joram fathered Ozias (Strength of Yahweh); 9 And Ozias fathered Joatham (Yahweh is Upright); and Joatham fathered Achaz (Possessor); and Achaz fathered Hezekiah (The Might of Yahweh); 10 And Hezekiah fathered Manasses (Forgetting); and Manasses fathered Amon (Builder); and Amon fathered Josias (Whom Yahweh Heals); 11 And Josias fathered Jechonias (Whom Yahweh Establishes) and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias fathered Salathiel (I Have Asked of God); and Salathiel fathered Zorobabel (Born in Babylon); 13 And Zorobabel fathered Abiud (My Father is Majesty); and Abiud fathered Eliakim (Raising Up by God); and Eliakim fathered Azor (Helper); 14 And Azor fathered Sadoc (Just); and Sadoc fathered Achim (The Lord Will Establish); and Achim fathered Eliud (God His Praise); 15 And Eliud fathered Eleazar (Help of God); and Eleazar fathered Matthan (Gift); and Matthan fathered Jacob (Heel-catcher or Supplanter); 16 And Jacob fathered Joseph (Let Him Add), the husband of Miriam (Rebel), of whom was born Jesus (Yahweh is Salvation) who is called Christ--the Anointed One. 17 So there are fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the forced exodus to Babylon, and fourteen generations from that to the birth of the Messiah. 18 Now the circumstances of Jesus’ birth were these: While his mother Miriam was still engaged to Joseph--before they had formally been married--she, though a virgin, was found to be pregnant through the power of the Spirit of God. 19 Her fiancé Joseph, a just man (who was unwilling to put her through the public humiliation of the Sotah ceremony for alleged adulteresses), considered divorcing her quietly. 20 But while he was debating what to do about these things, the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, and said: Joseph, descendant of David--don’t hesitate to go through with this marriage to Miriam, for her unborn child was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son whom you will name Yeshua (--or Jesus in the Greek tongue, which means ‘God is Salvation’--) because he will save his people from their sins. 22 This all happened so that a prophecy spoken by the Lord through Isaiah could come to pass: 23 Behold, a young (virgin) girl shall become pregnant, and give birth to a son that shall be named Emmanuel, which means ‘God is in our midst’. 24 Awakening, Joseph heeded the angel’s words, and went through with the marriage. 25 But he did not sleep with Miriam at any time during the pregnancy, and finally a boy child was born whom Joseph named Yeshua (Jesus).

1. This is believed to be the genealogy of Joseph, whereas Luke supposedly records Mary’s. The genealogy is intentionally incomplete to equal 42 generations (and this by counting some people twice). There is precedence for doing this in the Old Testament (Ezra’s genealogy is abbreviated, for instance), but why Matthew does this is a mystery we will never have a certain answer for. He may be omitting insignificant ancestors. The numeric value of David’s name is 14, and this may play into it. There were 14 Zadoqite high priests from the time of the Tabernacle of Congregation to the erection of Solomon’s Temple, another possible inspiration for Matthew’s odd manipulation of the genealogy.

2. One of only four women mentioned in the genealogies of Jesus, whose name means “Date Palm.” Her story is in Genesis 38.

3. All Jewish kings had both a birth name and a coronation name(s). Solomon, for instance, was also called Jedidiah and Lemuel. It’s possible that David’s birth name was Elhanan as suggested in 2nd Sam 21:19. Note the reference there to Elhanan’s being the son of Jair, or that it was the “brother” of Goliath who was slain, is spurious in the opinion of some scholars.

4. Some theologians believe, based on a prophecy in Jeremiah 22:30 to Jechonias/Jehoiachin, that the Solomonic line became disqualified from producing an heir to the throne of Israel despite a prophecy in 2 Sam. 7:13, which speaks of Solomon’s throne being perpetuated forever. Through this, the birthright shifted to Nathan’s line, and Luke later traces that line from Nathan to Mary, with the Solomonic birthright being restored when Joseph weds Mary, granting Jesus the rights to both genealogies. Against this is the fact that Philo identifies Jechonias with Neri, mentioned in Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3:27), but this is hardly conclusive.

5. The Hebrew birth name of Jesus was Yeshua, the Hebrew version of Joshua, which means God is salvation. In Galilee, the “a” was not pronounced, and so His followers may have known him as Yeshu. The later Greek/Latin/English transliteration to Jesus may, by divine intent, be His coronation name, and so it may literally be true that it is to Jesus that every knee shall bow.

6. Meaning “anointed.”

7. There is far more to this than is apparent in this one sentence. Mary’s being pregnant when already betrothed was a strangling offense (assuming she was between 12 and 12 1/2), or a stoning offense--and if she were from a priestly family, as some believe, the penalty would have been death by a torch being thrust down her throat. While it is debatable how often stoning took place under the Roman occupation, Mary, whose Hebrew name was Miriam (Rebel), otherwise would have had to undergo the Jewish Sotah ceremony (see Numbers 5) to prove she had not committed adultery. Although reasonably straightforward in the Torah, by the time of Christ it had grown into a humiliating process where the woman was partially stripped and dragged around the grounds of the Temple in an effort to wear her down and cause her to confess her sin, the apparent belief being that she was guilty until proven innocent. During this ceremony, the women of Jerusalem were required to come to the Temple to observe the spectacle as a deterrent to adultery. It is these things that are on Joseph’s mind as he debates how to handle the situation.

8. Some denominations (Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example), deny the Deity of Christ, and teach that He is an exalted angel who in the Old Testament appeared as the Angel of the Lord. While most Christians agree that Jesus did appear at times as the Angel of the Lord, this verse quickly shows a flaw in the view that Jesus was nothing more than an angelic being since the Angel of the Lord appears when Christ is already within the body of Mary, showing that there are at least two separate beings who were called by this title: Gabriel--a true angel--and the pre-incarnate Christ.

9. As mentioned, the angel would have used the name Yeshua, not Jesus.

10. Quoted from the Septuagint, which was the popular Greek version of the Old Testament available at the time. As the oldest texts we have are from later centuries, it is impossible to verify that copies in Matthew’s time used the Greek word parthenos, which usually, but not always, refers to a virgin. The Hebrew word almah was employed in the Hebrew text, meaning either a virgin or a young girl/woman. The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 clearly was not prophesying a virgin birth in its direct context to king Ahaz, but this suggests the possible divine inspiration behind the Septuagint translation (72 scribes, working independently, supposedly produced identical manuscripts according to Philo); or that there were ancient oral traditions that considered this also to be a Messianic prophecy since the concept of virgin births was not wholly unknown in the ancient world’s legends.

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men1 from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts 2 thereof, from two years old and under 3, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 4 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither:5 notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth6: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the latter days of Herod the Great, some sages came to Jerusalem from the east. 2 They asked: Where is he who is born the King of the Jews? (In Babylon,) we saw his star in the sky proclaiming his birth, and have come to honor him. 3 When Herod the Great heard about this, he became nervous (for his throne), and all Jerusalem trembled with him. 4 So Herod summoned the chief priests and Torah teachers among the people, and demanded to know where the Messiah would be born. 5 They told him: Bethlehem in Judea, for the prophet Micah wrote: 6 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 7 Then Herod (--concerned about word of this child’s existence spreading--) secretly called the visiting sages, and asked when they had first seen the star. 8 (When they answered that it was around a year previously,) he then sent them to Bethlehem, saying: Search diligently for this young child, and let me know when and where you find him, that I may go honor him as well. 9 At Herod’s word they departed--and the star they had seen in the east appeared to move before them, and led them to a house (in Bethlehem) where the young child was. There, it halted. 10 At seeing the star do this, the sages greatly rejoiced. 11 They came into the house and found the infant with his mother Miriam, and fell prostrate, reverencing him. Then they opened their packs and presented the family with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to (Babylonia) by a different route. 13 After they left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in another dream, and told him: Get up, and take the young child and his mother to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to return, for Herod will try to find and slay him. 14 As soon as the dream was over, Joseph awakened and wasted no time in leading his family out of Bethlehem, and they left that same night, fleeing westward to Egypt. 15 They were there until Herod died a short time later, so that a prophecy of the Lord through Hosea could be fulfilled that said: Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16 After Herod realized that the sages had gotten the better of him, he was furious, and sent his men out to slay all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were around (one year old or younger, for the sages said it was around a year earlier that they had seen the star). 17 This was to fulfill a prophecy by Jeremiah: 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19 Herod died soon after this, and in Egypt an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in another dream, 20 Saying: Get up, and take the baby and his mother back to Israel, for the ones who wanted him dead are now dead themselves. 21 So Joseph arose, gathered up the baby and his mother, and they returned to Israel. 22 But when he heard that Herod’s son Archelaus had taken the throne of Judea (--and was already showing himself to be a despot like his father--) he was afraid to go back. On top of that, he had a dream from God not to go back as well, and so he went instead to the region of Galilee. 23 Thus, Joseph came to settle in a hamlet called Nazareth (fulfilling an ancient tradition of the prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene.)

1. Matthew probably jumps about a year ahead in time, for the Wisemen did not arrive until long after the child was born. It was around a 10-day journey from the border of Babylonia to Israel, so they apparently delayed in making their journey.

The identity and number of the Wisemen is debatable. The word magi may be understood in a variety of ways, from astrologers, to magicians, to Jewish sages, to even court officials. The most reasonable understanding would be that they were sages aware of a coming Messiah, and that the sign of a star in the heavens was viewed as a fulfillment of a prophecy in Numbers 24.

2. Should be translated as: “Region.”

3. It was a custom to reckon the age of a child from conception, and at birth it was already considered to be one year old.* (In later periods, children could be considered to pass their first year upon the arrival of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year in September.) Thus, someone two years old by our reckoning would only have been one year old by Jewish reckoning. Herod probably ordered that all boys younger than toddlers be slain.

* This custom even carried over to some degree into Western Christianity. In Catholicism, for instance, the age of a potential godparent is still reckoned under the assumption that a child is considered to be a year old at birth. Thus, a godparent’s minimum age is 16 through that formula, but only 15 in actual chronological age.

4. An odd statement. Its original context referred to Jews taken captive by the Assyrians. Rachel’s tomb is near Bethlehem, and this may figure into the verse.

5. Joseph had good reason to fear, for while Archelaus held a banquet for all of Jerusalem on the death of Herod as a gesture of goodwill, he slew 3000 Jews during the Passover of 4 BC.

6. Skeptics point out that there is no such prophecy in the Old Testament. However, since Matthew states that this was “spoken” of, he may be citing an ancient oral tradition that is now lost. 2 Chron. 30:19 may indicate a lost book of the Bible called the Sayings of the Seers (or the Book of Hozai), which may be the genesis of this claim by Matthew. Whether the tradition cited held that the Messiah would literally come from Nazareth (which, as a city, is not recorded in any literature until long after the death of Christ, though archeological evidence from a 1st century synagogue in Caesarea mentions the town by name in connection with a family of priests), or whether this refers, in a philosophical sense, to the Messiah ben Joseph, or “Suffering Messiah,” who was expected to be mocked and rejected, we cannot know for sure. For those unaware, there was a belief in some streams of Judaism that at least two Messiahs were coming: the Messiah ben David, the conquering Messiah everyone wanted; and the Messiah ben Joseph, a suffering Messiah who would precede the conquering Messiah, and be slain. One description of a dying Messiah can be found in the apocryphal book of 4th Ezra, chapter 7, written 350 years before Christ, which states that God’s Son, the Messiah, would die, and the earth returned to a state of oblivion as in its beginning.

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

1 In those days came John the Baptist1, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent2 ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts3 and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.4 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees5 and Sadducees6 come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones7 to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:8 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.9 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

1 In the days when Jesus had grown to adulthood but still lived in Nazareth, John (--or Yochannon in the Hebrew tongue--) the Baptizer started his ministry in the Judean wilderness, 2 Saying: Repent, for the (Kingdom of the Messiah) is at hand! 3 Now John was the one prophesied of by Isaiah when he wrote: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 4 This same John (--as had Elijah in olden times--) dressed in a garment of camel’s hair with a leather girdle about his loins, and he ate (carob beans) and wild honey. 5 Everyone in Jerusalem, Judea, and in the region of Jordan came, 6 And were baptized by him in the Jordan River, (publicly) confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees, (the religious leaders who controlled the synagogues,) and Sadducees, (the priests who controlled the great Temple,) come to his baptism, John railed against them, saying: You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to repent and escape God’s coming wrath?! 8 Change your attitudes and the way that you act if you’ve come to repent! 9 Don’t think to yourselves, We’re Abraham’s descendants (so we have nothing to fear)! God can take these rocks you see (--the ones erected by Joshua when the Israelites entered the Promised Land--) and turn them into children of Abraham if He wants to! 10 Be warned that God’s ax is ready to cut down the trees that bear no good fruit, therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire! 11 I am indeed baptizing you with mere water for repentance, but someone is coming after me--a man whose sandals I am not even worthy to carry--who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and fire! 12 His fan is in his hand, ready to fan the harvest to separate the wheat and gather it into his barn, but the chaff (--John said about the Pharisees and Sadducees--) he will burn with a fire that will never go out! 13 Eventually, Jesus also came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying: I need you to baptize me, and yet you come to me? 15 Jesus answered: Allow it, for we must do this to fulfill the plan of righteousness. So John baptized him. 16 When Jesus came up from the water, John had a vision of the heavens opening up and the Spirit of God descending and resting upon Jesus like a dove. 17 And a voice from heaven said: This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased!

1. Josephus on John the Baptist

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away of some sins, but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved by hearing his words, Herod, who feared, lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise, thought it best by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God’s displeasure to him. (Ant. 18 5.2)

Note: In the Middle East, there are still thousands of non-Christian followers of John the Baptist called Mandaeans, with their own unique baptismal and religious practices. The Mandaeans supposedly invented the handshake as a form of greeting.

2. The word metanoeo--one of the most important words in the New Testament--together with its brother word metanoia, shows the basis of true repentance that leads to salvation. The word means to come to a moral understanding that one’s sin is wrong in God’s eyes, and through that to change one’s behavior away from sin and toward righteousness. Its cousin word metamelloai means to be sorry for one’s sins primarily because of the circumstances a person now finds himself in as a result of them. This false, superficial repentance is the sort evidenced by Judas, who “repented himself.”

3. A probable mistranslation. While locusts are kosher, and though the Essenes used them as a food when they could find them (they aren’t quite as common in Palestine as one might think), tracing the word back to the Hebrew, it refers to carob beans. The Jewish Mishna, coincidentally, verifies carob and honey as food of Nazirites.

Note that carob pods were the “husks” that the Prodigal Son wished to fill his own belly with.

4. The kosher form of baptism/immersion involved a person dipping underwater three times (as even the 1st century Christian Didache shows). No one touched him during this, but up to three witnesses might stand by to verify the baptism was performed correctly, for if so much as the top of the head failed to submerge, then the baptism had to be redone.

Unlike our modern Western culture, baptism was usually performed in the nude. Thus, there is no reason to suppose that John’s baptism took place with attention given to modesty as the movies portray. This brings up an interesting question: What was the role of women in the formula? Women would not have been allowed to be present at a men’s baptism, and there are two options:

1. John’s wife (if he had one) or else some godly women followers* conducted separate baptism rituals for females.

2. That women did not participate in John’s baptism, for although in Judaism women immersed for numerous reasons, we have no certain New Testament proof that women ever received his baptism. Most, however, presume they did. If so, they likewise did it nude. By the time of Acts, something had changed in the formula since Paul baptizes Lydia who presumably was clothed; and Philip baptized both men and women. Maimonides also allowed for potential clothed immersion provided both the person and his clothing were washed clean beforehand.

Last of all, the end of the verse, which mentions followers verbally “confessing” their sins to all, is written in a way indicating it was done as a part of the ritual.

* Jewish writings may give some enlightenment on this matter, for it is recorded: The women place a woman in the waters up to the neck; and two disciples of the wise men, standing without, instruct her about some lighter precepts of the law and some weightier, while she, in the meantime, stands in the waters. And then she plungeth herself; and they, turning away their faces, go out, while she comes up out of the water.

5. Josephus on the Pharisees

Now, for the Pharisees, they live meanly, and despise delicacies in diet; and they follow the conduct of reason; and what that prescribes to them as good for them they do; and they think they ought earnestly to strive to observe reason’s dictates for practice. They also pay a respect to such as are in years; nor are they so bold as to contradict them in any thing which they have introduced; and when they determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they think fit; since their notion is, that it hath pleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but so that the will of man can act virtuously or viciously. They also believe that souls have an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life; and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison, but that the former shall have power to revive and live again; on account of which doctrines they are able greatly to persuade the body of the people; and whatsoever they do about Divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices, they perform them according to their direction; insomuch that the cities give great attestations to them on account of their entire virtuous conduct, both in the actions of their lives and their discourses also.

6. Josephus on the Sadducees

But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with the bodies; nor do they regard the observation of any thing besides what the law enjoins them; for they think it an instance of virtue to dispute with those teachers of philosophy whom they frequent: but this doctrine is received but by a few, yet by those still of the greatest dignity. But they are able to do almost nothing of themselves; for when they become magistrates, as they are unwillingly and by force sometimes obliged to be, they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise bear them.

Josephus on the Essenes

The doctrine of the Essenes is this: That all things are best ascribed to God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; and when they send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer sacrifices because they have more pure lustrations of their own; on which account they are excluded from the common court of the temple, but offer their sacrifices themselves; yet is their course of life better than that of other men; and they entirely addict themselves to husbandry. It also deserves our admiration, how much they exceed all other men that addict themselves to virtue, and this in righteousness; and indeed to such a degree, that as it hath never appeared among any other men, neither Greeks nor barbarians, no, not for a little time, so hath it endured a long while among them. This is demonstrated by that institution of theirs, which will not suffer any thing to hinder them from having all things in common; so that a rich man enjoys no more of his own wealth than he who hath nothing at all. There are about four thousand men that live in this way, and neither marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves, they minister one to another. They also appoint certain stewards to receive the incomes of their revenues, and of the fruits of the ground; such as are good men and priests, who are to get their corn and their food ready for them. They none of them differ from others of the Essenes in their way of living, but do the most resemble those Dacae who are called (city-dwellers).

7. John may have been baptizing where Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan and erected 12 large memorial stones (Josh. 4), and these may be the stones he refers to.

8. Usually presumed to be the fire of the Holy Spirit upon believers. But reading the text more closely, John seems to be going back and forth, speaking to his followers along with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Thus, the fire spoken of primarily refers to the latter groups being consumed in wrath.

9. Jesus does not seek baptism because He has need of repentance. He may be doing so as an example to us. Or, He could be immersing because He is now going to begin His ministry as a rabbi. Immersion would be appropriate to reflect His change in status from a layperson to a teacher of the Torah. It is also possible that He is undergoing baptism as part of a priestly ordination.

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God1, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.2 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.3 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,4 and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed5 with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

1 Then the Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted a full forty days and nights, and at the end was very hungry. 3 The Tempter now came to him (in his weakness), and said: Since you’re the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread. 4 But Jesus answered: It is written in the Scriptures that, Men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that God speaks. 5 Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and set him upon the highest pinnacle of the Temple. 6 He said: Since you’re the Son of God, jump down (in view of the crowds, so they’ll believe in you), for it’s written in the Scriptures: He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus’ reply was: It is also written in the Scriptures, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. 8 Then the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and gave him a vision of all the world’s kingdoms and their glory. 9 He said to Jesus: All these people and nations I will give to you if, falling down, you will do an act of worship to me. 10 Then Jesus said to him: Get away, Satan! It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve! 11 Then the devil left, and angels came and ministered to Jesus. 12 Now when Jesus heard that Herod Antipas had cast John into a dungeon, he went back to Galilee. 13 And after leaving Nazareth, he moved to Capernaum (the city of Nahum the prophet), which is on the coast in the regions assigned to the tribes of Zebulon and Napthali, 14 So a prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled: 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that point forward, Jesus took up the message of John, preaching: Repent, for the Messianic Kingdom is at hand! 18 One day, Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw two brothers--Shimon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother--who were casting a net into the great lake, for they were fishermen. 19 Jesus spoke to them and said: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men! 20 So the two immediately left their nets, and followed him. 21 Going along the shore, he found two other brothers, James and John, who were mending their fishing nets in a boat with their father Zebedee, and Jesus called them too. 22 So they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Jesus. 23 Jesus then went all around the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the “Good news” of the Messianic Kingdom, and healing all sorts of sickness and disease troubling the people. 24 Jesus’ reputation spread throughout all Syria, and the people flocked to him with the sick, the diseased, the insane, the paralytics, and the demon-possessed--and he healed them! 25 Because of this, massive crowds from Galilee, the “Ten Cities” region, Jerusalem, Judea, and other lands far beyond Jordan, followed him wherever he went.

1. The wording is better understood as saying: “Since you are the son of God.” Some teachers believe that the devil was attempting to get Jesus to independently resort to His own supernatural power to relieve His hunger, disqualifying Him as our redeemer since He would have failed to live completely as a human man by turning to the power of His own divinity to solve His problems. As mentioned in the introduction, the term “Son of God” is primarily a synonym for “the Messiah” or “King of Israel.”

2. By means we do not know, the devil brings Jesus atop the Temple in Jerusalem, 175 feet above the city, tempting Him to perform a supernatural act in front of all Jerusalem to prove to the masses He is the Messiah.

3. This is an interesting event. Can it be that we have the devil, who knows precisely who Jesus is--God in the flesh--has the gall to tempt his very creator, who can destroy him with a single word, into falling down and actually ‘worshipping’ him?

Unlikely.

So to understand the event, we must look beyond what seems to be happening, and use reason to determine what is actually happening. If we accept that there is no logic whatever in the devil trying to get his own creator to worship him, we can then surmise that Satan’s true offer is not the authority of the Gentile kingdoms (which the Scriptures indicate are God’s to give anyway), but rather the lost souls within those kingdoms over whom the devil has ultimate ownership and control. Thus, Satan is not trying to get Christ to worship him as his god. He is seeking some level of Christ’s acknowledgment of his temporal authority, and by this to undoubtedly preserve his own existence. Some commentators otherwise believed this incident to be one whose ultimate purpose was to reveal to Satan just who Jesus was. Whatever the case, Jesus does not give Satan’s claimed legal authority even minimal acknowledgment.

⁴. The synagogue is not a Biblical invention, but originated during the Babylonian captivity as a means for the Jews to retain knowledge of their religion and customs. Upon the Jews’ return to Palestine, the synagogues provided a place of worship, teaching, and fellowship.

5. The word is daimonizomenoi, which is translated as “possessed,” although the term demonized is a better rendering. A great can of worms is opened within Christian circles because of this word, with some believing that Christians can, and others that they cannot, fall into the category of being demonized. As the Gospels show, someone demonized can undergo a variety of effects from minor physical illness to full demonic possession. The assertion that Christians are entirely immune to forms of demonization short of whole possession does not appear to be fully substantiated by the New Testament, although that belief is within orthodox theology.

 

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.1 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.2 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.3 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.4 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.5 21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you6, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca7, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool8, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.9 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend10 thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 11 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 12 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.13 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.14

1 And seeing the vast host of people, he went up upon a hill (so that his voice could be heard more clearly), and when he had sat down his disciples gathered around him. 2 Then Jesus began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 Blessed are those who are (humble and contrite), for theirs is Kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for this earth shall belong to them. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are those who show mercy to others, for God will show mercy to them. 8 Blessed are those with pure hearts, for God shall reveal Himself to them. 9 Blessed are those who work to bring peace to the earth, for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what is right, for the Kingdom of heaven awaits them. 11 Blessed are you when you’re slandered, persecuted, and lied about because you follow me. 12 Rejoice, and be very glad--for you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven since this is how the prophets were persecuted before you! 13 You all, like salt, are those who can season this world (and direct it away from the path of evil). But if, like diluted salt, you lose that which makes you a force of seasoning (and preservation), what good are you? You are no better than the salt that is strewn in the Temple courts during wintertime that men trample upon. 14 You are all lights in this world, and like a city that is built upon a hill, you cannot hide what you are. 15 Men don’t light a candle and hide its light under a basket! They put it in a candlestick so everyone in the house is able to see in the darkness. 16 So let the light of God in you shine before the world so people can see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 17 Don’t misunderstand my purpose, for I have not come to distort or overturn the Law of Moses (as some might be claiming). I have not come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. 18 I assure you that if it takes to the end of time itself, not so little as one point of minutiae will pass from the commandments until the whole of the Law completes its ordained purpose. 19 So whoever breaks so little as one commandment, and teaches others some rationale for doing so, will be called the lowest of the low in the Kingdom of heaven! But whoever follows the commandments of God, and teaches others to follow them as well, shall be called a great man in the Kingdom of heaven. 20 But you need to know that unless your righteousness exceeds that of (hypocrites like) the Torah teachers and Pharisees, you have no chance of entering into the Kingdom of heaven. 21 For instance, you’ve heard it said from ancient times, Thou shalt not kill, and whoever murders shall be called to account before the judges. 22 But I want you to know that if you even hold a grudge against a brother in the community, you are in danger of judgment. And if you verbally denounce a brother in the community, you may be taken to court for slander--but if you pass judgment upon another person’s salvation or right standing with God when it is not your place to do so, you are in danger of hellfire yourself! 23 Therefore, if you bring a sacrificial gift to the Temple and there recall that a brother has something against you, 24 Leave your gift offering at the altar, go make amends with your brother, and then come back to make the offering. 25 If someone sues you in real life, settle your debt before the judge intervenes, even if it’s on the courthouse steps--because, if you’re in the wrong, the judge may hand you over to the jailer, and he will throw you into Debtor’s Prison! 26 I tell you truly, once the gavel comes down, you won’t get out of prison until you find a way to pay off every cent of what you owe from behind bars. (And how could you do that, once you’re in prison?) 27 (With this in mind,) consider the fact that from days of old, you’ve heard it said: Thou shalt not commit adultery. 28 But I want you to know that a person who simply looks upon another, and fantasizes about them--even if it goes no further--is guilty of adultery in his heart so far as God is concerned (and a price must be paid for that sin)! 29 So if you can’t turn your right eye away from an attractive woman or man--pluck it out! It’s better to lose an eye than to have your whole body wind up in hell! (Where, like the man in Debtor’s Prison, you will stay until you’ve paid the full debt.) 30 As well, if your hand is used for your own lustful self-gratification--cut it off! Better to have no hand, than to let your hand lead you to destruction, and your whole body wind up in hellfire! (Where, like the man in Debtor’s Prison, you will stay until you’ve paid the full debt from behind bars.) 31 It’s been said that a man who wants to divorce his wife should merely write out a Bill of Divorce, and send her away. 32 But I tell you that as far as God is concerned, any man who divorces his wife for a reason other than her committing fornication, makes her, and anyone she subsequently marries, both adulterers (because God still considers her married to her first husband--and the man who divorced her to start with will be called to account for his action that caused two others to wind up in sin)! 33 Again, it’s long been taught that a person, to make his word seem more believable, should invoke God as a witness to his promise. 34 But I tell you not to make vows at all! Do not swear, invoking heaven as a witness, for that is where God’s throne is. 35 Do not swear by anything upon the earth, for it is God's footstool; nor should you swear by Jerusalem itself, for it is 'the city of the Messiah' (and thus holy). 36 Don’t even swear by your own head, because you can’t even make one hair white or black. 37 But just agree or disagree to a thing, and leave it at that--because anything else is of the Evil One. 38 You’ve heard it said that it is acceptable to take reasonable vengeance for wrongs done to you--eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t take that attitude against evil done to you. And if someone insults you, ignore it. 40 If anyone wants to sue you for your robe--hand over your cloak, too. 41 If a Roman soldier invokes his right under their law, and compels you to carry his equipment for one mile--carry it for two miles! 42 Give to anyone who asks, and don’t refuse someone who wants to borrow from you. 43 You have heard it said: “A man should love his neighbor, but hate his enemy.” 44 But I say to love your enemies as well, and bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who take advantage of, or persecute you. 45 In doing this, you will be children of your Father in heaven, for He has the sun rise on the evil as well as the good, and sends rain to good people as well as bad. 46 If you love only those who love you back, what reward is there in that? Even tax collectors (--the most hated people in our society--) do that! 47 And if you wish Godspeed only to those in your own circle of friends, how are you being any better than the tax collectors who do likewise? 48 By doing these things I’ve told you, you will demonstrate the attributes of your Father in heaven, and thus be perfect as He is perfect!

1. A reference to the practice of taking unusable salt and casting it in the courtyards of the Temple during winter.

2. A common misunderstanding from reading this verse is that Jesus means He has come to keep the Law for us so that we are freed from the responsibility. While this is true to a degree, Mosely, Stern, and others point out that the proper understanding of the word “fulfill” would be in the sense of correctly walking in and teaching the Torah, while the word “destroy” is better understood as to reject the Torah or to teach it incorrectly. Their interpretation fits the context of the chapter very well.

3. The words “till all be fulfilled” can be interpreted at least a couple of different ways, depending on one’s philosophical approach to the Law of Moses:

Jesus is saying that the Law will be in force perpetually, and that everyone should keep it in every age. Thus, the Law is an eternal covenant that can never end nor be superseded. The person with this view would point to passages like Isaiah 2:3, Zechariah 14:16 and Ezekiel 43:18, which seem to indicate that even in the Messianic Age the Torah will be the Law of the Land, and the Gentile nations will keep the Jewish Festivals at a Millennial Temple that will conduct animal sacrifice. The problem with this view is that it would be at variance with the totality of Paul’s writings, the ruling in Acts 15 absolving Gentiles from having to become circumcised and convert to Judaism and its Law, the Book of Hebrews’ denunciation of the Mosaic covenant and its animal sacrifice; and Galatians 4’s affirmation there are two separate covenants, the one from Sinai being superseded by the covenant based on faith.

A more valid view is that Jesus, knowing that the Jewish leaders will irrevocably break that covenant by rejecting Him, is saying that the Law remains in force until He, as its fulfillment, completes the entire work of redemption through the crucifixion. At that point, certain parts are cast by the wayside (such as the sacrificial system), and what remains of the Law thereafter is useful only as a basis for godly living, or as a tool to help the Jews to retain their cultural identity as a people. Thus, the Torah, as a covenant, is superseded by the New covenant in Christ’s blood which is based on better promises than what the Old covenant provided. The Old Testament passages cited earlier might thus be viewed as what would have happened had Israel accepted the Messiah and seen the Messianic Kingdom ushered in when Christ presented Himself to the people.

4. Again, Jesus’ words here can be understood from two different perspectives: Anyone, in any generation, who teaches that some point of Mosaic Law need not be obeyed is “least” in comparison to a “great” man who teaches they all should be kept; or, Jesus is actually clarifying His own personal affirmation that He would never overturn any point of the Law--while the Law is still in effect as a covenant! As we know and will be seeing in later chapters, the religious leaders regularly criticize Jesus because He is less strict than they in His understanding of Torah observance. This may have caused Him in verse 17 to correct a misunderstanding that his views equate to an endorsement of loosening up restrictions in Mosaic Law. As a Messiah operating under the Mosaic covenant, Jesus is thus showing the people what proper keeping of Mosaic Law entails, which is vastly different from what the Pharisees and Sadducees believe. In the dispensation of the Mosaic covenant, it is unthinkable that even the slightest commandment can be ignored, and this explains Jesus’ strong affirmation that every commandment is critical, and great men will teach others to observe them all.

However, Israel is soon headed for a train wreck by its ultimate rejection of the Mosaic covenant as a consequence of its rejection of Christ as king under that covenant. Once that happens and the religious leaders irrevocably abrogate the covenant of Sinai, a new covenant--something in God’s ultimate plan--is instituted and offered not just to Israel, but to all people.

As Paul writes in Gal. 3: 17, the ultimate covenant between God and man is the Abrahamic covenant which existed entirely outside of the later Mosaic covenant. The later covenant, however holy and glorious it may have been, cannot modify, cancel, or replace the older, more important covenant instituted between God, Abraham, and his descendants on the basis of faith only! Thus, while the Sinai covenant is ‘waxing old and ready to vanish away’ because of Israel’s impenitent heart, that covenant--whether in force or not--has no bearing on the fulfillment of the more important Abrahamic covenant that is based solely on faith, and not on obedience to commandments! Thus, in a dispensation where the Mosaic covenant is in force and retains the potential to see a Messianic kingdom established within its defined parameters, teachers of truth will extol all points of the Law including the minutiae. But once that covenant is rejected for the final time by the generation to whom the Messiah has come--that covenant passes away for good, leaving the greater Abrahamic covenant of faith intact through the atonement of Messiah’s sacrifice.

5. Here, Jesus begins to cause his listeners to question their traditional understanding of righteousness. Across the board, the Pharisees were understood as the most fanatic followers of both the written and oral Torah to a degree the average person could not likewise devote himself. Jesus now shows that even the fanatical observance of the Torah by the Pharisees is insufficient to grant sufficient righteousness to earn a place in heaven with God. Thus, as important as the Law may be, only a greater righteousness than a man is capable of obtaining through obeying its commandments will suffice to save him from hell--i.e. the ultimate righteousness that comes not through Law, but through faith alone.

6. A word meaning an idiot, but in context here referring to the rashim, the wicked who were hell-bound. In the culture, the wicked were to be scorned, treated with contempt, and shunned.

7. A word related in idea to rasha/rashim, but going a step further to an early Pharisee Calvinistic-like doctrine of predestination that held some of the sinners were so far gone that God had predestined them for hell, and they were incapable of repentance. Jesus is thus saying that one who makes a proclamation that an individual is predestined for hell is in danger himself of hellfire. Although this stretches credulity, another option is that Jesus is confirming a rabbinic belief that one of the three sorts of people who must spend eternity in hell without hope of leaving is a man who calls a Jew a bad name. (The others are someone who cohabits with a married woman, and someone who shames another Jew in public.)

8. One of only two points in which Jesus appears to hold a view in agreement with the school of Shammai, for the followers of Shammai held that a sinful thought constituted sin, whereas the Hillelites believed that sin occurred only in carrying out the act.

9. A probable reference to sexual self-gratification, for which the Talmud likewise encourages cutting off of the hand that “reaches below the navel” (Niddah 13a). Otherwise, it could be an idiomatic reference to thievery.

10. The second point on which Jesus sides with Shammai, for the school of Hillel was very liberal on divorce, permitting it for a wide variety of reasons, while the school of Shammai generally forbade it except for adultery or Scripturally illicit marriages.

11. A Middle Eastern saying referring to being insulted, and not to a literal slap across the face. The Tosefta (Baba Kamma 9:29f) also encourages one “struck on the cheek” to forgive even an unrepentant person. Paul uses the term in this manner in 2 Cor. 11:20.

12. Referring to the fact that a Roman soldier had the authority to compel a civilian in an occupied territory to carry his goods for up to one mile.

13. Although referring to Deut. 18:13, which calls on the Jews to be “perfect,” Jesus is not literally commanding the listeners to act in sinless perfection (which we know by the fact none of His followers depart at hearing the saying), but He is encouraging them to adopt God’s heart and attitudes toward others, reflecting the holiness and righteousness of the Father in heaven.

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms1 before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet2 before thee, as the hypocrites3 do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have4 their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet5, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions6, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily7 bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil8, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?9 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

1 Make sure that you never do a good deed publicly--to be praised by others--or your Father in heaven will not reward you! 2 When you give alms, don’t do it publicly as the hypocrites do, sounding a trumpet so that everyone in synagogues and the streets knows about it, and thinks well of you! Those who do their good deeds publicly can count on nothing more than public praise as their only reward. 3 When you do something charitable, do it as secretly as you can, and then never give it another thought. 4 If you do things in secret, the day will come when your Father, who sees things done in secret, rewards you openly, before everyone. 5 Also, when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pray loudly and call attention to themselves in the synagogues and the street corners so people marvel at how religious they are! I tell you truly, they have all the reward they will ever get. 6 So when you pray to your Father, go do so in a private place, and shut the door so no one knows. Then your Father, who sees everything done in secret, shall reward you openly. 7 Also, when you pray, don’t be like the pagans who compose an hour-long monologue, thinking that will convince God to help you. 8 Don’t be like them--your Father knows what your needs are before you even ask, and is waiting to answer anyway! 9 Pray simply, like this: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 Remember--if you forgive men who do evil to you, God will forgive your own sins that do evil to Him! 15 But if you refuse to forgive those who wrong you, your Father will not forgive your wrongs either! 16 Also, when you undertake a fast, don’t be like the hypocrites who go around looking weak and sickly so everyone can see how religious they are. I want you to know that’s the only reward they’ll get! 17 So when you fast, do it in such a way that you look perf