The Gospel of Matthew

The Man of St Matthew

Jesus in Jerusalem: chapters 21-25

In 26,1, we find the phrase which as we have seen before ends the discourses. This time an extra word has been added: "when Jesus had finished ALL these sayings". The story of the passion then follows.

The discourse begins when Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives, 24,3. Thisis similar to 5,1 when Jesus sat on the mountain for the Sermon on the Mount. Unlike 5,1 however where the crowds were present in the background, this discourse is given to the disciples only.
Thus the fifth and final discourse of this Gospel is 24,3-25,46. It is an expansion of Mark's discourse, Mk 13.

The opening verses of chapter 24, 24,1-2 are therefore Jesus' final comments on his departure from the Temple, similar to Mk 13,1-2. Commentators usually just add these verses to the discourse even though the Temple is not mentioned during it.

Continuing to work backwards, in 23,1, we are told that Jesus is speaking to the crowds and to the disciples. Chapter 23 that follows is an insertion into Mark's sequence and unique to Matthew. It is a discourse by Jesus which brings his controversies with the Jewish leaders to a dramtic climax before ending with his lament over Jerusalem and departure from the Temple, 23,37-24,2.

That leaves us with chapters 21 and 22 which go together. From 21,12 to the end of chapter 22 the setting is the Temple and Jesus is confronting various groups of Jewish leaders. There is a clear ending in 22,46 with the evangelist's comment that no one dared to ask further questions of Jesus.
Chapter 21 ends with a comment by the evangelist, 21,45-46. Chapter 22 then opens a second stage, with Jesus answering and speaking with them again, 22,1. We will see how Matthew in these two chapters has edited and adapted Mark, Mk 11,1-12,37.

In summary, these five chapters give us the following presentation:

Matthew's additions to Mark in these chapters are:

The notable omission from Mark is the comment about widows (Mk 12,41-44). Matthew has replaced this with the discourse of chapter 23.

We can now return so as to look at chapters 21 in more detail.

Chapter 21: Overview

Matthew has re-arranged Mark chapter 11 so that the fig tree incident (21,18-22) no longer forms a sandwich arrangement around the cleansing of the Temple (Mk 11,12-25). The significance of this we will consider.

The main breaks in chapter 21 are the new day (21,18) and "listen to another parable" (21,33). Jesus' two entrances into the Temple (21,12 and 21,23) are introductions to the next stage in the story ("And Jesus went into the Temple").

Chapter 21 therefore begins with Jesus entering Jerusalem (21,1-11) and this is followed immediately by Jesus going into the Temple (21,12-17). Here there is a first encounter with the Jewish leaders (21,15-16) to set the scene. In verse 17, Jesus goes to Bethany for the night.

"In the morning" in verse 18 begins the second part of the chapter. The fig tree incident (21,18-22) is followed in verse 23 by Jesus entering the Temple where he now stays until 24,2. There with the questioning of his authority (21,23-27), Jesus' response leads into the parable of the two sons (21,28-32). "What do you think?" in verse 28 is a connecting phrase (as 18,12).

Therefore, 21,18-32 is to be read as a section. The fig three incident in Matthew no longer refers to the Temple but introduces what follows, the confrontations with the chief priests and elders from 21,23.. This is bound by the theme running through of faith or believing (verses 21,22,25 and especially the conclusion in verse 32).

The third section of the chapter (21,33-46) is the parable of the vineyard with its opening "Listen to another parable". Its concludes with the comment by the evangelist, 21,45-46.
The opening words do not mark a firm break; we will keep in mind how the parable of the two sons prepares for the two parables that follow.

Reading Chapter 21

From our investigations, we can now read chapter 21 in three pages:
21,1-17: Entering Jerusalem and the Temple
21,18-32: The Fig tree and the elders of the people
21,33-46: The Parable of the Vineyard

We can now return to the main page to begin our reading of the chapter.