Matthew 12:1-50

What is the theme of this chapter?

The Program of the King Attested by controversies over the Sabbath; by condemnation of the Pharisees (the unpardonable sin); by certain sign; by changed relationships.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verse 25

Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?



Additional observations/questions:

Matthew 12:33-50

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brother! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

the tree is known by its fruit - "Then He made His appeal to them; 'Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt.'  Say that you know the tree is corrupt because its fruit is corrupt; or date to say that the tree is good, because its fruit is good.  There is in these words the touch of a great pity, of a great desire to help these men.  He appealed to them not to attribute good fruit to a corrupt tree.  That is what they were doing.  They said that the good result, of a man freed from demon possession, was wrought by Satan.  He appealed to them to be consistent; to believe on Him for the very works' sake.  Then finally He uttered the  most awe-inspiring words of all; 'Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?'  The severity of that consists in His evident pity for them.  It seems as if even the hopeful spirit of Christ was almost hopeless about these men.  He said, How can ye speak a true thing?  How can ye say the tree is good because its fruit is good?  How can you tell the truth?  You are the offspring of vipers; you are morally degenerate; you have lost your moral discrimination." (Morgan)

careless = useless

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” - "They were not really prepared to receive a sign.  If they had been, the casting out of the demons was in itself sufficient to have proved His cooperation with the Spirit of God, as He had declared.  Thus when a sufficient sign had been given they had refused it by attempting to account for it in the most terrible way.  Yet these men, already hardened against convincing signs, asked for one; and the asking was satirical, the asking of men who were not prepared to accept as sufficient any sign He could give, because of their personal hatred of Him.  That is exactly what He meant when He declared in words of the sternest, 'Ye generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.'  Their use of the word 'Teacher' was in itself an insult, as they refused to accept Him or His teaching." (Morgan)

adulterous generation - "The nation was unfaithful in its vows to the Lord." (Ryrie)

"Generation is certainly to be understood in the sense of race.  The unclean spirit is idolatry.  It had left the nation, and even now the nation is swept from that evil spirit unoccupied, and boast of reform.  It will not be so forever.  The unclean spirit will return and bring seven others with him and take possession of that house again, and the last condition, the end, becomes worse than the beginning.  The return of the unclean spirit with its seven companions will take place during the great tribulation." (Gaebelein)

"As compared with the other nations of the world, Israel was like a house from which the demon of idolatry had gone out with all his attendants—really the 'Beel-Zibbul' whom they dreaded.  And then the house had been swept of all the foulness and uncleanness of idolatry, and garnished with all manner of Pharisaic adornments.  Yet all this while the house was left empty; God was not there; the Stronger One, Who alone could have resisted the Strong One, held not rule in it.  And so the demon returned to it again, to find the house whence he had come out, swept and garnished indeed—but also empty and defenseless.  The follow of Israel lay in this, that they thought of only one demon—him of idolatry—Beel-Zibbul, with all his foulness.  That was all very repulsive, and they had carefully removed it.  But they knew that demons were only manifestations of demoniac power, and that there was a Kingdom of evil.  So this house, swept of the foulness of heathenism and adorned with all the self-righteousness of Pharisaism, but empty of God, would only become a more suitable and more secure habitation of Satan; because, from its cleanness and beauty, his presence and rule there as an evil spirit would not be suspected.  So, to continue the illustrative language of Christ, he came back 'with seven other spirits more wicked than himself'—pride, self-righteousness, unbelief, and the like, the number seven being general—and thus the last state—Israel without the foulness of gross idolatry and garnished with all the adornments of Pharisaic devotion to the study and practice of the Law—was really worse than had been the first with all its open repulsiveness." (Edersheim)

sign of the prophet Jonah - "The sign is the warning of judgment to come (cf. Jonah 1:2; 3:4).  Here the sign is related to the death and resurrection of the Son of Man." (Ryrie)

"While refusing a sign He promised a sign; and thus in the presence of their malicious hostility foretold the new opportunity which would be created for them by the carrying out to completeness of His divine work in the world.  His purpose was that of saving and redeeming.  Therefore He refused the sign they asked, which would have had no effect; and promised them the only sign that could by any means arrest and constrain them, that namely of His own Resurrection from the dead after their malice had encompassed that death.  The giving of that sign would afford them a new and final opportunity ... That sign would in all essentials be similar to one with which they were perfectly familiar.  They knew how Jonah had been a sign to Nineveh in its sin by virtue of the fact that he had appeared in the city a preacher of Jehovah, after he had been cast out to death.  that is the only possible solution of the words of the King here, for in that is the only parallel between Jonah and Jesus.  In every other way they stand in contrast." (Morgan)

three days and three nights - "This phrase does not necessarily required that 72 hours elapse between Christ's death and resurrection, for the Jews reckoned part of a day to be a whole day.  Thus this prophecy can be properly fulfilled if the crucifixion occurred on Friday.  However, the statement does not require a historical Jonah who was actually swallowed by a great fish." (Ryrie)

something greater - "The Greek word is neuter here and in verse 42, and refers to the kingdom of God." (Ryrie)

queen of the South - "Just as the pagan Queen of Sheba acknowledged the superiority of Solomon's wisdom, so the Pharisees should recognize that the kingdom of God was at hand." (Ryrie)

"Less enlightened people had obeyed less enlightening preaching and teaching; and in that fact the patent condemnation of those to whom He spoke, and who were to receive His final sign was declared." (Morgan)

unclean spirit - "A demon.  Self-reformation, without spiritual conversion, can lead to serious ramifications.  Notice that some demons are more wicked than others, and they can repossess a person from whom they have been cast out." (Ryrie)

whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother - "This means that the spiritual relation between Christ and believers is closer than the closest of blood ties.  Obedience to God takes precedence over responsibilities to family." (Ryrie)

"This is not to say that He lost His affection for His brethren, or failed in love to His mother.  In the last and awful hours of His intensest suffering, He still thought of her, and with tender solicitude entrusted her to the care of John.  His brethren, moreover, according to the flesh, we find eventually numbered among His disciples.  But in this hour, when unable to understand Him, they sought from the motive of a true affection to hinder Him in His work, He resolutely refused to yield to their desire, and by His words revealed the fact that He counted earthly relationships as nothing compared to those spiritual relationships which were born of a common loyalty to the will of God." (Morgan).

"The nation Israel claimed a relationship to Messiah when He should come because of a common relationship to Abraham.  But Christ rejected blood ties as constituting a true spiritual relationship.  The only ones whom He would accept as being spiritually related to Him were those who were related to Him by faith.  In that multitude there were those who claimed a relationship to Abraham as a basis for entrance into the kingdom.  Christ said the kingdom must be entered by faith in His person, not by the accident of physical birth." (Pentecost)

Matthew 12:15-32

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope." Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

ordered them not to make him known - "Many were drawn to Christ because of His reputation as a healer, which may have been diverting attention from His primary role as Messiah." (Ryrie)

vss 18-21 - "For this OT quote, see Isa 42:1-4.  Here is one of Matthew's descriptive gems, high-lighting Jesus' graciousness and gentleness." (Ryrie)

“Can this be the Son of David?” - "Their question, 'Could this be the Son of David?' (Matt 12:23), expected a negative answer.  We could state it, 'This couldn't be the Son of David, could it?'  The question arose not because of insufficient evidence but rather because the Pharisees had rejected Christ.  Having been taught that they were sheep who should follow the shepherds, they could not conceive of accepting Christ apart from the approval of the Pharisees.  Therefore, a conflict arose in their minds over the evidence that Christ presented and the response of the Pharisees to that evidence.  They professed a willingness to accept Christ if the Pharisees approved but felt they must reject Him since the Pharisees disapproved.  The Pharisees quickly presented their explanation of the miracle that had so convinced the multitude.  They said, 'It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons' (Matt 12:24)." (Pentecost)

 if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? - "Some in Israel could cast out demons, and Israel deemed them to be God's gifts to the nation.  Even the Pharisees acknowledged this manifestation of God's power and thanked Him for the gift of the exorcists.  Christ's argument was that since the Pharisees recognized the ability to drive out demons as coming from God, they should not charge Him with being demon-possessed when He drove out demons (Matt 12:37).  The implication of Christ's words was that if He cast out demons by Satan's power, He could not be offering the prophesied kingdom of God to them.  'But,' He said, 'if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you' (Matt 12:28).  Since Christ did cast out demons by God's power, it must be concluded that His offer of the kingdom was genuine and He was its bonafide King." (Pentecost)

"The charge made against Him was that He wrought His wonders by complicity with evil; that by Beelzebub, Satan, He cast Satan out.  In His refutation, our Lord attacked and denied their suggestion; and then proceeded to state and defend the truth concerning His method; He affirmed that He wrought by the Spirit, and defended His affirmation.  He revealed in His answer, first, the folly of their suggestion; secondly, the inconsistency thereof; thirdly, the willful rebellion that induced it; fourthly, the blindness which caused it; and, finally, their complicity with Satan as the secret of it.  So that commencing by denying His own complicity with Satan logically, and in such a way that they could not reply, He ended by inferentially charging upon them complicity with Satan." (Morgan)

the strong man - "The strong man is Satan, but the Lord, stronger than Satan, had bound him and has the power to enter his domain and take away his prey.  Who then is He who bound the enemy?  Perhaps His voice rested here.  Perhaps He waited for an answer.  'Thou art Christ the Son of the living God' would have been in order here.  And stronger still He speaks.  'He that is not with me is again me, and he that gathers not with me scatters.'  He demands decision.  Half-heartedness does not satisfy Him and in face of such open-faced accusations and blasphemies would be impossible.  This was a decision to decide." (Gaebelein)

"...before a robber can enter a guarded citadel, the robber must have sufficient power to subdue the guard (Matt 12:29).  The inference was that if Christ can enter Satan's stronghold and deliver people from his control as He had just done, then it is evident that He is stronger than Satan.  Satan could not give Christ a power greater than what he himself possessed." (Pentecost)

blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven - "Technically, according to the scribes, blasphemy involved direct and explicit abuse of the divine name.  Jesus here teaches that it also may be the reviling of God by attributing the Spirit's work to Satan.  The special circumstances involved in this blasphemy cannot be duplicated today; therefore, this sin cannot now be committed.  Jesus exhorted the Pharisees to turn and be justified (Matt 12:33, 37)." (Ryrie)

"These Pharisees had sinned against this Holy Spirit by accusing Christ, that He drove out the demons by Satanic power.  They had blasphemed the Spirit, spoken injuriously about Him, in saying that Beelzebub, the prince of demons, was present with Christ and not the Holy Spirit. This they did maliciously.  And this and nothing else is the sin of which our Lord here speaks.  The sin is to charge the Lord with doing His miracles through Satanic power and not through the Holy Spirit.  We do believer, therefore, that this sin could only be committed as long as our Lord Jesus Christ was in the earth and that it was committed by the Pharisees with their blasphemies.  This is the sin which would not be forgiven neither in this age nor in the coming one." (Gaebelein)

"Christ was warning that generation in Israel that if they rejected the Father's testimony and the Spirit's testimony to His person and His work, there was to be no further evidence that could be given.  Their sins would stand unforgiven and result in temporal judgment on that generation.  That judgment ultimately fell in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed.  This sin, then, was not viewed as the sin of an individual but rather as the sin of the nation, and this sin brought that whole generation under divine judgment." (Pentecost)

Matthew 12:1-14

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath - "It was lawful for persons to pick grain from another's field to satisfy hunger (Deut 23:25) but not to do regular work on the Sabbath (Ex 20:10). The latter was the charge of the Pharisees." (Ryrie)

what David did - See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

the bread of the Presence - "Twelve cakes, made of fine flour, were placed in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle each day on the table that stood opposite the lampstand. The old bread was eaten by the priests. It was this bread that David requested of Ahimelech, the priest, for himself and his men." (Ryrie)

on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless - "Priests who work on the Sabbath were not blamed." (Ryrie)

I desire mercy, and not sacrifice - "Showing mercy is more pleasing to God than external conformity to the law." (Ryrie)

"In truth, the reason why David was blameless in eating the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath-labour of the priests lawful. The Sabbath-Law was not one merely of rest, but of rest for worship. The Service of the Lord was the object in view. The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object of the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of the shewbread, not because there was danger to life from starvation, but because he pleaded that he was in the service of the Lord, and needed this provision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly in the service of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the Temple, for He was great than the Temple. If the Pharisees had believed this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so doing have themselves infringed that higher Law which enjoined mercy, not sacrifice. The Service of God, and the Service of the Temple, by universal consent, superseded the Sabbath-Law ... He had cleansed the Temple a few months ago. Work necessary for the service and worship of God was justifiable. This was the principle to which Jesus appealed and in so doing incidentally made a claim for Himself of superiority to the Temple and therefore to the Sabbath, since the Temple service superseded the Sabbath." (Edersheim)

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” - "A man is present with a withered hand. They desire now to find some new ground of accusation against Him. Their first attempt had failed. He had read their evil thoughts, and by His answer He had shown that He anticipated the questions they now put to Him, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' Awful motive, which stands alongside the question, showing the depths of Satan 'that they might accuse Him.' The question also discloses the fact that they believed in His healing power." (Gaebelein)

Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?" - "Again here is a small matter needing careful attention. He did not say, If a man see a sheep; but if he have one. He said, If your sheep fall into the pit you rescue it, and you rescue it because it is yours.. 'How much then is a man of more value than a sheep?' You own sheep and care for them and rescue them. Now we have come into the new light and glory. Now the Son of Man is claiming not the Sabbath, but the man. Now the Son of Man is not only saying that He is Lord of the Sabbath, but that He is Owner of man. That man belong to Me. I am here to rescue him, and to set him free from the limitation of the evil that is in the world. You know full well, you men that criticize, that you would violate the Sabbath and be guiltless in saving your sheep, because it is yours. Understand, for evermore, that the supreme work of the Sabbath is that of reaching the man and saving him." (Morgan)

the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him - "The Pharisees responded in several ways. First, they were furious with Christ (Luke 6:11). They were infuriated because Christ had publicly humiliated them by His devastating arguments and had shown how untenable their whole tradition was. Second, they began to plot His death (Matt 12:14). They wanted to kill the One who rejected their traditions. Thirds, they entered into an alliance with the Herodians, who were their enemies, and they solicited their support in attempts to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6). They were determined that He must die. The Sabbath controversy, then, marked an important development. The opposition of the Pharisees was no longer veiled but open. They were determined to put Him to death and were soliciting help from other parties in the nation to accomplish their goal." (Pentecost)