Matthew Chapter 12
1 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, "Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."
3 But he said to them, "Haven't you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him;
4 how he entered into God's house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless?
6 But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
7 But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you wouldn't have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
9 He departed from there, and went into their synagogue.
10 And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" that they might accuse him.
11 He said to them, "What man is there amongst you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won't he grab on to it, and lift it out?
12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day."
13 Then he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.
14 But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
15 Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all,
16 and commanded them that they should not make him known:
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He won't break a bruised reed. He won't quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name, the nations will hope."
22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 All the multitudes were amazed, and said, "Can this be the son of David?"
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God's Kingdom has come upon you.
29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn't gather with me, scatters.
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.
33 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you."
39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgement with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the south will rise up in the judgement with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.
43 When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn't find it.
44 Then he says, 'I will return into my house from which I came out,' and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation."
46 While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him.
47 One said to him, "Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you."
48 But he answered him who spoke to him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
49 He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Footnotes
- Verse 4
- 1 Samuel 21:3-6
- Verse 7
- Hosea 6:6
- Verse 21
- Isaiah 42:1-4
- Verse 35 (his evil treasure)
- Textus Receptus adds "of the heart"
Version: World English Bible
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Matthew Chapter 12 Guide
This chapter chronicles direct attacks on Christ. The first was petty and foolish. It is on the question of the Sabbath. The Master gives to His people the true conception of the sanctity of the Sabbath. It is established, and remains, for "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." "How much is a man better than a sheep? Why, then, rescue a sheep and neglect a man?
The second attack was characterized by malicious hatred; it was an absolute denial of the sovereignty of God. Satan is cast out by Satan. The absolute folly of the position is revealed in the Lord's reply. Only two forces are at work in the world, the gathering and the scattering. Whoever does the one contradicts and hinders the other. Beelzebub and the demons of whom he is prince are breaking up, destroying, scattering! Christ's work is the opposite, healing, saving, gathering.
The third attack was a manifestation of contemptuous unbelief. "Master, we would see a sign from Thee." Christ revealed the true reason for their unbelief, "an evil and adulterous generation."
The last attack would be to Him the bitterest of them all. Mark gives us an insight into it that we miss in Matthew (Mark 3:21-35). Jesus' friends, even His mother, are so far out of sympathy with Him as to believe Him mad, and to desire to put Him under restraint. Of this He makes occasion to declare the blessedness of the relation that the subjects of the Kingdom bear to Him. It has been wrongly imagined by some that the Lord's language here shows disrespect for His mother, as though she had grieved Him. This is surely to miss the deepest truth in His statement. The relationship with Him into which those come who do the will of His Father is as dear as that of brother and sister and mother.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Matthew Chapter 12 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- Jesus defends his disciples for plucking corn on the sabbath day. -- (1-8)
- Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. -- (9-13)
- The malice of the Pharisees. -- (14-21)
- Jesus heals a demoniac. -- (22-30)
- Blasphemy of the Pharisees. -- (31, 32)
- Evil words proceed from an evil heart. -- (33-37)
- The scribes and Pharisees reproved for seeking a sign. -- (38-45)
- The disciples of Christ are his nearest relations. -- (46-50)
Verses 1-8
Being in the corn-fields, the disciples began to pluck the ears of corn: the law of God allowed it, De 23:25. This was slender provision for Christ and his disciples; but they were content with it. The Pharisees did not quarrel with them for taking another man's corn, but for doing it on the sabbath day. Christ came to free his followers, not only from the corruptions of the Pharisees, but from their unscriptural rules, and justified what they did. The greatest shall not have their lusts indulged, but the meanest shall have their wants considered. Those labours are lawful on the sabbath day which are necessary, and sabbath rest is to froward, not to hinder sabbath worship. Needful provision for health and food is to be made; but when servants are kept at home, and families become a scene of hurry and confusion on the Lord's day, to furnish a feast for visitors, or for indulgence, the case is very different. Such things as these, and many others common among professors, are to be blamed. The resting on the sabbath was ordained for man's good, De 5:14. No law must be understood so as to contradict its own end. And as Christ is the Lord of the sabbath, it is fit the day and the work of it should be dedicated to him.
Verses 9-13
Christ shows that works of mercy are lawful and proper to be done on the Lord's day. There are more ways of doing well upon sabbath days, than by the duties of worship: attending the sick, relieving the poor, helping those who need speedy relief, teaching the young to care for their souls; these are doing good: and these must be done from love and charity, with humility and self-denial, and shall be accepted, Ge 4:7. This, like other cures which Christ wrought, had a spiritual meaning. By nature our hands are withered, and we are unable of ourselves to do any thing that is good. Christ only, by the power of his grace, cures us; he heals the withered hand by putting life into the dead soul, works in us both to will and to do: for, with the command, there is a promise of grace given by the word.
Verses 14-21
The Pharisees took counsel to find some accusation, that Jesus might be condemned to death. Aware of their design, as his time was not come, he retired from that place. Face does not more exactly answer to face in water, than the character of Christ drawn by the prophet, to his temper and conduct as described by the evangelists. Let us with cheerful confidence commit our souls to so kind and faithful a Friend. Far from breaking, he will strengthen the bruised reed; far from quenching the smoking flax, or wick nearly out, he will rather blow it up into a flame. Let us lay aside contentious and angry debates; let us receive one another as Christ receives us. And while encouraged by the gracious kindness of our Lord, we should pray that his Spirit may rest upon us, and make us able to copy his example.
Verses 22-30
A soul under Satan's power, and led captive by him, is blind in the things of God, and dumb at the throne of grace; sees nothing, and says nothing to the purpose. Satan blinds the eyes by unbelief, and seals up the lips from prayer. The more people magnified Christ, the more desirous the Pharisees were to vilify him. It was evident that if Satan aided Jesus in casting out devils, the kingdom of hell was divided against itself; how then could it stand! And if they said that Jesus cast out devils by the prince of the devils, they could not prove that their children cast them out by any other power. There are two great interests in the world; and when unclean spirits are cast out by the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of sinners to a life of faith and obedience, the kingdom of God is come unto us. All who do not aid or rejoice in such a change are against Christ.
Verses 31, 32
Here is a gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms. Christ herein has set an example to the sons of men, to be ready to forgive words spoken against them. But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have not. The trembling, contrite sinner, has the witness in himself that this is not his case.
Verses 33-37
Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil things. Lusts and corruptions, dwelling and reigning in the heart, are an evil treasure, out of which the sinner brings forth bad words and actions, to dishonour God, and hurt others. Let us keep constant watch over ourselves, that we may speak words agreeable to the Christian character.
Verses 38-45
Though Christ is always ready to hear and answer holy desires and prayers, yet those who ask amiss, ask and have not. Signs were granted to those who desired them to confirm their faith, as Abraham and Gideon; but denied to those who demanded them to excuse their unbelief. The resurrection of Christ from the dead by his own power, called here the sign of the prophet Jonah, was the great proof of Christ's being the Messiah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale, and then came out again alive, thus Christ would be so long in the grave, and then rise again. The Ninevites would shame the Jews for not repenting; the queen of Sheba, for not believing in Christ. And we have no such cares to hinder us, we come not to Christ upon such uncertainties. This parable represents the case of the Jewish church and nation. It is also applicable to all those who hear the word of God, and are in part reformed, but not truly converted. The unclean spirit leaves for a time, but when he returns, he finds Christ is not there to shut him out; the heart is swept by outward reformation, but garnished by preparation to comply with evil suggestions, and the man becomes a more decided enemy of the truth. Every heart is the residence of unclean spirits, except those which are temples of the Holy Ghost, by faith in Christ.
Verses 46-50
Christ's preaching was plain, easy, and familiar, and suited to his hearers. His mother and brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him, when they should have been standing within, desiring to hear him. Frequently, those who are nearest to the means of knowledge and grace are most negligent. We are apt to neglect that which we think we may have any day, forgetting that to-morrow is not ours. We often meet with hinderances in our work from friends about us, and are taken off by care for the things of this life, from the concerns of our souls. Christ was so intent on his work, that no natural or other duty took him from it. Not that, under pretence of religion, we may be disrespectful to parents, or unkind to relations; but the lesser duty must stand by, while the greater is done. Let us cease from men, and cleave to Christ; let us look upon every Christian, in whatever condition of life, as the brother, sister, or mother of the Lord of glory; let us love, respect, and be kind to them, for his sake, and after his example.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.