Matthew 13 Footnotes

13:32 Jesus did not intend to teach botany here but to make a point about the kingdom of God. The mustard seed was the smallest seed of any plant cultivated in first-century Palestine and was proverbial for minuteness. Though mustard is not technically a tree, it can grow to a height of from six to ten feet and support birds. Jesus was probably making a theological point that his readers would catch, alluding either to Ezk 31:17 or Dn 4:12 and the world dominion of God’s kingdom. Alternatively the statement may have been meant to shock: The kingdom of heaven will grow much bigger than one would expect when seeing its beginning.

13:35 Ps 78 records the “parable” (mashal) of Asaph, in which, as a warning to his generation, he reviewed the history of God’s gracious dealing with the Jews despite their stubbornness (Ps 78:4-5). Matthew cited the opening verses of the psalm because they parallel most specifically the teaching ministry of Jesus, but he probably intended the reader to place them in their larger context. Matthew did not assert that Asaph was talking about Jesus but that Jesus’s parables culminated the sort of teaching Asaph conducted, teaching about the history of salvation intended to turn Israel from unfaithfulness to faithfulness. In Jesus, God gave his final revelation to the Jews, and, like Asaph’s audience, they were expected to respond appropriately.

13:55 The people of Nazareth assumed Jesus was Joseph’s son. Mark had the people identify Jesus as the carpenter (Mk 6:3); in Matthew they identified his father as such. Jesus probably learned the trade of his adoptive father, as was typical, and the crowd referred to him in various ways, Matthew summarizing one way and Mark another.