Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer identifies two groups of parables: the four first parables (up to Matthew 13:34) "were spoken in presence of the multitude, and the other three again within the circle of the disciples".[6] German liberal Protestant theologian David Strauss thought this chapter was "overwhelming with parables".[6] At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus sits in a ship or a boat on the Sea of Galilee and addresses the crowd who stand on the shore or the beach.[7] The Textus Receptus has inserted the definite article (Greek: τὸ πλοῖον, to ploion), suggesting that there was a boat kept waiting for him,[8] but other texts do not include the definite article and the Pulpit Commentary therefore argues that it was "wrongly inserted".[9]
Verses 51-52
51"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.
"Yes", they replied.
52 He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."[10]
These verses conclude the Parabolic Discourse and may be called a "comparative proverb".[11]Henry Alford describes them as a "solemn conclusion to the parables.[5]Johann Bengel suggests that Jesus would have been ready to explain the other parables if necessary, "but they understood them, if not perfectly, yet truly".[8] The reference to scribes, or teachers of the Jewish law, who became disciples reflects the Matthean gospel focus in particular; the Jerusalem Bible suggests that this reference may portray the evangelist himself.[12]
Verses 53-58
The final verses of this chapter see Jesus return to his home town, meaning Nazareth,[11] where he preaches in the synagogue and experiences the rejection of his "own people",[13] and his own country.
Dale Allison sees these verses and the following chapters as far as chapter 17 as recounting "the birth of the Church";[11] the Jerusalem Bible likewise holds that the same long section constitutes a narrative on the Church, followed by Matthew 18, which is often called the Discourse on the Church.[14]
^Preaching Matthew's Gospel by Richard A. Jensen (1998). ISBN978-0-7880-1221-1. pp. 25 and 158.
^ abAlexander, Loveday (2007). "62. Acts". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 1061. ISBN978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.