Semantic Analysis: Matthew 1–28

Scope and Method

This analysis follows the same destination-language risk methodology established in the baseline Romans Language Package: English is both source and destination, so the risk being tracked is drift within English itself across three categories —

1. False-friend drift — a term has a strong, confidently-held secular/legal/political/pop-culture meaning that silently displaces its biblical sense (e.g., “reward,” “follow,” “cross to bear”).
2. Denominational contest — English-speaking Christian traditions genuinely disagree on a term’s meaning (e.g., baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the timing of “this generation” and the tribulation).
3. Obsolescence / cultural erosion — a term is rare, archaic, trivialized, or has had its emotional weight hollowed out by secularization (e.g., “meek,” “mammon,” “wrath”).

Where a term is already recorded in the baseline translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json, the recorded English rendering is reused exactly and is marked “(baseline reuse).” New terms specific to Matthew’s Gospel and this curriculum’s nine assigned doctrines are analyzed fresh, using the identical field structure.

Fields used throughout: Original word | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language (English) rendering risk.

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PART 1 — CORE PASSAGE VERSE-BY-VERSE: Matthew 5:1–12 (The Beatitudes)

The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount and are Matthew’s programmatic statement of Kingdom-of-Heaven values, situating Jesus as the authoritative new-Moses teacher on the mountain. Every verse is treated individually below.

Matthew 5:1 — “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
crowds ὄχλοι ochloi ”throngs, masses”	undifferentiated general public; can carry a faintly negative “mob” nuance elsewhere in Matthew (27:24) crowds, multitudes, the masses	The general, mixed audience — not yet committed disciples — who witness Jesus’ authority alongside the inner circle	Low. Stable in contemporary English; no significant drift.
mountain(side) ὄρος oros ”mountain, hill country”	any elevated terrain, from a hill to a major mountain mountain, mountainside, hillside	Deliberate echo of Moses receiving the Law on Sinai (Exodus 19–20); Jesus as the new lawgiver-teacher	Medium. Readers without OT background will miss the Sinai typology entirely unless it is made explicit; the word itself is not misread, but its theological resonance is invisible without comment.
disciples μαθηταί mathētai ”learners, students”	a technical term for a committed apprentice-follower, distinct from the general crowd disciples, students, followers, apprentices	Those who have already responded to Jesus’ call to follow (4:18-22) and now receive his authoritative teaching directly	Medium. See “disciple” full treatment at ch. 8/10/28; contemporary secular use (“a disciple of minimalism”) dilutes the committed, life-reorienting sense to loose ideological fandom.

Matthew 5:2 — “and he began to teach them, saying:“

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
teach ἐδίδασκεν (διδάσκω) edidasken (didaskō) “to instruct, to make learn”	formal, authoritative instruction, not casual conversation teach, instruct	The imperfect tense signals sustained, deliberate teaching activity — Matthew’s frame for the whole Sermon (5:2–7:29), climaxing in 7:28-29’s “authority” statement	Medium. “Teacher” language in contemporary English is neutral-to-positive but carries no inherent authority; readers may default to a classroom-instructor frame rather than one who teaches with unique, self-authenticating divine authority (see “authority,” ch. 7).

Matthew 5:3 — “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
blessed μακάριοι makarioi ”happy, fortunate, flourishing”	a declared state of divine favor and objective well-being, not a subjective feeling of happiness blessed, fortunate, happy (inadequate), favored	Not an emotional state but a pronounced verdict: those in this condition already possess God’s favor and coming vindication, regardless of present circumstance	High. Contemporary English has substantially flattened “blessed” into a social-media hashtag for good luck or humble-bragging (“#blessed” over a vacation photo), stripping out any sense of undeserved status graciously declared over the lowly. This false-friend drift must be actively corrected: biblical “blessed” is pronounced over the poor, the mourning, and the persecuted — the opposite of the modern usage’s association with visible good fortune.
poor in spirit πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι ptōchoi tō pneumati ”beggarly / destitute, with respect to spirit”	πτωχός = utterly destitute (not merely “needy”); qualified by “in spirit” to mean spiritual (not necessarily economic) destitution/humility before God poor in spirit, spiritually humble, spiritually bankrupt (before God)	Recognition of one’s total spiritual poverty and dependence on God, the entry requirement for the Kingdom, and the deliberate contrast/complement to Luke’s unqualified “poor” (Luke 6:20)	High. Two distinct misreadings compete: (1) reducing this to literal economic poverty (a live tension across English-speaking traditions influenced by liberation-theology readings of Luke’s parallel), or (2) reading “poor in spirit” as low morale/depression (a near-idiomatic English collocation, “poor in spirits”). Neither is Matthew’s sense of humble, empty-handed dependence on God. State explicitly.
kingdom of heaven βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν basileia tōn ouranōn ”reign/rule of the heavens”	Matthew’s distinctive phrase (used ~32x, exclusive to this Gospel) functionally synonymous with “kingdom of God” (used by Mark, Luke, Paul) kingdom of heaven, kingdom of God, God’s reign, God’s kingdom	God’s sovereign reign, already breaking in through Jesus’ ministry and consummated at his return — not a geographic afterlife destination	High. See dedicated entry below (Ch. 3/4/13); this is a Critical/High doctrinal center of the whole curriculum. Must reuse the doctrinal content of the baseline’s kingdom_of_god entry, but flag the additional Matthew-specific risk that “heaven” language invites readers to hear this as an exclusively future, post-mortem destination (“going to heaven when you die”), obscuring Matthew’s present/already-breaking-in dimension.

Matthew 5:4 — “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
mourn πενθοῦντες penthountes ”to grieve, lament”	deep grief, often over loss or over sin (cf. Isaiah 61:2-3, likely background) mourn, grieve, lament	Grief — plausibly grief over sin and the brokenness of the world, not only personal bereavement	Medium. Contemporary English readers default to bereavement-only grief; the possible dimension of grief over sin/spiritual brokenness needs to be actively supplied.
comforted παρακληθήσονται (παρακαλέω) paraklēthēsontai (parakaleō) “will be called alongside, consoled”	the same root as “exhort” (baseline reuse: exhort) — one who comes alongside to strengthen comforted, consoled, encouraged	Divine passive: God himself will personally console the grieving, echoing Isaiah 61:2	Low. Reuses the same root family as baseline exhort (Low risk, obsolescence rather than false-friend); “comforted” itself is stable in English.

Matthew 5:5 — “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
meek πραεῖς praeis ”gentle, mild-tempered”	strength held under control, not passivity; used of Jesus himself (11:29; 21:5) and of Moses (LXX Num. 12:3) meek, gentle, humble-strength	Restrained strength submitted to God, not weakness or timidity — the same word describes Jesus riding into Jerusalem as king (21:5)	High. Contemporary English “meek” has drifted to mean weak, timid, or spineless (“a meek little man”), essentially the opposite of the biblical sense of controlled strength. This is a genuine false-friend/erosion risk on par with the baseline’s treatment of “righteous” being misheard as smug rather than given: here “meek” is misheard as weak rather than strong-but-restrained.
inherit κληρονομήσουσιν (κληρονομέω) klēronomēsousin (klēronomeō) “to receive as an heir’s portion”	inheritance-rights language, cf. baseline adoption note on full inheritance rights inherit, receive as inheritance	Echoes Psalm 37:11; the meek receive the promised land/renewed creation as heirs, not conquerors	Medium. Cross-reference baseline adoption (Low risk) — inheritance language is a modest cultural asset in English (wills, family inheritance are familiar concepts), but the eschatological, whole-earth scope needs to be made explicit against a merely private, family-estate connotation.
earth γῆν gēn ”land, earth, ground”	can mean a specific land (Israel) or the whole earth/creation the earth, the land	Likely deliberate echo of the land-promise (Ps. 37) broadened to the renewed whole earth in Matthew’s eschatology (cf. 19:28)	Low-Medium. Minor risk of readers assuming a purely “spiritual/heavenly” reward rather than Matthew’s this-earth, renewed-creation hope.

Matthew 5:6 — “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
hunger and thirst πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες peinōntes kai dipsōntes ”to be hungry/thirsty”	intense physical deprivation, used metaphorically for intense longing hunger and thirst (for), long for, crave	An urgent, consuming appetite — not a mild preference — for righteousness	Low. Stable metaphor in English.
righteousness δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē ”rightness, justice”	in Matthew: both God’s gift of right standing AND the practiced, lived righteousness/justice Jesus demands (cf. 5:20; 6:33) — a broader ethical-practical range than Paul’s more narrowly forensic usage righteousness, justice, right living	MUST reuse baseline rendering “righteousness” exactly. In Matthew, righteousness carries a dual sense: (a) the righteousness God gives/requires as Kingdom entrance and (b) the lived, practiced justice/right conduct the Sermon calls for (see 5:20 below and 6:33, “seek first…his righteousness”)	High (baseline reuse — see baseline note). Baseline flags “self-righteous/holier-than-thou” as the dominant negative modern connotation. Matthew adds a further risk: readers may collapse Matthew’s practiced righteousness (justice, right living, care for the vulnerable — the sense active throughout the Sermon and in 25:31-46) into only the forensic/given sense from Romans, missing Matthew’s ethical emphasis, or vice versa collapse the given/gift sense into moralistic self-effort. Both dimensions must be held together explicitly.
filled χορτασθήσονται (χορτάζω) chortasthēsontai (chortazō) “to be satisfied, fed to the full”	originally of feeding animals to fullness; used of Jesus feeding the crowds (14:20; 15:37) filled, satisfied, fully fed	Complete, divinely-supplied satisfaction — deliberately linked by word-choice to the feeding miracles later in Matthew	Low. Stable; minor value in noting the intertextual echo with the feeding narratives.

Matthew 5:7 — “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
merciful / mercy ἐλεήμονες / ἐλεηθήσονται (ἔλεος) eleēmones / eleēthēsontai (eleos) “showing compassionate kindness toward the needy/guilty”	active compassion that acts to relieve distress or forgive fault, not mere pity felt internally merciful, compassionate, showing mercy	Anticipates Matthew’s repeated theme that Jesus “desires mercy, not sacrifice” (9:13; 12:7) and the standard by which disciples themselves will be measured (18:33)	Medium. Stable core meaning, but risk that contemporary “mercy” is heard mainly in a legal-courtroom sense (“throwing yourself on the mercy of the court”) or as a passive feeling (“I felt sorry for him”) rather than the active, costly, imitative practice Matthew commands.

Matthew 5:8 — “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
pure καθαροί katharoi ”clean, unmixed, undivided”	ritual cleanness OR moral/inward integrity, undividedness of motive pure, clean, undivided, single-minded	Wholehearted, undivided devotion and integrity of motive before God — not primarily ritual cleanness and not narrowly sexual	Medium-High. Contemporary English-speaking evangelical subculture has significantly narrowed “purity” language to sexual purity specifically (via “purity culture” youth-ministry teaching of the 1990s–2000s, itself now a live subject of denominational reassessment and critique). This curriculum should restore the broader sense of undivided, sincere devotion — heart integrity, not merely sexual conduct — without dismissing that sexual integrity is one legitimate application.
heart καρδία kardia ”heart”	in Hebraic thought, the seat of will, intellect, and moral character — not primarily emotion, as in modern English heart, inner self, mind and will	The whole inner person’s governing center, not merely the emotions	Medium. Contemporary English “heart” is almost entirely emotion-coded (as opposed to “head” = reason); Matthew’s holistic sense (will + intellect + moral character) needs restating so “pure in heart” is not misheard as merely “well-intentioned feelings.”
see God τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται ton theon opsontai ”will see/perceive God”	the beatific vision — direct, unmediated encounter with God, elsewhere reserved for the eschatological future (1 Cor. 13:12; 1 John 3:2) see God, behold God, encounter God face to face	The climactic eschatological promise: full, unmediated communion with God himself	Low. Reuses baseline god (Medium risk) concerns about impersonal substitutes; the phrase itself is theologically weighty but not linguistically at risk in English.

Matthew 5:9 — “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
peacemakers εἰρηνοποιοί eirēnopoioi ”peace-makers”	active reconcilers, not merely peace-lovers or conflict-avoiders peacemakers, reconcilers	Those who actively work to reconcile — reflecting God’s own reconciling character, cf. baseline peace note on relational/judicial peace	Medium. Baseline peace entry (Medium risk) applies: contemporary “world peace”/“inner peace” senses are political or therapeutic, not relational reconciliation-making; a mild secular collision also exists in the ironic branding of firearms as “The Peacemaker,” worth being aware of but not a major risk.
children of God υἱοὶ θεοῦ huioi theou ”sons of God”	familial adoption/identity language — distinct from the singular, unique christological title “Son of God” (see Ch. 1, 3, 14, 16, 27) children of God, sons of God	Believers granted family status and identity through their Christlike character — an adoption/family theme, cf. baseline adoption and father	Medium. Must be clearly distinguished in translation notes from the baseline son_of_god entry (Christ’s unique, eternal, co-equal Sonship): this plural, common usage is derivative/adoptive, not a claim of equal deity. Conflating the two is a real risk given how visually similar the English phrases are.

Matthew 5:10 — “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
persecuted δεδιωγμένοι (διώκω) dediōgmenoi (diōkō) “to pursue, chase, harass”	ranges from social ostracism to violent, life-threatening hostility persecuted, pursued, harassed for one’s faith	Real hostility incurred specifically for practicing Kingdom righteousness	High. Two opposite contemporary risks: (1) in comfortable Western contexts, real persecution may be entirely unfamiliar experientially, leading readers to trivialize the term or misapply it to minor social friction (“I’m being persecuted” for mild disagreement); (2) in polarized political discourse, “persecution” is now a frequently weaponized term in culture-war rhetoric, which can either inflate minor inconvenience into “persecution” or, by association, cause skeptical readers to dismiss the category altogether. Both risks require explicit, careful framing.
kingdom of heaven (repeat of v.3)		This verse forms an inclusio with v.3, bracketing the whole Beatitudes under Kingdom promise	High. (See v.3 above; same entry.)

Matthew 5:11 — “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
insult ὀνειδίσωσιν (ὀνειδίζω) oneidisōsin (oneidizō) “to reproach, revile”	verbal shaming/abuse insult, revile, mock	Public verbal shaming for allegiance to Jesus	Low. Stable.
falsely say… evil ψευδόμενοι pseudomenoi ”lying, speaking falsely”	deliberate slander falsely accuse, slander, lie about	Deliberate misrepresentation, not merely honest criticism	Low. Stable.
because of me ἐμοῦ ἕνεκεν emou heneken ”for my sake, on account of me”	causal/reason marker because of me, for my sake, on my account	The verse quietly shifts the cause of persecution from “righteousness” (v.10) to “me” — Jesus identifies himself with, and as the standard of, righteousness itself; a strong implicit Christological/messianic claim	High. This shift is easy to read past in English without comment; it is a load-bearing textual signal for the doctrine of Jesus as the Promised Messiah — righteousness and allegiance to Jesus personally become functionally identical categories. Must be flagged explicitly for the “Jesus as Messiah” doctrine, not treated as incidental phrasing.

Matthew 5:12 — “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
rejoice and be glad χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε chairete kai agalliasthe ”rejoice, exult greatly”	the second verb intensifies the first — exuberant, not merely contented, joy rejoice, be glad, exult	A command, not merely a description — joy is the appropriate active response to Kingdom persecution, on the basis of coming vindication	Low. Stable in English.
reward μισθός misthos ”wages, pay, recompense”	ordinarily a commercial/labor term (a worker’s due wages); Jesus repurposes it for divine, gracious eschatological recompense reward, recompense, wages	God’s certain future vindication and blessing for faithful endurance — not wages earned by merit in a strict commercial sense, but a gracious, promised recompense	High. Contemporary English “reward” is dominated by consumer loyalty-points programs and transactional merit systems (“rewards card,” “cash-back rewards”), risking a subtle salvation-by-merit misreading — as though enduring persecution earns Kingdom credit like a punch-card. Must state explicitly that this reward flows from grace and promise, not commercial merit, while still preserving that Scripture really does speak of differentiated future reward (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11-15 for a parallel outside Matthew).
prophets προφῆται prophētai ”one who speaks forth”	God’s authorized spokespeople under the old covenant prophets	MUST reuse baseline rendering “prophet” exactly. Matthew places the disciples’ persecution in direct continuity with Israel’s prophetic tradition (cf. Matt. 23:29-37)	Medium (baseline reuse). Baseline flags secular dilution (“a tech prophet,” “prophet of doom”); here the specific risk is failing to connect the disciples’ present suffering to this larger prophetic-succession narrative Matthew develops through the book (esp. ch. 23).

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PART 2 — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANALYSIS, MATTHEW 1–28

Only new or newly load-bearing theological terms are treated per chapter; terms already fully treated in Part 1 or an earlier chapter are cross-referenced rather than repeated. Terms already recorded in the baseline Romans Language Package must reuse the baseline English rendering exactly; this is noted as “(baseline reuse).”

Matthew 1 — Genealogy, Virgin Birth, the Naming of Jesus

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
Son of David υἱὸς Δαυίδ huios Dauid ”son/descendant of David”	royal-messianic title tied to the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7) Son of David, descendant of David	Establishes Jesus’ legal-royal claim to David’s throne from the opening verse (1:1) — foundational for the “Messiah and Son of David” doctrine running through the whole book	Medium. Cross-reference baseline seed_of_david (Medium) and davidic_covenant (Medium): most readers know David only from the David-and-Goliath narrative and need the covenant-promise background supplied to feel the weight of this title, which recurs at climactic points (9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9,15; 22:42).
Christ / Messiah Χριστός Christos ”Anointed One”	(baseline reuse: messiah) Christ, Messiah	Jesus’ identity as Israel’s promised, anointed royal-priestly-prophetic deliverer	Medium (baseline reuse). Baseline flags “messiah complex” as a mild pop-psychology pejorative; also note “Christ” is frequently misheard by casual readers as simply Jesus’ surname rather than a title.
Immanuel Ἐμμανουήλ Emmanouēl ”God with us”	transliterated Hebrew, explicitly glossed by Matthew himself (1:23) Immanuel, “God with us”	Fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14; asserts the incarnational claim that God himself is now personally present in Jesus	Medium. Comparable to baseline incarnation (Medium): mostly encountered in Christmas-season contexts, a mild cultural asset, but risk of reducing to sentimental holiday reference rather than an ongoing theological claim about God’s abiding presence (cf. 28:20, “I am with you always”).
virgin παρθένος parthenos ”virgin, unmarried woman”	can denote either “virgin” strictly or simply “young unmarried woman” depending on context (a live translation debate re: Isaiah 7:14’s Hebrew almah); Matthew’s Greek clearly intends the strict sense virgin, young woman (rejected — flattens the miracle claim)	The historical claim of a miraculous, non-ordinary conception by the Holy Spirit, not natural generation	High. Contemporary secular “comparative mythology” framing (popularized in documentaries and casual online discourse) treats virgin-birth claims as one instance of a common ancient “divine hero birth” trope pattern, inviting readers to file this as legend rather than a specific historical-theological claim. State plainly as a unique, historically asserted claim, following the same “state plainly, don’t hedge as myth” principle the baseline applies to the resurrection.
Holy Spirit Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον Pneuma Hagion ”Holy Spirit”	(baseline reuse: holy_spirit) Holy Spirit	Agent of the miraculous conception; the same divine Person active throughout Matthew (3:16; 12:28; 28:19)	Medium (baseline reuse).
save (his people from their sins) σώσει (σῴζω) sōsei (sōzō) “will save, rescue, deliver”	(baseline reuse: salvation) save, salvation	Jesus’ very name (Yeshua, “the LORD saves”) is programmatic: he saves from sin itself, not merely political or social distress	Critical (baseline reuse). Baseline flags the fully secularized generic sense of “salvation” as any rescue; here the object (sin) must stay explicit against a generic “Jesus rescues you from hard times” misreading.

Matthew 2 — The Magi, Herod, and Flight to Egypt

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
fulfilled ἐπληρώθη (πληρόω) eplērōthē (plēroō) “was filled up, completed, brought to its intended fullness”	first of Matthew’s repeated “fulfillment formula” citations (2:15, 17, 23; also 1:22; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56, 27:9) fulfilled, came true, was brought to completion	Matthew’s central hermeneutical claim: the entire Old Testament narrative and promise-structure finds its intended completion in Jesus — foundational for the “Fulfillment of OT Prophecy” doctrine	High. Two risks converge: (1) contemporary secular “fulfillment” is now dominated by personal self-actualization language (“finding fulfillment,” career fulfillment), a false-friend that reframes fulfillment as Jesus’ or the believer’s personal satisfaction rather than prophecy reaching God’s intended completion; (2) academic historical-critical suspicion (well-known even to lay readers through popular media) that these citations were selectively assembled after the fact rather than genuinely anticipatory — this should be engaged directly, not silently assumed settled, consistent with the baseline’s treatment of inspiration_of_scripture.
worship προσεκύνησαν (προσκυνέω) prosekynēsan (proskyneō) “to prostrate oneself, pay homage”	ranges from mere respectful homage to a subordinate/superior to full religious worship of deity, depending on context — here plausibly both royal homage and (from Matthew’s narrative point of view) rightful worship of God incarnate worship, bow down, pay homage	The Magi’s homage functions in Matthew’s narrative as an early, ironic Gentile recognition of Jesus’ true (royal-divine) identity, in contrast to Herod’s hostility	High. Contemporary secular usage (“fans worship their idol,” “worshiping celebrity”) dilutes the word to enthusiastic admiration; the specific claim that this act rightly belongs to God alone (cf. 4:10) needs restating, especially given the term recurs at theologically loaded moments (14:33; 28:9,17).
King of the Jews βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων basileus tōn Ioudaiōn ”king of the Jews”	a political-messianic royal title King of the Jews	Sets up the royal/messianic conflict that frames the whole Gospel, from the Magi’s question (2:2) to Pilate’s mocking inscription (27:37)	Medium. Cross-reference messiah and lord baseline entries; risk that readers treat this only as an ancient political title without connecting it to the “Jesus as Messiah/Son of David” doctrinal thread running to the crucifixion.

Matthew 3 — John the Baptist, Repentance, Baptism, the Kingdom Announced

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
repent μετανοεῖτε (μετανοέω) metanoeite (metanoeō) “change one’s mind/direction”	a decisive reorientation of the whole person (mind, will, direction of life), not mere regret repent, turn around, change direction	John’s and Jesus’ shared opening summons (3:2; 4:17); required response to the Kingdom’s arrival	Medium. Contemporary popular culture caricatures “repent” via the street-corner “the end is near” sign-holder trope, inviting readers to hear it as fearful groveling rather than a genuine, hopeful reorientation toward the in-breaking Kingdom. Should be restated as a positive turning, not merely fear-driven remorse.
kingdom of heaven (is near/at hand) ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ēngiken hē basileia tōn ouranōn ”has drawn near, is at hand”	See dedicated Kingdom of Heaven entry (5:3 above); first full announcement here the kingdom of heaven is near/at hand	The programmatic announcement launching Jesus’ and John’s ministries: God’s reign is now imminent/breaking in	High. (See 5:3 entry.) The verb “has drawn near” specifically carries an “already dawning, not yet fully arrived” nuance that should be preserved against a purely future-only reading.
baptize / baptism βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα baptizō / baptisma ”to immerse, to dip”	John’s water-immersion rite of repentance, distinguished explicitly from the future Spirit-and-fire baptism Jesus brings (3:11) baptize, baptism, immerse	An outward act of repentance and covenant preparation for the Messiah; the term recurs at Jesus’ own baptism (3:13-17) and climactically in the Great Commission (28:19)	Critical. English-speaking Christian traditions are deeply and durably divided over both the mode (immersion vs. sprinkling/pouring) and the theological effect (a purely symbolic act of obedience vs. a means of regeneration/incorporation into the covenant community) of baptism — a genuine, live denominational contest of the same severity as the baseline’s treatment of “grace” and “being saved.” This curriculum must state which reading it presents at 28:19 and note, respectfully, that other traditions read the ordinance differently, per the baseline’s Denominational Transparency Rules.
wrath (to come) ὀργή orgē ”anger, settled indignation”	God’s settled, righteous judicial response to sin, not an impulsive emotional outburst wrath, judgment, God’s anger	The coming judgment John warns of, from which repentance and faith deliver	High. Contemporary therapeutic, non-judgmental culture (parallel to the baseline’s universal_human_accountability note) is broadly resistant to divine-wrath language; readers may either domesticate it into a metaphor for natural consequences or dismiss it as an outdated, unworthy-of-God concept. State explicitly, consistent with the baseline’s rule not to soften doctrinal claims for contemporary comfort.
voice from heaven / “my Son” φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν… ὁ υἱός μου phōnē ek tōn ouranōn… ho huios mou ”a voice from the heavens… my son”	direct divine speech confirming Jesus’ identity voice from heaven, my beloved Son	The Father’s own declaration of Jesus’ unique Sonship at his baptism, paralleled at the Transfiguration (17:5)	Medium. Cross-reference father and son_of_god (baseline reuse); minor risk that “well pleased” reads as conditional approval (as of a performance) rather than the Father’s settled, prior delight in the eternal Son.

Matthew 4 — Temptation, Ministry Begins

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
tempted / temptation πειρασθῆναι (πειράζω) peirasthēnai (peirazō) “to test, to try”	can mean either a hostile temptation to sin or a neutral/positive testing of character, depending on agent and context tempted, tested, tried	Satan’s direct assault on Jesus’ identity and mission, immediately following the Father’s declaration in ch. 3 — Jesus’ faithful resistance models the obedience his followers are called to	Medium. Contemporary marketing has trivialized “temptation” into a synonym for a harmless indulgence (“a tempting dessert” — cf. baseline’s parallel note on “sin” trivialization), risking a flattening of Satan’s serious, identity-targeting assault into something closer to a minor lapse in willpower.
follow ἀκολούθει (ἀκολουθέω) akolouthei (akoloutheō) “to go/come after, to accompany as a disciple”	a literal-then-figurative verb of physical accompaniment repurposed for total discipleship allegiance follow, come after	Jesus’ call to Peter, Andrew, James and John (4:19-22) — leaving nets and family immediately, a paradigm for costly discipleship developed further at 8:18-22, 10:38, 16:24-26, 19:27-29	High. Contemporary English “follow” is now dominated by the passive, low-commitment, algorithmically-mediated social-media sense (following an account or influencer with a single tap). This is a significant false-friend risk: Matthew’s “follow” requires active, costly, immediate, life-reorienting obedience, the near-opposite of a frictionless follow-button click. Must be actively distinguished on first substantive use.
gospel of the kingdom τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας to euangelion tēs basileias ”the good news of the kingdom”	combines (baseline reuse: gospel) with Kingdom-of-Heaven content gospel of the kingdom, good news of the kingdom	Matthew’s characteristic summary of Jesus’ proclamation (4:23; 9:35; 24:14)	High (baseline reuse for “gospel,” High for “kingdom of heaven”). Both component terms carry their respective risks noted above and at 5:3; together they form Matthew’s core missionary summary phrase.

Matthew 5 — The Sermon on the Mount Begins (see Part 1 for vv.1–12)

Verses 1–12 receive full verse-by-verse treatment above. The remainder of the chapter (vv.13–48) introduces:

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
fulfill (the Law and the Prophets) πληρῶσαι (πληρόω) plērōsai (plēroō) “to fill up, complete”	(see Ch. 2 “fulfilled” entry) fulfill	Jesus claims to bring the Law and Prophets to their intended completion, not to abolish them (5:17) — central for both “Fulfillment of Prophecy” and “Authority of Jesus’ Teaching” doctrines	High (see Ch. 2 entry).
righteousness exceeding [that] of the Pharisees περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ὑμῶν πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων perisseusē hē dikaiosynē… “your righteousness must exceed/overflow beyond”	(baseline reuse: righteousness) combined with a comparative “exceed/surpass” righteousness that exceeds/surpasses	The specific programmatic verse (5:20) for the curriculum’s assigned doctrine “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees”: not more rigorous rule-keeping but a deeper, heart-level righteousness that fulfills the Law’s intent	Critical. Compounds two risks: baseline righteousness’s “self-righteous/holier-than-thou” false-friend, PLUS a serious misreading risk unique to this verse — hearing “exceed the Pharisees” as a call to competitive moral one-upmanship (out-performing religious rivals) rather than Jesus’ actual point, which is an entirely different, internal, grace-enabled kind of righteousness the Pharisees’ external system could not produce. Must state explicitly that this is not “be a bigger rule-keeper” but “have your heart, not just your behavior, transformed.”
Pharisees / scribes Φαρισαῖοι / γραμματεῖς Pharisaioi / grammateis ”separated ones” / “scribes, legal scholars”	Jewish religious-legal parties/experts of the Second Temple period Pharisees, scribes, religious teachers/experts	Jesus’ primary teaching foils throughout the Gospel, especially chs. 15, 22–23	High. English retains an inherited negative connotation for “Pharisee” (a byword for hypocrisy — “don’t be such a pharisee about it”), which is a partial linguistic asset for grasping Jesus’ critique but carries a serious associated risk: flattening a sophisticated, sincere first-century religious movement into a cartoon villain, and — given the tragic history of Christian anti-Judaism — feeding supersessionist or anti-Jewish readings if not handled with the same care the baseline applies to unity_of_jews_and_gentiles. This curriculum should state plainly that Jesus’ critique is of specific practices and hearts, not an indictment of Judaism or Jewish people as such.
”you have heard it said… but I say to you” (the Antitheses) ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη… ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ēkousate hoti errethē… egō de legō hymin ”you heard that it was said… but I say to you”	a formal rhetorical structure Jesus uses six times (5:21-48) “you have heard… but I say”	Jesus places his own authoritative interpretive word alongside/above the received tradition — a direct claim to the divine authority to interpret and intensify Torah, central to “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching” doctrine	High. Easy to read as a merely rhetorical teaching device; the underlying claim (Jesus speaks with authority equal to or greater than the Law’s own tradition of interpretation) is a strong, load-bearing Christological claim that should be named explicitly, not left implicit.
perfect τέλειοι teleioi ”complete, mature, whole”	completeness/maturity of character, not flawless moral performance perfect, complete, mature, whole-hearted	”Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:48) — wholehearted, comprehensive love (including of enemies), not sinless flawlessness	High. Contemporary English “perfect” is dominated by flawless-performance/perfectionism-culture connotations (test scores, appearance, achievement), risking either despair-inducing misreading (an impossible standard) or trivializing self-help “perfectionism is bad, so ignore this” dismissal. State explicitly that the sense is wholehearted maturity/completeness in love, not flawlessness.

Matthew 6 — The Lord’s Prayer, Treasures, Anxiety

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
Father (in heaven) Πάτερ (ἡμῶν) ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Pater (hēmōn) ho en tois ouranois ”our Father who is in the heavens”	(baseline reuse: father) our Father in heaven	The intimate, relational address Jesus authorizes his disciples to use of God	Medium (baseline reuse). Baseline notes painful/absent human father associations for some readers; also note Matthew’s Gethsemane scene (26:39) uses “my Father,” not the Aramaic “Abba” preserved in Mark 14:36/Romans 8:15 — Matthew’s Gospel does not itself contain “Abba,” a notable contrast worth flagging rather than assuming.
daily bread τὸν ἄρτον… τὸν ἐπιούσιον ton arton… ton epiousion ”bread… for the coming day” (a rare, disputed Greek word)	genuinely ambiguous in Greek scholarship: “daily,” “for today,” or “for tomorrow” are all defended readings daily bread, bread for today	Dependence on God’s provision one day at a time	Low-Medium. Genuine scholarly ambiguity, consistent with baseline’s Ambiguity Handling rule: note the range of options rather than silently picking one. Minimal risk of active misreading in English.
forgive… debts ἄφες… τὰ ὀφειλήματα aphes… ta opheilēmata ”release/let go… the debts”	financial-debt metaphor for moral/sin-debt forgive us our debts / forgive us our sins/trespasses	Ties forgiveness received from God directly to forgiveness extended to others (6:14-15)	Medium-High. Contemporary English “debt” is heavily coded by literal financial debt, credit scores, and student-loan discourse; risk of readers processing this petition through a modern financial-anxiety lens rather than grasping the sin-debt metaphor Jesus intends. Also note the traditional liturgical variant “trespasses” (from other English translation traditions) may create denominational-register friction; state the sin-debt sense plainly regardless of which traditional wording a reader’s home tradition uses.
treasures in heaven / mammon θησαυρίζετε… ἐν οὐρανῷ / μαμωνᾷ thēsaurizete… en ouranō / mamōna ”store up treasures… in heaven” / “mammon” (Aramaic for wealth/riches, personified)	“mammon” is a transliterated loanword, not translated even in most English Bibles treasures in heaven, mammon, wealth/money (as master)	Jesus personifies wealth as a rival master competing for total allegiance (6:24) — directly relevant to “Cost of Discipleship”	Medium. “Mammon” itself is an obsolescence risk — a rare, untranslated word many readers will not recognize as simply “money/wealth” — requiring a brief gloss; the underlying warning (money as a rival god demanding total allegiance) is a real and still-relevant claim in a consumer culture, so should not be softened.

Matthew 7 — Judging, the Narrow Gate, Authority

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
judge not μὴ κρίνετε (κρίνω) mē krinete (krinō) “do not judge/condemn”	can mean either “do not condemn hypocritically/harshly” (Jesus’ actual point, per the following “plank in your own eye” illustration) or “never exercise any moral evaluation at all” do not judge, do not condemn	A warning against hypocritical, self-exempting condemnation of others — not a blanket prohibition of all moral discernment, since Jesus himself calls for discernment just verses later (7:6, 15-20)	High. This is one of the most commonly misapplied verses in contemporary English-speaking culture: the strong, non-judgmental cultural default (“don’t judge me,” “who are you to judge”) readily seizes on “judge not” as a blanket warrant against any moral evaluation whatsoever, which is not Jesus’ point and is actually undercut by his own instructions later in the same chapter. This false-friend collision with modern non-judgmentalism must be corrected explicitly.
authority ἐξουσίαν (ἐξουσία) exousian (exousia) “authority, right, power to act”	can denote delegated permission, raw power, or (as here) an inherent, self-authenticating right to command authority, power	The climactic narrator’s comment (7:28-29): the crowds are astonished because Jesus taught “as one having authority, and not as their scribes” — establishing the core claim of the “Authority of Jesus’ Teaching” doctrine	High. Contemporary secular discourse about “authority” and “power” is dominated by negative abuse-of-power and anti-authoritarian narratives (paralleling the baseline’s power_of_god note), which can prime readers to hear any claim to unique authority with suspicion. Distinguish Jesus’ self-authenticating, non-derivative teaching authority (he does not cite other rabbis, as the scribes did, but speaks in his own right) from coercive political/institutional power. This term recurs climactically at 28:18, “all authority in heaven and on earth.”
false prophets ψευδοπροφῆται pseudoprophētai ”false prophets”	(compound of baseline prophet) false prophets	Warns that not all who claim divine authority genuinely possess it (7:15-23)	Medium (baseline reuse component).

Matthew 8 — Faith, Authority, the Son of Man

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
faith πίστις pistis ”trust, reliance”	(baseline reuse: faith) faith	The centurion’s remarkable faith (8:10) recognizes Jesus’ authority operates like a chain of command — his authority is exercised, not merely claimed	High (baseline reuse).
Son of Man ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ho huios tou anthrōpou ”the son of man”	Jesus’ most frequent self-designation in the Gospels (first here at 8:20); draws on the exalted, judgment-and-authority-bearing figure of Daniel 7:13-14, not a mere synonym for “a human being” Son of Man	Jesus’ preferred self-title, combining humility (8:20, “nowhere to lay his head”) with the highest possible authority claim (Daniel 7) — used across the Gospel for both his lowly earthly ministry and his coming glory as judge (24:30; 25:31; 26:64)	High. The single greatest risk is treating “Son of Man” as though it simply emphasizes Jesus’ humanity (an understandable but incomplete reading — cf. baseline’s humanity_of_christ doctrine note about “historical Jesus” narratives overemphasizing Christ’s humanity). In fact the title’s background in Daniel 7 makes it one of Jesus’ highest self-claims to divine authority to judge and reign. Must be explicitly unpacked, not left to a surface English reading.

Matthew 9 — Mercy, Sinners, New Wine

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
mercy (not sacrifice) ἔλεος eleos ”compassionate kindness”	(see 5:7 entry) mercy	Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to justify eating with “sinners and tax collectors” — mercy takes priority over ritual performance	Medium (see 5:7). Additional risk here: readers may hear “not sacrifice” as a wholesale dismissal of ritual/worship rather than Jesus’ actual point about right priority.
compassion ἐσπλαγχνίσθη (σπλαγχνίζομαι) esplagchnisthē (splagchnizomai) “to be moved in one’s inward parts” (a vivid, visceral idiom)	deep, gut-level compassion, stronger than casual sympathy compassion, moved with compassion	Motivates the “harvest is plentiful, laborers are few” mission appeal (9:36-38)	Low. Stable in English; minor value in noting the vivid physical idiom underlying the translation.

Matthew 10 — The Twelve, Mission, and the Cost of Discipleship

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
apostles ἀποστόλων (ἀπόστολος) apostolōn (apostolos) “ones sent with delegated authority”	(baseline reuse: apostle) apostles	The Twelve named and commissioned as a distinct, foundational, non-repeatable office (10:1-4)	Medium (baseline reuse).
take up his cross ἄρας τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ (10:38) aras ton stauron autou ”having taken up his cross”	in the first-century context, an unambiguous reference to the Roman instrument of public criminal execution — carrying one’s own means of death, a condemned man’s public march to die take up his cross, bear one’s cross	Total, public, potentially fatal identification with Jesus and his mission as the precondition of discipleship; first appearance of this theme, developed further at 16:24	Critical. The English idiom “we all have our cross to bear” has become a deeply entrenched, near-universal secular metaphor for any generic unpleasant burden (an annoying coworker, a chronic ailment, an inconvenient errand) completely detached from its original meaning of willing, public exposure to death for Christ’s sake. This is one of the most severe false-friend drifts in the entire book, on the same order as the baseline’s treatment of “justification,” and must never be left unexplained on first substantive use.
worthy ἄξιος axios ”of corresponding value, deserving”	can denote either merit-based worthiness or fittingness/appropriateness worthy	Describes the fitting response of those who receive Jesus’ messengers, and the cost calculus of discipleship (10:37-38)	Low-Medium. Minor risk that “worthy” imports a merit-earning framework inconsistent with grace; should be read in context as “fitting/appropriate,” not “having earned.”
reward μισθόν misthon (see 5:12 entry)	reward	Recurs three times in 10:41-42 regarding hospitality to Jesus’ messengers	High (see 5:12 entry).
lose life for my sake / find it ἀπολέσας… εὑρήσει (10:39) apolesas… heurēsei ”having lost… will find”	paradoxical life/death, loss/gain language lose your life, find your life	The paradox of self-giving discipleship: clinging to self-preservation is itself a kind of death; self-giving allegiance to Jesus is true life	Medium. Some risk of collision with contemporary self-help “lose yourself to find yourself” therapeutic language, which is superficially similar but centers on self-discovery rather than self-giving allegiance to Christ; distinguish explicitly.
lost sheep of Israel τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ ta probata ta apolōlota oikou Israēl ”the lost sheep of the house of Israel”	(baseline reuse: israel) lost sheep of Israel	Defines the initial, Israel-focused scope of the Twelve’s mission (10:5-6), later expanded to “all nations” at 28:19	Medium (baseline reuse). Should be read alongside 28:19 as showing a deliberate narrative expansion, not a contradiction.
not peace but a sword οὐ… εἰρήνην ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν ou… eirēnēn alla machairan ”not peace but a sword”	(baseline reuse: peace, used here by contrast) not peace but a sword	Warns that allegiance to Jesus will divide families and provoke conflict, not guarantee social harmony	Medium (baseline reuse — contrastive use). Risk of a militaristic misreading (as though Jesus promotes literal violence); the “sword” is figurative for relational division caused by differing allegiance, not a call to violence — this should be stated plainly given contemporary sensitivity to religiously-coded violence.

Matthew 11 — John’s Question, Rest, Wisdom

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
”the one who is to come” ὁ ἐρχόμενος ho erchomenos ”the coming one”	(cross-reference messiah) the one who is to come, the Coming One	John’s disciples ask whether Jesus is the promised Messiah (11:3)	Medium (baseline reuse: messiah).
stumbling block / offense σκανδαλισθῇ (σκανδαλίζω) skandalisthē (skandalizō) “to cause to stumble, trip up”	moral/spiritual causing-to-fall, source of a related English loanword “scandal” take offense, stumble, fall away	Warns against being spiritually tripped up by Jesus’ unexpected form of ministry (11:6)	High. Genuine false-friend drift: the English cognate “scandal” has narrowed almost entirely to celebrity/political tabloid gossip, a trivial and entertainment-coded sense with no relation to the biblical sense of a serious cause of spiritual downfall or apostasy. Must be actively distinguished.
easy yoke / rest ζυγός μου… ἀνάπαυσιν zygos mou… anapausin ”my yoke… rest”	a yoke is a farming implement for shared labor between two animals; a common rabbinic metaphor for submission to a teacher’s authority/interpretation of Torah my yoke is easy, find rest for your souls	Jesus offers his own interpretive authority (“my yoke”) as a source of rest rather than burden, in implicit contrast to the burdensome legal interpretations of some contemporaries	Medium. “Yoke” is an obsolescent agricultural term for most contemporary readers (unfamiliar imagery, not a false-friend), needing a brief practical gloss; the “easy” (chrēstos, better “good/kind” than “effortless”) should not be misread as “discipleship requires no effort,” which the rest of Matthew (cross-bearing, self-denial) directly contradicts.

Matthew 12 — Sabbath, the Unforgivable Sin, Signs

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
Sabbath σάββατον sabbaton ”Sabbath, seventh-day rest”	the weekly covenantal rest-day, rooted in creation (Gen. 2:2-3) and the Exodus Sabbath, day of rest	Jesus claims authority as “Lord of the Sabbath” (12:8) — asserting his authority over even this foundational covenant sign, tying directly to “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching”	High. Genuine, ongoing denominational contest among English-speaking Christians (Sabbatarian traditions, e.g. Seventh-day Adventist and some Reformed communities, observe a Saturday/Sunday Sabbath obligation; most other traditions treat Sunday worship as a distinct, non-obligatory practice) — this curriculum should state its own reading transparently per the baseline’s Denominational Transparency Rules. Separately, contemporary secular culture reduces “Sabbath” to a vague, trendy self-care “day off” concept (digital-detox culture), losing its covenantal, worship-directed character.
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit / unforgivable sin βλασφημία… εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα blasphēmia… eis to Pneuma ”slander/blasphemy against the Spirit”	attributing the Spirit’s clearly-evidenced work to Satan — a settled, willful rejection, not a momentary doubt or fear unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit	Warns of a category of settled, willful rejection of God’s clearly-revealed work that forecloses repentance (12:31-32)	High. A well-documented pastoral-care risk: many sincere, anxious believers (a recognizable pattern in English-language pastoral counseling literature and online religious-anxiety/scrupulosity discussions) fear they have committed this “unforgivable sin” through an intrusive thought or momentary doubt, which is precisely the opposite of what the passage describes (a settled, willful, evidence-defying rejection, not a fear of having sinned). Requires careful, explicitly reassuring framing alongside doctrinal accuracy.
sign of Jonah τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ to sēmeion Iōna ”the sign of Jonah”	typological reference to Jonah’s three days in the fish sign of Jonah	Foreshadows Jesus’ three days in the grave before resurrection (12:39-40)	Low-Medium. Requires OT narrative background (Jonah) to land; minor obsolescence risk if readers do not know the Jonah story well.

Matthew 13 — The Kingdom Parables

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
mysteries of the kingdom τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας ta mystēria tēs basileias ”the mysteries/secrets of the kingdom”	not “puzzle to be solved” but “previously hidden truth now disclosed by revelation” mysteries of the kingdom, secrets of the kingdom	Jesus’ parables both reveal and conceal Kingdom truth depending on the hearer’s receptivity (13:11-17)	Medium. Contemporary secular “mystery” is dominated by detective/thriller genre-fiction connotations (a puzzle to be cleverly solved), a false-friend risk that misdirects readers toward intellectual puzzle-solving rather than receptive, faith-responsive revelation.
end of the age συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος synteleia tou aiōnos ”completion/consummation of the age”	first appearance of this key eschatological phrase (13:39-40, 49), recurring at 24:3 and 28:20 end of the age, end of time, consummation of history	The decisive future point of harvest/judgment separating the righteous from the wicked, central to “Judgment and the End of the Age” doctrine	High. Contemporary secular pop culture (disaster films, doomsday-prepper subculture, “end of the world” internet meme culture) trivializes and sensationalizes “end of the age”/“end times” language into entertainment-coded apocalypticism, risking either dismissal as fringe fiction or unhealthy sensationalism rather than Jesus’ sober, pastoral framing of history’s certain culmination in judgment and vindication.
kingdom of heaven is like ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn ”the kingdom of heaven is like”	(see 5:3 entry) — Matthew’s repeated parabolic formula (13:24,31,33,44,45,47) the kingdom of heaven is like	Each parable discloses one facet of the Kingdom’s present, hidden, but certainly-growing and ultimately-triumphant nature	High (see 5:3 entry). This chapter is the doctrinal center of gravity for “The Kingdom of Heaven” — special care is warranted here that the “already growing, not-yet-consummated” tension is preserved across all seven parables, against a flattening into either purely future or purely present readings.

Matthew 14 — Feeding the 5,000, Walking on Water

No significant new theological vocabulary. This chapter reuses and reinforces terms already treated: faith/“little faith” (oligopistos, a Matthean coinage combining “little” + baseline faith, describing wavering trust — cf. 6:30; 8:26; 16:8), compassion (see ch. 9), and son_of_god (14:33, the disciples’ confession, reusing the baseline term exactly). No new risk category is introduced; readers should be pointed back to the ch. 5/8 faith treatment and the baseline son_of_god entry.

Matthew 15 — Tradition, Defilement, the Canaanite Woman

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
tradition (of men) vs. command of God παράδοσις paradosis ”that which is handed down”	inherited religious custom/interpretation, as distinguished from the Torah text itself tradition, human tradition	Jesus critiques elevating human interpretive tradition above God’s actual command (15:3-9), a further development of “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching”	Medium. Risk of readers over-generalizing this into a blanket dismissal of all tradition/church practice, rather than Jesus’ specific point about traditions that nullify God’s actual commands.
defile κοινοῖ (κοινόω) koinoi (koinoō) “to make common/unclean”	ritual-purity language repurposed by Jesus for moral/heart-level defilement (15:11, 18-20) defile, make unclean	Relocates true impurity from external ritual observance to the heart’s moral condition	Low-Medium. Minor obsolescence risk (“defile” is a somewhat formal word); core point (heart over ritual) is not itself hard to grasp once stated.

Matthew 16 — Peter’s Confession, the Church, Binding and Loosing

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστός, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος Sy ei ho Christos, ho huios tou Theou tou zōntos ”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”	(baseline reuse: messiah + son_of_god) You are the Christ, the Son of the living God	Peter’s climactic confession (16:16), the theological pivot of the Gospel; must be handled with the same consistency rule the baseline applies to core confessional statements	Critical (baseline reuse). Per the baseline’s Theological Consistency Rules, key confessional statements should be rendered identically across curriculum documents.
church ἐκκλησία ekklēsia ”assembly, called-out gathering”	(baseline reuse: church) church	Jesus’ first explicit use of this word for the community he is building (16:18), directly on Peter’s confession — foundational for “The Church and Church Discipline” doctrine	Critical (baseline reuse). Baseline notes contemporary post-Christian erosion of “church” into a declining, scandal-associated institution; here, additionally, “on this rock” has been a centuries-long site of denominational contest (papal-primacy readings vs. readings identifying “the rock” as Peter’s confession/faith itself, or as Christ) — this curriculum should state which reading it presents and note the range of others, consistent with the Denominational Transparency Rules.
keys of the kingdom τὰς κλεῖδας τῆς βασιλείας tas kleidas tēs basileias ”the keys of the kingdom”	delegated authority to grant or withhold access, drawing on ancient household-steward imagery the keys of the kingdom	Delegated authority given to Peter (and, by extension in 18:18, the gathered church) to bind and loose	Medium-High. Contemporary self-help idiom (“the keys to success,” “the key to happiness”) risks flattening this into a generic motivational metaphor rather than a specific grant of authoritative, delegated judicial/community authority. Also intersects with the papal-primacy denominational contest noted above.
binding and loosing δήσῃς… λύσῃς (δέω/λύω) dēsēs… lysēs (deō/lyō) “you shall bind… you shall loose”	a technical rabbinic idiom for authoritative halakhic (legal-religious) ruling — declaring what is/is not permitted or forgiven, not magical incantation binding and loosing, forbidding and permitting	Authoritative community/church judgment, reiterated in 18:18 in the specific context of church discipline	High. A distinctly contemporary collision risk: the rise of occult and neo-pagan aesthetics in popular culture (binding spells, banishing rituals, in film, television, and online “witchtok” subcultures) risks coloring “binding and loosing” with magical-power connotations entirely foreign to Matthew’s judicial, community-authority sense. This must be actively distinguished, especially since the same phrase recurs in the Church Discipline chapter (18:18).
deny himself / take up his cross ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν… τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ aparnēsasthō heauton… ton stauron autou ”let him deny himself… his cross”	(see 10:38 entry for “cross”; “deny” = renounce/disown) deny yourself, take up your cross	Restates the cost-of-discipleship theme with the added term “deny himself”	Critical (cross, see 10:38); High for “deny himself” — contemporary pop-psychology culture often frames “self-denial” negatively (associated with unhealthy self-erasure, codependency, or purely with dieting/austerity trends), risking either trivialization or a therapeutic-culture-driven suspicion of the concept altogether. State that Jesus’ call is to renounce self-rule and self-preservation for his sake, not to erase one’s personhood or dignity.

Matthew 17 — The Transfiguration

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
glory (transfigured, shining) μετεμορφώθη… ἔλαμψεν metemorphōthē… elampsen ”was transformed… shone”	(cross-reference baseline glory) glory, shone like the sun	A momentary unveiling of Jesus’ hidden divine glory before the resurrection, confirming his identity to the inner circle	Medium (baseline reuse: glory). Baseline notes “glory days”/“glory hound” secular drift; here the visual, luminous sense is less at risk than the doctrinal weight (that this really is divine glory, not merely an impressive spiritual experience).
”Listen to him” αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε autou akouete ”hear/listen to him”	the Father’s direct command listen to him	Reinforces “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching”: God the Father himself commands attention specifically to Jesus’ words, over and above Moses and Elijah present in the scene	Medium. Easy to read past this brief command; its significance (Jesus’ authority now supersedes even Moses and Elijah, the two great figures of Law and Prophecy) should be drawn out explicitly, tying together the “Fulfillment of Prophecy” and “Authority of Teaching” doctrines.

Matthew 18 — Church Discipline and Forgiveness

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
”if your brother sins against you” ἐὰν ἁμαρτήσῃ εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ean hamartēsē eis se ho adelphos sou ”if your brother sins against you”	(baseline reuse: sin) if your brother sins against you	Opens Matthew’s detailed procedural teaching on church discipline (18:15-17), a key passage for the “Church and Church Discipline” doctrine	High (baseline reuse). Baseline notes contemporary trivialization/guilt-aversion around “sin” generally; here the added risk is contemporary conflict-avoidance culture resisting the very idea of direct confrontation this passage prescribes (“go and tell him his fault,” 18:15) — a genuine collision with therapeutic non-confrontation norms that should be named.
binding and loosing (reiterated) δήσητε… λύσητε dēsēte… lysēte (see 16:19 entry)	binding and loosing	Extends Peter’s individual authority (16:19) to the gathered church community exercising discipline together (18:18)	High (see 16:19 entry).
“two or three gathered in my name” οὗ γάρ εἰσιν δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα hou gar eisin dyo ē treis synēgmenoi eis to emon onoma ”where two or three are gathered in my name”	promises Christ’s presence with even a small, gathered community exercising discipline/prayer where two or three are gathered	Grounds church discipline and communal prayer in Christ’s own promised presence, not merely institutional procedure	Medium. Frequently quoted out of its disciplinary/corrective context as a generic promise about any small gathering (e.g., casual social use at any small meeting), losing its specific tie to church discipline and communal accountability in this passage.
unforgiving servant / forgiveness ἀφῆκεν (ἀφίημι) aphēken (aphiēmi) “released, forgave, let go”	cancels a debt/obligation completely forgive, release, cancel a debt	The parable (18:23-35) ties horizontal forgiveness of others directly to having received God’s own far greater forgiveness — an extension of the Lord’s Prayer petition (6:12)	Medium. Contemporary “forgiveness” is sometimes flattened in pop-therapy discourse into a purely private emotional-release technique for one’s own well-being, detached from its relational, debt-cancellation, gospel-grounded sense here; state the connection to God’s prior forgiveness explicitly.

Matthew 19 — Divorce, Children, the Rich Young Man

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
”with God all things are possible” παρὰ δὲ θεῷ πάντα δυνατά para de theō panta dynata ”but with God, all things are possible”	(cross-reference baseline providence/power_of_god) with God all things are possible	Answers the disciples’ astonishment at the impossibility of the rich entering the kingdom by their own effort (19:23-26) — a grace-not-merit statement	Medium. Popular secular usage of this phrase (inspirational-poster/motivational-speech culture) often detaches it from its specific soteriological context (salvation being God’s gracious work, not human achievement) and applies it generically to any personal ambition or goal.
reward for leaving all (μισθόν) (misthon) (see 5:12 entry)	hundredfold, reward, inherit eternal life	Promises Kingdom compensation for costly discipleship sacrifices (19:27-29)	High (see 5:12 entry).

Matthew 20 — Laborers in the Vineyard, the Ransom

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
ransom λύτρον lytron ”the price paid to redeem/release a slave or captive”	a commercial-legal term for the price paid to secure someone’s release ransom, redemption price	Jesus states the purpose of his own coming: “to give his life as a ransom for many” (20:28) — a foundational atonement statement	High. Contemporary secular English strongly associates “ransom” with kidnapping/crime narratives (a criminal demanding a ransom payment), a false-friend risk framing Christ’s atonement through a criminal-underworld transactional lens rather than his voluntary, loving self-gift to secure others’ release from sin’s bondage. This atonement-adjacent term should be treated with the same theologian-review weight the baseline assigns to propitiation language (Romans 3:25).
serve, not be served διακονῆσαι… διακονηθῆναι diakonēsai… diakonēthēnai ”to serve… to be served”	servant/deacon-root language to serve, not to be served	Redefines greatness by servanthood, directly modeled on the Son of Man’s own mission (20:26-28)	Low-Medium. “Serve/service” retains broadly positive connotations in contemporary English (customer service, public service), a mild asset, though the radical, status-reversing force of the original claim can be softened into generic niceness if not stated explicitly.

Matthew 21 — Triumphal Entry, Temple, the Tenants

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
Hosanna Ὡσαννά Hōsanna Hebrew/Aramaic “save now!” — by NT times, largely a shout of praise/acclamation	a transliterated liturgical exclamation, not translated Hosanna	The crowd’s messianic acclamation of the Son of David entering Jerusalem (21:9), fulfilling Zechariah 9:9	Low. Mostly encountered already in explicitly liturgical/worship contexts (Palm Sunday), a mild asset; minor obsolescence risk since few contemporary readers know its literal meaning (“save, we pray”) without a gloss.
the stone the builders rejected / cornerstone λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες… κεφαλὴν γωνίας lithon hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes… kephalēn gōnias ”the stone the builders rejected… became the head of the corner”	quotation of Psalm 118:22, applied by Jesus to himself (21:42) the rejected stone, the cornerstone	A messianic-prophetic self-application: Israel’s religious leadership’s rejection of Jesus paradoxically becomes the foundation of God’s building project (the church)	Medium. Requires the OT quotation’s background to land fully; risk of missing that this is a direct messianic claim rather than a generic architectural metaphor.
the kingdom… given to a nation producing fruit ἀρθήσεται ἀφ᾿ ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς arthēsetai… kai dothēsetai ethnei… “the kingdom will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits”	(baseline reuse: kingdom_of_god/gentiles) the kingdom will be given to a people who produce its fruit	Warns the temple leadership that Kingdom privilege is not an automatic ethnic entitlement, foreshadowing the Gentile mission and Israel’s continuing story developed in Romans 9-11	Medium (baseline reuse). Given the baseline’s careful, non-supersessionist framing at unity_of_jews_and_gentiles, this verse should be handled with the same care — this is about faithless leadership, not a wholesale replacement of Israel; cross-reference that baseline note explicitly.

Matthew 22 — Wedding Feast, Caesar, the Greatest Commandment

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
”many are called, but few are chosen” πολλοὶ… κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί polloi… klētoi, oligoi de eklektoi ”many [are] called, but few [are] chosen”	(baseline reuse: called/election) many are called but few are chosen	Concludes the wedding-feast parable (22:14) with election/calling language	Critical (baseline reuse: election). Baseline flags “election” as the near-total political-voting false-friend in contemporary English; this specific verse is also a live site of denominational disagreement (Reformed vs. Arminian readings of the call/election distinction) requiring transparent handling per the baseline’s rules.
render to Caesar ἀπόδοτε… Καίσαρι apodote… Kaisari ”give back/render to Caesar”	civic-obligation language distinguishing rightful civil authority from ultimate divine allegiance render to Caesar, give to Caesar	Establishes a distinction (not identity) between civic duty and total allegiance to God (22:21)	High. Frequently and selectively quoted in contemporary political rhetoric across the ideological spectrum (both to argue for strict church-state separation and to argue for minimal civic obligation), a live and contested contemporary application risk; should be presented with the actual, more limited point of the text rather than any one political program’s later use of the verse.
the greatest commandment: love ἀγαπήσεις agapēseis ”you shall love”	ἀγάπη/ἀγαπάω denotes committed, willed, self-giving love — distinct from romantic (erōs) or affectionate (philia) love love, love the Lord your God / your neighbor	Summarizes the whole Law under love of God and neighbor (22:37-40), directly relevant to “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” (heart-level fulfillment of Law)	High. English “love” is one of the most overloaded, false-friend-prone words in the whole language, dominated by romantic and casual-affection senses (“I love pizza,” pop love songs) with almost no inherent volitional, self-giving, commanded dimension; must be actively distinguished from romantic/emotional love as a matter of will and committed action, not primarily feeling.
resurrection (Sadducees’ question) ἀνάστασις anastasis (baseline reuse: resurrection)	resurrection	Jesus affirms bodily resurrection against Sadducean denial (22:23-33)	Critical (baseline reuse).

Matthew 23 — Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
hypocrite ὑποκριτής hypokritēs literally “stage actor, one who plays a role”	one whose outward performance does not match inward reality hypocrite	Repeated indictment (23:13-29) of leaders whose external religious performance masks internal corruption — the negative counterpoint to “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees”	Low-Medium. Largely an asset in contemporary English — “hypocrite” retains its negative force and is still readily understood — but the vivid original theatrical image (“actor wearing a mask”) is entirely lost on modern readers and worth restoring for rhetorical impact.
”you shut the kingdom of heaven” κλείετε τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν kleiete tēn basileian tōn ouranōn ”you shut/lock the kingdom of heaven”	(see 5:3 entry) you shut the kingdom of heaven	Charges religious leaders with actively obstructing others’ access to the Kingdom (23:13)	High (see 5:3 entry).

Matthew 24 — The Olivet Discourse (Part 1): Signs and the Coming of the Son of Man

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
great tribulation θλῖψις μεγάλη thlipsis megalē ”great affliction/pressure”	severe, intense suffering great tribulation, great distress	Describes an intense period of suffering preceding the end (24:21), central to “Judgment and the End of the Age”	High. Genuine, longstanding denominational contest among English-speaking Christians regarding the timing and nature of “the tribulation” (dispensational pre-tribulation/post-tribulation debates, amillennial/historic readings that see this partly fulfilled in AD 70, etc.) — heavily shaped in American popular culture by best-selling dispensationalist fiction. This curriculum should state its own reading and note the range of others, per the Denominational Transparency Rules.
”this generation” ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη hē genea hautē ”this generation”	genuinely debated referent: Jesus’ contemporaries, the Jewish people generally, or “this kind of generation” (a moral/spiritual descriptor) this generation	The interpretive crux for how much of Matthew 24 refers to AD 70’s fall of Jerusalem versus a still-future final consummation	High. A live scholarly and denominational ambiguity; per the baseline’s Ambiguity Handling rule, note the range of defensible readings and their doctrinal implications rather than silently adopting one without comment.
coming of the Son of Man παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου parousia tou huiou tou anthrōpou ”the arrival/presence of the Son of Man”	(cross-reference son_of_man, ch. 8) the coming of the Son of Man, the Second Coming	Jesus’ promised visible, glorious return as judge, drawing again on Daniel 7	High (cross-reference Son of Man entry). “Second Coming” itself, while a standard English theological phrase, is fully secularized/absent from casual speech and needs the underlying “parousia” (royal arrival) sense actively taught.

Matthew 25 — The Olivet Discourse (Part 2): Judgment Parables

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
eternal life / eternal punishment ζωὴν αἰώνιον / κόλασιν αἰώνιον zōēn aiōnion / kolasin aiōnion ”life of the age [to come] / punishment of the age [to come]“	αἰώνιος = pertaining to the age to come, often rendered “eternal/everlasting” eternal life, eternal punishment	The climactic conclusion of the sheep-and-goats judgment scene (25:46), explicitly pairing the two destinies with the same durational word, making them symmetrical in Matthew’s own Greek	High. Contemporary secular English has diluted “eternal” into marketing/nostalgic language (“eternal youth” skincare, “eternal flame” memorials), which can soften the weight of eternal punishment specifically; the baseline’s rule against softening doctrinal statements to accommodate contemporary comfort applies with particular force here, given how theologically consequential and pastorally sensitive this verse is.
”as you did to the least of these” ἐφ᾿ ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν ἐλαχίστων eph’ hoson epoiēsate heni toutōn tōn adelphōn mou tōn elachistōn ”insofar as you did to one of these least brothers of mine”	as you did to the least of these	Identifies Jesus with the vulnerable/suffering, making care for them a measure of genuine discipleship (25:40)	Medium. Widely and positively adopted in contemporary social-justice and humanitarian rhetoric (a mild asset, similar to the baseline’s note on “no distinction” language resonating with pluralism discourse), but risks being detached from its specifically Christ-identified, in-context meaning (“brothers of mine,” likely Jesus’ followers/messengers specifically) and flattened into generic humanitarianism disconnected from Christ.

Matthew 26 — The Last Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
my blood of the covenant τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης to haima mou tēs diathēkēs ”my blood of the covenant”	(baseline reuse: covenant) combined with sacrificial “blood” language (Exod. 24:8) the blood of the covenant, the new covenant in my blood	Jesus interprets his coming death as the covenant-sealing sacrifice inaugurating the new covenant (26:28)	Critical. Compounds the baseline covenant false-friend risk (legal-contract drift) with one of the deepest and longest-running denominational contests in the whole English-speaking Christian world: the theology of the Lord’s Supper/Communion (transubstantiation, sacramental real presence, spiritual presence, and memorialist views all differ sharply on what “this is my body/blood” means). This curriculum should state its own reading transparently and note the range of others, consistent with the baseline’s Denominational Transparency Rules, given the weight of this disagreement.
body / blood σῶμα / αἷμα sōma / haima ”body / blood”	sacrificial and covenantal language, echoing Passover and Exodus 24 body, blood	The words of institution at the Last Supper (26:26-28)	Critical (see covenant entry above).
“not my will, but yours” οὐ… ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω… πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ou… hōs egō thelō ”not as I will”	not my will but yours be done	Jesus’ Gethsemane submission to the Father’s will (26:39) models costly obedience for disciples	Low. Stable in English; theologically weighty but not linguistically at risk.

Matthew 27 — Crucifixion, Death, Burial

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
crucify ἐσταυρώθη (σταυρόω) estaurōthē (stauroō) “to be crucified” — nail/bind to a wooden execution stake	a specific, brutal Roman method of public execution crucify, crucifixion	The historical means of Jesus’ death, foundational to the atonement, and the referent behind all the earlier “take up your cross” sayings (10:38; 16:24)	High. Contemporary secular/media English has thoroughly metaphorized “crucified” (“the press crucified the senator,” “critics crucified the film”), stripping the word of its original, horrifying, specific historical reference to Roman capital punishment. This dilution can quietly soften the weight both of Jesus’ actual suffering and of the “take up your cross” sayings elsewhere in the book; state the historical, physical reality plainly, consistent with the baseline’s rule on stating historical claims (e.g. the resurrection) without hedging.
”Truly this was the Son of God” Ἀληθῶς Θεοῦ υἱὸς ἦν οὗτος Alēthōs Theou huios ēn houtos (baseline reuse: son_of_god)	Truly this was the Son of God	The Roman centurion’s confession at the cross (27:54) — an outsider’s (Gentile’s) recognition of Jesus’ identity, structurally paralleling the Magi in ch. 2	Critical (baseline reuse).
tearing of the temple veil τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ ἐσχίσθη to katapetasma tou naou eschisthē ”the curtain of the temple was torn”	the temple curtain was torn in two	Symbolizes new, direct access to God’s presence secured through Christ’s death	Medium. Requires temple-architecture background (the veil separated the Holy of Holies) to land; without that context the significance is easily missed.

Matthew 28 — Resurrection and the Great Commission

Terms	Variants	Contextual theological meaning	Rendering risk
resurrection ἠγέρθη (ἐγείρω) ēgerthē (egeirō) (baseline reuse: resurrection)	he has risen, resurrection	The historical, bodily rising of Jesus from death, the climactic vindication of every claim made about him throughout the Gospel	Critical (baseline reuse). State plainly as historical fact, per baseline rule 4, against contemporary “resurrection as myth” cultural framing.
all authority in heaven and on earth πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ [τῆς] γῆς pasa exousia en ouranō kai epi [tēs] gēs ”all authority in heaven and on earth”	(cross-reference ch.7 authority) all authority in heaven and on earth	The Great Commission’s foundation: Jesus’ universal, cosmic authority (not merely teaching authority) grounds and authorizes the mission (28:18)	High (cross-reference ch. 7 entry). The climactic, universal-scope statement of Jesus’ authority claim running through the whole book.
make disciples of all nations μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη mathēteusate panta ta ethnē ”make disciples of all the nations”	combines the disciple-verb form with (baseline reuse: gentiles/mission) applied here to “all nations” inclusively, not the narrower Jew/Gentile contrast sense make disciples of all nations	The Great Commission’s central command, expanding the mission scope beyond the “lost sheep of Israel” (10:6) to every people group	Medium-High. Should be distinguished from the baseline gentiles entry’s specific Jew/non-Jew contrastive sense (used that way in Romans): here “all nations/all ethnē” means all peoples inclusively, Israel included, not “the Gentiles as opposed to Israel.” Note this nuance to avoid consistency confusion between curricula. Also cross-reference baseline mission’s warning about colonial/political connotations “mission” can carry in some contexts — proclamation/discipleship language should stay primary.
baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος baptizontes autous eis to onoma… “baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”	(see ch. 3 baptize entry) baptizing… in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit	The explicit Trinitarian baptismal formula, foundational for the Church’s ongoing practice	Critical (see ch. 3 entry). Per the baseline’s Theological Consistency Rules, this formula’s wording should remain identical across all curriculum documents referencing it, given its liturgical and doctrinal weight.
teaching them to obey διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν didaskontes autous tērein ”teaching them to keep/observe”	(cross-reference baseline obedience_of_faith) teaching them to obey	Discipleship includes ongoing obedience-teaching, not merely a one-time conversion event	High (cross-reference baseline obedience_of_faith). Baseline notes contemporary Western suspicion of “obedience” as servility; that same caution applies directly here.
”to the end of the age” ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος heōs tēs synteleias tou aiōnos (see ch. 13 entry)	to the end of the age	Christ’s promised abiding presence (echoing “Immanuel,” ch. 1) spans the entire church age until its consummation	High (see ch. 13 entry).
worship (some doubted) προσεκύνησαν… οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν prosekynēsan… hoi de edistasan (see ch. 2 entry)	worshiped him… but some doubted	The risen Jesus receives worship reserved for God alone, even amid the disciples’ mixed response of worship and doubt (28:17)	High (see ch. 2 entry). Note Matthew’s own honesty about lingering doubt even among worshiping disciples — a pastorally valuable, textually authentic detail that should not be smoothed over.

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This document must be loaded alongside 08_core_glossary.md, the baseline translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and doctrine_risk_registry.json before any Phase 2 content generation for the Matthew curriculum.