---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Matthew 12"
description: "CHAPTER 12   :-. PLUCKING CORN
EARS ON THE SABBATH
DAY. ( = Mark 2:23-28;
Luke 6:1-5). The season of the year when this
occurred is determined by the even"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/matthew/12"
---

CHAPTER 12

. PLUCKING CORN
EARS ON THE SABBATH
DAY. ( = [Mark 2:23-28](../../../kjv/mark/2/23-28);
[Luke 6:1-5](../../../kjv/luke/6/1-5)).
The season of the year when this
occurred is determined by the event itself. Ripe corn ears are found
in the fields only just before harvest. The barley harvest seems
clearly intended here, at the close of our March and beginning of our
April. It coincided with the Passover season, as the wheat harvest
with Pentecost. But in Luke ([Luke 6:1](../../../kjv/luke/6/1))
we have a still more definite note of time, if we could be certain of
the meaning of the peculiar term which he employs to express it. "It
came to pass (he says) on the sabbath, which was the *first-second,*"
for that is the proper rendering of the word, and not "the
second sabbath after the first," as in our version. Of the
various conjectures what this may mean, that of SCALIGER
is the most approved, and, as we think, the freest from difficulty,
namely, the first sabbath after the second day of the Passover; that
is, the first of the seven sabbaths which were to be reckoned from
the second day of the Passover, which was itself a sabbath, until the
next feast, the feast of Pentecost ([Leviticus 23:15](../../../kjv/leviticus/23/15);
[Leviticus 23:16](../../../kjv/leviticus/23/16); [Deuteronomy 16:9](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/16/9);
[Deuteronomy 16:10](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/16/10)) In this case, the day
meant by the Evangelist is the first of those seven sabbaths
intervening between Passover and Pentecost. And if we are right in
regarding the "feast" mentioned in [Deuteronomy 16:10](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/16/10) as a *Passover,* and consequently the second during our
Lord's public ministry (see on [Deuteronomy 16:10](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/16/10)),
this plucking of the ears of corn must have occurred immediately
after the scene and the discourse recorded in [Deuteronomy 16:10](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/16/10), which, doubtless, would induce our Lord to hasten His
departure for the north, to avoid the wrath of the Pharisees, which
He had kindled at Jerusalem. Here, accordingly, we find Him in the
fields—on His way probably to Galilee.

**1. At that time Jesus went on the
sabbath day through the corn**—"the cornfields"
([Mark 2:23](../../../kjv/mark/2/23); [Luke 6:1](../../../kjv/luke/6/1)).
**and his disciples were an
hungered**—not as one may be before his regular meals; but
evidently from shortness of provisions: for Jesus defends their
plucking the corn-ears and eating them on the plea of *necessity.*
**and began to pluck the ears
of corn, and to eat**—"rubbing them in their hands" ([Luke 6:1](../../../kjv/luke/6/1)).

**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**—The act itself was expressly
permitted ([Deuteronomy 23:25](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/23/25)). But as
being "servile work," which was prohibited on the sabbath
day, it was regarded as sinful.

**3. But he said unto them, Have ye
not read**—or, as Mark () has it, "Have ye never read."
**what David did when he was an
hungered, and they that were with him**— ()

**4. How he entered into the house of
God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat,
neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?**—No
example could be more apposite than this. The man after God's own
heart, of whom the Jews ever boasted, when suffering in God's cause
and straitened for provisions, asked and obtained from the high
priest what, according to the law, it was illegal for anyone save the
priests to touch. Mark ([Mark 2:26](../../../kjv/mark/2/26))
says this occurred "in the days of Abiathar the high priest."
But this means not during his high priesthood—for it was under that
of his father Ahimelech—but simply, in his time. Ahimelech was soon
succeeded by Abiathar, whose connection with David, and prominence
during his reign, may account for his name, rather than his father's,
being here introduced. Yet there is not a little confusion in what is
said of these priests in different parts of the Old Testament. Thus
he is called both the son of the father of Ahimelech ([1 Samuel 22:20](../../../kjv/1-samuel/22/20);
[2 Samuel 8:17](../../../kjv/2-samuel/8/17)); and Ahimelech is
called Ahiah ([1 Samuel 14:3](../../../kjv/1-samuel/14/3)), and
Abimelech ([1 Chronicles 18:16](../../../kjv/1-chronicles/18/16)).

**5. Or have ye not read in the law,
how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the
sabbath**—by doing "servile work."
**and are blameless?**—The
double offerings required on the sabbath day () could not be presented, and the new-baked showbread
([Leviticus 24:5](../../../kjv/leviticus/24/5); [1 Chronicles 9:32](../../../kjv/1-chronicles/9/32))
could not be prepared and presented every sabbath morning, without a
good deal of servile work on the part of the priests; not to speak of
circumcision, which, when the child's eighth day happened to fall on
a sabbath, had to be performed by the priests on that day. (See on
[1 Chronicles 9:32](../../../kjv/1-chronicles/9/32)).

**6. But I say unto you, That in this
place is one greater than the temple**—or rather, according to
the reading which is best supported, "something greater."
The argument stands thus: "The ordinary rules for the observance
of the sabbath give way before the requirements of the temple; but
there are rights here before which the temple itself must give way."
Thus indirectly, but not the less decidedly, does our Lord put in His
own claims to consideration in this question—claims to be presently
put in even more nakedly.

**7. But if ye had known what this
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice**— ([Hosea 6:6](../../../kjv/hosea/6/6);
[Micah 6:6-8](../../../kjv/micah/6/6-8), &c.). See on
[Matthew 9:13](../../../kjv/matthew/9/13).
**ye would not have condemned
the guiltless**—that is, Had ye understood the great principle of
all religion, which the Scripture everywhere recognizes—that
ceremonial observances must give way before moral duties, and
particularly the necessities of nature—ye would have refrained from
these captious complaints against men who in this matter are
blameless. But our Lord added a specific application of this great
principle to the law of the sabbath, preserved only in Mark: "And
he said unto them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
sabbath" ([Mark 2:27](../../../kjv/mark/2/27)). A
glorious and far-reaching maxim, alike for the permanent
establishment of the sabbath and the true freedom of its observance.

**8. For the Son of man is Lord even
of the sabbath day**—In what sense now is the Son of man Lord of
the sabbath day? Not surely to abolish it—that surely were a
strange lordship, especially just after saying that it was made or
instituted for MAN—but
to *own* it, to *interpret* it, to *preside over* it,
and to *ennoble* it, by merging it in the "Lord's Day"
([Revelation 1:10](../../../kjv/revelation/1/10)), breathing into it an
air of liberty and love necessarily unknown before, and thus making
it the nearest resemblance to the eternal sabbatism.
[Revelation 1:10](../../../kjv/revelation/1/10). THE HEALING
OF A WITHERED HAND
ON THE SABBATH DAY
AND RETIREMENT OF
JESUS TO AVOID
DANGER. ( = [Mark 3:1-12](../../../kjv/mark/3/1-12);
[Luke 6:6-11](../../../kjv/luke/6/6-11)).
*Healing of a Withered Hand*
([Matthew 12:9-14](../../../kjv/matthew/12/9-14)).

**9. And when he was departed
thence**—but "on another sabbath" ().
**he went into their
synagogue**—"and taught." He had now, no doubt, arrived
in Galilee; but this, it would appear, did not occur at Capernaum,
for after it was over, He "withdrew Himelf," it is said "*to
the sea*" ([Mark 3:7](../../../kjv/mark/3/7)),
whereas Capernaum was at the sea.
**And, behold, there was a man
which had his hand withered**—disabled by paralysis (as in [Mark 3:7](../../../kjv/mark/3/7)). It was his right hand, as Luke ([Mark 3:7](../../../kjv/mark/3/7)) graphically notes.
**And they asked him, saying,
Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse
him**—Mark and Luke ([Mark 3:2](../../../kjv/mark/3/2);
[Luke 6:7](../../../kjv/luke/6/7)) say they "watched
Him whether He would heal on the sabbath day." They were now
come to the length of dogging His steps, to collect materials for a
charge of impiety against Him. It is probable that it was to their
*thoughts* rather than their words that Jesus addressed Himself
in what follows.

**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?**

**12. How much then is a man better
than a sheep?**—Resistless appeal! "A righteous man
regardeth the life of his beast" (), and would instinctively rescue it from death or suffering
on the sabbath day; how much more his nobler fellow man! But the
reasoning, as given in the other two Gospels, is singularly striking:
"But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the
withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose
and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing:
Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save
life or to destroy it?" ([Luke 6:8](../../../kjv/luke/6/8);
[Luke 6:9](../../../kjv/luke/6/9)), or as in Mark ([Luke 6:9](../../../kjv/luke/6/9)), "to kill?" He thus shuts them up to this
startling alternative: "Not to do good, when it is in the power
of our hand to do it, is to do evil; not to save life, when we can,
is to kill"—and must the letter of the sabbath rest be kept at
this expense? This unexpected thrust shut their mouths. By this great
ethical principle our Lord, we see, held Himself bound, as man. But
here we must turn to Mark, whose graphic details make the second
Gospel so exceedingly precious. "When He had looked round about
on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,
He saith unto the man" ([Luke 6:9](../../../kjv/luke/6/9)). This is one of the very few passages in the Gospel history
which reveal our Lord's *feelings.* How holy this anger was
appears from the "grief" which mingled with it at "the
hardness of their hearts."

**13. Then saith he to the man,
Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth**—the power
to obey going forth with the word of command.
**and it was restored whole,
like as the other**—The poor man, having faith in this wonderful
Healer—which no doubt the whole scene would singularly help to
strengthen—disregarded the proud and venomous Pharisees, and thus
gloriously put them to shame.

**14. Then the Pharisees went out, and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him**—This is
the first explicit mention of their murderous designs against our
Lord. Luke ([Luke 6:11](../../../kjv/luke/6/11)) says,
"they were filled with madness, and communed one with another
what they might do to Jesus." But their doubt was not, *whether*
to get rid of Him, but *how* to compass it. Mark ([Luke 6:11](../../../kjv/luke/6/11)), as usual, is more definite: "The Pharisees went forth,
and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they
might destroy Him." These Herodians were supporters of Herod's
dynasty, created by Cæsar—a political rather than religious party.
The Pharisees regarded them as untrue to their religion and country.
But here we see them combining together against Christ as a common
enemy. So on a subsequent occasion ([Matthew 22:15](../../../kjv/matthew/22/15);
[Matthew 22:16](../../../kjv/matthew/22/16)).
*Jesus Retires to Avoid Danger*
([Matthew 12:15-21](../../../kjv/matthew/12/15-21)).

**15. But when Jesus knew it, he
withdrew himself from thence**—whither, our Evangelist says not;
but Mark ([Mark 3:7](../../../kjv/mark/3/7)) says "it
was *to the sea*"—to some distance, no doubt, from the
scene of the miracle, the madness, and the plotting just recorded.
**and great multitudes followed
him, and he healed them all**—Mark gives the following
interesting details: "A great multitude from Galilee followed
Him, and from Judea and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from
beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when
they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. And He spake
to His disciples, that a small ship"—or "wherry"—"should
wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him.
For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to
touch Him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw
Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of
God. And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him
known" ([Mark 3:7-12](../../../kjv/mark/3/7-12)).
How glorious this extorted homage to the Son of God! But as this was
not the time, so neither were they the fitting preachers, as BENGEL
says. (See on [Mark 3:7-41](../../../kjv/mark/3/7-41), and compare
[James 2:19](../../../kjv/james/2/19)). Coming back now to
our Evangelist: after saying, "He healed them all," he
continues:

**16. And charged them**—the
healed.
**that they should not make him
known**—(See on [Matthew 8:4](../../../kjv/matthew/8/4)).

**17. That it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying**— ().

**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 show judgment to the Gentiles.**

**19. He shall not strive nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.**

**20. A bruised reed shall he not
break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth
judgment unto victory**—"unto truth," says the *Hebrew*
original, and the *Septuagint* also. But our Evangelist merely
seizes the spirit, instead of the letter of the prediction in this
point. The grandeur and completeness of Messiah's victories would
prove, it seems, not more wonderful than the unobtrusive
noiselessness with which they were to be achieved. And whereas one
rough touch will break a bruised reed, and quench the flickering,
smoking flax, His it should be, with matchless tenderness, love, and
skill, to lift up the meek, to strengthen the weak hands and confirm
the feeble knees, to comfort all that mourn, to say to them that are
of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.

**21. And in his name shall the
Gentiles trust**—Part of His present audience were Gentiles—from
Tyre and Sidon—first-fruits of the great Gentile harvest
contemplated in the prophecy.
. A BLIND AND
DUMB DEMONIAC
HEALED AND REPLY
TO THE MALIGNANT
EXPLANATION PUT
UPON IT. ( =
[Mark 3:20-30](../../../kjv/mark/3/20-30); [Luke 11:14-23](../../../kjv/luke/11/14-23)).
The precise time of this section
is uncertain. Judging from the statements with which Mark introduces
it, we should conclude that it was when our Lord's popularity was
approaching its zenith, and so before the feeding of the five
thousand. But, on the other hand, the advanced state of the charges
brought against our Lord, and the plainness of His warnings and
denunciations in reply, seem to favor the later period at which Luke
introduces it. "And the multitude," says Mark ([Mark 3:20](../../../kjv/mark/3/20);
[Mark 3:21](../../../kjv/mark/3/21)), "cometh together
again," referring back to the immense gathering which Mark had
before recorded ([Mark 2:2](../../../kjv/mark/2/2)) —"so
that they could not so much as eat bread. And when His friends"—or
rather, "relatives," as appears from [Mark 2:2](../../../kjv/mark/2/2), and see on [Matthew 12:1](../../../kjv/matthew/12/1)
—"heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him; for they
said, He is beside Himself." Compare [Matthew 12:1](../../../kjv/matthew/12/1), "For whether we be beside ourselves, it is *to God.*"

**22. Then was brought unto him one
possessed with a devil**—"a demonized person."
**blind and dumb, and he healed
him, insomuch that the blind and the dumb both spake and saw.**

**23. And all the people were amazed,
and said, Is not this the son of David?**—The form of the
interrogative requires this to be rendered, "Is this the Son of
David?" And as questions put in this form (in *Greek*)
suppose doubt, and expect rather a negative answer, the meaning is,
"Can it possibly be?"—the people thus indicating their
secret impression that this *must* be He; yet saving themselves
from the wrath of the ecclesiastics, which a direct assertion of it
would have brought upon them. (On a similar question, see on ; and on the phrase, "Son of David," see on ).

**24. But when the Pharisees heard
it**—Mark ([Mark 3:22](../../../kjv/mark/3/22)) says,
"the scribes which came down from Jerusalem"; so that this
had been a hostile party of the ecclesiastics, who had come all the
way from Jerusalem to collect materials for a charge against Him.
(See on [Matthew 12:1](../../../kjv/matthew/12/1)).
**they said, This fellow**—an
expression of contempt.
**doth not cast out devils, but
by Beelzebub**—rather, "Beelzebul" (see on [Matthew 12:1](../../../kjv/matthew/12/1)).
**the prince of the devils**—Two
things are here implied—first, that the bitterest enemies of our
Lord were unable to deny the reality of His miracles; and next, that
they believed in an *organized infernal kingdom of evil,* under
one chief. This belief would be of small consequence, had not our
Lord set His seal to it; but this He immediately does. Stung by the
unsophisticated testimony of "all the people," they had no
way of holding out against His claims but by the desperate shift of
ascribing His miracles to Satan.

**25. And Jesus knew their
thoughts**—"called them" ().
**and said unto them, Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every
city or house divided against itself shall not stand**—"house,"
that is, "household"

**26. And if Satan cast out Satan, he
is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?**—The
argument here is irresistible. "No organized society can
stand—whether kingdom, city, or household—when turned against
itself; such intestine war is suicidal: But the works I do are
destructive of Satan's kingdom: That I should be in league with
Satan, therefore, is incredible and absurd."

**27. And if I by Beelzebub cast out
devils, by whom do your children**—"your sons," meaning
here the "disciples" or pupils of the Pharisees, who were
so termed after the familiar language of the Old Testament in
speaking of the sons of the prophets ([1 Kings 20:35](../../../kjv/1-kings/20/35);
[2 Kings 2:3](../../../kjv/2-kings/2/3), c.). Our Lord here seems
to admit that such works were wrought by them in which case the
Pharisees stood self-condemned, as expressed in Luke ([2 Kings 2:3](../../../kjv/2-kings/2/3)), "Therefore shall they be your judges."

**28. But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit of God**—In Luke () it is, "with (or 'by') the finger of God." This
latter expression is just a figurative way of representing the *power*
of God, while the former tells us the *living Personal Agent*
was made use of by the Lord Jesus in every exercise of that power.
**then**—"no doubt"
([Luke 11:20](../../../kjv/luke/11/20)).
**the kingdom of God is come
unto you**—rather "upon you," as the same expression is
rendered in Luke ([Luke 11:20](../../../kjv/luke/11/20)):
—that is, "If this expulsion of Satan is, and can be, by no
other than the Spirit of God, then is his Destroyer already in the
midst of you, and that kingdom which is destined to supplant his is
already rising on its ruins."

**29. Or else how can one enter into a
strong man's house**—or rather, "the strong man's house."
**and spoil his goods, except
he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.**

**30. He that is not with me is
against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad**—On
this important parable, in connection with the corresponding one (), see on .

**31. Wherefore I say unto you, All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men**—The word
"blasphemy" properly signifies "detraction," or
"slander." In the New Testament it is applied, as it is
here, to vituperation directed against God as well as against men;
and in this sense it is to be understood as an aggravated form of
sin. Well, says our Lord, all sin—whether in its ordinary or its
more aggravated forms—shall find forgiveness with God. Accordingly,
in Mark ([Mark 3:28](../../../kjv/mark/3/28)) the language
is still stronger: "All sin shall be forgiven unto the sons of
men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme."
There is no sin whatever, it seems, of which it may be said, "That
is not a pardonable sin." This glorious assurance is not to be
limited by what follows; but, on the contrary, what follows is to be
explained by this.
**but the blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.**

**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**—In Mark the
language is awfully strong, "hath never forgiveness, but is in
danger of eternal damnation" ()—or rather, according to what appears to be the preferable
though very unusual reading, "in danger of eternal guilt"—a
guilt which he will underlie for ever. Mark has the important
addition ([Mark 3:30](../../../kjv/mark/3/30)), "Because
they said, He hath an unclean spirit." (See on [Mark 3:30](../../../kjv/mark/3/30)). What, then, is this sin against the Holy Ghost—the
unpardonable sin? One thing is clear: Its unpardonableness cannot
arise from anything in the nature of sin itself; for that would be a
naked contradiction to the emphatic declaration of [Mark 3:30](../../../kjv/mark/3/30), that all manner of sin is pardonable. And what is this but
the fundamental truth of the Gospel? (See [Acts 13:38](../../../kjv/acts/13/38);
[Acts 13:39](../../../kjv/acts/13/39); [Romans 3:22](../../../kjv/romans/3/22);
[Romans 3:24](../../../kjv/romans/3/24); [1 John 1:7](../../../kjv/1-john/1/7),
c.). Then, again when it is said ([1 John 1:7](../../../kjv/1-john/1/7)), that to speak against or blaspheme the Son of man is
pardonable, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is not
pardonable, it is not to be conceived that this arises from any
greater sanctity in the one blessed Person than the other. These
remarks so narrow the question that the true sense of our Lord's
words seem to disclose themselves at once. It is a contrast between
slandering "the Son of man" *in His veiled condition and
unfinished work*—which might be done "ignorantly, in
unbelief" ([1 Timothy 1:13](../../../kjv/1-timothy/1/13)), and
slandering the same blessed Person after the blaze of glory which *the
Holy Ghost* was soon to throw around His claims, and in the full
knowledge of all that. This would be to slander Him with eyes open,
or to do it "presumptuously." To blaspheme Christ in the
former condition—when even the apostles stumbled at many
things—left them still open to conviction on fuller light: but to
blaspheme Him in the latter condition would be to hate the light the
clearer it became, and resolutely to shut it out which, of course,
precludes salvation. (See on [1 Timothy 1:13](../../../kjv/1-timothy/1/13)). The Pharisees had not as yet done this; but in
charging Jesus with being in league with hell they were displaying
beforehand a malignant determination to shut their eyes to all
evidence, and so, *bordering upon,* and *in spirit*
committing, the unpardonable sin.

**33. Either make the tree good,**
&c.

**34. O generation of vipers**—(See
on [Matthew 3:7](../../../kjv/matthew/3/7)).
**how can ye, being evil, speak
good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh**—a principle obvious enough, yet of deepest
significance and vast application. In [Matthew 3:7](../../../kjv/matthew/3/7) we find it uttered as part of the discourse delivered after
the choice of the apostles.

**35. A good man, out of the good
treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things**—or, "putteth
forth good things":
**and an evil man, out of the
evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things**—or "putteth
forth evil things." The word "putteth" indicates the
spontaneity of what comes from the heart; for it is out of the
abundance of the heart that the mouth speaketh. We have here a new
application of a former saying (see on ). Here, the sentiment is, "There are but two
kingdoms, interests, parties—with the proper workings of each: If I
promote the one, I cannot belong to the other; but they that set
themselves in wilful opposition to the kingdom of light openly
proclaim to what other kingdom they belong. As for you, in what ye
have now uttered, ye have but revealed the venomous malignity of your
hearts."

**36. But I say unto you, That every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in
the day of judgment**—They might say, "It was nothing: we
meant no evil; we merely threw out a supposition, as one way of
accounting for the miracle we witnessed; if it will not stand, let it
go; why make so much of it, and bear down with such severity for it?"
Jesus replies, "It was not nothing, and at the great day will
not be treated as nothing: Words, as the index of the heart, however
idle they may seem, will be taken account of, whether good or bad, in
estimating character in the day of judgment."
. A SIGN
DEMANDED AND THE REPLY—HIS
MOTHER AND BRETHREN
SEEK TO SPEAK
WITH HIM, AND THE
ANSWER. ( = [Luke 11:16](../../../kjv/luke/11/16);
[Luke 11:24-36](../../../kjv/luke/11/24-36); [Mark 3:31-35](../../../kjv/mark/3/31-35);
[Luke 8:19-21](../../../kjv/luke/8/19-21)).
*A Sign Demanded, and the Reply*
([Matthew 12:38-45](../../../kjv/matthew/12/38-45)).
The occasion of this section was
manifestly the same with that of the preceding.

**38. Then certain of the scribes and
of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master**—"Teacher,"
equivalent to "Rabbi."
**we would see a sign from
thee**—"a sign from heaven" (); something of an immediate and decisive nature, to show,
not that His miracles were *real*—that they seemed willing to
concede—but that they were from above, not from beneath. These were
not the same class with those who charged Him with being in league
with Satan (as we see from [Luke 11:15](../../../kjv/luke/11/15);
[Luke 11:16](../../../kjv/luke/11/16)); but as the spirit of
both was similar, the tone of severe rebuke is continued.

**39. But he answered and said unto
them**—"when the people were gathered thick together"
([Luke 11:29](../../../kjv/luke/11/29)).
**an evil and adulterous
generation**—This latter expression is best explained by [Luke 11:29](../../../kjv/luke/11/29), "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her
husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,
saith the Lord." For this was the relationship in which He stood
to the covenant-people—"I am married unto you" ([Luke 11:29](../../../kjv/luke/11/29)).
**seeketh after a sign**—In
the eye of Jesus this class were but the spokesmen of their
generation, the exponents of the reigning spirit of unbelief.
**and there shall no sign be
given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.**

**40. For as Jonas was**—"a
sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this
generation" ([Luke 11:30](../../../kjv/luke/11/30)).
For as Jonas was
**three days and three nights
in the whale's belly**— ([Luke 11:30](../../../kjv/luke/11/30)).
**so shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth**—This was
the second public announcement of His resurrection three days after
His death. (For the first, see [Luke 11:30](../../../kjv/luke/11/30)). Jonah's case was analogous to this, as being a signal
judgment of God; reversed in three days; and followed by a glorious
mission to the Gentiles. The expression "in the heart of the
earth," suggested by the expression of Jonah with respect to the
sea (2:3, in the *Septuagint*), means simply the grave,
but this considered as the most emphatic expression of real and total
entombment. The period during which He was to lie in the grave is
here expressed in round numbers, according to the Jewish way of
speaking, which was to regard any part of a day, however small,
included within a period of days, as a full day. (See [1 Samuel 30:12](../../../kjv/1-samuel/30/12);
[1 Samuel 30:13](../../../kjv/1-samuel/30/13); [Esther 4:16](../../../kjv/esther/4/16);
[Esther 5:1](../../../kjv/esther/5/1); [Matthew 27:63](../../../kjv/matthew/27/63);
[Matthew 27:64](../../../kjv/matthew/27/64), &c.).

**41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in
judgment with this generation,** c.—The Ninevites, though
heathens, repented at a man's preaching while they, God's
covenant-people, repented not at the preaching of the Son of
God—whose supreme dignity is rather implied here than expressed.

**42. The queen of the south shall
rise up in the judgment with this generation,** &c.—The queen
of Sheba (a tract in Arabia, near the shores of the Red Sea) came
from a remote country, "south" of Judea, to hear the wisdom
of a mere man, though a gifted one, and was transported with wonder
at what she saw and heard (). They, when a Greater than Solomon had come *to them,*
despised and rejected, slighted and slandered Him.

**43-45. When the unclean spirit is
gone out of a man,** c.—On this important parable, in connection
with the corresponding one () see on .
A charming
little incident, given only in [Luke 11:27](../../../kjv/luke/11/27)
[Luke 11:28](../../../kjv/luke/11/28), seems to have its
proper place here.
[Luke 11:28](../../../kjv/luke/11/28):
***And
it came to pass, as He spake these things, a certain woman of**********the company*******—out of the crowd.
***lifted
up her voice and said unto Him, Blessed is the womb that bare Thee,
and the paps which Thou hast sucked*******—With true womanly feeling she envies
the mother of such a wonderful Teacher. And a higher and better than
she had said as much before her (see on [Luke 11:28](../../../kjv/luke/11/28)). How does our Lord, then, treat it? He is far from
condemning it. He only holds up as "blessed rather" another
class: [Luke 11:28](../../../kjv/luke/11/28):
***But he
said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of**********God, and keep it*******—in other words, the humblest real
saint of God. How utterly alien is this sentiment from the teaching
of the Church of Rome, which would doubtless excommunicate any one of
its members that dared to talk in such a strain!
*His Mother and Brethren Seek to
Speak with Him and the Answer* ([Luke 11:28](../../../kjv/luke/11/28)).

**46. While he yet talked to the
people, behold, his mother and his brethren**—(See on ).
**stood without, desiring to
speak with him**—"and could not come at Him for the press"
([Luke 8:19](../../../kjv/luke/8/19)). For what purpose
these came, we learn from [Mark 3:20](../../../kjv/mark/3/20);
[Mark 3:21](../../../kjv/mark/3/21). In His zeal and ardor
He seemed indifferent both to food and repose, and "they went to
lay hold of Him" as one "beside Himself." Mark ([Mark 3:21](../../../kjv/mark/3/21)) says graphically, "And the multitude sat about Him"—or
"around Him."

**47. Then one said unto him, Behold,
thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with
thee,** &c.—Absorbed in the awful warnings He was pouring
forth, He felt this to be an unseasonable interruption, fitted to
dissipate the impression made upon the large audience—such an
interruption as duty to the nearest relatives did not require Him to
give way to. But instead of a direct rebuke, He seizes on the
incident to convey a sublime lesson, expressed in a style of
inimitable condescension.

**49. And he stretched forth his hand
toward his disciples**—How graphic is this! It is the language
evidently of an eye-witness.
**and said, Behold my mother
and my brethren!**

**50. For whosoever shall do the will
of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister,
and mother**—that is, "There stand here the members of a
family transcending and surviving this of earth: Filial subjection to
the will of My Father in heaven is the indissoluble bond of union
between Me and all its members; and whosoever enters this hallowed
circle becomes to Me brother, and sister, and mother!"

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