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| Chapter 12 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. 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." 3 But He said unto them, "Have ye not read what David did when he hungered and they that were with him: 4 how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law how on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, that in this place is One greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice,’ ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." 9 And when He had departed thence, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?" - that they might accuse Him. 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 not lay hold on it and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch forth thine hand." And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole like the other. 14 ¶ Then the Pharisees went out and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him. 15 But when Jesus knew of it, He withdrew Himself from thence. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 And He charged them that they should not make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 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; 21 and in His name shall the Gentiles trust." 22 ¶ Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb; and He healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed and said, "Is not this the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, except by Beelzebub, the prince of devils." 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house and despoil his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? And then he will despoil his house. 30 "He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad. 31 Therefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit 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 Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33 Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, "Master, we would see a sign from thee." 39 But He answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in the Judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the Judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 43 "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, ‘I will return into my house from whence I came out.’ And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." 46 ¶ While He yet talked to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, desiring to speak with Him. 47 Then one said unto Him, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand outside, desiring to speak with thee." 48 But He answered and said unto him that told Him, "Who is My mother? And who are My brethren?" 49 And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said, "Behold, My mother and My brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." |
v1-50 Jesus meets opposition from the Pharisees. The regulations covering the Sabbath was one area that the Pharisees had made many interpretations of the Law and were particularly a problem for the Jews. In this passage we are shown two different examples of the interpretation by the Pharisees and by Jesus. It was the legal right under Jewish law to pluck and eat grain of another man’s cornfield, Deuteronomy 23:25. But, the Pharisees had made it illegal on the Sabbath. v1 As the disciples walked through a cornfield they were picking the heads of corn, probably rubbing to separate the seeds to eat. v2 The Pharisees saw this action, and under their interpretation, this act was reaping and therefore illegal on a Sabbath. v3-6 Jesus reminds the Pharisees of the time that David entered the temple and eat the special shewbread restricted to the priests. 1 Samuel 21:1-6. Though divine Law restricted this special bread only for the priests, extreme human needs overruled this instruction. In addition Jesus points out that the priests were required to work on the Sabbath Numbers 28:9,10. Jesus said "that there was One greater than the temple in this place." If the priest can work on the Sabbath then the Disciples working for Christ on the Sabbath makes them guiltless. v7 Hosea 6:6 is quoted here, God desires a proper internal heart and attitude far more than externals like sacrifices. v8 Matthew & Luke leave out the addition by Mark "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." - "The Son of Man" is referring to the perfect Man - Jesus. If David could break the Sabbath without punishment then so could the Messiah, who is able to decide the real meaning and use of the Sabbath. v10-21 Healing on the Sabbath. Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11. Only Matthew records the argument in verses 11,12. Luke seems to indicate that it occurred on another Sabbath. v10 Because the rabbi’s considered healing as work, it was therefore wrong to heal on the Sabbath. Though if the persons life was in danger then they were allowed to practice healing. Please note there is no mention of not being able to heal in any form on the Sabbath in the Old Testament Law. The Pharisees were out to catch out Jesus so they use this as a challenge. v11,12 Jesus responds by asking them a question, "what would a normal person do if a sheep, a persons property, is in danger? A ‘Person’ is worth more than a sheep?" The person must come to the help of the sheep. To not do good when you have the power is far more wrong. v13,14 The miracle only makes the Pharisees more angry. Mark 3:6 tells us that the Herodian sect joined them in the plotting. The Herodians were Jews who supported King Herod so would be against anyone who caused a threat to the king, most Jews hated king Herod, so it is a surprise that the Pharisees joined with them. Jesus is now hated by the religious leaders in Jerusalem and Galilee area. v15,16 Knowing the danger, Jesus now avoided open conflict with the leaders. This action now changes how His ministry is now carried forward, but he is followed by many people wanting to hear Him and receive healing, Mark 3:7,8. Jesus asks each healed not to publicized their healing. v17-21 Messianic prophecy. Matthew now gives an Old Testament quote, Isaiah 42:1-4 to show that the ministry of Jesus was according to the Messianic Prophecies. v22-30 Challenged on the source of His power. v22,23 Only Matthew tells us that the man was dumb and blind. Before this large multitude Jesus heals the man of the demonic possession, which causes the people to ask who this person truly was. "Is not this the Son of David?" The people still did not accept that Jesus was the Messiah. v24 The Pharisees, without thinking, accused Jesus that His power comes from the Devil. The name Beelzebub is a name for Satan, it means "head or master of the house." In 2 Kings 1:1-4 the god of Ekron had the name of Beelzebul, "the lord of the flies" and this appears to have been changed to Beelzebub. The Jews did not consider him a god but a prince of demons. v25-30 "A divided kingdom," will lead to destruction, Jesus was out to stop the work of Satan, if Jesus did this by the power of Satan then this can only lead to destruction. v27 Some Pharisees claimed to have power to cast out demons, the power of exorcism, how silly it was for them to claim the same act as Jesus but by different source of power. We must assume that some of these exorcisms were genuine, therefore the power came from God. If Jesus was therefore using the power of God then the kingdom of God, as prophesied, had arrived. v29 The "strong man’s house," or Satans empire, was being entered, having bound Satan first by the meeting and beating Satan by Jesus at the Temptation, Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrew 2:14ff. v30 In the spiritual battle of Christ with Satan there can be no one who will be neutral, sit in the middle, you are either for Christ or by not accepting Christ then you must be for Satan. 12:31-37 The unpardonable sin. When Christ died at Calvary His death was to pay for all sin, even the most severe and includes slander against God (blasphemy). However, there is one sin which will not be forgiven, anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit. The special function or job of the Holy Spirit is to bring conviction and repentance, so making a person open to the forgiveness through Christ. If a person rejects every contact by the Holy Spirit then that person has taken themselves away from the only force which can lead them to forgiveness. John 3:36. The final point of rejection must be at death of the person but by their actions God may decide not to make further contact at any point in a persons life. v33 The nature of a tree decides what fruit it produces. The Pharisees thought that by making the fruit ‘good’ then the tree would become ‘good.’ v34 An evil nature will always produce evil words and actions. v36,37 We can often see the real heart of a person by the careless word or action. Many people can appear good but have an evil heart. The Pharisees, speaking without thinking, had shown their real hearts, and Jesus tells them and us that upon this evidence we can be judged - "every idle word .. give account ....in the Day of Judgment." Consider Matt 25:31-46. v38-50 Our commitment. The Pharisees wanted a sign, they wanted some sensational, spectacular act by Jesus to prove that He was the Messiah, a sign which would not need any faith by them, just need their sight. They were not willing to accept the miracles already done. Jesus was not doing the things, behaving as they had thought the Messiah would behave. See also Matt 16:1ff; John 4:48; 1 Cor 1:21-23. v39 "Adulterous generation," a nation which being spiritually unfaithful, they were adulterous in turning away from God to a faith and religion which needed great signs. The only sign they were to get was the ‘death and resurrection’ of Jonah. v40,41 The story of Jonah, who spent 3 days and nights inside the belly of the sea-monster, and then went to Nineveh warning of the coming judgement, symbolized the ministry of Jesus. Some people have questioned the "three days and nights" with the Friday, Saturday, Sunday death and resurrection of Jesus. It is felt that the Jewish system of days provides the answer. The men of Nineveh received the message and repented. So by their action the Jewish nation was in a very bad situation, as a nation they were not repenting even though the message came from a person far greater than Jonah. v42 The queen of Sheba was searching for the truth, 1 Kings 10:1-10, found it in Solomon, and a greater than Solomon was here. v43-45 The example given in this parable can apply to the nation or individuals. The warnings and calling for repentance started with the ministry of John, then Jesus comes and attempts to exorcize (drive out) the evil nature. But repentance without the person being taken over by the power of God meant that there was a danger of returning to a worse state than before. The house of Israel was "empty," cleaned by the messages of John and Jesus, but not opened to Jesus. A few years later the same generation were to be involved in the horrors of A.D. 66-70. Consider the prophetic events of Rev 9:1-11 which will be the end time people. v46-50 His mother and family. The brethren are presumably the children of Mary and Joseph, born after Jesus. The crowds were so great that the family could not get to Jesus. The concern of the family for Jesus was obvious, the initial preaching by Jesus had forced the family to move to Capernaum, Matt 4:13; Luke 4:16-31; John 2:12. The preaching had brought Jesus into open conflict with the religious leaders. v48 "Who is My mother? And who are My brethren?" Jesus prepares the listeners for a new truth. v49,50 "Whosoever shall do the will of My Father." This is not referring to righteous work but the result of accepting the invitation of salvation through Jesus, John 6:29. The spiritual relationship between Christ and believers is closer than family blood relationships. |
Easy English Translation
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