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MATTHEW 12
Survey of the chapter
The chapter forms a bridge between the condemnation of the cities of Galilee for their unbelief in chapter 11, and the seven parables of the kingdom in chapter 13. This is a critical stage in the ministry of Christ, for those most likely to receive Him, the Galileans, had rejected Him. Throughout chapters 12 to 16 there are many indications of His decision to turn from the nation as a whole, and prepare for the gospel going out to the Gentiles during the age of the church. Matthew shows the Lord Jesus gradually turning from the nation of Israel, in preparation for His new work of building the church after the Day of Pentecost:
12:1-8
An appeal to an incident when David, despite being the anointed king, was on the run from Saul, 1 Samuel 21:1-6.
12:9-13
A man with a withered hand. King Jereboam had been judged like this for stretching out his hand against a man of God; how much more dangerous is it for the rulers to seek to destroy the Son of God, 1 Kings 13:1-4.
12:14-21
The Pharisees seek to destroy God’s Beloved and Elect One, and He will show judgement to the Gentiles, and in Him shall the Gentiles trust.
12:22-23
The blind and dumb man represents the nation, blind to His glories, and dumb in His praise. The people recognise that He does not hate the blind as David did, 2 Samuel 5:8.
12:24-37
Unable to deny that Christ performed miracles, the Pharisees assert that He did them by the power of Satan. This is sin against the Holy Ghost, for it was by His power that the works were done, and to equate the Holy Spirit with the Devil is blasphemy. This shows how far the nation had gone in its rejection of Christ.
12:38-42
The sign of Jonah the prophet who went to the Gentiles, who repented; the sign of Queen of Sheba who came from the Gentiles, and believed; both are indications of the change in God’s dealings which would take place after the death and resurrection of Christ.
12:43-45
The nation is labelled a wicked generation, influenced by evil spirits in its opposition to Christ.
12:46-50
Those who have the closest natural ties are put after those who have spiritual links with Christ. No claim can be made upon Christ because He is a fellow-Jew.
13:1-52
The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven expounded. The king does not wield a sword, but sow seed. Note the significant move out of the house (of Israel), to the seaside, (the wider world of the Gentiles). In verse 36 there is a return to the house, for after the church age there will be those in Israel who will need to be aware of God’s plans for the end of the age of tribulation. The disciples represent these at this point, just as they do in Matthew 10, where in verse 25 they are told they will have not have gone over the cities of Judah before Christ comes. Clearly not a reference to the disciples personally.
13:53-58
Christ’s claims to be Son of God are rejected in the words, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” Unbelief marks the nation to such an extent that it hinders the works of Christ.
14:1-12
A similar situation to when Herod the Great, (Herod the Tetrarch’s father), slaughtered the innocents. The hostility of the authorities is unchanged. Verses 3-12 refer to an incident two years before, for Matthew is highlighting the fact that attitudes have not altered.
14:13-21
A startling contrast is now presented. Herod, on his birthday (when he could be expected to be in a good mood for once), in his hatred, gives John the Baptist’s head on a dish, whereas Christ in compassion feeds five thousand people with bread.
14:22-36
The disciples alone on the lake, with Christ praying on the mountain, and then coming to them. One of Matthew’s dispensational pictures, telling of believers passing through much trouble, (the storm on the lake), but sustained by the intercession of Christ on high. The disciples are being prepared for the absence of the King, who, nonetheless, as a King-Priest, makes intercession for them on high. This will also have meaning for tribulation saints.
15:1-20
The nation exposed for its hypocrisy, preferring the teachings and traditions of men to the commandments of God.
15:21-28
A Gentile “dog” is blessed. Note that the Lord uses the word for dog that means a little dog, the family pet, rather than the scavengers of the streets. He thus shows His gentleness and compassion, for “A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench…and in his name shall the Gentiles trust”, Matthew 12:20,21.
15:29-39
Healing of multitudes, (note lame and blind mentioned first), on a mountain, the symbol of a kingdom, then the feeding of the four thousand. Matthew is presenting a foretaste of the millenial age before he tells us of the prediction of the church age. So the kingdom is emphasised both before and after the prophecy regarding the church.
16:1-4
The demand for a sign from the Pharisees and Sadducees, both of whom had rejected the testimony of Christ’s miracle ministry. No further sign to be given, except that of His death and resurrection, as pictured in the experience of Jonah. Fair weather symbolised His works of mercy. Foul weather, the judgements coming upon the nation, whether at AD 70 or in the tribulation period. See 1 Thessalonians 2:15,16. Caesarea Phillipi was the scene of much bloodshed when the Romans suppressed the Jewish rebellion as AD 70 approached.
16:5-12
Warning about moral leaven in preparation for church age conditions. The leaven of the Pharisees is the evil of mere outward profession of religion. The leaven of the Sadducees is evil of rationalism, and the doubting of God’s word. Both these things would prove a snare during the age of the church.
Structure of the chapter
| (a) | Verses 1-8 | The passage through the cornfields |
| Liberty not legality | ||
| (b) | Verses 9-13 | The withered hand |
| Mercy not revenge | ||
| (c) | Verses 14-21 | The Upheld Servant |
| Gentleness, not strife | ||
| (d) | Verses 22-30 | The Blind and Dumb Demoniac |
| Â | Â | Acceptance, not hatred |
| (e) | Â Verses 31-37 | Â The Blasphemed Spirit |
| Â | Â | All manner of sin can be forgiven, but attitudes must change |
| (f) | Verses 38-42 | The Prophet and the Queen |
| Â | Â | Mercy, not destruction |
| (g | Verses 43-45 | The state of the nation at the end |
| Â | Â | The result of giving way to evil |
| (h) | Verses 46-50 | The New Generation |
| Â | Â | Spiritual relationship, not natural |
(a) Verses 1-8
The passage through the cornfields
Liberty not legality.
12:1
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn- by “at that time” Matthew is linking back to 11:35, where he writes, “at that time Jesus answered”. Then follows His response to the unbelief of the cities of Galilee. So we may say Matthew is following up this response with a practical example. The Lord had offered rest from both the law of Moses and the laws of the scribes, and now there is an illustration of that liberty in action. The words “lawful”, and “law” occur five times in verses 1-12. Ruth found grace in Boaz’s cornfield, Ruth 2:2, 10, whereas the law of Moses would have banished her as a Moabitess, Deuteronomy 23:3.
If Matthew gives us the time morally, Luke gives it to us chronologically, for he tells us it was “the second sabbath after the first”, Luke 6:1. This is a puzzling statement, but we should remember that at this time of the year the Jews were counting. They had waved a sheaf of first-fruits on the morrow after the sabbath in Passover week, and now were instructed to “count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath…seven sabbaths shall be complete”, Leviticus 23:17. Once they had counted the seventh sabbath they were to offer a new meal offering on the “Feast of Weeks”, or Pentecost as it came to be known, (the word meaning “fifty days”). So Luke is telling us that it is a moment of transition, and this agrees with Matthew’s approach. The Feast of Pentecost is forever associated with the coming of the Spirit to baptise believers into one body, the church, and it is towards that point that the Lord is working.
Both Luke and Mark set this incident in connection with the Lord’s words about the new wine in old bottles, Mark 2:22,23; Luke 5:37-6:1. So in Mark and Luke the old is set aside, and in Matthew the new is offered.
Not only is the time of year indicated to us, but also the day of the week, the sabbath. This was a sensitive day for the Pharisees, and was the subject of much discussion amongst them. So zealous were they for its observance that they had hedged it about by a multitude of petty regulations of their own. We shall soon see how the Lord dealt with these.
No doubt by telling us that the Lord and His disciples were going “through the corn”, we are to understand that they made their way along a pathway that was established as a right-of-way through a man’s cornfield. In the parable of the sower, the farmer walked across his field sowing seed, and some “fell by the wayside”, meaning the path. The disciples are not trampling the corn down, for the Lord would not allow them to harm their neighbour in this way.
And his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat- the law of God was clear, “When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn”, Deuteronomy 23:25. The disciples were therefore well within their rights under the law of Moses.
12:2
But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him- clearly the Pharisees are following His steps, no doubt because they saw in His words about rest a reference to the works of the law. They were alert to find fault in this matter, and they think they have cause for complaint now. In Luke the Pharisees confront the disciples, but Matthew bypasses that to gain the word of authority from Christ directly.
Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day- they draw His attention to the matter as if to suggest He did not know what was happening. Note the decided way they speak of this, affair, as if it were settled that the disciples were working. They do not merely question the action, but state it to be unlawful. It was only by their definition that this was so. According to their perverted reasoning, the plucking was reaping and the rubbing of the ears of corn in their hands, Luke 6:1, was threshing and winnowing!
12:3
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him- the Lord bases His answer on an incident in the life of David. He does not embark on a theological discussion. The event in question is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:1-9. David, the anointed king, was being hunted by Saul, and came, with his followers, to Nob, where the tabernacle was pitched at that time. Being hungry, he asked the priest for bread, and was told the only bread was the shewbread that had been changed that day, (telling us it was the sabbath day, Leviticus 24:5-10). So it was that David, of the tribe of Judah ate bread that was reserved for the priests of the tribe of Levi. It is on this truth that the Lord draws out a principle.
12:4
How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
How he entered into the house of God- this is the first unusual thing, for David normally had no right to enter the tabernacle. But God will have “mercy and not sacrifice”, and the priest shews him mercy.
And did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Note the Lord deliberately uses the Pharisees’ word “lawful”, but whereas they meant “lawful according to our regulations”, He meant “lawful according to the requirements of God’s ceremonial law”. Now this happened with the approval of the priest, to meet a need that was urgent and could not be met any other way, seeing the record says it was the only bread available. There is a principle here that even under the law, the genuine need of a man must be met, even if it is the sabbath day. The Lord Himself will point this out in the next incident, and the Pharisees could do nothing else than agree, for even their regulations allowed it.
David wrote Psalm 34 after he had eaten of the shew-bread, (see title of Psalm 34), and in it he exhorts men to “taste and see that the Lord is good”, Psalm 34:8. When the apostle Peter quoted these words, he wrote, “if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious”, 1 Peter 2:3. So the goodness David knew was the goodness of the grace of God.
12:5
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? To reinforce the lesson, the Lord points out what they may have never realised, that the priests themselves broke the sabbath law four times over in connection with the changing of the shewbread loaves. They baked the loaves, secondly, they removed the previous week’s loaves, thirdly they replenished the table with hot bread, and fourthly, they placed the old loaves in a vessel. So it was that there was in-built into the law of the sabbath the authority for breaking it! And the one who had instituted this law was now being criticised as if He was allowing the sabbath to be broken! By this word, the priests were blameless, David and his men were blameless, and so were the disciples. A strong word is used for “profane” as if to highlight the mildness of the disciples’ action as compared to the priests.
12:6
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
But I say unto you- it is as if He is anticipating the objections that are forming in their minds, hence the “but”.
That in this place is one greater than the temple- because of the greatness of His person, (which they denied), He transforms wherever He is. He makes the ordinary special, and in this instance, turns a corn-field into a temple far more spiritual than the one in Jerusalem. The ears of corn have become shewbread, and the disciples have become priests. All this is because He is to be High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and is not bound by the sabbath-rules of the Levitical order. He is bound even less than David was to the tabernacle order of things, for it is not that He is breaking the sabbath, but showing higher principles in action. He did not break the law of gravity by walking on the waters of Galilee, but showed a stronger law in action, even the power of His own Divine ability.
12:7
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice- even if they did not understand about the cornfield being a temple, they should have noted the language and the emphasis of the prophet in Hosea 6:6. He was not condemning the bringing of sacrifices, but was pointing out that if the choice was between being merciful, and bringing a sacrifice without being merciful, then being merciful was the preferred way, for it was the way of the God of mercy.
Ye would not have condemned the guiltless- if the priests, (who by definition were charged with the duty of upholding the law), were blameless even though they profaned the sabbath, then so were the disciples guiltless also. That being the case, the Pharisees should not have mentally demanded that they bring a sin-offering, but rather shewed them mercy in the circumstances.
12:8
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day- far from being a slave to the law, Christ was free, and so were His disciples. They had rest from the law and from the traditions of the elders. The apostle Paul warned believers, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ”, Colossians 2:16,17. The word “therefore” shows that the apostle is about to apply the truths he has just set out, in particular, that Christ has “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances”. He lists various features of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple system, which were ordinances from God for Israel. The meat would be the flesh of animal sacrifices, some of which the offerer and the priest could eat. The drinks would either be the drink offerings, which were all poured out, but nonetheless were binding on the Israelite to bring, or the prohibition of wine as far as the Nazarites were concerned. The idea is of material things that the Law demanded, but which the apostle will show are out of date. The Colossian heretics were apparently teaching that these things were binding on believers. The apostle warns them not to allow these false teachers to judge or criticise them for not participating in Jewish rituals.
He then speaks of the prescribed days in Israel’s religious calendar by which their religion was regulated. A holy day was a day during the set feasts; the new moon was the starting point for the month, and determined when the feast began; the sabbath days were the weekly ordinance in Israel, in which all unnecessary work ceased, so that the day could be set apart for sacred purposes. There was also a sabbath at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, on the eighth day, Leviticus 23:39.
The apostle classes all these things as shadow, but there cannot be a shadow unless there is an object to cast a shadow when the light is shone upon it. That object is Christ; the Old Testament ordinances were but shadows. The things of which they spoke were “to come”, in those days, but now they are come. We may study them to see how they spoke of Christ, but now He is come, there is no need for them.
The sacrifice of Christ has rendered animal sacrifices obsolete, Hebrews 10:8,9. He brings real joy, not the figurative joy of the drink offering, 1 John 1:4. In Him the festivals of Israel either have or will have been fulfilled, 1 Corinthians 5:7; 15:23; every day may be held holy to the Lord, Romans 14:6; the passing of time, as measured by the moon’s phases, is irrelevant, for the believer is in touch with eternal realities, Hebrews 9:12,15:13:20; and as far as the believer is concerned, true rest has been found in Christ, Matthew 11:29. No legalistic celebration of a day can replace or improve on that.
The fact that He is the body which casts the shadow is testimony to His pre-existence. It is also a testimony to the fact that He has always been the centre of God’s purpose, even in the days of the tabernacle rituals.
The Lordship of Christ over the sabbath day is also shown by His setting of it aside during this present age. The commandment to remember the sabbath day was the only one of the ten commandments that was ceremonial. But Christ has set aside the ceremonial law, and so has set aside the sabbath also. But just as ceremonial laws will be obeyed in the kingdom, as we see from Ezekiel 46, but only as a commemorative thing, so the sabbath day shall be observed. Indeed, this will even be the case with the godly remnant of Israel during the tribulation, Matthew 24:20. In the future, the sabbath will be a constant reminder of God’s work as Creator, (for the seventh day was set apart to remind men that God had worked for six days and then had rested in satisfaction, Genesis 2:1-3), and will also emphasise that the rest for the earth He purposed to bring in through Christ has been achieved, see Hebrews 3:11; 4:4-10.
We should beware of transferring sabbath-concepts over into the first day of the week. The resurrection of Christ on that day signalled a new beginning, and was the start of God’s heavenly work with His people. The sabbath is not relevant in heaven. Of course it is good to “Keep Sunday Special”, but we should keep the rest of the week special also, since to the spiritual believer, every day of the week may be lived to the Lord.
Mark tells us that the Lord also said, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath”, Mark 2:27. Far from being a slave-master, forcing man to comply with its demands, (as the Pharisees had made it), the sabbath is man’s servant, enabling him to have time for God, and to recover from the six days of working, and to start afresh.
(b) Verses 9-13
The withered hand
Mercy not revenge
12:9
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
And when he was departed thence- Luke tells us that the next incident occurred on another sabbath. Perhaps Matthew omits this information so as to preserve the link between the ongoing conflict with the Pharisees, which occupies almost the whole of the chapter. It also preserves the idea that whether in a cornfield or a synagogue, the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath.
He went into their synagogue- both Mark and Luke say “into the synagogue”, indicating the place for teaching. The emphasis with Matthew is that it has become their synagogue, as if the Lord is needing to begin to distance Himself from it. Later on He will call the temple, (which at the beginning He described as His Father’s house), “your house”, as He departed from it, leaving it desolate, Matthew 23:38; 24:1.
12:10
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? that they might accuse him.
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered- Luke, being a doctor by profession, is interested in the detail that it was the man’s right hand. Matthew, with his “behold”, seems surprised the man is there. Does he detect that he has been deliberately placed in the synagogue to try to trap the Lord?
There is another man with a withered hand in scripture. In 1 Kings 13, King Jereboam dared to stand at the altar to burn incense. A man of God spoke a word of judgement against him, and the king put forth his hand, saying, “Lay hold on him”. As he did so, his hand dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
The Pharisees are in a similar position, for they are putting their hand out against the Man of God above all others, and the condition of the man is their condition. They are being taught that whatever their plans are, they are powerless to act except God allow them to do so; their hand is withered and they cannot move it.
And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? Again there is the word “lawful”, and again the question is, “whose law?” They could have answered this from their own sabbath regulations, but they chose not to do so, for that would have undermined their accusation against Him.
That they might accuse him- so the question is not a genuine one, and in fact goes against the laws of evidence, which forbid that a man be forced to incriminate himself. They are trying to build up a case against Him that will be used in court to bring about His death. Strangely, they did not use this against Him at His trial.
The man of God in Jereboam’s day pronounced judgement in this situation; what will the Lord do?
12:11
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among 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?
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you- He appeals to their sense of compassion, if they have any. They were very good at dictating to others, but what would they do?
That shall have one sheep- all is designed to make it as easy as possible for them to give an answer that showed compassion and mercy. If a man has a thousand sheep, he might think one to be dispensable. But if he is a poor peasant with just one sheep, the life of that animal is vital to him, and it is much more pressing that he should save it.
And if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day- so the sheep fell on the sabbath; it was not as if it had been there a while and the man had neglected to rescue it. The man who gathered sticks on the sabbath day was stoned to death for breaking the sabbath, for he had six days in which to gather his firewood, Numbers 15:32-36. To go out on the sabbath and do it was sheer rebellion, and was judged accordingly. After all, he had the example of what to do, for the manna was to be collected in double measure on the day before the sabbath, so he should have gathered his firewood in double measure too.
Will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? The Jewish regulations made allowance for such acts of mercy, so the Pharisees, if they do not allow this, are going against their own rules. To lay hold is a strong verb, (being the word from which the English word “creator” is derived), and contrasts with the man with the withered hand. By their petty regulations, the Pharisees were withering the hand of a man who would show mercy to his animal.
12:12
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
How much then is a man better than a sheep? A man with a withered hand is as helpless as a sheep in a pit. However, a sheep is but a beast, and a man is in the image of God, so that is the measure of how much a man is better than sheep. As Pharisees, they would surely agree with that concept. Therefore, by the application of simple logic, if a sheep should be rescued, how much more a man.
Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days- so without recourse to the human sabbath regulations, but by the simple fact that a man is superior to a sheep, the Lord proves His point, and justifies what He is about to do. From Luke’s account we know that these men would be “filled with madness” afterwards, so the Lord, seeing this was so, made His argument before He healed the man. His hour had not yet come, and the rage of the people must be controlled.
12:13
Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand- usually it was the Lord who put forth His hand to heal, but here there is emphasis on the man doing it. From Luke’s account we know that the Lord commanded the man to “Rise up, and stand forth in the midst”, so all could see what was happening.
This presents us with a contrast to King Jereboam, for his hand was withered in judgement as he stretched it out to command that the man of God be arrested. Here the Lord in grace shows that His reaction is the reverse. If the Pharisees made the application, they would see that His attitude to them was not their attitude to Him, and that He was prepared to act in mercy towards those who were anxious to lay hold of Him.
And he stretched it forth- instead a hand stretched forth to arrest, there is a hand stretched forth to be healed. The man acts in faith, and obeys the command.
And it was restored whole, like as the other- in physical terms, the man now has strength to “lay hold on” his sheep if it falls into a pit, and “lift it out”. But in spiritual terms, the man is now able to work with two strong hands, and the Pharisees’ withering regulations will not hinder him. He can rest on the sabbath after a useful working week, and present to God his offering, like the man of Deuteronomy 26 who put his first-fruits in a basket and brought it to the priest.
(c) Verses 14-21
The Upheld Servant
Gentleness, not strife
12:14
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him- they have nothing to say in response to His questions and logic, and cannot deny that the man was healed. They do not see the link with King Jereboam, or if they do, ignore the contrast between what happened to him and what the Lord was prepared to do for them. They think they have power against Him, but their hand is withered when they try to put it forth against the supreme Man of God.
How they might destroy him- they do not hold a council to assess what has happened, for their mind is made up that He must be got rid of, for they are still convinced He is a sabbath-breaker, so insistent are they on the rightness of their rules.
12:15
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence- He will not aggravate the situation, and withdraws so that the opposition is not increased. He knew His hour was not yet come. He is a different sort of King, who does not seek revenge on His enemies.
And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all- the miracles that are recorded are those which bear an easily understood spiritual lesson. Blindness, for example, illustrates the spiritual blindness of men which the Lord is able to remedy. Here, however, we are reminded that no disease or sickness baffled the Lord, for, as He said in Old Testament times, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”, Jeremiah 32:27.. This is a foretaste of kingdom times, when the curse on creation will be removed, and sickness and death will only come as a result of some great sin.
12:16
And charged them that they should not make him known:
And charged them that they should not make him known- His command was not to advertise Him, for He “made Himself of no reputation”. This is a different sort of King, that does not actively seek prestige and standing, but takes the humble and lowly place. He has no wish to create and encourage a “Messiah-movement”, for that would only raise false expectations. He had come to die, not to reign.
12:17
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying- the Jews were so taken up with the idea that their Messiah would be a Warrior-King, that they ignored or explained away the other prophetic passages which assured them that He would come in meekness and humility, not asserting Himself.
The formula Matthew uses here is the same as in 8:17, where the word “opus” is used, meaning “so that it might be”, and the fulfilment is not complete, but an event which was within the scope and intention of the prophecy. The self-humbling of the Lord Jesus would continue until the work of the cross was over, and then the Father would glorify Him.
It might be best at this point to look at the passage Matthew is about to quote, and then we shall be able to note the differences that he introduces as he writes by the Spirit, the same Spirit that moved Isaiah to prophesy.
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Isaiah 42:1-4 Introduction to the passage “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend…and said unto thee, “thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away”, 41:8,9. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he”, 43:10. “Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant: and Israel, whom I have chosen…fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen”, 44:1,2. “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect”, 45:4. But then there is a development, for God speaks to the Messiah in the same sort of terms that He used of the nation: “And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified…to bring Jacob again to him…to raise up the tribes of Jacob”, 49:3,5,6. There is a distinction made, therefore, between this servant, and Israel. Clearly, the nation of Israel has failed in its service, so God has introduced His special servant, who will do what the nation could not do. But He will do it in relation to the nation, hence He is given the name of Israel in 49:3. Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant- God is exhorting us to grasp the truth as to the servant-hood of the Lord Jesus, Israel’s Messiah. That is, as far as it is possible to do so, given that it touches upon the mystery of His person. How can one who is truly God also be a servant? We are given help in this matter by Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He wrote, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”, Philippians 2:4-11. The word “form” may be defined as “reality in manifestation”. The word “fashion”, on the other hand, could be thought of as “the display of varying characteristics.” Form is static, whereas fashion is variable. A tree always has the form or real existence as a tree, but it changes its fashion with the seasons. In the expression “Who being in the form of God”, the word “being” is a separate word, and therefore is not part of a verb “to be in the form of”. It has a force of its own, meaning subsisting, not simply existing. It is the present participle of the verb huparcho, to exist, which involves a pre-existent state, and a continuance of that state. God is a spirit, John 4:24, and as such has no shape, therefore form relates to spiritual features. Christ manifests God because He is God. What He really is as to nature and essence, is manifest by the form He has. The Son of God in eternity thought it not robbery to be equal with God. His claim to equality with God did not rob God of any of His glory, for He is in fact equal with God. Christ was prepared to forego the glory and reputation that being in the form of God involved, and to come into a situation, and take a form, which involved subjection and obedience as a servant. This is why He asked His Father to glorify Him “with the glory I had with thee before the world was”, John 17:5. That glory was undisputed glory, whereas on earth men disputed His claims. He has His glory in that way now, for all in heaven recognise Him, just as the Father and the Spirit recognised Him in eternity before the world was. We may say three things about Him as He was in the world: 1. He varied the display of His glory, so that it shone forth in such a way as could be understood by those on earth whose minds were enlightened. See, for example, John 1:14, 2:11, 11:4. 2. He volunteered to not use His Divine attributes at times. For example, God is omni-present, but the Lord says to the disciples “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there” John 11:15. God is omnipotent, yet the Lord was wearied with His journey, John 4:6. God is omniscient, but the Lord indicates He does not know the time of His return, Mark 13:32. The fact that He has deliberately put Himself into a place where He does not know is a testimony to His Deity. Only God can will to not know something. We may say we do not wish to know a matter, but we cannot stop it being disclosed to us. 3. He verily became man, yet at the same time He remained what He ever had been. The Divine nature and His nature as a man were brought together in one Person. He never said “We” as if He were two persons. The Godhead is three Persons, and they say “We” at times. (“Person” may be defined as “centre of consciousness”). Because the Lord Jesus is God and man, then there are bound to be things about Him which seem to be contradictory to natural reason. But therein lies the danger- thinking of Him according to natural reason, rather than according to divine revelation. Even as believers we are unable to fully understand, for “no man knoweth the Son, but the Father”, Matthew 11:27. Angels are servants, but He passes them by, and is made in the likeness of men, who are a little lower than the angels in the ranks of created things, but the highest form of earthly intelligent life. Paul had nine words at his disposal to use as the word servant. He chose the next to lowest word, which means a bondslave. The lowest word means hireling, and would not be appropriate for the Lord Jesus, as John 10:11-13 shows. Being a servant involves subjection, so we read that “the head of Christ is God”, 1 Corinthians 11:3. It obviously involves active service, and at the end of His earthly ministry the Lord can say to His Father, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do”, John 17:4. It also involves submission to the will of another, so in Gethsemane the Lord says “not what I will, but what thou wilt”, Mark 14:36. A bondslave expected neither reputation, respect nor reward. But God has seen to it that these things will be His. He has been given reputation, “a name, which is above every name”; respect, for “every knee should bow”; and reward, “God hath highly exalted Him”. Because He took upon Himself the form of a servant, He is now as really a servant as He is God. Servant-hood involves an attitude of mind, a willingness to submit to the will of another. We hear Him say, “Lo I come to do thy will, O God”, Hebrews 10:9. And again, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”, John 6:38. And He re-affirms this in Gethsemane, when the greatest pressure to go His own way was upon Him, “Not my will, but thine be done”. He could sum up His whole stay upon the earth in the words, “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”, Mark 10:45. An ox served its master during its life, but might one day be offered for a sacrifice on the altar. So Christ served in life and death. Believers should remember that His life of service is our model. He said to His disciples, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you”, John 13:15. And the apostle Paul exhorted his readers to “By love serve one another”, Galatians 5:13. This demands of us an attitude of mind too, so we need to heed the word, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 2:5. If He, the Lofty One, was prepared to take the lowest place, should we not follow His example? In whom my soul delighteth- this expression was echoed at the baptism of Christ, when the word came from the Father, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, Mark 1:11. Clearly He deserves to be known as God’s elect if He is well-pleasing to the Father. This shows how ignorant men were when they despised and rejected Him. We should delight in Him too, or as the apostle wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”, Philippians 4:4. I have put my Spirit upon him- the use of the past tense shows that God is speaking in anticipation of the presence of His Son on the earth. Again, this is a reference to His baptism. So if “soul delighteth” is the word of the Father, “put my Spirit upon him” involves the coming of the Spirit at that time. So the three persons of the Godhead are involved in making publicly known that Jesus Christ has the approval of heaven. The Father does it by the sound of His voice, and the Spirit by sight, for He came as a dove. Peter said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good”, Acts 10:38. He will serve God in a way that harmonises with the Spirit, and will be energised by the Spirit. His ministry may be summed up in what He did, and what He said, see John 15:22-24, and Acts 1:1. His deeds were done by the Spirit, for He said, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”, Matthew 12:28. And His words were by the Spirit too, for Luke writes, “He though the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen”, Acts 1:2. Isaiah 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up- the ministry of this servant will consist of words and deeds, but the deeds will be explanations of His deeds. He will not draw attention to Himself, not raise His voice in argument or contention. Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street- He always taught the people in circumstances where careful thought could be given to His words. This meant that He was often found preaching in the synagogue and in the temple courts, the accepted places in Israel for doctrine to be made known. When the crowds followed Him, He taught them in the wilderness, or by the seaside. But it was not as a rabble-rouser that He spoke to the people. He had come to calmly and with dignity state the truth of God. He instructed His own to not cast pearls before swine, so they, and He, invariably preached to interested persons. The apostle Paul would make his way to the synagogue when he first entered a city. He would preach there if invited, and if they refused his testimony he would withdraw. This happened at Corinth, for the Jews opposed him, so he left the synagogue and went to the house of Justus, who lived next door. So Paul did not make a fuss, imposing himself on those who rejected his preaching. Nor did he stand outside the synagogue to harangue those who went in and out. He simply made sure that the truth was conveniently available to those in whose hearts the Spirit was working, Acts 18:6,7. That this was of God was seen in that the chief ruler of the synagogue subsequently believed, and many Corinthians too, verse 8. The same sort of thing happened at Ephesus, for the Jews in the synagogue became hardened to the gospel, so Paul left them, and reasoned daily in the school of a man named Tyrannus, Acts 19:9. Again we see this to have been effective, for he continued for two years in this, and as a result “all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”, verse 10. By Asia is meant the province of Asia, not the continent of Asia as we know it now. Even so, it was a large area, and Paul’s method was shown to be of God, and therefore effective. Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break- the gentleness that marked the Lord Jesus as He made known the truth publicly was also in evidence as He applied the truth to the circumstances of men and women on a personal level. We could think of His way with the woman of Samaria, a bruised reed indeed, for her life was a ruin. Or the widow of Nain, reeling from the loss of her son. Or Mary and Martha, distraught by the death of their brother. And examples could be multiplied of bruised souls who were healed. He did not add to their bruising by harsh words, but gently remedied their distress, whatever it was. And so He is still. And so should we be also. Isaiah 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged- we see here one of the reasons why He was so effective with those who were bruised or burning low. It was that He was so different. There was no point of weakness with Christ. He was like His inner robe, without seam, so no part was less strong than the other. He had no sin-nature to hamper Him, and His resolve was always to do the will of God, which would admit of no shortcomings. Because He was fully aware of what the outcome of everything would be, He was never discouraged as His people often are. He “knew all men”, He knew what awaited Him at Calvary, He “knew who should betray Him”. Sometimes we are too optimistic, at other times too pessimistic, but He was always realistic. |
We return now to Matthew 12, and Matthew’s use of Isaiah’s first Servant Song, found in Isaiah 42. A comparison of the two passages will show that Matthew does not quote Isaiah word for word. Is this because he is quoting from memory, and makes mistakes? Or is he quoting from some faulty manuscript? Or from a supposed translation from the Hebrew to the Greek called the Septuagint? None of these is the answer, for Matthew is writing by the power of the Spirit of God, and He, a Divine person, cannot err. Nor does He need the translations of men to help Him interpret the prophets.
There was such a practice as targumming in Israel, in which a qualified man might read the scriptures in the synagogue, and then deliver a commentary on what he had read. For that purpose he was allowed to paraphrase the passage in order to bring out some particular meaning. This is what Matthew is doing, although he has the advantage over the rabbis in that he does so by the aid of the Spirit of God.
12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen- as noticed in connection with Isaiah 42, the nation of Israel was God’s chosen nation, but they had failed to serve Him, just as the leaders of the nation were failing to respond to Christ. At that point God makes known that His choice is with Christ, and not His failing nation. His past choice, whether thought of as in eternity or in time, still stands.
My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased- instead of “elect”, Matthew writes “beloved”, and in so doing gives us the reason for God’s choice of Him, and echoes the words from heaven at His baptism, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, 3:17.
I will put my Spirit upon Him- again the reminder of the coming of the Spirit at Christ’s baptism. Isaiah speaks in the past, as if the action is already over, such is its certainty. Perhaps Matthew has the eternal counsels in view, and the Divine intention from all eternity to anoint Him as Messiah, hence “I will”. After all, “beloved” and “well-pleased” are descriptions that could be used of God’s Son in eternity.
And he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles- the first of two references to the Gentiles, showing the way in which the purpose of God is tending in these transitional chapters 11 to 16, from exclusive dealings with Israel, to the formation of the church, which is called out from the Gentiles, in the main.
12:19
He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
He shall not strive, nor cry- because He is confident of His Father’s approval, He does not need to strain to gain the approval of men. This phrase is the main reason why Matthew quotes Isaiah’s words, for they tell of a Messiah who, far from advertising Himself, makes Himself of no reputation. He “withdrew himself”, and also “charged them that they should not make him known”, verses 15,16. Matthew is assuring us that, far from retreating from the opposition, the Lord is using it as an opportunity to fulfil scripture, and also to bring out what sort of Messiah He is.
Neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets- He was not a rabble-rouser, inciting the people to rise up and rebel. The scripture says that “the words of wise men are heard in quiet more than him that ruleth among fools”, Ecclesiastes 9:17. He had no intention of gathering fools around Himself.
12:20
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench- His will be no ruthless rule of an oppressor, but He will have consideration for the poor and needy. This was clearly shown in His ministry, as before noted. This is in marked contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees, who were harsh in their dealings with men.
Till he send forth judgment unto victory- the rulers of this world would say that to be gentle is to be soft, but it is otherwise. He will maintain the truth until it eventually succeeds, and triumphs over the hearts of believing men. Note that Matthew substitutes victory for Isaiah’s word “truth”. He is convinced truth shall prevail.
12:21
And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
And in his name shall the Gentiles trust- here is the outcome of it all, and the lowly path of the Messiah will triumph in that even Gentiles will be brought to faith in Him, and to rely on Him altogether.
(d) Verses 22-30
The Blind and Dumb Demoniac
Acceptance, not hatred
12:22
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil- we have noticed that the whole chapter is taken up with the confrontation between Christ and the Pharisees, and now Matthew is going to give us insight into what lay behind their antagonism. Verses 22 to 45 help us to understand that the powers of evil were at work, but that Christ is more than a match for them. This is not a question of a man being planted in the synagogue to try to provoke the Lord, as with the man of verses 10-13, but those of kindly intent bringing the man to Christ for help. The man is possessed, in the grip of the devil, and he becomes a test-case to show the power of the King.
Blind, and dumb- the man is not only possessed but is physically affected. Christ’s kingdom shall not only be free of the power of the enemy, for Satan shall be chained in the bottomless pit for its duration, Revelation 20:1-3, but creation shall be freed from the bondage of corruption as well, Romans 8:21,22. There is a foretaste of that double effect here.
There is another layer of meaning here, surely, for Matthew is giving us an illustration of what the nation is like at this critical point in time. The Pharisees claimed insight even into what power the Lord used to cast out the demon, but they were blind to His glories. They were very vocal in their condemnation of Him, but they were dumb in His praise. The reason for these things being that they were being influenced by the Devil himself. Only Christ can remedy this situation nationally, Matthew is telling us.
And he healed him- there is no mention of the casting out of the devil; the healing of the man of his blindness and dumbness was the sign that it had happened.
Insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw- if the healing was the proof the devil was gone, the speaking and seeing was the proof the handicaps were gone. Towards the end of the chapter the Lord will liken that generation to a house in which unclean spirits dwell, verses 43-45, so there is a clear link between this man and the nation he illustrates.
In a day to come the nation of Israel will be delivered from the power of the enemy, and will then be free to praise their Messiah as they ought, and to speak of Him as they should. There must be significance in the reversal of the words, for it is “blind…dumb”, and “blind…dumb”, then “spake…saw”.
12:23
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? As we have noted before, David hated the blind, being of no use to him for fighting, yet here was one, David’s son and Lord, who clearly had compassion where David showed contempt. The Lord sees in this man a potential soldier in His army, for His battles are fought with words, and this man is no longer dumb, and it is fought by those who have spiritual insight, and this man is no longer blind.
12:24
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
But when the Pharisees heard it- they do not seem to have been present when the man was healed. In a day to come, the nation will have to realise that their Messiah, when He came to them long before, had already showed His genuineness, but they had turned away, for the prophet said, “we hid as it were our faces from him”, Isaiah 53:3.
They said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils- they claim to see, and to speak. They are so bold as to suggest that they know by what power He is acting. They say that the only way this man can be said to cast out devils, is by the power of Satan; they are so filled with unbelief that they do not entertain the idea that it is by the Spirit of God.
12:25
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
And Jesus knew their thoughts- Isaiah had foretold that the Messiah, “shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of the ears”, Isaiah 61:3. Rather, He will have Divine insight, and not need the testimony of others to decide matters. The Pharisees are confronted here with the one who has Divine knowledge of the hearts of men, for “He needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man”, John 2:25.
And said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation- Solomon went over to idols, behind which were devil-forces. As a result, his kingdom was divided upon his death. This will not happen to the True Solomon, for His kingdom “shall never be destroyed”, Daniel 2:44. This is because it will not allow any evil to prevail. Satan’s kingdom, however, is destined to fall, and the casting out of the devil in this chapter is token of that.
And every city or house divided against itself shall not stand- other kings of David’s house sinned in the same way, so that the tabernacle of David is fallen, Amos 9:11.
12:26
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself- if it were the case that He cast out one of Satan’s agents by the power of Satan, then Satan is opposing himself.
How shall then his kingdom stand? If the Pharisees were right, then the casting out of the demon was a sign that Satan’s kingdom will fall. There is a dilemma for them here. If Christ casts out devils by the Spirit of God, then Satan’s kingdom will fall. If He casts out devils by the power of Satan, his kingdom will still fall! How can it be otherwise?
12:27
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? By “your children” the Lord means the Pharisees’ disciples, those whom they had made “two-fold more the child of hell” than themselves, Matthew 23:15. When Jewish exorcists decided to try to cast out a spirit by the name of Jesus, they found that, far from them having power over the spirit, it had power over them, and the man in whom the spirit dwelt attacked them to their hurt, Acts 19:13-20. This is a clear indication, not only that they had no right to use the name of Jesus, but that Satan was divided against himself, for the spirit attacked the ones who were supposed to be expelling it.
Therefore they shall be your judges- they could test the matter by answering His question, and they would find that their children decided the matter by their actions. If they rejected His word on the matter, they still could not escape the logic of His argument.
12:28
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you- they are being warned here that if it is the case that He works by the Spirit of God, then that is the sure sign that the power of the Kingdom of God is present, and also indicates that He is able to bring that kingdom into its manifest form in a day to come. They must decide quickly which side they are on, lest they be found to be His enemies.
12:29
Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? How is it possible to bind a strong man unless there is superior power to the strong man? If He casts out devils by Satan, He only has Satan’s power. If by the Spirit of God, then He has God’s power. By casting out devils the Lord was showing He was stronger, for Satan was not able to prevent the devil departing. As the apostle John wrote, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”, 1 John 3:8. So “enter into a strong man’s house” relates to the coming of the Son of God into the sphere of influence of the prince of this world. The delivering of those possessed with evil spirits showed that the strong man, Satan, was effectively bound and powerless in the matter.
And then he will spoil his house- having entered into the strong man’s house, the centre of his power, (the world), and having bound the strong man, (casting out devils to show superior power), the Lord now proceeds to spoil the house itself; that is, to dismantle the whole world-system that Satan had built up since the fall of man, in which he had exerted his power and influence. This He did at the cross, when He “spoiled principalities and powers”, Colossians 2:15; when He destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”, Hebrews 2:14; and when He ensured that the prince of this world shall be cast out, in God’s good time, John 12:31.
12:30
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
He that is not with me is against me- having set out in stark terms the plan of God to utterly destroy Satan’s system, the Lord confronts the Pharisees with a choice. Either change sides, and be “with Me”, believing in Him and encouraging the people to do so also, or be “against Me”, with the consequence that they will fall with the fall of Satan.
And he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad- those who oppose, not only belief in His person, but the work He does, show themselves to be working against Him. There is no middle ground, for gathering and scattering are direct opposites.
(e) Verses 31-37
The Blasphemed Spirit
All manner of sin can be forgiven, but attitudes must change
12:31
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men- on the basis of the foregoing statements, certain serious things may be said. First of all, there is the assurance of the free availability of forgiveness for all men. This is the underlying principle upon which God is acting towards men. How typical of Christ to make this clear before He speaks of those who will not be forgiven. God delights to forgive, and judgement is His strange work.
But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men- by saying “the blasphemy”, the Lord is pin-pointing one particular sort of blasphemy. After all, He has just said that “all manner…of blasphemy shall be forgiven”; is He going against that statement now? That cannot be. He must be high-lighting one particular sort of blasphemy that, whilst persisted in, cannot be forgiven, or else the first statement of the verse is contradicted. In the context, it is clear that “the blasphemy” of which He speaks is to attribute the work of the Spirit of God to Satan. This is what the Pharisees had done in verse 24, when, instead of acknowledging that the devil had been cast out by the power of the Spirit of God, they said it was done by the power of Satan.
We should remember that the Messiah is the one anointed of God by means of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus Christ is the true Messiah, we should expect Him to be especially sensitive to any affront against the Holy Spirit. He shows this sensitivity here, and thereby shows His genuineness.
12:32
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him- it is as if this defines what is meant by blasphemy in the first part of verse 31. Such is the fulness of the grace of Christ, that He is prepared to forgive the Pharisees if they repent of their wicked words against Him.
But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him- the work of the Spirit of God is indispensable in the matter of salvation and forgiveness. Man is dead in trespasses and sins, and has no ability of himself to seek the Lord. The Spirit of God graciously deals with men, giving them opportunities to hear the truth, so that they are constrained to turn to the Saviour. If a man persists in speaking against the Spirit of God in the way thought of here, then he puts himself out of the range of the Spirit’s work, and forgiveness will never be his.
Neither in this world, neither in the world to come- the word for “world” here is that one which emphasises that earth is in the realm of time. The Jews divided the whole of time into two broad periods, namely, “the age before the Messiah” and “the age of the Messiah”. So by saying “this world” and “the world to come”, the Lord is referring to the whole of time as the Jews of the day understood it. The Old Testament era was seen as preparation for the Kingdom-age of the Messiah, the world, or age, to come. Through the apostle Paul we learn that it was God’s purpose to introduce another age, the one in which we are living. He explains this in Ephesians 3. This was a mystery in Old Testament times, but is now revealed. The world to come is not eternity, for there is no forgiveness in eternity anyway for those who die unrepentant.
12:33
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good- by “make” is meant “think of in your mind”, “classify”. Reckon a tree to be of a beneficial nature, and then you will think of its fruit as beneficial too. The tree is a metaphor in general terms for a person, and in particular for Christ. If the fruit He produces is the deliverance of a man from devil-possession, a good work, then the nature that enables that to happen must be good also. Likewise, those who believe in Him have a nature that is in harmony with the Spirit of God, and what they produce by way of works and words will be spiritual too.
Or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt- those who ascribe His work to Satanic power are corrupt, for that viewpoint is corrupt too, suggesting that He has an evil nature.
For the tree is known by his fruit- this is an inescapable fact of nature, and is also an infallible test for men too. The Lord had already said, “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Matthew 7:16. By their attitude and criticisms, the Pharisees were showing their true nature.
12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? Having exhorted us to either make the tree good or evil, the Lord does this Himself, and exposes the Pharisees for what they are, displaying the features of the Old Serpent, the Devil himself. Because of this, they are evil in nature, and therefore speak evil. Nor have they the power to do otherwise. The words of the Old Testament, quoted by the apostle Paul are relevant here: “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”, Romans 3:13,14.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh- the accumulated spite and hatred in their hearts spills over, and issues forth in their evil words.
12:35
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things- a truly good man, (one who is right with God), will value good and noble things, and will delight to bring them forth for the enjoyment of others of like mind.
And an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things- the reverse is the case. Those who are allied to the Evil One will harbour evil things, and not hesitate to spread them abroad with evil and malicious words. The Pharisees are constantly being challenged to decide which category they come into.
12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
But I say unto you- the Lord knows the hearts of these men, and counters their opposition to His words. He will not allow them to disagree, even silently.
That every idle word that men shall speak- the word “idle” is used mostly in the New Testament of those who loiter about doing nothing, for example the men in the marketplace in the parable, 20:3,6. An idle word is one which does not profit, being pointless. Such were the words of the Pharisees.
They shall give account thereof in the day of judgement- His enemies will one day stand before Him, and they will be called to account for everything they have said and done. How solemn to remember that it is the judge Himself who is speaking.
12:37
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified- justification in the primary sense is by faith, being that act whereby God reckons a repentant sinner to be right in His sight on the basis of the work of Christ. But in the secondary sense it means to be vindicated. In other words, when the words of men shall come up for judgement, (at whatever time this is, depending on whether they are saved or unsaved), those whose words were the fruit of a righteous nature, (a “good tree”), will be seen to support their claim to be believers. This shows what a good indicator words are.
And by thy words thou shalt be condemned- the reverse is true also. Words that are the product of an evil nature shall meet God’s disapproval, and will mean that that the one who spoke them shall be condemned in judgement.
(f) Verses 38-45
The Prophet and the Queen
Mercy, not destruction
12:38
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered- this is the response of some of the rulers to the strong statements the Lord has just made. Others of them had perhaps gone away angry and condemned, but these seek to pretend that they are not the evil men the Lord has described.
Saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee- they make out that they are earnestly seeking the truth from Him, for they call Him Master, or Teacher. By sign they mean a miracle; yet they had seen many miracles, and had misrepresented them as the work of the Devil. Why would they believe now, if they did not believe then?
12:39
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
But he answered and said unto them- the “but” shows us that He is not taken in by this apparent show of interest. The time is past for displays of power. They have already been done in abundance, and like Bethsaida, Chorazin and Capernaum, the rulers have neither repented or believed.
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign- note the use of the word generation in verses 41,42,45, and here. He has already labelled them as a “generation of vipers”, verse 34, and continues with the thought. They are the product of the evil working of Satan, and what God spoke of, when speaking to the serpent, as “thy seed”, Genesis 3:15. They have listened to the voice of the Old Serpent, Revelation 12:9, and rejected the voice of the Seed of the Woman, Christ Himself. They thought themselves to be of the generation of the righteous in view of descent from Abraham, but they must learn that they are “of their father the devil”, John 8:44.
This explains why they are an evil generation; but why are they called adulterous? In the Old Testament the prophets often used adultery as a metaphor for the behaviour of the nation when it went into idolatry, for it represented unfaithfulness to the God who had made the nation His wife. But these are not idolaters in that sense. But there were two aspects to idolatry, the rejection of the true God, and the consequent reverence for false gods. When God gave Israel His commandments, He made it clear that they were neither to make idols or bow down to them. The reason being that He was a Jealous God, Exodus 20:3-5. He is jealous of His own glory, and that of His Son, who is described as “the image of the invisible God”, Colossians 1:15. By image in that context is meant the Son of God as the one who manifests God fully. God is jealous of the honour of His Son, and if, when He was here, the nation that was most fitted to appreciate Him did not do so, but largely rejected Him, does that not merit the charge of turning from God, and therefore may justly be called adulterous?
And there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas- now Jonas, or Jonah, was sent to the Gentiles, who repented at his word. This will be repeated, but this time instead of a man figuratively raised from the dead being sent, it will be Christ actually raised from the dead. This fits in with the general trend in these chapters, where Matthew is showing that God is turning from the nation, and is about to reach out to the Gentiles.
Sadly, the attitude of the nation after this had happened was the same as the attitude of Jonah, who was angry that God spared the Gentile Ninevites. So too, the Jews bitterly opposed the spread of the gospel amongst the Gentiles.
12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly- notice that the Lord endorses the historical record of the book of Jonah. The fact that He used it as a metaphor of His own experience of death, burial, and resurrection shows that it is not a metaphor to start with.
There are those who wish to find fault with the word “whale”, and say that it conflicts with the account in the book of Jonah which tells of a great fish. The fact is that great whales were the first living creatures that God made, Genesis 1:21, (which in itself is significant), and when the living creatures are described they are classed as either fish of the sea, or fowls of the air, or living things that move upon the earth, 1:28. So whales are fishes, according to their Creator. The Hebrew word for fish is “dag”, (the origin of the word Dagon, the fish-god. Nina, the city-goddess of Nineveh, was worshipped as a fish). The word “dag” means “a sea creature that moves by vibrating its tail”. By that definition, a whale is a fish, for it moves in that way, vibrating its tail up and down, whilst other fishes vibrate their tails side to side. The word “whale” means “a marine monster”, and comes from a word which means elongated, which describes whales perfectly.
There were three stages to Jonah’s experience. First, he was cast into the stormy sea, as described in Jonah chapter 1. This corresponds to the work of Christ on the cross, when He endured the storm of God’s wrath against our sins. Jonah knew God’s anger because of his own sin, in stark contrast to Christ who was sinless.
Then Jonah, in his second chapter, describes, from the belly of the whale, what happened when he was in the water. Then at the end of the chapter he is cast out on dry land after three days and nights. So when he eventually went to Nineveh, (where, as we have noted, they worshipped the fish-god), he went as a dead-buried-resurrected man, in figure.
So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth- nowadays we would immediately think that three days of 12 hours each and three nights of 12 hours each is in view, making 72 hours. But we read that Esther told the Jews, “fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night and day”, Esther 4:16. They did this, and “it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house”, 5:1. So to a Jew three days and three nights ended on the third day. This is contrary to our modern way of reckoning, but it is how things were in Bible times, and we should not seek to impose our thinking on the situation. So, for instance, Rehoboam told Jeroboam to “Depart yet for three days, then come again to me”, 1 Kings 12:5. Then we read, “So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day”, verse 12. And lest we think they came back a day early, the narrative goes on, “as the king appointed, saying, ‘Come to me again the third day'”.
The other question is regarding the meaning of “in the heart of the earth”. Does this refer to the Lord’s body being in the tomb, or the Lord’s soul being in hades? That Christ’s soul went to hades seems certain from Peter’s use of Psalm 16 on the Day of Pentecost. Peter’s words may be summed up as follows. “David’s tomb is occupied; David’s throne is unoccupied; Christ’s tomb is unoccupied; God’s throne is occupied”, Acts 2:29-34. If Christ is to occupy David’s throne on earth, He must first of all rise from the dead to die no more, for His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and must not be interrupted by death.
David’s sepulchre was with them to that day, (that is, it was with them with David inside it), so his flesh did see corruption, and his soul did stay in hades. Not so the Messiah’s flesh and soul. He had no corruption within, but God saw to it that no external corruption touched Him, for He was laid in a new and unused tomb. A tomb, moreover, that was protected by a sealed stone, which barred any unclean person or animal from intruding. In addition, because He rose again so soon, there was no time for Joseph of Arimathea to die, and be deposited in the sepulchre.
Just as His flesh was preserved from corruption, so His soul was not left in hades. Peter used Psalm 16 not to show that something was prevented from happening, as if the psalm said “Thou wilt not abandon my soul to hades”, but rather, to show that something had indeed happened, namely that Christ’s soul had returned from hades and He was risen from the dead. It would not be a proof of Christ’s resurrection to say that His soul was not abandoned to hades; indeed, some might use that to try to say that Christ did not die at all.
Perhaps the reticence of some to accept these things is based on a false notion of hell, or hades. That place should not be confused with gehenna, or the Lake of Fire. The Greek word hades is the equivalent of the Hebrew word sheol, as the quotation of Psalm 16 by Peter in Acts 2:27 shows. There is no suggestion in the Old Testament that sheol was a place of suffering for believers. In fact, for Lazarus the beggar it was a place of comfort, Luke 16:25.
It is sometimes objected that the spirit and the soul are inseparable, and therefore where Christ’s spirit went His soul went too. And since we know His spirit returned to the Father, then His soul must have done so also. However, Ecclesiastes 12:7 is clear that when a man dies “Then shall the dust return to the dust as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it”. So the spirits of all men go back to God, awaiting the resurrection day when they shall be reunited with their bodies, yet the souls of men go to hades. They are separable then. If not, then no souls at all go to hades, for all spirits go back to God.
Those who understand Ephesians 4:9, (“Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?”), to mean “lower parts, even the earth”, must show how that is relevant to the subject in hand in Ephesians 4, which is the complete triumph of Christ. The expression “that he might fill all things” seems conclusive that every part of God’s universe must be under Christ’s control. His influence pervades every sphere, and this not only because of His Deity, (for Psalm 139 makes clear that no place in creation is out of reach of God, even sheol, for the psalmist said, “If I make my bed in hell, thou art there”, verse 8), but now also because of His manhood, and the fact that He has passed through death, been raised, and has ascended to heaven. The range of thought in both chapter 1:20-21, and 2:4-7, is between Christ in death, and Christ in heaven, not between Christ on earth and then in heaven.
The reason why Christ must go everywhere is so that He might “fill all things”, Ephesians 4:9. Christ fills all things in the sense that He does not allow any evil force to invade His domain. The enemy is completely vanquished. Solomon built the temple when there was no adversary (same word as Satan) occurrent, 1 Kings 5:4. “Fill all things” seems to imply that every sphere is under the influence of Christ, and His soul went to hades temporarily to establish this.
So, to return to our chapter in Matthew, the Pharisees are not going to be given a sign personally, but nationally, for it is to the evil and adulterous generation that the sign will be given. And it will only be a sign to faith, for He will not seen by men after His crucifixion. This is a form of judgement on the nation, for they refused to believe when they could see Him. Only those who believe the testimony of those who did see Him after His resurrection gain the blessing that His death, burial and resurrection experience secures. The miracles of the Book of Acts are to endorse the testimony of the apostles to the resurrection of Christ.
12:41
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it- again, the King shows that He is aware of what shall happen at the great white throne. Being the judge at that time, He knows already what will take place. This must have been very troubling to the Pharisees. The men of Nineveh had repented at the preaching of Jonah, and so we may assume they will rise at the resurrection of the just when the King comes to reign. We read of various classes who will rise at that time, among them “them that fear thy name, small and great”, Revelation 11:18. There is special mention of “the greatest of them even to the least of them”, who repented in Nineveh, Jonah 3:5. So it is not “shall rise from the dead on the judgement day”, but shall “rise up from amongst the righteous to condemn those who have not repented”.
Because they repented at the preaching of Jonas- if Gentiles, sunk in idolatry, repented at the preaching of a mere man, albeit a prophet of God, should not those who have immense national privileges and advantages spiritually, have responded to the preaching of the Son of God? Especially so because He not only preached repentance like Jonah did, but also held out the prospect of an imminent kingdom. Jonah warned of the destruction of the kingdom of Nineveh, but Christ announced a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.
And, behold, a greater than Jonas is here- sadly, one of the reasons why the Pharisees did not repent when they heard Christ preaching was because they did not believe He was greater than Jonah. Some of the reasons why He is greater are as follows:
1. Jonah was sent by God to Nineveh, but disobeyed, and went in the opposite direction. Christ was sent by the Father into this world, and obeyed by going exactly the way the Father willed.
2. Jonah “fled from the presence of the Lord”, Jonah 1:3, but Christ set the Lord always before Him, Psalm 16:8.
3. Jonah failed in his testimony to the sailors, and avoided them by going into the hold. He had to be forced to give his testimony, Jonah 1:5,6. Christ is the “faithful and true witness”, who could say, “I spake openly to the world…in secret have I said nothing”, John 18:20.
4. Jonah was the cause of the storm of wrath that came on the ship, but Christ was the remedy for the storm of God’s wrath against sin.
5. Jonah was cast into a physical stormy sea, Jonah 1:15, but Christ endured the waves and billows of God’s wrath, Psalm 42:7.
6. Jonah had a virtual-death experience in the sea, and then a virtual-burial experience in the whale’s belly. Christ had a real death and burial experience.
7. Jonah was swallowed by a whale so that he could be preserved to reach the dry ground. He was safe from being devoured by other fishes. Christ was preserved in the grave, for He could confidently say, “Thou wilt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption”, Psalm 16:10.
8. Jonah was cast up onto dry ground, clear of the reach of the sea again. Christ is risen from the dead, and “death hath no more dominion over him”, Romans 6:9.
9. Jonah came to a single city with a message of doom. Christ came, in resurrection, to the whole world with a message of salvation. “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh”, Ephesians 2:17.
10. Jonah was angry when the Gentiles were spared. Christ is the means whereby God shows the Gentiles mercy, Romans 11:30-32.
12:42
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it- in the case of Nineveh, the prophet came to them with a call to repentance. Now we have the queen who came to Solomon, and afterwards said, “I believed not the words, until I came”, 1 Kings 10:7.
For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon- the Ninevites heard a word of wrath from the prophet, whereas the queen heard a word of wisdom from the king. The queen believed, the Ninevites repented, but the Pharisees, representatives of the nation of Israel, did neither.
And, behold, a greater than Solomon is here- some of the reasons why Christ is greater than Solomon are as follows:
1. Solomon was the son of an adulteress, whereas Christ is the son of the virgin.
2. Solomon was king only because of his descent from David. Christ will be king for that reason, but also because “King of Israel” is a Divine title, Isaiah 44:6.
3. Solomon was Israel’s wisest king, but he cannot compete with the one who is “Christ…the wisdom of God”, 1 Corinthians 1:24. Of Him it is said, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”, Colossians 1:3.
4. Solomon’s wisdom was given to him by God, but Christ is the wisdom of God.
5. Solomon’s glory was put on from without, but Christ’s glory is intrinsic, like the glory of the lilies, Luke 12:27.
6. Solomon’s kingdom extended from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, whilst Christ’s kingdom shall extend “from the river to the ends of the earth”, Psalm 72:8.
7. Solomon departed from the Lord at the end of his reign, but the Messiah is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever”, Hebrews 13:8.
8. Solomon’s kingdom ended in division, but the kingdom of Christ shall never be destroyed, Daniel 7:14.
Special note on the section
The features that mark the two incidents, that of Jonah and of the Queeen of Sheba, give to us an insight into the character of the preaching that will follow the rejection of Christ by Israel and their consequent casting off as a nation.
1. There is special grace for Gentiles, those formerly far off from God, Ephesians 2:13. The Queen of Sheba came from “a far country”.
2. Repentance and faith are the twin requirements of God, for the Ninevites repented, and the queen believed. But lest we think that repentace and faith are separable, we read the Ninevites believed too, (“So the people of Nineveh believed God”, Jonah 2:5), so genuine repentance is always accompanied by faith. Paul went about preaching “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”, Acts 20:21.
3. Repentance is not simply to avoid judgement, as with Nineveh, but as the believers said when Peter gave them his account of the conversion of Cornelius, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life”, Acts 11:18.
4. The two incidents are not in chronological order, for the queen came long before Jonah prophesied. But they are in moral order, for repentance is prior to faith, although vitally connected to it.
5. Jonah’s ministry was about the God of power, who could destroy Nineveh. The queen of Sheba learned the wisdom of God from Solomon. Christ in the gospel is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”, 1 Corinthians 1:24.
6. Through Jonah men learnt how wretched man is. Through the queen of Sheba we learn how blessed man can be, as she was impressed with the position of Solomon’s servants.
(g) Verses 43-45
The state of the nation at the end
The result of giving way to evil
12:43
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man- the Lord gives a solemn warning to the leaders of the nation that the fact they said He worked by the power of Satan showed they were under the influence of that evil one. They are given an illustration of what the consequences of such thinking is. The nation is like a man who has been delivered from an evil spirit, just like the nation had been delivered from idolatry by their experiences in Babylon. They saw first-hand there what idolatry leads to, and they, as a nation, have never succumbed to it again.
He walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none- just because the nation was not idolatrous then does not mean they are not in danger, especially given their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. They should be aware that the spirit that once dominated them is ready to return, for the Gentiles are already given over to idolatry, so there is no rest for the spirit there; all the “houses” are occupied. There is only one empty house for the evil spirit to go to, and that is the one it came out of. Evil spirits seem to have an aversion to water, (perhaps because it reminds them of the Abyss, their destiny), and prefer dry places like deserts.
12:44
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out- in the end times, the nation of Israel, or at least the majority of them, will ally themselves with the Antichrist, who is himself the agent of the Devil. They refused the one who came in His Father’s name, but will receive the one who comes in his own name, John 5:43.
And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished- at present the nation is not dominated by the evil one, (it is “empty”), for the Spirit of God still operates in the earth, restraining the emergence of the Wicked One, 2 Thessalonians 2:7,8. So the nation is not dominated by evil spirits now; it has been swept of the trappings of idolatry since the return from Babylon. But it will be “garnished”, for just before the end there will be a rise of religon in Israel, as indicated even in our day by their preparations to rebuild the temple. In fact, the word “garnished” is the same word as is used of the temple buildings, “adorned”, in Luke 21:5.
12:45
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there- during the first half of the Tribulation Period the Antichrist will put himself forward as the prince of peace, bring stability and security to Israel, having confirmed a covenant with them to enable them to carry on their religion. Then, after three and a half years of imitating the three and a half years of Christ’s ministry, he will change his attitude. This would correspond to what we have here, with a seven-fold increase in demon activity. Such will be the influence of these wicked spirits, that the majority of the nation of Israel will be deceived, and will go over to the worship of Satan’s man. His image will be in their temple, as if central to their spiritual life.
And the last state of that man is worse than the first- so what began at Sinai as the worship of a golden calf, has now degenerated into the worship of a man, and Satan’s man at that.
Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation- so what was true of the man in the illustration the Lord has given, shall be true of the nation of Israel. Such is the result of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, for it paves the way for the worship of Satan and his man.
(g) Verses 46-50
The New Generation
Spiritual relationship, not natural
12:46
While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
While he yet talked to the people- the Pharisees have nothing to say in response to His stern words, and seem to have left, but the people of verse 23, who had been amazed at the casting out of the devil, and had exclaimed, “Is not this the son of David”, seemed to have been still present, and He continued speaking with them. He will enforce the same lesson as He gave to the Pharisees, namely, that the natural generation of Abraham is doomed to judgement, and they need to be part of a new people, linked to Him in a spiritual and not a natural way. It is the same lesson He taught Nicodemus when He said to him, “Ye must be born again”, the “ye”, being plural, referring to the whole nation of which Nicodemus was a part. Whilst it is the same lesson here, it is framed in gentler terms, for the people were not hostile like the Pharisees.
Behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him- His mother is the one who has the closest physical tie with Him, and becomes a fit representative of the nation as a whole. His brethren, the sons of Joseph and Mary, do not believe in Him, so present another aspect of the nation as a whole, for “He came unto his own, and his own received Him not”, John 1:11. It is not that they were not religious, for we see from the only recorded conversation between them and the Lord, that they were devoted worshippers, John 7:2-8.
12:47
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee- there were so many people crowding into the house where they were seeking to hear Him, that His mother and brethren could not gain access. Luke tells us they “could not come at him for the press”, Luke 8:19. We know He was in a house because of the first verse of the next chapter. In fact the house is extremely significant as a figure for Israel.
12:48
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
But he answered and said unto him that told him- there is no mention of contact directly with His mother and brethren. The whole scene speaks of the Lord distancing Himself from natural relationships, whether physical, as with His mother, or legal, as with His brethren. There is not even a message sent to them.
Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? The question is asked to introduce a revelation. They knew very well who His mother and brethren were, and so did He, but He is about to reveal a new answer to the question which is on a different, higher level.
12:49
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! His disciples were sitting about Him in the house, Mark 3:34, (for His mother was “without”), and it these who are in a spiritual relationship with Him far beyond that which is natural. The Jews must learn that having the same ancestor as the Messiah does not qualify them for relationship with Him. A new age is about to come in, when believers will be linked to Him by the indwelling Spirit. And this will be true in the kingdom age also.
Significantly, He stretched forth His hand; but how different this was to Jereboam as he stretched forth his hand, as we noted in connection with verses 9-13. He stretched it forth to point the man of God out for ill, whereas the Lord Jesus points out those who are in the good of the blessing of being His brethren.
12:50
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven- this defines who are in relationship with Him. James writes “Of his own will begat he us”, James 1:18. So the will of God was operative in the new birth, and the logical outcome is that those who are born again will be those who do their Father’s will. And if it be asked how we know the will of God, then Luke records the words as “these which hear the word of God and do it”, Luke 8:21. The will of God is known through the word of God.
The same is my brother, and sister, and mother- Luke puts this incident after the telling of the parable of the sower, and places here his notice of the women, like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, and many others, “which ministered unto Him”. These are samples of His mothers and sisters, and the disciples are samples of His brothers.
It ought to be unnecessary to say that believers should not presume to call Him their brother. He is not ashamed to call His people brethren, but as He Himself said, “One is your Master, and all ye are brethren”.