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"1. Provision was made by the Divine law that the
sheaf of first-fruits should be offered on the second
day of the pass-over week, Leviticus
23:10,11. On the morrow after the Sabbath, the priest
shall shake (or wave) it. Not on the morrow
after the ordinary Sabbath of the week, but the
morrow after the first of the pass-over week,
which was a Sabbatic day, Exodus
12:16; ; Leviticus
23:7. Hence the seventy, επαυριοντηςπρωτης, the
morrow of the first day; the Chaldee, the morrow
after the holy day. The rabbins, Solomon and
Menachen, have it, On the morrow after the first
day of the pass-over feast; of which mention had
been made in the verses foregoing.
"But now, from the second day of the pass-over
solemnity, wherein the sheaf was offered, were numbered
seven weeks to pentecost: for the day of the
sheaf, and the day of pentecost did mutually
respect each other; for on this second day of the
pass-over, the offering of the sheaf was supplicatory,
and by way of prayer, beseeching a blessing upon the new corn,
and leave to eat it, and to pot in the sickle into the
standing corn. Now, the offering of the first-fruit
loaves on the day of pentecost, 23:15-17,)
did respect the giving of thanks for the finishing and housing
of the barley-harvest. Therefore, in regard of this relation,
these two solemnities were linked together, that both might
respect the harvest; that, the harvest beginning;
this, the harvest ended: this depended on
that, and was numbered seven weeks after
it. Therefore, the computation of the time coming between
could not but carry with it the memory of that second day of
the pass-over week; and hence pentecost is
called the feast of weeks, Deuteronomy
16:10. The true calculation of the time between could not
otherwise be retained, as to Sabbaths, but by numbering
thus: this is σαββατωνδευτεροπρωτον, the first Sabbath
after the second day of the pass-over. This is
δευτεροδευρερον, the second Sabbath after that
second day. And so of the rest. In the Jerusalem
Talmud, the word shebeth protogamiya, the
Sabbath, προτογαμιας, of the first marriage, is a
composition not very unlike." Lightfoot.
His disciples were an
hungered Those who know not the spirit and design of the divine law
are often superstitious to inhumanity, and
indulgent to impiety. An intolerant and
censorious spirit in religion is one of the greatest curses a
man can well fall under.
When he was an
hungered He entered into the house of
God And did eat the
shew-bread "Since part of the frankincense put in the bread was to be
burnt on the altar for a memorial, Leviticus
24:7, and since Aaron and his sons were to eat it in the
holy place, it is evident that this bread typified
Christ, first presented as a sacrifice to, or in
the presence of, Jehovah, and then becoming spiritual food to
such as, in and through him, are spiritual
priests to God. See Revelation
1:6;; 5:10;;
20:6;
also ; 1 Peter
2:5." Parkhurst.
First, by the natural law of necessity.
Secondly, by a particular law, which is
superior.
Thirdly, by the law of charity and
mercy.
Fourthly, by the dispensation and authority
of the Lawgiver.
These cases are all exemplified from Matthew
12:4-8.
"If a beast fall into a ditch, or into a pool of water, let
(the owner) bring him food in that place if he can; but, if he
cannot, let him bring clothes and litter, and bear up the
beast; whence, if he can come up, let him come up,
"If a beast or its foal fall into a ditch on a holy day, R.
Lazar saith, Let him lift up the former to kill him, and let
him kill him; but let him give fodder to the other, lest he
die in that place. R. Joshua saith, Let him lift up the former
with the intention of killing him, although he kill him not;
let him lift up the other also, although it be not in his mind
to kill him." To these canons our Lord seems here very
properly to appeal, in vindication of his intention to heal
the distressed man. See Lightfoot.
Self-interest is a very decisive casuist, and removes
abundance of scruples in a moment. It is always the first
consulted, and the must readily obeyed. It is not sinful to
hearken to it, but it must not govern nor determine by itself.
Wherefore, it is lawful to do well, multitude of
Jewish canons. See Schoettgen.
A little before 12:6,8)
Jesus Christ had asserted his Godhead, in this verse he
proves it. What but the omnipotence of the living God
could have, in a moment, restored this withered hand? There
could be no collusion here; the man who had a real
disease was instantaneously and therefore miraculously cured;
and the mercy and power of God were both amply manifested in
this business.
It is worthy of remark, that as the man was healed with a
word, without even a touch, the Sabbath was
unbroken, even according to their most rigid interpretation of
the letter of the law.
Great multitudes followed him, and
he healed them all And he shall show judgment to the
Gentiles. And smoking flax shall he not
quench Judgment unto
victory. The reasoning of the Pharisees, Matthew
12:24, was not expressed, and Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, gave them ample proof or his
omniscience. This, with our Lord's masterly confutation
of their reasonings, by a conclusion drawn from their own
premises, one would have supposed might have humbled and
convinced these men; but the most conclusive reasoning, and
the most astonishing miracles, were lost upon a people who
were obstinately determined to disbelieve every thing good,
relative to Christ. How true the saying-He came unto his
own, and his own received him not!
Envy causes persons often to condemn in one,
what they approve in another.
Then the kingdom of
God Is come unto you.
They pretended to be in expectation of the kingdom of God,
and consequently of the destruction of the kingdom of Satan.
But, by being not prepared to receive Christ in these proofs
of his Divine mission, they showed that their expectation was
but pretended. They were too carnal to mind
spiritual things.
Scattereth abroad.
But the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost Here the matter is made clear beyond the smallest doubt-the
unpardonable sin, as some term it, is neither less nor
more than ascribing the miracles Christ wrought, by the
power of God, to the spirit of the devil. Many
sincere people have been grievously troubled with
apprehensions that they had committed the unpardonable sin;
but let it be observed that no man who believes the Divine
mission of Jesus Christ, ever can commit this sin: therefore
let no man's heart fail because of it, from henceforth and for
ever, Amen. See below.
Dr. Lightfoot has sufficiently vindicated this passage from
all false interpretation. "They that endeavour hence to prove
the remission of some sins after death, seem little to
understand to what Christ had respect when he spake these
words. Weigh well this common and, most known doctrine of the
Jewish schools, and judge.
"He that transgresses an affirmative precept, if he
presently repent, is not moved until the Lord pardon
him; and of such it is said, Be ye converted, O
back sliding children! and I will heal your backslidings.
He that transgresses a negative precept, and
repents, his repentance suspends judgment, and the day
of expiation expiates him; as it is said, This day
shall all your uncleannesses be expiated to you. He that
transgresses to cutting off (by the stroke of God)
or to death by the Sanhedrin, and repents,
repentance and the day of expiation do suspend judgment,
and the strokes that are laid upon him wipe off sin, as it
is said, And I will visit their transgression with
a rod, and their iniquity with scourges. But he by whom the
name of God is profaned (or blasphemed) repentance is
of no avail to him to suspend judgment, nor the day of
expiation to expiate it, nor scourges (or corrections
inflicted) to wipe it off, but all suspend judgment,
and death wipes it off. Thus the Babylonian
Gemara writes; but the Jerusalem thus:
Repentance and the day of expiation expiate as to
the third part, and corrections as to the third part,
and death wipes it off, as it is said, And your
iniquities shall not be expiated to you until ye die:
behold, we learn that death wipes off. Note this,
which Christ contradicts, concerning blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost. It shall not be forgiven, saith
he, neither in this world, nor in the world to
come; that is, neither before death, nor, as you
dream, by death. Jerus. Sanhed. fol. 37. and Bab. Yoma,
fol. 86.
"In the world to come.-I. Some phrases were received
into common use, by which, in common speech, they opposed the
heresy of the Sadducces, who denied immortality, Of
that sort were olam ha-ba, αιωνομελλων, The world to
come. gan aden, παραδεισος, paradise:
gei hinnom, γεεννα, hell,
"At the end of all the prayers in the temple (as we
observed before) they said ad olam, for ever.
But when the heretics (i.e. the Sadducees)
brake in, and said there was NO AGE but one, then it
was appointed to be said for ever and ever. min
ha-olam, vead ha-olam. Bab. Beracoth, fol. 54. This
distinction of olam hazeh, this world, and of olam
ha-ba, the world to come, you may find almost in every
page of the rabbins.
"The Lord recompense thee a good reward for this thy
good work in this world, and let thy reward be
perfected in the world to come. Targum on Ruth.
"It (that is, the history of the creation and of the
Bible) therefore begins with the letter beth,
(in the word bereshith,) because two worlds were
created, this world and a world to come. Baal
Turim.
"The world to come hints two things especially, (of
which see Rambam, in Sanhed. cap. ii. Chelek.) I. The
times of the Messiah: 'Be mindful of the day wherein
thou camest out of Egypt, all the days of thy life: the
wise men say, by the days of thy life is
intimated this world: by all the days of thy
life, the days of the Messiah are superinduced.'
In this sense the apostle seems to speak, Hebrews
2:5;; 6:5.
II. The state after death: thus Rab. Tancum, The world
to come, is when a man has departed out of this world."
The works will resemble the heart: nothing good can proceed
from an evil spirit; no good fruit can proceed from a corrupt
heart. Before the heart of man can produce any good, it must
be renewed and influenced by the Spirit of God.
Out of the abundance
((οις Seeketh after a
sign Our Lord terms the Jews an adulterous race. Under the old
covenant, the Jewish nation was represented as in a
marriage contract with the Lord of hosts; as
believers, in the new covenant, are represented as the
spouse of Christ. All unfaithfulness and disobedience
was considered as a breach of this marriage
contract; hence the persons who were thus guilty are
denominated adulterers and adulteresses. But,
independently of this, there is the utmost proof, from their
own writings, that in the time of our Lord they were most
literally an adulterous race of people: for, at this
very time, R. Jochanan ben Zacchai abrogated the trial by the
bitter waters of jealousy, because so many were found to be
thus criminal. See on John
8:3.
"I. The Jewish writers extend that memorable station of the
unmoving sun, at Joshua's prayer, to six and thirty
hours; for so Kimchi upon that place: 'According to
more exact interpretation, the sun and moon stood still
for six and thirty hours: for when the fight was on the
eve of the Sabbath, Joshua feared lest the Israelites
might break the Sabbath; therefore he spread abroad his
hands, that the sun might stand still on the sixth day,
according to the measure of the day of the Sabbath, and
the moon according to the measure of the night of the
Sabbath, and of the going out of the Sabbath, which
amounts to six and thirty hours.'
"II. If you number the hours that pass from our Saviour's
giving up the ghost upon the cross to his resurrection, you
shall find almost the same number of hours; and yet that space
is called by him three days and three nights, whereas
two nights only came between, and one complete day.
Nevertheless, while he speaks these words, he is not without
the consent both of the Jewish schools and their
computation. Weigh well that which is disputed in the tract
Scabbath, concerning the separation of a woman for
three days; where many things are discussed by the
Gemarists, concerning the computation of this space of
three days. Among other things these words occur: R.
Ismael saith, Sometimes it contains four
onoth, sometimes five, sometimes six. But how much
is the space of an onah? R. Jochanan saith,
Either a day or a night. And so also the
Jerusalem Talmud: 'R. Akiba fixed a DAY for
an onah, and a NIGHT for an onah.' But the
tradition is, that R. Eliazar ben Azariah said, A
day and a night make an onah: and a PART of an
onah is as the WHOLE. And a little after, R. Ismael
computed a part of the onah for the whole." Thus, then,
three days and three nights, according to this Jewish method
of reckoning, included any part of the first day; the whole of
the following night; the next day and its night; and any part
of the succeeding or third day.
In the whale's
belly A greater than Jonas is
here. Uttermost parts of the
earth He walketh through dry
places Seeking rest He findeth it
empty Swept and
garnished. The last state of that man
is worse than the first. So shall it be also unto this
wicked generation. 1. From various facts related in this chapter, we see the
nature and design of the revelation of God, and of all the
ordinances and precepts contained in it-they are all
calculated to do man good: to improve his
understanding, to soften and change his nature, that he may
love his neighbour as himself. That religion that does not
inculcate and produce humanity never came from heaven.
2. We have already seen what the sin against the Holy Ghost
is: no soul that fears God can commit it:
perhaps it would be impossible for any but Jews to be
guilty of it, and they only in the circumstances mentioned in
the text; and in such circumstances, it is impossible that any
person should now be found.
Additional Resources
Bibliography
Information
• Key
SRB = Scofield References
SRB = Introduction
JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
JFB = Introduction
AC = Adam Clarke Comentary
AC = Chronology by Adam Clarke
OU = OUtline of St. Matthew
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Matthew Chapter 12
by Adam Clarke
Verse
1. At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath-day
through the corn
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"The time is
determined by Luke in these words, (οις
),
,
that is, on the Sabbath from the second-first.
Were hungry. The former is a mode
of expression totally obsolete. How near does the
translation of this verse come to our ancient mother-tongue,
the Anglo-Saxon!-{Anglo-Saxon}-The Healer went on rest-day
over acres: truly his learning knights hungred, and
they began to pluck the ear and eaten. We may well
wonder at the extreme poverty of Christ and his disciples. He
was himself present with them, and yet permitted them to lack
bread! A man, therefore, is not forsaken of God because he is
in want. It is more honourable to suffer the want of
all temporal things in fellowship with Christ and his
followers, than to have all things in abundance in connection
with the world.
Verse
2. Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to
do
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The Jews were so superstitious,
concerning the observance of the Sabbath, that in their wars
with Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Romans, they
thought it a crime even to attempt to defend themselves on the
Sabbath: when their enemies observed this, they deterred their
operations to that day. It was through this, that
Pompey was enabled to take Jerusalem. Dion.
Cass. lib. xxxvi.
Verse
3. - 4. Have ye not read what David
did
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The original history is in 1 Samuel
21:1-6.
Here hearken to Kimchi,
producing the opinion of the ancients concerning this story in
these words: "Our rabbins of blessed memory say,
that he gave him the shew-bread, The interpretation
also of the clause, Yea, though it were sanctified
this day in the vessel, is this: It is a small thing
to say, that it is lawful for us to eat THESE
LOAVES, taken from before the Lord, when we are
hungry; for it would be lawful to eat this very loaf
which is now set on, which is also sanctified in the
vessel, (for the table sanctifieth,) it would be lawful to
eat even this, when another loaf is not present with
you to give us, and we are so hunger-bitten. And a
little after, There is nothing which may hinder
taking care of life, beside idolatry, adultery, and
murder. That is, a man, according to them, should do any
thing but these in order to preserve life." See
Lightfoot.
Viz. the house of Ahimelech the
priest, who dwelt at Nob, with whom the tabernacle then was,
in which the Divine presence was manifested.
(οις),
-in
Hebrew, lechem panim-bread of the presence, or
faces, because this bread was to be set continually,
lipney Yehovah, before the face of Jehovah. See
the notes on Exodus
25:23,30.
Verse 4. See
Clarke on Matthew
12:3.
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Verse 5. The priests-profane the
Sabbath
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Profane, i.e. put it to what
might be called a common use, by slaying and
offering up sacrifices, and by doing the
services of the temple, as on common days, Exodus
29:38; ; Numbers
28:9.
Verse 6. In this place is one
greater than the temple.
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Does not our Lord
refer here to Malachi
3:1? Compare this with ; Hebrews
3:3. The Jews esteemed nothing greater than the temple,
except that God who was worshipped in it. Christ, by asserting
he was greater than the temple, asserts that he
was God; and this he does, in still more direct
terms, Matthew
12:8, The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath-is
Institutor and Governor of it. Compare this with
Genesis
2:3, and see the notes there.
Verse 7. I will have mercy,
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See this explained, Matthew
9:13. There are four ways in which positive
laws may cease to oblige.
Verse 8. The Son of man is Lord even
of the Sabbath-day.
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The change of the
Jewish into the Christian Sabbath, called the Lord's
day, Revelation
1:10, shows that Christ is not only the Lord, but
also the truth and completion of it. For it
seems to have been by an especial providence that this change
has been made and acknowledged all over the Christian world.
Verse 10. A man which had his
hand withered.
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Probably through a
partial paralysis. The man's hand was withered; but
God's mercy had still preserved to him the use of his feet: He
uses them to bring him to the public worship of God, and Jesus
meets and heals him there. How true is the proverb-It is
never so ill with us, but it might be much worse!
Verse 11.
If it fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, was a canon
among the Jews: "We must take a tender care of the goods of an
Israelite." Hence:-
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Verse 12. How much then is a man
better than a sheep?
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Our Lord's argument is
what is called argumentum ad hominem; they are taken on
their own ground, and confuted on their own maxims and
conduct. There are many persons who call themselves
Christians, who do more for a beast of burden or
pleasure than they do for a man for whom Christ died! Many
spend that on coursers, spaniels, and hounds, of
which multitudes of the followers of Christ are destitute:-but
this also shall come to judgment.
Verse 13. Stretch forth thine
hand.
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The bare command of God is a
sufficient reason of obedience. This man might have reasoned
thus: "Lord, my hand is withered; how then can I
stretch it out? Make it whole first, and afterwards I will do
as thou commandest." This may appear reasonable, but in
his case it would have been foolishness. At the command
of the Lord he made the effort, and in making it the cure was
effected! Faith disregards apparent impossibilities, where
there is a command and promise of God. The effort to
believe is, often, that faith by which the soul is
healed.
Verse 14. Held a council against
him
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Nothing sooner leads to utter
blindness, and hardness of heart, than envy. There are
many who abandon themselves to pleasure-taking and
debauchery on the Sabbath, who condemn a poor man whom
necessity obliges to work on what is termed a
holiday, or a national fast.
Verse 15. Jesus-withdrew himself
from thence
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It is the part of prudence and
Christian charity not to provoke, if possible, the blind and
the hardened; and to take from them the occasion of sin. A man
of God is not afraid of persecution; but, as his aim is only
to do good, by proclaiming every where the grace of the Lord
Jesus, he departs from any place when he finds the obstacles
to the accomplishment of his end are, humanly speaking,
invincible, and that he can not do good without being
the means of much evil. Yield to the stream when you cannot
stem it.
The rejection of the
Gospel in one place has often been the means of sending it to
and establishing it in another. Jesus healed all that
followed him, i.e. all who had need of healing,
and who desired to be healed; for thus the passage must
be understood:- and is he not still the same? No soul
shall ever implore his healing power in vain; but let it be
remembered, that only those who follow Christ, and
apply to him, are healed of their spiritual maladies.
Verse 16. Charged them that they
should not make him known
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See Matthew
8:4. Jesus Christ, as GOD, could have easily concealed
himself, but he chooses to do it as man, and to use no
other than human means, as these were quite sufficient for the
purpose, to teach us not to neglect them in our necessity.
Indeed, he always used his power less on his own
account, than on that of men.
Verse 18. Behold my
servant
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This title was given to our blessed
Lord in several prophecies. See Isaiah
42:1;; 53:2.
Christ assumes it, Psalms
40:7-9. Compare these with ; John
17:4, and Philippians
2:7. God required an acceptable and perfect
service from man; but man, being sinful, could not
perform it. Jesus, taking upon him the nature of man, fully
performed the whole will of God, and communicates grace to all
his followers, to enable them perfectly to love and worthily
to magnify their Maker.
That is, He will publish the
Gospel to the heathens; for the word (οις),
here answers to
the word mishpat of the prophet, and it is used among
the Hebrews to signify laws, precepts, and a whole system or
body of doctrine. See Psalms
19:9;; 119:30,39;
; Isaiah
58:2.
Verse 19. He shall not strive, nor
cry
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The spirit of Christ is not a spirit of
contention, murmuring, clamour, or litigiousness. He who loves
these does not belong to him. Christ therefore fulfilled a
prophecy by withdrawing from this place, on account of the
rage of the Pharisees.
Verse 20. A bruised reed shall he
not break
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A reed is, in Scripture,
the emblem of weakness, Ezekiel
29:6; and a bruised reed must signify that state of
weakness that borders on dissolution and death.
(οις),
means the
wick of a lamp, and τυφομενον is intended to point out
its expiring state, when the oil has been all burnt
away from it, and nothing is left but a mere snuff,
emitting smoke. Some suppose the Jewish state, as to
ecclesiastical matters, is here intended, the prophecy
declaring that Christ would not destroy it, but leave it to
expire of itself, as it already contained the principles of
its own destruction. Others have considered it as implying
that great tenderness with which the blessed Jesus should
treat the weak and the ignorant, whose good desires must not
be stifled, but encouraged. The bruised reed may
recover itself, if permitted to vegetate under the genial
influences of heaven; and the life and light of
the expiring lamp may be supported by the addition of
fresh oil. Jesus therefore quenches not faint desires after
salvation, even in the worst and most undeserving of men; for
even such desires may lead to the fulness of the blessing of
the Gospel of peace.
See Matthew
12:18. By judgment, understand the Gospel,
and by victory its complete triumph over Jewish
opposition, and Gentile impiety. He will continue by these
mild and gentle means to work till the whole world is
Christianized, and the universe filled with his glory.
Verse 21. And in his name shall the
Gentiles trust.
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(οις),
, they shall
hope. Jesus Christ is the sole hope and
trust of mankind; to trust and hope in his
name, JESUS, is to expect salvation and all things
necessary from him alone, to despise, comparatively,
all earthly promises, to esteem, love, and desire heavenly
things only, and to bear with patience and tranquillity all
the losses and evils of this life, upon the prospect and
hope of that felicity which he has purchased for us.
Verse 22. One possessed with a
devil, blind and dumb
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A person from whom
the indwelling demon took away both sight and
hearing. Satan makes himself master of the
heart, the eyes, and the tongue of the
sinner. His heart he fills with the love of sin; his
eyes he blinds that he may not see his guilt, and the
perdition which awaits him; and his tongue he hinders
from prayer and supplication, though he gives it increasing
liberty in blasphemies, lies, slanders, this threefold
captivity.
Verse 23. Is not this the son of
David?
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Is not this the true Messiah? Do not
these miracles sufficiently prove it? See Isaiah
35:5.
Verse 24. Beelzebub
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See Matthew
10:25.
Verse 25. Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation
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Our Lord's argument was thus:-"The welfare of any
kingdom, city, or family, depends on its
concord and unanimity; Satan, like every other
potentate, must wish to rule his empire in peace and
security; how then can he be in league with me, who
oppose his authority, and am destroying his
kingdom?"
Verse 26. If Satan cast out
Satan
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A good cause will produce a good
effect, and an evil cause an evil effect. Were I on Satan's
side, I would act for his interest and confirm his influence
among you; but I oppose his maxims by my doctrine, and
his influence by my power.
Verse 27. By whom do your children
cast them out?
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Children, or
sons of the prophets, means the disciples of the
prophets; and children or sons of the Pharisees,
disciples of the Pharisees. From Acts
19:13,14, it is evident there were exorcists among
the Jews, and, from our Lord's saying here, it is also evident
that the disciples of the Pharisees did cast out demons, or,
at least, those who educated them wished to have it believed
that they had such a power. Our Lord's argument here is
extremely conclusive: If the man who casts out demons proves
himself thereby to be in league with and influenced by Satan,
then your disciples, and you who taught them,
are all of you in league with the devil: ye must either give
up your assertion, that I cast out demons by Beelzebul, or
else admit this conclusion, in its fullest force and latitude,
that ye are all children of the devil, and leagued with
him against God.
Verse 28. But if I cast out devils
by the Spirit of God
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Perhaps the Spirit
of God is here mentioned by way of opposition to the
magical incantations of the Jews; for it is well known
that by fumigations and magical washings, they professed to
cast out devils. See a case mentioned by Schoettgen on
this verse.
For the destruction of the kingdom
of Satan plainly implies the setting up of the
kingdom of God.
Is come unexpectedly upon you. (οις),
, from φθανω, to
appear suddenly-unexpectedly.
Verse 29. Else how can one enter
into a strong man's house
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Men, through sin,
are become the very house and dwelling place of Satan,
having of their own accord surrendered themselves to this
unjust possessor; for whoever gives up his soul to sin gives
it up to the devil. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who
can deliver from the power of this bondage. When Satan is cast
out, Jesus purifies and dwells in the heart.
Verse 30. He that is not with me is
against me
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
In vain do men seek for methods
to reconcile God and mammon. There is no medium between loving
the Lord and being his enemy-between belonging to Christ or to
Satan. If we be on the side of the devil, we must expect to go
to the devil's hell; if we be on the side of Christ, we may
expect to go to his heaven. When Christ, his truth, and his
servants are assaulted, he who does not espouse their cause is
not on Christ's side, but incurs the guilt of deserting and
betraying him. There are many, (it is to be feared,) in the
world who are really against Christ, and scatter
abroad, who flatter themselves that they are workers
together with him, and of the number of his
friends!
This seems to have been a proverbial form of speech, and
may be a metaphor taken from shepherds. He who does not help
the true shepherd to gather his flock into the fold is, most
likely, one who wishes to scatter them, that he may have the
opportunity of stealing and destroying them. I do not find any
parallel to this proverbial mode of speech in the Jewish
rabbins, if it be one, nor have I met with it among the Greek
or Roman writers.
Verse 31. All manner of sin and
blasphemy
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
(οις),
, injurious or impious
speaking. {Anglo-Saxon}, mocking and deriding speech,
Anglo-Saxon. See Matthew
9:3.
Even personal
reproaches, revilings, persecutions against Christ, were
remissible; but blasphemy, or impious speaking against the
Holy Spirit was to have no forgiveness: i.e. when the person
obstinately attributed those works to the devil, which he had
the fullest evidence could be wrought only by the Spirit of
God. That this, and nothing else, is the sin against the
Holy Spirit, is evident from the connection in this place,
and more particularly from Mark
3:28-30. "All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men,
and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme; but he
that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation; BECAUSE
they said, He hath an unclean spirit."
Verse 32. Neither in this world,
neither in the world to come.
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Though
I follow the common translation, yet I am fully satisfied the
meaning of the words is, neither in this dispensation, (viz.
the Jewish,) nor in that which is to come, viz. the Christian.
olam ha-bo, the world to come, is a constant phrase for
the times of the Messiah in the Jewish writers. See below. The
sin here spoken of by our Lord ranks high in the catalogue of
presumptuous sins, for which there was no forgiveness
under the Mosaic dispensation. See Numbers
15:30,31;; 35:31;
; Leviticus
20:10; 1 Samuel
2:25. When our Lord says that such a sin hath no
forgiveness, is he not to be understood as meaning that the
crime shall be punished under the Christian dispensation as it
was under the Jewish, viz. by the destruction of the body? And
is not this the same mentioned 1 John
1:7, called there the sin unto death; i.e. a sin
that was to be punished by the death of the body, while mercy
might be extended to the soul? The punishment for presumptuous
sins, under the Jewish law, to which our Lord evidently
alludes, certainly did not extend to the damnation of the
soul, though the body was destroyed: therefore I think
that, though there was no such forgiveness to be extended to
this crime as to absolve the man from the punishment of
temporal death, yet, on repentance, mercy might
be extended to the soul; and every sin may be repented of
under the Gospel dispensation.
Verse 33. Either make the tree
good
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
That is, the effect will be
always similar to the cause; a bad tree will
produce bad fruit, and a good tree, good fruit.
Verse 34. O generation of
vipers
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
These are apparently severe words;
but they were extremely proper in reference to that execrable
people to whom they were addressed: the whole verse is an
inference from what was spoken before.
),
, the overflowings) of the
heart
Wicked words and sinful actions
may be considered as the overflowings of a heart that
is more than full of the spirit of wickedness; and holy
words and righteous deeds may be considered as the
overflowings of a heart that is filled with the Holy
Spirit, and running over with love to God and man.
Verse 35. A good man out of the good
treasure of the heart
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
(οις),
, of the
heart, is omitted by upwards of one hundred MSS., many of
them of the greatest antiquity and authority; by all the
Syriac, Arabic, and Persic; by the Slavonic,
Saxon, Vulgate, and Itala, (except four,) and by
several of the primitive fathers. It seems to
have been added here by some copyist, merely to explain. The
good heart is the good treasury, and the treasure that
is in it is the love of God, and of all mankind. The bad heart
is the bad treasury, and its treasure is the carnal
mind, which is enmity against God, and
ill-will to man.
Verse 36. Every idle
word
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
(οις),
, a word that does
nothing, that neither ministers grace nor
instruction to them who hear it. The word αργον
corresponds to the Hebrew shave, which signifies not
only vain or empty, but also wicked and
injurious, such as a false testimony against a
neighbour, compare Deuteronomy
5:11,20. Add to this, that Symmachus translates piggul,
polluted, Leviticus
19:7, by the very Greek word in the text. It was to
explain this ambiguous meaning of the word, that ten
MSS. have changed αργον Into πονηρον, evil. Our Lord
must be understood here as condemning all false and
injurious words: the scope of the place necessarily
requires this meaning.
Verse 37. By thy words thou shalt be
justified
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
That is, the whole tenor of thy
conversation will be an evidence for or
against thee, in the great day. How many are there who
count words for nothing! and yet eternity often depends
on them. Lord, put a watch before the door of my
lips! is a prayer proper for all men.
Verse 38. We would see a sign from
thee.
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
That is, we wish now to see thee work
a miracle. Pride, vain curiosity, and incredulity, have never
proof sufficient of the truth: for they will not be
satisfied.
Verse 39. An evil and adulterous
generation
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Or, race of
people; for so (οις),
should be translated here, and in
most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general,
uses it to point out the Jewish people. This
translation is a key to unlock some very obscure passages in
the evangelists.
Or, seeketh another sign,
((οις),
,) so I think this word should be translated. Our
Lord had already given the Jews several signs; and here
they desire sign upon sign.
Verse 40. Three days and three
nights
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Our Lord rose from the grave on the
day but one after his crucifixion: so that, in the
computation in this verse, the part of the day on which he was
crucified, and the part of that on which he rose again, are
severally estimated as an entire day; and this, no
doubt, exactly corresponded to the time in which Jonah was in
the belly of the fish. Our Lord says, As Jonah was, so shall
the Son of man be, Evening and morning, or night and
day, is the Hebrew phrase for a natural day, which
the Greeks termed νυξθημερον, nuchthemeron. The very
same quantity of time which is here termed three days and
three nights, and which, in reality, was only one
whole day, a part of two others, and
two whole nights, is termed three days and three
nights, in the book of Esther: Go; neither eat
nor drink THREE DAYS, NIGHT or DAY, and I will
go in unto the king: Esther
4:16. Afterwards it follows, ; 5:1.
On the THIRD DAY, Esther stood in the inner court of
the king's house. Many examples might be produced,
from both the sacred and profane writers, in vindication of
the propriety of the expression in the text. For farther
satisfaction, the reader, if he please, may consult
Whitby and Wakefield, and take the following
from Lightfoot.
That a fish of the shark kind,
and not a whale, is here meant, Bochart has
abundantly proved, vol. iii. col. 742, of a whale is
capable of admitting little more than the arm of an
ordinary man; but many of the shark species can swallow a man
whole, and men have been found whole in the stomachs of
several. Every natural history abounds with facts of this
kind. Besides, the shark is a native of the
Mediterranean Sea, in which Jonah was sailing when
swallowed by what the Hebrew terms dag gadol, a
great fish; but every body knows that whales are no
produce of the Mediterranean Sea, thought some have
been by accident found there, as in most other parts of
the maritime world: but, let them be found where they may,
there is none of them capable of swallowing a man. Instead of
either whale or shark, some have translated
dag gadol, Jonah
1:17, by a fishing cove, or something of this nature; but
this is merely to get rid of the miracle: for, according to
some, the whole of Divine revelation is a forgery-or it is a
system of metaphor or allegory, that has no miraculous
interferences in it. But, independently of all this, the
criticism is contemptible. Others say, that the great fish
means a vessel so called, into which Jonah went, and into the
hold of which he was thrown, where he continued three
days and three nights. In short, it must be any thing but a
real miracle, the existence of which the wise men, so called,
of the present day, cannot admit. Perhaps these very men are
not aware that they have scarcely any belief even in the
existence of God himself!
Verse 41. The men of Nineveh shell
rise in judgment
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
The voice of God,
threatening temporal judgments, caused a whole people to
repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor
the prophets; and who perhaps never had but this one preacher
among them. What judgment may not we expect, if we continue
impenitent, after all that God has bestowed upon us?
(οις),
, for τιπλειον, something
more. The evidence offered by Jonah sufficed to
convince and lead the Ninevites to repentance; but here was
more evidence, and a greater person; and yet so
obstinate are the Jews that all is ineffectual. 1. Christ, who
preached to the Jews, was infinitely greater than Jonah, in
his nature, person, and mission. 2. Jonah preached repentance
in Nineveh only forty days, and Christ preached among
the Jews for several years. 3. Jonah wrought no miracles to
authorize his preaching; but Christ wrought miracles every
day, in every place where he went, and of every kind. And 4.
Notwithstanding all this, the people of Judea did not repent,
though the people of Nineveh did.
Verse 42. The queen of the
south
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
In 1 Kings
10:1, this queen is said to be of Saba, which was a
city and province of Arabia Felix, to the south, or
south-east, of Judea.
(οις),
-a form of speech which
merely signifies, a great distance. See Deuteronomy
28:49.
Verse 43. When the unclean
spirit
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
If there had been no reality in
demoniacal possessions, our Lord would have scarcely appealed
to a case of this kind here, to point out the real state of
the Jewish people, and the desolation which was coming upon
them. Had this been only a vulgar error, of the nonsense of
which the learned scribes and the wise Pharisees must have
been convinced, the case not being one in point, because not
true, must have been treated by that very people with contempt
for whose conviction it was alone designed.
(οις),
. There seems to be a
reference here to the Orphic demonology, in which evil
spirits were divided into various classes, according to the
different regions of their abode, or places in which they
delighted. These classes were five: 1.
δαιμονεςουρανιοι, Celestial demons. 2. δαιμονεςηεριοι,
Aerial. 3. δαιμονες ενυδριοι, Aquatic. 4.
δαιμονεςχθονιοι, Terrestrial. 5. καιδαιμονεςυποχθονιοι,
And subterranean demons. See Orph. ad Mus. ap.
Schott. The Platonists, the followers of Zoroaster, and
the primitive Jews, made nearly the same distinctions.
Or
refreshment. Strange! a fallen corrupt spirit can have
no rest but in the polluted human heart: the corruption of the
one is suited to the pollution of the other, and thus
like cleaves to like.
Verse 44. Into my
house
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
The soul of that person from whom he
had been expelled by the power of Christ, and out of which he
was to have been kept by continual prayer, faith, and
watchfulness.
Unoccupied, (οις),
,
empty of the former inhabitant, and ready to
receive a new one: denoting a soul that has lost the life and
power of godliness, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
As (οις),
signifies to be
idle, or unemployed, it may refer here to the
person, as well as to his state. His affections
and desires are no longer busied with the things of
God, but gad about, like an idle person, among
the vanities of a perishing world. Swept, from love,
meekness, and all the fruits of the Spirit; and
garnished, or adorned, κεκοσμημενον,
decorated, with the vain showy trifles of folly and
fashion. This may comprise also smart speeches, cunning
repartees, very remarkable.
Verse 45. Seven other spirits more
wicked
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
Seven was a favourite number
with the Jews, implying frequently, with them, something
perfect, completed, filled up, for such is the proper
import of the Hebrew word sheva or shevang:
nearly allied in sound to our seven. And perhaps this
meaning of it refers to the seventh day, when God
rested from his work, having filled up, or
completed the whole of his creative design. Seven
demons-as many as could occupy his soul, harassing it with
pride, anger, self-will, lust,
His soul, before
influenced by the Spirit of God, dilated and expanded under
its heavenly influences, becomes more capable of refinement in
iniquity, as its powers are more capacious than formerly. Evil
habits are formed and strengthened by relapses; and relapses
are multiplied, and become more incurable, through new habits.
And so it was: for they
grew worse and worse, as if totally abandoned to diabolic
influence; till at last the besom of destruction swept them
and their privileges, national and religious, utterly away.
What a terrible description of a state of apostasy is
contained in these verses! May he who readeth understand!
Verse 46. His mother and his
brethren
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
These are supposed to have been
the cousins of our Lord, as the word brother is
frequently used among the Hebrews in this sense. But there are
others who believe Mary had other children beside our Lord and
that these were literally his brothers, who are spoken
of here. And, although it be possible that these were the sons
of Mary, the wife of Cleopas or Alpheus, his mother's sister,
called his relations, Mark
3:31; yet it is as likely that they were the children of
Joseph and Mary, and brethren of our Lord, in the
strictest sense of the word. See on Matthew
13:55.
Verse 48. Who is my mother? and who
are my brethren?
• AC Top
SRB
JFB
OU
The reason of this seeming
disregard of his relatives was this: they came to
seize upon him, for they thought he was distracted.
See Mark
3:33.
Verse 50.
Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, are the best
acknowledged relatives of Christ who are united to him by
spiritual ties, and who are become one with him by the
indwelling of his Spirit. We generally suppose that Christ's
relatives must have shared much of his affectionate attention;
and doubtless they did: but here we find that whosoever does
the will of God is equally esteemed by Christ, as his
brother, sister, or even his virgin mother. What
an encouragement for fervent attachment to God!
• Key
SRB = Scofield References
SRB = Introduction
JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
JFB = Introduction
AC = Adam Clarke Comentary
AC = Chronology by Adam Clarke
OU = OUtline of St. Matthew
• Burton
Coffman
• Barnes'
New Testament
• Darby's
Synopsis
• Gill's
Exposition
• Geneva
Study Bible
• David
Guzik's Commentaries
• Jamieson,
Fausset, Brown
• John
Lightfoot Commentary
• Matthew
Henry Complete
• Matthew
Henry Concise
• People's
New Testament
• Robertson's
Word Pictures
• Scofield
Reference Notes
• The
Fourfold Gospel
• Treasury
of Scripture
• Wesley's
Explanatory Notes
Copyright Statement
The Adam Clarke Commentary is a derivative of an
electronic edition prepared by GodRules.net.
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on Matthew 12". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=012>.
1832.
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