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Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.'
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a deny self that is worked out in relationships and commitments in Matthew 16:24—look for "jesus" and "said". Give deny self in conversations that test patience—steady the will with prayer.

Context

The setting is Matthew—gospel narrative, developing deny self. Read in Matthew 16, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “jesus” alongside “said”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early sources associate Matthew with Matthew the disciple, once a tax collector. Matthew is frequently described this way: Initially anonymous; tradition later assigns Matthew; engages Mark alongside a sayings tradition.. Scholars commonly date Matthew AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Jesus teaches as a new Moses figure. Readers often compare Matthew’s arrangement and sources with Mark and Q.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in 5,800+ manuscripts, surpassing other ancient works in manuscript count. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within about 100-150 years of its writing. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the probably reflects the initial text reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46