Matthew 12)
1 At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day (see Luke 6:1) through the cornfields; and His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. (This is a pretty common thing. When you go along without food for awhile, you get hungry.)
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Behold, Your disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day." (According to them, not God)
3 But He said to them, "Have you not read (this question was asked by the Lord on 6 different occasions, and refereed to 7 different books of the O.T., and to 10 different passages) what David did (ref. to 1 Sam. 21:6), when he was hungry, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God (i.e. the tabernacle), and did eat the shew-bread (see Ex. 25:30. Lev. 24:5-8), which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? (Lev. 24:9. Priests work on the sabbath! In Christ we have more than a priest.)
5 Or have you not read in the law (cp. Num. 28:9,10), how that on the sabbath (there were more sacrifices on the sabbath than any other day) days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath (The Greek word here = to trample down and thus treat as common), and are guiltless?
6 But I say to you, That here is One greater than the temple. (The Savior was standing before them, they can't get away with it. Cp. v.41, a greater prophet; and v.42, a greater king; who can be only God Himself.)
7 But if (implying that it was not a fact) you were aware of what this is, 'I desire to have loving-kindness, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.' (Quoted from Hos. 6:6)
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (As the Son of man. Cp. v.6, Lord of the Temple as the Son of God. See 4:6. 1 John 1:7-11. He is your rest!)
R2 e 9,10-. Withered hand.
f -10-. Question of the enemies.
g -10. Purpose. Accusation.
f 11,12. Questions of the Lord.
e 13. Withered hand.
9 And when He was departed from there, He went into their synagogue: (Probably inhabitants of Tiberias. For, in Mark 3:6, the Pharisees conferred with Herodians, so that the Lord was in Herod's jurisdiction.)
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered.
And they asked him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?" (This was the 1st of 7 miracles worked on the sabbath. See Mark 1:21-31. Luke 13:11; 14:2. John 5:8,9; 9:14.)
in order that they might accuse Him.
11 But He said to them, "What person shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? (The condition is hypothetical)
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well (i.e. a good dead) on the sabbath days."
13 Then saith He to the man, "Stretch forth your hand." And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
S2 S 14. Proposed destruction of the Lord by enemies.
T 15-21. The Word of God. Fulfilled.
U 22. Miracle (demoniac) wrought.
U 23-37. Miracle. Consequences.
T 38-45. The Word of God. Better than a sign.
S 46-50. Proposed capture by kindred.
14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from there: and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all; (this is exactly the reason why they wanted to kill Jesus.He was doing good worked they weren't capable of doing.)
16 And charged them that they should not make Him publicly known:
17 To the end that it might be fulfilled which was spoken as well as written by means of Isaiah the prophet, saying, (Quoted from Isa. 42:1-4. From the Hebrew dialect; but the last clause differs, because the Holy Spirit is recording the act of fulfillment, and varying it by way of Divine comment.)
18 "Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved, in whom I have found delight: I will put My spirit upon Him, and He shall declare judgment to the nations. (This is the Father speaking of the Son. Wherever the Father and the Son are, the Holy Spirit is also present.)
19 He shall not contend, nor make an outcry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. (Jesus walked right into the church to make His declaration. That is where the Pharisees would be found.)
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he bring forth judgment to victory. (what was before hidden, as in v.35 and 13:52. Cp. Deut. 32:34.)
21 And in His name shall the nations hope." (A bruised reed is just barely hanging on. Have you ever been at a point in your life that you were barely hanging on? Jesus can heal broken bodies and broken heart. He can trim your wick to make your life brighter without ever quenching the flame, if you don't try to quench the Holy Spirit. Give yourself to Him. Jesus was quoting Isaiah. When Jesus quotes Scripture in the Old Testament, you always want to check it out. See Isaiah 42:1.)
22 Then was brought to Him one possessed with a demoniac, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
U V1 23. People. Amazement. V2 24-37. Pharisees.
23 And all the multitude were amazed, and said, "Is this the son of David?" (The 3rd of 9 occurrences of this Messianic title in Matthew.)
V2 W1 24-30. Confutation.
W2 31-37. Condemnation.
W1 h 24-26. Illustration. Divided kingdom.
i 27,28. Application.
h 29. Illustration. Strong man's house.
i 30. Application.
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except in [the power of] Beelzebub the prince of the demons." (See 10:25)
25 And He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself will not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons (i.e. disciples. The Pharisees believed in and practiced exorcism. Cp. Acts 19:13) cast them out? on account of this they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God (Gr. Pneuma, put for Divine power. In Luke 11:20 God's "finger" put for the power exercised by it. So in Ex.8:19), it follows that the kingdom of God is come upon you.
29 Or else how can one enter into the strong [one's] house, and plunder his goods, except he first bind the strong one? and then he will plunder his house.
30 He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad.
W2 X 31,32. Words. Forgiven and unforgiven.
Y 33. Illustration. Trees.
Z 34-. Expostulation.
Z -34. Reason.
Y 35. Illustration. Characters.
X 36,37. Words. Justified and condemned.
31 On this account I say to you, All manner of sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to people: but the blasphemy concerning the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven to people.
32 And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world age (it must refer to the one age-time in contradistinction to another, called "the coming age". Cp. Heb. 1:2 and see Heb. 11:3), neither in the world age to be.
33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree gets known from its fruit.
34 O offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things?
for out of the abundance (or overflow) of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 The good person out of the good treasury of the heart brings forth good things: and the evil person out of the evil treasury brings forth evil things.
36 But I say to you, That every careless saying which people shall speak, they shall suffer the consequences concerning it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. ("Words" are reckoned as deeds [2 Cor. 5:10])
T A 38-40. Sign given. Asked for. (Historic.)
B 41,42. Application.
A 43-45-. Sign given. Unasked. (Experimental.)
B -45. Application.
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we desire to see a sign from You." (The first of 6 "signs" asked for. Cp. 16:1; 24:3. Luke 11:16. John 2:18; 6:30)
38 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous (spiritually. See Jer. 3:9. Ezek. 23:37, &c.) generation is ever seeking after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish's belly; (Quoted from Jonah 1:17. There is nothing about "a wale" either in the Heb. of Jonah [1:17] or in the Greek here. The "great fish" was specially "prepared" by its Creator. The Lord was dead, therefore Jonah must have been. Nothing is said about his being "preserved alive". That sign would have no relation to what here is signified. See notes on Jonah) so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the earth. (i.e. the sepulcher, or tomb, 27:60. Mark 15:46. Luke 23:53. John 19:40. Acts 13:29. Its a figure of speech = the midst, or "in". See Ex. 15:8. Ps. 46:2. 2 Sam. 18:14. Deut. 4:11. In any case it is not "the center", any more than the heart is in the center of the body, instead of near the top. We are to conclude that the Lord establishes "the literal validity of the history of Jonah", inasmuch as He spoke "not His own words but only the words of the Father" [see John 7:16; 8:28,46,47; 12:49; 14:10,24; 17:8]; so that the assertions of modern critics are perilously near blasphemy against God Himself.)
The fact that "three days" is used by Hebrew idiom for any part of three days and three nights is not disputed; because that was the common way of reckoning, just as it was when used of years. Three or any number of years was used inclusively of any part of those years was used inclusively of any part of those years, as may be seen in the reckoning of the reigns of any of the kings of Israel or Judah.
But, when the number of "nights" is stated as well as the number of "days", then the expression ceases to be an idiom, and becomes a literal statement of fact.
Moreover, as the Hebrew day began at sunset the day was reckoned from one sunset to another, the "twelve hours in the day" (John 11:9) being reckoned from sunrise, and the twelve hours of the night from sunset. An evening-morning was thus used for a whole day of twenty-four hours, as in the first chapter of Genesis. Hence the expression "a night and a day" in 2Cor. 11:25 denotes a complete day (Gr. nuchthemeron).
When Esther says (Est. 4:16) "fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days", she defines her meaning as being three complete days, because she adds (being a Jewess) "night or day". And when it is written that the fast ended on "the third day" (5:1), "the third day" must have succeeded and included the third night.
In like manner the sacred record states that the young man (in 1Sam. 30:12) "had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights". Hence, when the young man explains the reason, he says, "because three days agone I fell sick". He means therefore three complete days and nights, because, being an Egyptian (vv. 11, 13) he naturally reckoned his day as beginning at sunrise according to the Egyptian manner (see Encycl. Brit., 11th (Cambridge) ed., vol. xi. p. 77). His "three days agone" refers to the beginning of his sickness and includes the whole period, giving the reason for his having gone without food during the whole period stated.
Hence, when it says that "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17) it means exactly what it says, and that this can be the only meaning of the expression in Matt. 12:40; 16:4. Luke 11:30, is shown in.
In the expression, "the heart of the earth" (Matt. 12:40), the meaning is the same as "the heart of the sea", "heart" being put by the Fig. Metonymy (of the Subject), Ap. 6 for "the midst", and is frequently so translated. See Ps. 46:2. Jer. 51:1. Ezek. 27:4, 25, 26, 27; 28:2. It is used of ships when sailing "in the heart of the seas", i.e. in or on the sea. See Ezek. 27:25, 26; 28:8; also of people dwelling in the heart of the seas, i.e. on islands (Ezek. 28:2). Jonah uses the Heb. beten ( = womb) in the same way (2.2).
B j 41-. Persons. Ninevites ("rise").
k -41-. Reason. Proclamation of Jonah.
l -41. Greater reason.
j 42-. Person. Queen of the south ("rise").
k -42-. Reason. Wisdom of Solomon.
l -42. Greater reason.
41 The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment (Cp. Ps. 1:5) with this generation, and shall condemn it:
because they repented (the last mention of repentance in Matthew) at the proclamation of Jonah;
and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
42 A queen of the south shall rise up (in resurrection) in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:
for she came (see 1 Kings 10:1, &c.) out from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and, behold, a greater One than Solomon is here. (See v.6)
A m 43-. The going out of the unclean spirit.
n -43. Action. Seeking rest.
o 44-. Return. Proposed.
P -44. Condition of house.
m 45-. The going out of the unclean spirit.
n -45-. Action. Seeking other spirits.
o -45-. Return. Effected.
p -45. Condition of the house.
43 But when (introducing the allegory) a unclean spirit is gone (if of its own accord, it has gone out, it returns [v.44]. But not when it is "bound" and cast out, as in v.29) away from (temporarily, as at the proclamation of John) the man,
it roams through waterless places (i.e. were no human beings are), seeking rest, and finds it not. (Has no respite)
44 Then it says, 'I will return into my house from where I came out;'
and when it is come, it finds it empty, swept, and decorated.
45 Then it goes,
and takes with itself seven other spirits more wicked than itself, (shows that there are degrees of wickedness among spirits and demons. See 17:21. Acts 16:16,17, &c.)
and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state (see Dan. 9:27; 11:21,23,&c. Rev. 13; and Cp. John 5:43) of that person becomes worse than the first.
Even so shall it be to this [present] wicked generation also." (See 11:16. Mark 13:30. Luke 21:32. Acts 2:40.)
S C q 46. Mother and brethren. (Natural.) "Without".
r 47. Their will. Reported (Mark 3:21-31).
D 48. The Lord's question.
C q 49. Mother and brethren. (Spiritual.) "Within".
r 50. God's will. Declared.
46 While He yet was talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and His brethren were standing outside, seeking to speak with Him. (Their avowed purpose. But in Mark 3:21,31, their real purpose was "to lay hold on Him", and the reason is given: "for they said 'He is beside Himself'". This accounts for the Lord's answer.)
47 Then one said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brethren are standing outside (the reason for not going inside is obvious), seeking to speak with You."
48 But He answered and said to him that told him, "Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?"
49 And He pointed to His disciples, and said, "Behold My mother and My brethren!
50 For whosoever (defined by obedience, and made by a hypothesis) shall have done the will of My Father which is in the heavens, he is My brother, and sister, and mother."