Matthew and His Sources
I. Matthew's Own Material: My Father in Heaven
II. Matthew Modifies Mark: My Father in Heaven
III. Matthew's Special Source: Your Father in Heaven
IV. Matthew Modifies Q: Your Father in Heaven
Other Sources:
I. Matthew's Own Material: My Father in Heaven
7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.10:32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 10:33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
12:46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 12:47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 12:48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 12:49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
15:13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 16:17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
18:10 "Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. 18:12 What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 18:13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 18:14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
18:19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
18:34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
20:20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 20:21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 20:22 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?'' They said to him, "We are able." 20:23 He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 20:24 When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers.
25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 25:33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 25:34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
26:29 I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
Note: But When the Kingdom Is Finally Realized, God Will Be the "Father" of the Righteous as well. Compare this to the Only Instance of "Your Father" in the Gospel of John
13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 13:42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
II. Matthew Modifies Mark: My Father in Heaven
III. Matthew's Special Source: Your Father in Heaven
5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
6:1 Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 6:2 So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6:3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 6:4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 6:5 And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 6:7 "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 6:9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 6:13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 6:15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 6:16 "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6:17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 6:18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
IV. Matthew Modifies Q: Your Father in Heaven
Your Father in Matthew |
Your Father in Luke |
| 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. | 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. |
| 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. | 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. |
| 6:9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 6:13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. | 11:2 He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father,
hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 11:3 Give us each day our daily bread. 11:4 And
forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us
to the time of trial." |
| 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? | 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! |
| 6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 6:32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 6:33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. | 12:29 And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what
you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 12:30 For it is the nations of the world that
strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. |
| 7:9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread,
will give a stone? 7:10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! |
11:11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 11:12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit (mss. good gifts) to those who ask him!" |
| 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 10:30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 10:31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 10:32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 10:33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. | 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of
them is forgotten in God's sight. 12:7 But even the hairs of your head are all
counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 12:8 "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 12:9 but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. |
V. Luke's Special Source "L": My Father
Note: There is considered to be a special relationship between "L" and the gospel of John
The Only Gospel Story about Jesus Between his Birth and the Age of 30
2:40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. 2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 2:43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 2:44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 2:45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 2:46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 2:47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 2:48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." 2:49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 2:50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 2:51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
There are Only Two Other "My Father" Passages Contained in Luke; Both of them are in Luke's Special "L" Material:
22:29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 22:30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 24:46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 24:48 You are witnesses of these things. 24:49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
VI. Compare the Above to My Father in John
VII. My Father in Mark? Not One Occurrence!