World English Bible · Under Rome
Matthew 16
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The and came, and him, asked him to show them a sign from . But he answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for is red.' In the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for is red and threatening.' ! You know how to discern the appearance of , but you can't discern the signs of the times! An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the ." He left them and departed. came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. said to them, "Take heed and beware of the of the and ." They reasoned among themselves, saying, "We brought ." , perceiving it, said, "Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little , because you have brought ? Don't you yet perceive or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up, or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you don't perceive that I didn't speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the of the and ." Then they understood that he didn't tell them to beware of the of bread, but of the teaching of the and . Now when came into the parts of , he asked his , saying, "Who do men say that I, , am?" They said, "Some say , some, , and others, or one of ." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" answered, "You are , the Son of the living ." answered him, " are you, , for and has not this to you, but who is in . I also tell you that you are , and on this I will build my , and the of will not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of of , and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in ; and whatever you on earth will have been released in ." Then he commanded that they should tell no one that he was . From that time, began to show his that he must go to and suffer many things from the , , and , and be killed, and the third day be up. took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, ! This will never be done to you." But he turned and said to , "Get behind me, ! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting on the things of , but on the things of men." Then said to his , "If anyone to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his , and follow me. For whoever to his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? For will come in the of his with his , and then he will give to everyone according to his deeds. Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of until they see coming in ."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.