21:1–11 Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem is in accordance with the
divine will that he must go there (cf. Mt 16:21) to suffer, die, and be raised.
He prepares for his entry into the city in such a way as to make it a fulfillment
of the prophecy of Zec 9:9 (Mt 21:2) that emphasizes the humility of the king
who comes (Mt 21:5). That prophecy, absent from the Marcan parallel account (Mk
11:1–11) although found also in the Johannine account of the entry (Jn 12:15),
is the center of the Matthean story. During the procession from Bethphage to
Jerusalem, Jesus is acclaimed as the Davidic messianic king by the crowds who
accompany him (Mt 21:9). On his arrival the whole city was shaken, and to the
inquiry of the amazed populace about Jesus’ identity the crowds with him reply
that he is the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee (Mt 21:10, 11).
21:1 Bethphage: a village that can no longer be certainly
identified. Mark mentions it before Bethany (Mk 11:1), which suggests that it
lay to the east of the latter. The Mount of Olives: the hill east of Jerusalem
that is spoken of in Zec 14:4 as the place where the Lord will come to rescue
Jerusalem from the enemy nations.
21:2 An ass tethered, and a colt with her: instead of the
one animal of Mk 11:2, Matthew has two, as demanded by his understanding of Zec
9:9.
21:4–5 The prophet: this fulfillment citation is actually
composed of two distinct Old Testament texts, Is 62:11 (Say to daughter Zion)
and Zec 9:9. The ass and the colt are the same animal in the prophecy,
mentioned twice in different ways, the common Hebrew literary device of poetic
parallelism. That Matthew takes them as two is one of the reasons why some
scholars think that he was a Gentile rather than a Jewish Christian who would presumably
not make that mistake (see Introduction).
21:7 Upon them: upon the two animals; an awkward picture
resulting from Matthew’s misunderstanding of the prophecy.
21:8 Spread…on the road: cf. 2 Kgs 9:13. There is a
similarity between the cutting and strewing of the branches and the festivities
of Tabernacles (Lv 23:39–40); see also 2 Mc 10:5–8 where the celebration of the
rededication of the temple is compared to that of Tabernacles.
21:9 Hosanna: the Hebrew means “(O Lord) grant salvation”;
see Ps 118:25, but that invocation had become an acclamation of jubilation and
welcome. Blessed is he…in the name of the Lord: see Ps 118:26 and the note on
Jn 12:13. In the highest: probably only an intensification of the acclamation,
although Hosanna in the highest could be taken as a prayer, “May God save
(him).”
21:10 Was shaken: in the gospels this verb is peculiar to
Matthew where it is used also of the earthquake at the time of the crucifixion
(Mt 27:51) and of the terror of the guards of Jesus’ tomb at the appearance of
the angel (Mt 28:4). For Matthew’s use of the cognate noun, see note on Mt
8:24.
21:11 The prophet: see Mt 16:14 (“one of the prophets”) and
21:46.
21:12–17 Matthew changes the order of (Mk 11:11, 12, 15) and
places the cleansing of the temple on the same day as the entry into Jerusalem,
immediately after it. The activities going on in the temple area were not
secular but connected with the temple worship. Thus Jesus’ attack on those so
engaged and his charge that they were making God’s house of prayer a den of
thieves (Mt 21:12–13) constituted a claim to authority over the religious
practices of Israel and were a challenge to the priestly authorities. Mt
21:14–17 are peculiar to Matthew. Jesus’ healings and his countenancing the
children’s cries of praise rouse the indignation of the chief priests and the
scribes (Mt 21:15). These two groups appear in the infancy narrative (Mt 2:4)
and have been mentioned in the first and third passion predictions (Mt 16:21;
20:18). Now, as the passion approaches, they come on the scene again,
exhibiting their hostility to Jesus.
21:12 These activities were carried on in the court of the
Gentiles, the outermost court of the temple area. Animals for sacrifice were
sold; the doves were for those who could not afford a more expensive offering;
see Lv 5:7. Tables of the money changers: only the coinage of Tyre could be
used for the purchases; other money had to be exchanged for that.
21:13 ‘My house…prayer’: cf. Is 56:7. Matthew omits the
final words of the quotation, “for all peoples” (“all nations”), possibly
because for him the worship of the God of Israel by all nations belongs to the
time after the resurrection; see Mt 28:19. A den of thieves: the phrase is
taken from Jer 7:11.
21:14 The blind and the lame: according to 2 Sm 5:8 LXX the
blind and the lame were forbidden to enter “the house of the Lord,” the temple.
These are the last of Jesus’ healings in Matthew.
21:15 The wondrous things: the healings.
21:16 ‘Out of the mouths…praise’: cf. Ps 8:3 LXX.
21:18–22 In Mark the effect of Jesus’ cursing the fig tree
is not immediate; see Mk 11:14, 20. By making it so, Matthew has heightened the
miracle. Jesus’ act seems arbitrary and ill-tempered, but it is a prophetic
action similar to those of Old Testament prophets that vividly symbolize some
part of their preaching; see, e.g., Ez 12:1–20. It is a sign of the judgment
that is to come upon the Israel that with all its apparent piety lacks the
fruit of good deeds (Mt 3:10) and will soon bear the punishment of its
fruitlessness (Mt 21:43). Some scholars propose that this story is the
development in tradition of a parable of Jesus about the destiny of a fruitless
tree, such as Lk 13:6–9. Jesus’ answer to the question of the amazed disciples
(Mt 21:20) makes the miracle an example of the power of prayer made with
unwavering faith (Mt 21:21–22).
21:21 See Mt 17:20.
21:23–27 Cf. Mk 11:27–33. This is the first of five
controversies between Jesus and the religious authorities of Judaism in Mt
21:23–22:46, presented in the form of questions and answers.
21:23 These things: probably his entry into the city, his
cleansing of the temple, and his healings there.
21:24 To reply by counterquestion was common in rabbinical
debate.
21:26 We fear…as a prophet: cf. Mt 14:5.
21:27 Since through embarrassment on the one hand and fear
on the other the religious authorities claim ignorance of the origin of John’s
baptism, they show themselves incapable of speaking with authority; hence Jesus
refuses to discuss with them the grounds of his authority.
21:28–32 The series of controversies is interrupted by three
parables on the judgment of Israel (Mt 21:28–22:14) of which this, peculiar to
Matthew, is the first. The second (Mt 21:33–46) comes from Mark (12:1–12), and
the third (Mt 22:1–14) from Q; see Lk 14:15–24. This interruption of the
controversies is similar to that in Mark, although Mark has only one parable
between the first and second controversy. As regards Matthew’s first parable,
Mt 21:28–30 if taken by themselves could point simply to the difference between
saying and doing, a theme of much importance in this gospel (cf. Mt 7:21;
12:50); that may have been the parable’s original reference. However, it is
given a more specific application by the addition of Mt 21:31–32. The two sons
represent, respectively, the religious leaders and the religious outcasts who
followed John’s call to repentance. By the answer they give to Jesus’ question
(Mt 21:31) the leaders condemn themselves. There is much confusion in the
textual tradition of the parable. Of the three different forms of the text
given by important textual witnesses, one has the leaders answer that the son
who agreed to go but did not was the one who did the father’s will. Although
some scholars accept that as the original reading, their arguments in favor of
it seem unconvincing. The choice probably lies only between a reading that puts
the son who agrees and then disobeys before the son who at first refuses and
then obeys, and the reading followed in the present translation. The witnesses
to the latter reading are slightly better than those that support the other.
21:31 Entering…before you: this probably means “they enter;
you do not.”
21:32 Cf. Lk 7:29–30. Although the thought is similar to
that of the Lucan text, the formulation is so different that it is improbable
that the saying comes from Q. Came to you…way of righteousness: several
meanings are possible: that John himself was righteous, that he taught
righteousness to others, or that he had an important place in God’s plan of
salvation. For the last, see note on Mt 3:14–15.
21:33–46 Cf. Mk 12:1–12. In this parable there is a close
correspondence between most of the details of the story and the situation that
it illustrates, the dealings of God with his people. Because of that heavy
allegorizing, some scholars think that it does not in any way go back to Jesus,
but represents the theology of the later church. That judgment applies to the
Marcan parallel as well, although the allegorizing has gone farther in Matthew.
There are others who believe that while many of the allegorical elements are
due to church sources, they have been added to a basic parable spoken by Jesus.
This view is now supported by the Gospel of Thomas, 65, where a less
allegorized and probably more primitive form of the parable is found.
21:33 Planted a vineyard…a tower: cf. Is 5:1–2. The vineyard
is defined in Is 5:7 as “the house of Israel.”
21:34–35 His servants: Matthew has two sendings of servants
as against Mark’s three sendings of a single servant (Mk 12:2–5a) followed by a
statement about the sending of “many others” (Mk 12:2, 5b). That these servants
stand for the prophets sent by God to Israel is clearly implied but not made
explicit here, but see Mt 23:37. His produce: cf. Mk 12:2 “some of the
produce.” The produce is the good works demanded by God, and his claim to them
is total.
21:38 Acquire his inheritance: if a Jewish proselyte died
without heir, the tenants of his land would have final claim on it.
21:39 Threw him out…and killed him: the change in the Marcan
order where the son is killed and his corpse then thrown out (Mk 12:8) was
probably made because of the tradition that Jesus died outside the city of
Jerusalem; see Jn 19:17; Hb 13:12.
21:41 They answered: in Mk 12:9 the question is answered by
Jesus himself; here the leaders answer and so condemn themselves; cf. Mt 21:31.
Matthew adds that the new tenants to whom the vineyard will be transferred will
give the owner the produce at the proper times.
21:42 Cf. Ps 118:22–23. The psalm was used in the early
church as a prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection; see Acts 4:11; 1 Pt 2:7. If, as
some think, the original parable ended at Mt 21:39 it was thought necessary to
complete it by a reference to Jesus’ vindication by God.
21:43 Peculiar to Matthew. Kingdom of God: see note on Mt
19:23–24. Its presence here instead of Matthew’s usual “kingdom of heaven” may
indicate that the saying came from Matthew’s own traditional material. A people
that will produce its fruit: believing Israelites and Gentiles, the church of
Jesus.
21:44 The majority of textual witnesses omit this verse. It
is probably an early addition to Matthew from Lk 20:18 with which it is
practically identical.
21:45 The Pharisees: Matthew inserts into the group of
Jewish leaders (Mt 21:23) those who represented the Judaism of his own time.
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