The previous verse was from the man's point of view (e.g., groom, Jesus, God). This verse requires one to switch to the woman's point of view (e.g., bride, Church, Israel).

One reaction of the woman is to block or reject such advances.

More: Matthew 5:29-30 : The ayes came in handy, if not plucked out

Jesus is the true head.

Models are more than just opinion.

Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful. George Box, Statistician.

More: Models and reality

More: Matthew 5:29-30 : The ayes came in handy, if not plucked out

• Big Bird
• Oscar the Grouch
• Ernie
• Bert
• Cookie Monster
• Grover
• Prarie Down
• Snuffy
• Count von Count
• ...

Big Bird, and associated characters, from Sesame Street is a trademarked name.

More: Streets: Flowing after a path into a plaza

These verses having to do with children are often used as ARMS (Attractive Refrigerator Magnet Sermons).

More: Attractive refrigerator magnet sermons

More: Selective evidence fallacy: Cherry picking

Text: from Peanuts cartoon of March 23, 1990, by Charles Schultz. Snoopy is talking to Woodstock, who says nothing.

Many people have trouble with abstraction - looking at similarities and ignoring differences. If they think not, try having them write a small computer program that requires abstraction. Many professional programmers have problems making appropriate abstractions.

More: Abstraction

Jesus tends to so the "verily I say unto you" (in this case plural) to tell the reader to connect the previous and following thoughts.

More: Verily I say to you: connect the dots

This analogy or comparison in Greek of "as if" or "like" was expressed in English as a given fact.

Today, one can find medical professional testimony that if one is in (English) "agony" or (Greek) "competition" one may be stressed so much that one "sweats" "blood" "drops". Is that relevant to what the verse says?

• Have you ever seen athletes in an intense "competition" "sweating" "drops" of "sweat"?
• Have you ever seen athletes in an intense "competition" "sweating" "drops" of "blood"?

Have you ever heard a pastor preach at length about the "drops" of "blood" coming from Jesus as he prayed? How about extensive medical testimony about it?

More: The one drop of blood salvation fallacy

The ancient Greek word "στρέφω" ≈ "turn, direct, twist" and is related to the English word "strap" as "fasten". The modern Greek word "στρέφω" (STREH-fo) ≈ "turn, direct".

The Greek word translated as "smite" can be a play on words with the Latin word for "rapid". Jesus some Latin words and Latin play on words in this short verse sequence. False leaders as "birds" who use "deception" will want you to be in a "hurry" as an "urgent priority" so that you will not think too much about what you are actually doing.

In "turning" the "cheek" one is acting "passively". In Greek, the word for "passive" is often translated as "suffering".

More: Active and passive actions

More: Matthew 5:39 Turning the other cheek

The Greek for "evil" is in the dative case so it is "the evil" or "(with respect to) the evil" and not just "evil" in general.

Note that not "standing against" "evil" does not mean that one is "supporting" or "advocating" "evil". One is just a bystander, neither condoning nor supporting nor participating in "evil".

Discuss: Should one actively "go to war" or "crusade" against what is considered an "evil"? Once the double meanings, play on words, and code word meanings in this verse are used, this question should be more clear.

More: Psalms 1: Here come the pigs

More: Matthew 5:39 Turning the other cheek

• The "little child" is an "as" analogy and refers to "believers" of any age.
• The "set" is that of "stand" as in not "standing" for or "in place of" "evil" or "oppression".
• The "converted" is that of "turned around" (from being "great").
• The "become" is that of "coming into being" as in being "born" "again".
• The "child" is in the "middle" of both "good" and "evil" or "oppressive" entities.

More: Matthew 5:33-37: Hairs of the head - yes no

The KJV translates as "in" my "name" the Greek that it "on" the "name" of mine. The "on", as a contrast, will become important in a few verses where "on" will be translated as "into". (see below)

The ancient Greek word "ἐπί" ≈ "on, upon" as in the prefix of the English word "epicenter" which is, literally, "on the center".

The ancient Greek word "ὄνομα" ≈ "name, noun" is related to Latin "nomen" ≈ "name, noun" (semantic loan from Greek) and English "name".

One must distinguish "names" which are abstract letters combined to make a word and the "meaning" to which the word or "name" is attached. The "meaning" depends on context.

More: Equivocation deception between names and meanings

The ancient Greek word "δέχομαι" ≈ "receive, accept, take, believe". The use of "receive" or "accept" word twice ensures that this is a commutative relationship in that it goes both ways and sets up an equality of sorts. This becomes important at the end of the discourse.

Paraphrase: And if someone receives/accepts one little child such as this on the name of mine receives/accepts me.

Does this mean that one only has to "accept" a "child" that has "accepted" Jesus to have "accepted" Jesus? Does this make sense? Would false leaders or false teachers "accept" a "child" in order to use them for their own purposes?

Most translations omit the ancient Greek word "ἐάν" ≈ "if, when". This is a conditional that creates a dependency. Who is the "one" "little child"?

Growing up, the siblings would often leave the last cookie, piece of cake, etc., not eaten (which annoyed mom).
So, if we were asked "Did you eat all of the cookies?" we could say, "No, I did not have one of them". If pressed, we could point to the "one" cookie that we did not eat. If we had eaten than one, then they would be all (i.e., gone).

Sometimes it is the "one cookie" that is not eaten that is important.

There are two general forms of the "one cookie rule" where the exceptions are important.

• "not one cookie ..." (negative statement)
• "one cookie ..." (positive statement)

In general, this is called an "equivocation" in that it could deceive the listener. Equivocations can be used to hide double meanings as in a code or secret code.

Equivocations can be used as jokes which some people like and some do not.

More: Equivocation deception between names and meanings

More: One cookie rule

This "little child" could be anyone. The most important "little child" is you (one cookie rule). You are that "one" "little child"! What happens if you as that "one" "little child" do not "receive" or "accept" "on" the "name" of Jesus? Including the "if" in the translation makes this correspondence more clear.
Paraphrase: And if you receive/accept, as a little child, on the name of me (Jesus), you receive/accept me (Jesus).

The "accept" or "receive" is used twice in a commutative or both ways relationship. That is, both of the two, Jesus and you, must "agree" for the relationship to be valid. Otherwise, it will not be completed or done. The two are "glued" together.

More: One cookie rule

More: Reflexive relationships in the Bible

The "offend", "offense", "offenses", etc., means to "entrap" or "snare" as in false teaching or deceit to lead one astray. When Jesus uses the word, it can mean "misinterpret" as in "entrap" yourself. The ancient Greek word "συμφέρω" ≈ "", literally "carry together" and, as an opposite of "different" is that of two things being similar in some ways.

[Throw someone under the bus, temple tax]

Can you "entrap" or "ensnare" yourself as the "one"? Can you "sin" against yourself? The counter-factual example of a "millstone" makes doing this a very bad "sin". Is it a "sin"? How bad is it? How easy or hard is it for you to "forgive" those who "entrap" "little ones"? How hard is it to "forgive" those who "entrap" "you"?

More: Matthew 11:1-6: Trapped by an offensive misinterpretation of Jesus

More: Matthew 11:6: Idiomatic misinterpretations that offend

More: Matthew 5:29-30 : The ayes came in handy, if not plucked out

More: Eagles and woeful eagle sounds

More: Profitable and expedient counterfactual logic

The word "woe" in Greek is that of a "bird" of prey sound.

• The TR (Textus Receptus) adds the word "be", adds some connecting words, and rearranges some words.
• "ἀπό" ≈ "away from" as in "from" but with an idea of a separating distance.
• "σκάνδαλον" ≈ "trap, snare" and is used as a noun.
• "ανάγκη" ≈ "necessity, constraint, compulsion, force" and is used as a noun. The word is associated with the "yoke" of "compulsion" by Amos, Isaiah, Jesus, Barnabas, etc.
• "πλήν" ≈ "with the exception of, except for".

Thus, the compound noun is that of a "compulsion" "trap" or "trap" of "compulsion". Jesus talks of this in the Sermon on the Mount in terms of the dead "gift" "on" top of the "alter" ("trap" of "compulsion") and the living "gift" "in front of" the "alter".

The modern Greek word "πλην" (pleen) ≈ "except for" and is used as a "minus sign" for the subtraction operation as in 5 "except for" 3 is 2.

More: Amos 5: The yoke of compulsion

More: Matthew 5:23-24 Alterated gifts

More: Eagles and woeful eagle sounds

Paraphrase: Woe with respect to the (people in the) world apart from the trap of compulsion because the entrapments come but with the exception of woe with respect to the man through whom the entrapment comes.

This appears to provide an out of sorts to those who have been "entrapped" by the "compulsion" provided they do the other things that they are expected by Jesus to do. This would be the "sheep".

However, this does not appear to provide an out to those who have supported or promoted the "compulsion" "entrapments". This would be the "birds" and "pigs". What Jesus says about "idle words" might explain how ambiguity of intention is disambiguated.

[woe as a bird of prey cry, gift on the alter, last farthing]

More: Matthew 12:30-37 Pardon the idle word counting

Here then is a paraphrase that fits the specific context of the verse and the general idea of birds being the of the evil one.

The "one cookie rule" can be applied here.
Paraphrase: All the sparrows (of the evil one) who sell themselves (or others) out for earthly gain will fall on that earthly ground because they are without God the Father.

Discuss: Provide instances of people (as sparrows) selling themselves (or others) out for money. This could be influence peddling, pay for play, etc.

More: Matthew 10: 28-31 Taking care of the sparrows

More: Matthew 10: 28-31 Taking care of the sparrows

Jesus tells us who we should "fear" and it is not "fear" about the cares and concerns of this world. The most dangerous attacks are not from the outside but from the inside and involve deception.

One cannot "destroy the soul" by "killing" the body is in persecution (e.g., by the Roman administrations). The primary way to "destroy" the "soul" is through deception so that you "sell yourself out" or are "sold out".

Jesus provides an example in the next verse.

More: Matthew 10:26-27 The fear deception: focus on friends rather than Jesus

Discuss:

• How might "sparrows" (birds of the evil one) deceive to "destroy the soul" in order to achieve "earthly gain" (money) by "selling out"?
• Do "sparrows" succeed because those being deceived do not "understand"? This is what Jesus says of the birds in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.
• Have those "deceived" separated themselves from the love of Christ?



More: Matthew 10: 28-31 Taking care of the sparrows

Jesus avoids using the word "one" in the "hands" verse. Doing so would break the pattern model. Jesus then uses (makes up) the ancient Greek word "μονόφθαλμον" ≈ "one-eyed" rather than the more usual "one" "eye" or "eye" "one". In this discourse, the word "one" has an important secondary meaning and using the word for "one" with "eye" in this verse would not match the pattern model.

It appears that "little ones" as "believers" have "angels" as "messengers", etc. The "walk a mile" verse is of being a "messenger" of God.
The verse applies both to "you" as the "one" (reflexively) and (then) to "others".

• Is it possible for "you" to "despise" yourself as the "little one"?
• Is it possible for you to "despise" someone else as the "little one"?

The ancient Greek word "καταφρόνησις" ≈ "hold in contempt, despise" is used in only one other place in Matthew by Jesus - in the verse on "mammon". Note that this can be done without the other person knowing. False leaders, false teachers, etc., will show an outward appearance that is different from their heart on the inside.

More: Colossians: Touched by an angel 1

More: Touched by an angel 2

More: Matthew 5:41 Walk a mile for a camel

More: Matthew 6:24 A wealth of logical ideas on mammon

The ancient Greek word "καταφρόνησις" ≈ "hold in contempt, despise".

Note that this can be done without the other person knowing. False leaders, false teachers, etc., will show an outward appearance that is different from their "heart" on the "inside" or "secret chambers". This "pretending" or "acting" is captured in the Greek word for "hypocrite".

More: Matthew 6:6 A storehouse of secret chambers: praying in the closet

More: An actor as a hypocrite is not real

The TR adds this verse. As often happens, the addition breaks the overall pattern of the other verses.