The Pulpit Commentaries Matthew (Vol. 3) (Joseph S. Exell)

《The Pulpit Commentaries – Matthew (Vol. 3)》(Joseph S. Exell)

12 Chapter 12

Verses 1-50

EXPOSITION

Matthew 12:1-50

The opposition that our Lord met with

Matthew 12:1-45

(1)Opposition from his enemies.

(a) Conscious and wilful opposition (Matthew 12:1-37).

( α) As regards the sabbath (Matthew 12:1-14).

( β) An interlude. The evangelist sees in our Lord's behaviour the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy (verses 15-21).

( γ) The opposition carried to the extreme of accusing him of alliance with Beelzebub.

Christ shows the monstrous character of such an accusation, and the absence which it discloses of all spirituality of mind (verses 22-37).

(b) Opposition due to lack of energy in spiritual things. Christ contrasts the behaviour of heathen mentioned in the Old Testament, and warns the Jews of the result of their present apathy (verses 38-45).

Matthew 12:1-8

Thesabbath in relation to the preparation of food. Parallel passages: Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5. St. Matthew here returns to the Framework, which he left at Matthew 9:26 or 34.

Matthew 12:1

At that time (Matthew 11:25, note) Jesus went ( ἐπορεύθη). It has been suggested that he was now on his way to the synagogue spoken of in Matthew 12:9 (but see note there). Wherever he was going, it must have been within about three quarters of a mile distance (two thousand cubits; see Dr. Lumby, on Acts 1:12, "asabbath day's journey;" and Schurer, II. 2:102). On the sabbath day. Defined in the Received Text of Luke by the anomalous term "second-first," for the genesis of which see especially Westcott and Hort, 'App.' Through the corn; the corn-fields (Revised Version, as also Authorized Version in the parallel passages). If it was barley harvest, the time would be probably the beginning of May; if wheat harvest, as seems more likely, about the beginning of June. And his disciples were a hungred. So that it was not for his own sake that our Lord acted as he did. And began. They could therefore hardly have eaten much when the complaint was made. To pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. It was legal to pluck corn from a field through which one passed (Deuteronomy 23:25), and it is said to be allowed still; but as it was held by the scribes to be a form of reaping, and perhaps of threshing also, it was considered illegal on the sabbath (cf. Edersheim, 'Life,' 2.56).

Matthew 12:2

But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him. The Revised Version (but the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him)retains the simple order of the Greek, which more vividly represents the Pharisees as a party opposed to him. Behold. They suggest that he had not noticed it. Were the disciples behind him (cf. Matthew 8:23)? Thy disciples. Notice that all the accusations brought against the disciples in this Gospel concern food: Matthew 9:14, as regards abstaining from it upon fixed days; Matthew 15:2, as regards eating it without taking extreme precautions against ceremonial pollution; in the present passage, as regards avoiding any profanation of the sabbath for its sake. Do. At this moment. That which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day (Matthew 15:1, note).

Matthew 12:3

But he said unto them, Have yenot read. Our Lord answers them by showing that the principle of the action of his disciples was sanctioned in the Scriptures to which they implicitly appealed. He calls their attention first (more Rabbinico; cf. on Matthew 12:5) to the Prophets (i.e. the former prophets, according to the Hebrew division), as teaching by example that holy things are of secondary importance compared with the benefit of God's people; and afterwards to the Law, which implies that the sabbath itself is of secondary importance compared with work necessary for the sanctuary. He then affirms that in the present case there is One present who is even greater than the sanctuary. He goes on to say that their complaint, however, was really due to the lack, not so much of intellectual as of spiritual knowledge; they had no rapprochement with the God of love, or they would not have condemned those who, both because they were men and because they were disciples of the Son of man, stood above the sabbath. What David did, when he was a hungred, and they that were with him (1 Samuel 21:1-7).

Matthew 12:4

How he entered into the house of God,and did eat; rather, and they did eat,with Revised Version margin ( ἔφαγον),the simple plural verb laying the action less at David's door than does the phrase in the parallel passages—"and he gave" them to eat. Observe that the mention of ordinary people, like David's attendants, adds to the force of our Lord's illustration. The shew-bread (Exodus 25:30; Le Exodus 24:5-7). Which. Which kind of food ( ὅ). Was not lawful ( οὐκ ἔξον ἦν). Reminding the Pharisees of their own words in Matthew 12:2. Forhim to eat, neither for them which were with him, bat only for the priests? (Le Matthew 24:9).

Matthew 12:5

Matthew only. Or. A second example, if the first does not convince you. Have ye not read in the Law. Beyond which there is no appeal. Jewish authors often appeal to Scripture in the order of Hagio-graphs, Prophets, and, last of all, Law. He here refers to Le Matthew 24:8 (cf. also 1 Chronicles 9:32), but Bengel's suggestive remark that Leviticus was read in the services at that very time of year is vitiated by the double uncertainty, first, what time of year it really was; and secondly, what is the antiquity of the present custom of reading the whole Law every year (cf. Dr. Lumby on Acts 13:1-52., 'Add. Note'). According to the express orders of the Law, the priests put in fresh shewbread on the sabbath day. How that on the sabbath daysthe priests in the temple. The word of wider import is used ( ἱερόν, not σκηνή),because the Law still holds good. Profane the sabbath. If their work is regarded in itself, as the action of my disciples is now regarded. And are blameless? (guiltless,Revised Version, as also the Authorized Version in verse 7); i.e. in the eyes of the Law. This you will all grant (cf. Schurer, II. 2.103). Lightfoot's ('Her. Hebr.') attractive quotation from Maimonides in ' Pesachim,' 1. (i.e. 'Hilkoth Korban Pesach,' § 1.), "Thereis no sabbatism at all in the temple," appears to rest on a misunderstanding.

Matthew 12:6

Matthew only. But I say unto you, That in this place is onegreater than the temple ( τοῦ ἱεροῦ μειζόν ἐστιν ὧδε); "Gr. a greater thing". A similarly difficult neuter is found in verses 41, 45. If the neuter be insisted upon, we must understand Christ to refer to his cause, the work in which the disciples were engaged. This was greater than the temple; lunch more, therefore, was it greater than the sabbath. Probably, however, our Lord is referring to himself, to his own Person and character, but uses the neuter, either as forming a more decided contrast to ἱερόν, or as being more weighty than the masculine (of. Matthew 11:9, note). Also it was less defined and more mysterious. He could not reveal to them the secret of his presence. Observe the use, even at this stage in his ministry, of words implying the decadence of the temple service (cf. John 4:21; Acts 6:14). In this place; here (Revised Version), as in verses 41, 42.

Matthew 12:7

Matthew only. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I wilt have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless (on the quotation, seeMatthew 9:13, note). Had you learned the simple Bible truth that God places the exercise of your moral faculties, particularly those of kindness, above merely external observances, you would not have committed this sin of taking up the position of wrong judges. He traces their error up to its true source, ignorance of the first principles of religion, ignorance of what God really desires. Condemned. Formally and officially ( καταδικάζω). The guiltless. As were the very priests (verse 5).

Matthew 12:8

Parallel passages: Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5. For. With immediate refer-once to guiltless. The Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day; is Lord of the sabbath (Revised Version); ere,being added in the Received Text from Mark and Luke. Christ clinches the argument, and at the same time explains his phrase in verse 6. The temple is greater than the sabbath; I am greater than the temple; these my disciples are therefore guiltless; for, to put it briefly, I, whom they are following, am greater than the sabbath and rule over it. Observe, however, that Christ does not directly say "I," but the Son of man. The reason is seen in Mark, where a connecting link is given: "The sabbath was made for man. and not man for the sabbath: so that the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath." Christ there implies that the sabbath is inferior to man, not only because it exists for his sake (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:9),but also because it falls under the lordship referred to in Genesis 1:28; and therefore that he himself is really superior to it as man, anti much more as the ideal Man (Matthew 8:20, note). Our saying is very condensed, but includes the name thought, omitting even as unnecessary, after having definitely pronounced the innocence of his disciples.

Matthew 12:9-14

The healing of the man with thewithered hand. Parallel passages: Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11. In Luke 6:10, Luke 6:11 there are reminiscences of a narrative, presumably belonging to the Framework, which is essentially preserved in Luke 14:2-5 (cf. Weiss).

In this section the opposition of the Pharisees is turned directly against our Lord himself for breaking the sabbath. Observe, however, that he did not do this for his own benefit. It was his kindness to another that brought about the determination to kill him.

Matthew 12:9

And when he was departed thence ( καὶ μεταβὰς ἐκεῖθεν). The phrase implies more than removal from that place in the corn-fields where he had been accused by thePharisees, and is to be understood of removal from one town to another, the words that originally preceded this narrative not being recorded (cf. infra,and Matthew 11:1, note). When. therefore, it took place we have absolutely no means of knowing, save that it was not on the same day as the event recorded in Matthew 12:1-8 (cf. Luke, "on another sabbath"), anti that it was later on in his ministry. He went into their synagogue. Whose? Hardly the Pharisees mentioned in Matthew 12:2, as this was a different occasion. Possibly the Galilaeans, among whom he then was (of. Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35), or probably the Jews generally (cf. Matthew 11:1, note). In the two last eases the subject of "they asked," in Matthew 12:10, would be the same as that of "they watched." in Mark (Mark 3:2), namely, the frequenters of the synagogue. among whom the Pharisees naturally took a prominent place. But it is quite possible that we have here a trace of the use of a fresh source, the αὐτῶνbeing quite intelligible in its original context.

Matthew 12:10

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered; and behold a man having a withered hand (Revised Version, with Westcott and Hort). For the quotation by Jerome from "the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use", in which this man tells our Lord, "Coementarius (a mason) eram, manibus vietum quaeritans," see especially Resch, 'Agrapha,' p. 379. And they asked him, saying. In the narrative of healing the man with the dropsy, found in Luke 14:1-6 (vide supra),a similar question is asked by our Lord. Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? The Tahnudic answer is that it is unlawful except in cases of actual danger to life (cf. Schurer, II. 2.104). but whether this distinction was really drawn as early as the time of our Lord {s not known in the present backward state of all critical investigations of Jewish literature. That they might accuse him; i.e.before the local court, Matthew 5:21 (Meyer). Observe that, recognizing his readiness to help others, they desire (according to Matthew) to get a clear statement from him whether he would follow the traditional law or net, intending to base their accusation on his reply. Verbally, however, Christ avoids the dilemma, as in the more famous case of the tribute to Caesar (Matthew 22:21).

Matthew 12:11

Matthew alone on this occasion, but comp. Luke 14:5. And he said unto them. Christ's answer appeals from intellectual and theoretical difficulties to the practical common sense of ordinary morality (cf. Romans 3:5-7). Their own feelings would guide them to help a brute, much more a man. According to the parallel passages, our Lord first set the man in the midst of them, wishing, perhaps, to draw out their sympathy, and only afterwards spoke this verse of censure (see Chrysostom). What man shall there be among you, thatshall have one sheep. One only, and therefore so much the dearer (Meyer). He would feel an interest in it as an animal that he had learned to love; and he would care for it as his property. In Christ's case also there was the love of man as man, and of man as belonging to him (John 10:14; John 1:11). In Luke 14:5 ("a son or an ox") the double thought is distributed over two objects; the man Would love his son, and care for his property in the ox. And if it (this,Revised Version) fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? Lightfoot ('Hor. Hebr.') confirms this from the Jerusalem Talmud and Maimonides.

Matthew 12:12

How much then is a man better than a sheep? (Matthew 6:26; Matthew 10:31). Wherefore it is lawful to do well (to do good,Revised Version) on the sabbathdays. He answers their question about healing (Matthew 12:10) by enunciating a general principle which would cover more. "Doing good" (perhaps merely "well-doing," Acts 10:33; 1 Corinthians 7:37; but probably "doing good to" another, cf. Luke 6:26, Luke 6:27; and the parallel passages here, ἀγαθοποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι)is to be one test by which the duty of resting or of working on the sabbath is to be determined.

Matthew 12:13

Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. He is bid use his strength before he is told that it is given. The intellectual difficulties that might have occurred to him lose themselves fir the action. In the somewhat similar ease in Matthew 9:5, Matthew 9:6 there had been the preparation of forgiveness of sins. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Power is linked to obedience. Whole; i.e. sound, in complete health and vigour. The word comes more often in the account of the man healed at the pool of Bethesda than in all the rest of the New Testament.

Matthew 12:14

Then the Pharisees went out ( ἐξελθόντες δὲ οἱφαρισαῖοι). Probably at once, before the service was over. Note the emphatic position of ἐξελθόντες. They will no longer stay in the same building with one who does such a thing, and held a council; and tool: counsel; cf. Matthew 22:15; Matthew 27:1, Matthew 27:7; Matthew 28:12. Againsthim, how they might destroy him. We learn from Mark that the Herodians also took part in the deliberation. Professor Marshall suggests a too ingenious reconciliation of this verse and its parallels, in three details, by suggesting an Aramaic original which would explain the divergences.

Matthew 12:15-21

Jesus withdraws, and although many follow him and are healed by him, he charges them not to make him known, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the Ideal Israelite, who is the object of God's love and delight, and will receive his Spirit and declare the revelation of him to the Gentiles; he will not strive or exalt himself, or use harshness towards the weak; and his meekness shall last until he has succeeded in his purpose of revealing God to men; for he shall succeed, and he shall be the object of the Gentiles' hope.

Matthew 12:15

Matthew 12:15, Matthew 12:16 are found essentially in Mark 3:7, Mark 3:12; the remainder of this section, the application of prophecy. here only. But when Jesus knew it;and Jesus perceiving it (Revised Version). Whether by his own unaided powers, or by intelligence brought him, is not stated. He withdrew himself (cf. Matthew 4:12, he departed,note) from thence. We see from the next clause that this withdrawal was not into any very retired spot, but rather away front the town in which he had been. His motives may have been partly to carry on his work more quietly elsewhere (fulfilling his own injunction, Matthew 10:23), and partly to avoid stirring up the excitement of partisans like those who a little later wished to seize him by force and make him king (John 6:15, where observe "withdrew"). And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. Almost verbally in Matthew 19:2.

Matthew 12:16

And charged them that they should not make him known. Publicity as such was rather hindering to his work than otherwise. Only those who had no spiritual affinity with him (John 7:3-5), or at most but little (Matthew 9:31), desired him to have it.

Matthew 12:17

That it might be fulfilled whichwas spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying (Isaiah 42:1-4). The following quotation is not taken from the LXX., but from the Hebrew, and this it largely paraphrases.

Matthew 12:18