Matius 3:2

3:2 “Repent, ¹  for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matius 10:7-8

10:7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, ²  cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

Matius 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ³  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ⁴  this is the seed sown along the path.

Matius 24:14

24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, ⁵  and then the end will come.

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[10:8]  ² tc The majority of Byzantine minuscules, along with a few other witnesses (C³ K L Γ Θ 700* al), lack νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε (nekrou" ejgeirete, “raise the dead”), most likely because of oversight due to a string of similar endings (-ετε in the second person imperatives, occurring five times in v. 8). The longer version of this verse is found in several diverse and ancient witnesses such as א B C* (D) N 0281^vid Ë^1,13 33 565 al lat; P W Δ 348 have a word-order variation, but nevertheless include νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε. Although some Byzantine-text proponents charge the Alexandrian witnesses with theologically-motivated alterations toward heterodoxy, it is interesting to find a variant such as this in which the charge could be reversed (do the Byzantine scribes have something against the miracle of resurrection?). In reality, such charges of wholesale theologically-motivated changes toward heterodoxy are immediately suspect due to lack of evidence of intentional changes (here the change is evidently due to accidental omission).

[13:19]  ³ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ⁴ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[24:14]  ⁵ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).