Matius 12:26

12:26 So if ¹  Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Matius 13:3

13:3 He ²  told them many things in parables, ³  saying: “Listen! ⁴  A sower went out to sow. ⁵ 

Matius 19:6

19:6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Matius 22:26

22:26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh.

Matius 23:31

23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

Matius 24:37

24:37 For just like the days of Noah ⁶  were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.

[12:26]  ¹ tn This first class condition, the first of three “if” clauses in the following verses, presents the example vividly as if it were so. In fact, all three conditions in these verses are first class. The examples are made totally parallel. The expected answer is that Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

[13:3]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:3]  ³ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[13:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “Behold.”

[13:3]  ⁵ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.

[24:37]  ⁶ sn Like the days of Noah, the time of the flood in Gen 6:5-8:22, the judgment will come as a surprise as people live their day to day lives.