Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
Matthew 12
- An overall theme of Matthew chapter 12 is the utter disrespect the Pharisees have for this man who is healing others thus fulfilling scripture. All the while, as the Pharisees lord over others due to their prestigious position as teachers, Jesus serves.
- From the view of these prestigious leaders, Jesus has the audacity to challenge them; being blind to His authority and misreading His humble demeanor.
- Four times Jesus tells them who He is.
- He is greater than the temple. (The greatest Building)
- He is greater than the Sabbath. (The greatest Day)
- He is greater than Jonah. (Three Days and Nights in the Belly of a Sea monster-Leviathan-Symbolic of Satan)
- He is greater than Solomon. (The wisest King)
- Serious Humor: He is greater than the greatest, He is not “Ali (Cassius Clay)” but He is the great “I AM”.
- Jesus’ logical arguments countering their accusations are genius. Sometimes He uses scripture, sometimes pure logic, sometimes turning the tables on them, and sometimes speaking in spiritual parables they will never be able to understand.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Matthew 12:2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
Matthew 12:3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Matthew 12:4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
Matthew 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane (desecrate) the Sabbath, and are blameless?
Matthew 12:6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
- As the second person of the Godhead, the Temple was made for Jesus. Jesus was not made for the Temple.
- Even so, the purpose of the Temple and the Law was for life, not death.
- Jesus knew they wanted to destroy His Temple (body) and told them in three days he would rise it up again.
Matthew 12:7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy (life) and not sacrifice (death),’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
- The Sabbath was made for man, but Jesus is more than a man. He created the Sabbath and therefore He is greater than the Sabbath.
Healing on the Sabbath
Matthew 12:9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
Matthew 12:10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.
Matthew 12:11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Matthew 12:12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
Matthew 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Behold, My Servant
Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
Matthew 12:16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
Matthew 12:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
Matthew 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 will declare justice to the Gentiles.
Matthew 12:19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
Matthew 12:21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
- The Jewish leaders aren’t trusting Him but the Gentiles will.
A House Divided Cannot Stand
Matthew 12:22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
Matthew 12:23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
- Translation: Could this man be the promised Messiah, from the lineage of King David?”
Matthew 12:24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub (Beelzebul, a Philistine deity), the ruler of the demons.”
Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Matthew 12:26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
Matthew 12:27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
Matthew 12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 12:29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
The Unpardonable Sin
Matthew 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
Matthew 12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
A Tree Known by Its Fruit
Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
Matthew 12:34 Brood (offspring) of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Matthew 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Scribes and Pharisees Ask for a Sign
Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign – Here’s yer sign !
The Sign of Alpha & Omega – The Sign of Jonah – The Sign of Yehova I AM that I AM – The Sign of the Walking Dead (The Pharisees).
Matthew 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish (not a fish but a sea monster called Leviathan who is called the king over the children of pride: Satan), so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
An Unclean Spirit Returns
Matthew 12:43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
Matthew 12:44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
Matthew 12:45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him
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