Matthew 12

Sabbath Questions

1 1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to 2pick the heads of grain and eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what 3is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."
3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions *,
4 how he entered the house of God, and 4they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?
5 "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
6 "But I say to you that something 5greater than the temple is here.
7 "But if you had known what this means, '6I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 "For 7the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
9 8Departing from there, He went into their synagogue.
10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, "9Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"-so that they might accuse Him.
11 And He said to them, "10What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?
12 "11How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" 12He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.
14 But the Pharisees went out and 13conspired * against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and 14He healed them all,
16 and 15warned them not to tell who He was.
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 "16BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; 17MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; 18 I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, 19 AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
19 "20HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.
20 "21A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.
21 "22AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE."

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 23Then a 24demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.
23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the 25Son of David, can he?"
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man 26casts out demons only * * by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25 27And 28knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 "If 29Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
27 "If I 30by Beelzebul cast out demons, 31by whom do your sons cast them out? For this * reason * they will be your judges.
28 "But 32if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 "Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless * he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 "33He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 "34Therefore * I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32 "35Whoever * speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever * speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in 36this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for 37the tree is known by its fruit.
34 "38You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? 39For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
35 "40The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.
36 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in 41the day of judgment.
37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, 42we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, "43An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40 for just as 44JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will 45the Son of Man be 46three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 "47The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because 48they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, 49something greater than Jonah is here.
42 "50The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, 51something greater than Solomon is here.
43 "52Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.
44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came '; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and 53the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."

Changed Relationships

46 54While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His 55mother and 56brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.
47 Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."
48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!
50 "For whoever * does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

Cross References 56

  • 1. Matthew 12:1-8: {Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5}
  • 2. Deuteronomy 23:25
  • 3. Matthew 12:10; Luke 13:14; Luke 14:3; John 5:10; John 7:23; John 9:16
  • 4. 1 Samuel 21:6
  • 5. 2 Chronicles 6:18; Isaiah 66:1, 2; Matthew 12:41, 42
  • 6. Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13
  • 7. Matthew 8:20; Matthew 12:32, 40
  • 8. Matthew 12:9-14: {Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11}
  • 9. Matthew 12:2; Luke 13:14; Luke 14:3; John 5:10; John 7:23; John 9:16
  • 10. Luke 14:5
  • 11. Matthew 10:31; Luke 14:1-6
  • 12. Matthew 8:3; Acts 28:8
  • 13. Matthew 26:4; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:2; John 7:30, 44; John 8:59; John 10:31, 39; John 11:53
  • 14. Matthew 4:23
  • 15. Matthew 8:4; Matthew 9:30; Matthew 17:9
  • 16. Isaiah 42:1
  • 17. Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5
  • 18. Luke 4:18; John 3:34
  • 19. Isaiah 42:1
  • 20. Isaiah 42:2
  • 21. Isaiah 42:3
  • 22. Romans 15:12
  • 23. Matthew 12:22, 24: {Luke 11:14, 15;} Matthew 9:32, 34
  • 24. Matthew 4:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9
  • 25. Matthew 9:27
  • 26. Matthew 9:34
  • 27. Matthew 12:25-29: {Mark 3:23-27; Luke 11:17-22}
  • 28. Matthew 9:4
  • 29. Matthew 4:10; Matthew 13:19
  • 30. Matthew 9:34
  • 31. Acts 19:13
  • 32. 1 John 3:8
  • 33. Mark 9:40; Luke 9:50; Luke 11:23
  • 34. Matthew 12:31, 32; Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10
  • 35. Luke 12:10
  • 36. Matthew 13:22, 39; Mark 10:30; Luke 16:8; Luke 18:30; Luke 20:34, 35; Ephesians 1:21; 1 Timothy 6:17; 2 Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:12; Hebrews 6:5
  • 37. Matthew 7:16-18; Luke 6:43, 44; John 15:4-7
  • 38. Matthew 3:7; Matthew 23:33; Luke 3:7
  • 39. 1 Samuel 24:13; Isaiah 32:6; Matthew 12:34, 35; Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45; Ephesians 4:29; James 3:2-12
  • 40. Proverbs 10:20, 21; Proverbs 25:11, 12; Matthew 13:52; Colossians 4:6
  • 41. Matthew 10:15
  • 42. Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11, 12; Luke 11:16; John 2:18; John 6:30; 1 Corinthians 1:22
  • 43. Matthew 12:39-42: {Luke 11:29-32;} Matthew 16:4
  • 44. Jonah 1:17
  • 45. Matthew 8:20
  • 46. Matthew 16:21
  • 47. Jonah 1:2
  • 48. Jonah 3:5
  • 49. Matthew 12:6, 42
  • 50. 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1
  • 51. Matthew 12:6, 41
  • 52. Matthew 12:43-45: {Luke 11:24-26}
  • 53. Mark 5:9; Luke 11:26; Hebrews 6:4-8; 2 Peter 2:20
  • 54. Matthew 12:46-50: {Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21}
  • 55. Matthew 1:18; Matthew 2:11f; Matthew 13:55; Luke 1:43; Luke 2:33f, 48, 51; John 2:1, 5, 12; John 19:25; Acts 1:14
  • 56. Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; John 2:12; John 7:3, 5, 10; Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19

Footnotes 42

Matthew 12 Commentaries

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