Interpretation of Matthew 12. New Testament. About healing on the Sabbath day

1–8. Disciples plucking ears of grain on Saturday. – 9–14. Healing the withered man on Saturday and denouncing the Pharisees. – 15–21. Fulfillment of the prophecy about Christ to Isaiah. – 22–37. Denunciation of the Pharisees regarding the accusation of having relations with Beelzebub. – 38–45. Answer to a request for a sign. – 46–50. Mother and brothers of Christ.

Matthew 12:1. At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat.

(Compare Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1).

Essentially the story of the three evangelists is the same, but there is a noticeable difference in expression. The expression “at that time” here should be considered as vague as other expressions of the same kind already discussed (“then”, “in those days”, etc.). Here too they serve more to connect speech than to indicate time, and there is no need to assume that Matt. 12:1–8 was just “during” or immediately after Christ’s speeches at the end of chapter 11. According to many interpreters, the events that Matthew talks about here took place either shortly before the second Passover of Christ’s ministry (the 2nd year of Christ’s ministry, according to our account the 28th), or shortly after it. If there was a barley harvest, then shortly before Easter; if wheat, then soon after Easter. This means that the Savior was not in Jerusalem this Easter. There was a whole year left before the Savior’s death. Based on the testimony of Luke (ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ), some think that this was on the first Saturday after Easter in the 28th year. Jesus Christ walked with his disciples through the sown fields on Saturday. It is unlikely that this journey through the fields was made with the intention of showing that the Savior was violating (λύων) the laws of the fathers, and that the disciples would violate the law of the Sabbath by eating (Theophylact). In the same way, there is no need to assume that with Jesus Christ, in addition to the disciples, there were also many people. The plucking of the ears of grain by the disciples took place “on the Sabbath” (τοῖς σάββασιν), - in Greek plural. But, as Tsang shows, the term “Sabbath” and “Sabbaths” was used indifferently, as can be seen from Matt. 12:1, 5:10–12, 28:1; Mk. 1:21; OK. 13:10; Acts 17:2.

Matthew 12:2. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what ought not to be done on the Sabbath.

(Compare Mark 2:24; Luke 6:2).

Not only was plucking ears of corn not prohibited by law, as was stealing or stealing someone else's property, but it was directly permitted (Deut. 23:25). The Pharisees, therefore, accused the disciples not of plucking ears of corn and eating, but of the fact that this happened on the Sabbath. This is clearly prohibited in the Talmud. Picking and grinding ears of grain to separate the grains from the husk was equated to threshing grains, which was one of the 39 ordinary works prohibited on the Sabbath (listed in Pereferkovich. Talmud. T. II. Tractate Shabbat, VII, 2, p. 44). The Pharisees obviously watched the Savior, although from the tone of the gospel story one can judge that the actual meeting was somewhat random in nature. The assumption that the plucking of ears of corn was prohibited until the first sheaf of the harvest was presented to the temple is not based on anything. The disciples of Christ, as can be seen from His further words, were hungry and therefore began to pluck ears of corn. The word “do” does not refer to “to eat” (verse 1), but to the plucking of the grain.

Matthew 12:3. He said to them: Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?

Matthew 12:4. how did he enter the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those who were with him were to eat, but only the priests?

(Cf. Mark 2:25–26; Luke 6:3–4).

Mark and Luke report this in the same way with a slight difference in expression, which does not change the meaning of the speech at all. The Savior in His answer to the Pharisees (καὶ ἀποκριθείς - Luke) refers to what is stated in 1 Sam. 21:2–6 the well-known story about how David, fleeing from Saul, arrived at Nob, where there was then a tabernacle (Shenkel), and asked for the priest Ahimelech (as in the Hebrew text, the Seventy have Abimelech, and not Abiathar, as in Mark 2:26) give him and those with him bread, because they were all hungry. It is remarkable that the priest Ahimelech, responding to David’s request, doubts its legality, but not because it was on the Sabbath (1 Samuel 21:4). However, some think that David's meeting with Ahimelech took place on the Sabbath and that the new baked showbread was just laid on the table in the tabernacle. As evidence they cite 1 Samuel. 21 (cf. Lev. 24:8). Be that as it may, the violation of the law was not that the loaves were given to David on the Sabbath, but that they were sacred, they were not allowed to be eaten by the laity, but only by the priests. The Savior points out the illegality of David’s act more clearly than Ahimelech, namely: David was prohibited by law from eating the showbread because only priests could eat them, to which neither David himself nor his people belonged. David's action was not a violation of the Sabbath law, but of the law of the temple and the tabernacle. But the Savior resonates here from equal to equal, or according to the principle of equivalents. The Temple and the Sabbath were the same or equal in holiness. Based on the generally accepted interpretation of Lk. 6 expressions σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ, they think that on the day when the disciples passed through the sown fields, the 21st chapter of the First Book of Kings was the day's conception. But, says Alford, it cannot be proven that Jewish calendar then began to exist in the form in which we now have it.

Matthew 12:5. Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent?

This speech of Christ has no parallels in other evangelists. It is argued that the actions of the disciples were in no sense parallel to the actions of the priests in the temple, and the fact that the priests, in obedience to the law, worked in the temple could not justify the disciples in violating the bookish interpretations of the law prohibiting work on the Sabbath. But such reasoning is generally superficial. The expression ἢ οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῷ νόμῳ is significant against it. The Savior, explaining the erroneous opinion of the Pharisees, points out to them the contradiction in the law itself, which, on the one hand, prohibited work on the Sabbath; and on the other hand, he installed them. The link here is to Num. 28:9–10. This contradiction was not essentially such, because two types of activity - for God and for people - required different attitudes towards themselves. But the legal contradiction was incomprehensible and insoluble for the Pharisees and scribes of that time, and therefore the argumentation of Jesus Christ had full weight for them, was irrefutable, although it aroused in them a secret feeling of enmity, like all irrefutable evidence when it does not agree with someone else’s. interests. The contradiction is resolved by the fact that the Sabbath was dedicated to God and it required not inaction, but activity. Revealing the logical error of the Pharisees, the Savior adheres to his own Pharisaic term (Acts 24:6), using the word βεβηλοῦσιν - they defile, profane the Sabbath, slaughtering sacrificial animals, taking out the entrails, tearing off the skin, cutting them into pieces and washing them, adding firewood, lighting a fire. The Jews had a proverb: “there is no Sabbath in the temple.” The Savior's answer here is detailed: He points to the place (temple), the persons (priests), the time (Sabbath) and the deed itself (the desecration of the Sabbath). John Chrysostom thinks so too. The purpose of this speech was to explain that the Pharisees should be careful in their accusations of breaking and desecrating the Sabbath. To the possible objection on the part of the Pharisees that one is the priests, and the other is the disciples, the answer is the following verse.

Matthew 12:6. But I tell you that here is He who is greater than the temple;

According to Meyer, if earlier the Savior followed in His argument from greater to lesser (from the act of David to the act of the hungry disciples), then from the 5th verse He argues from lesser to greater - from the temple, whose priestly regulations violated the Sabbath, to His own , superior to the holiness of the temple, authority. But this is hardly the case; it is unlikely that the Savior has such artificial proof as his goal. The meaning of His words, apparently, is simply that service is performed in the temple, and here, outside the temple, there is also service to God, but much greater and higher. This greater and higher service does not consist in making sacrifices and various other ritual actions, for the sake of which the Sabbath is abolished, but in works of mercy and love, which should be (and were considered) higher than ritual actions. The apostles, together with Christ Himself, took part in this ministry of love, and therefore petty observance of the Sabbath was not necessary for them.

Matthew 12:7. if you knew what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice, you would not condemn the innocent,

Further and independent proof of the correctness of Christ’s behavior, who did not forbid the disciples to pluck ears of grain, and the erroneous opinion of the Pharisees, which has a close connection with the previous speech and clarifies it by pointing to Old Testament prophecy. Even in the Old Testament law, given in accordance with the hardness of the hearts of the Jews, mercy was placed above sacrifice. Moreover, it should be placed above them now that “more” has arrived in comparison with the Old Testament law. The condemnation of the innocent by the Pharisees was not due to their ignorance of the Scriptures (verses 3- οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε), but from a lack of heartfelt love.

Matthew 12:8. for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

(Cf. Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5).

This verse in Mark (Mark 2:27) is prefaced by the addition that (literally) the Sabbath was (occurred, established) for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The words “Son of Man” are explained above (see comments on Matthew 8:20). The Savior always called only Himself this way in the Gospels, so it is wrong to think that this verse has no connection with the previous ones - this connection is clear. If there can be a question here, it is only about why the Savior called Himself the Son of Man before His enemies, i.e. used an expression they might not understand. The answer to this can be, first of all, that He spoke this way more than once (see Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69). This expression always had a hidden meaning for the enemies of Christ, because they did not want to understand the words of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In fact, Christ here indicated His messianic dignity, and therefore the meaning of verse 8 is clear to us and, of course, was clear to the apostles, evangelists and those who believed in Christ at that time. But the Pharisees to whom Christ now spoke could simply connect the expression “Son of Man” with τὸν ἄνθρωπον and ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Mark 2:27), as is clearly stated in Mark. However, Christ’s enemies could also deduce from His words that the authority of the Messiah is higher than the legal regulations regarding the Sabbath.

An explanation and dissemination of this teaching of the Savior is found in Rom. 14:5–6, 17 and Col. 2:16–17. Thus, the meaning of the verse being analyzed is as follows. The Son of Man can dispose of the Sabbath, i.e. Sabbath activity, can command it or stop it, just as an owner allows his workers to rest or forces them to work. No matter how simple all this is, an ordinary person could not have thought of it before Christ. naturally to the truths expressed here by Christ. Even today, these truths are not always clear and are not always applied to practice.

Matthew 12:9. And He departed from there and entered their synagogue.

(Cf. Mark 3:1; Luke 6:6).

The first impression from the story is that immediately after the conversation about the disciples plucking ears of grain on the Sabbath, the Savior left the place where he was talking and entered the Jewish synagogue. It was on the Sabbath (verse 10). From this one could conclude that the journey through the sown fields was the “Sabbath way”, and, moreover, to the synagogue. With such an assumption, only one thing would remain incomprehensible: why, as noted above, the students in such early time(the service probably took place in the morning) they were already hungry. But comparing this verse with the testimony of Luke. 6:6, we find that the Savior entered the synagogue on another Saturday. Mark also has a hint of this circumstance in the word “again” (πάλιν), although it is not clear enough. If “again,” it means that the Savior entered the synagogue earlier, but Mark does not indicate when. This is how Augustine and other interpreters explain the matter. On this Sabbath day a new miracle was performed. If earlier the act of the disciples did not have a clear goal of causing the Jews to be tempted, here Jesus Christ, on the contrary, acts with the clear intention of refute the opinions of the Pharisees. The word “them” should refer, as in other places (Matthew 9:35, 10:17, 11:1), in general to the inhabitants of the area where Jesus Christ was (Galileans). The opinion that since what follows (verse 10) refers to the Pharisees who asked Christ, then “them” refers to the Pharisees is incorrect. The Galilean site where the healing took place is not named. On the grounds that strong accusers are speaking against Christ here, which is especially clear from Mark. 2:6; OK. 6:7–8, they think that the event took place in one of the significant cities where the party of the Pharisees and scribes existed and was powerful, and call either Tiberias or Capernaum. But this is not clear from the words of the evangelists, and the question of the place of the event must remain unresolved.

Matthew 12:10. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath?:

(Cf. Mark 3:1–2; Luke 6:6–7).

There is no need to speculate about the nature of this person’s illness. Suffice it to say that this was a man who did not control his right (Luke 6:6) hand, for whatever reason this may have happened - perhaps from paralysis, or so-called atrophy, or for another reason. This account is found in Mark and Luke, but only with considerable variation in detail from our text. Mark and Luke agree more with each other than with Matthew. From the stories of Matthew (verse 14) and Mark (Mark 2:6) it is clear that the Pharisees opposed Christ, who later united with the Herodians (Mark), but, according to Luke (Luke 6:7), these were Pharisees and scribes . The Pharisees asked (Matthew) Jesus Christ whether it was possible to heal on the Sabbath, according to Mark and Luke - they watched Him to see if He would heal a withered hand on the Sabbath. He (knowing their thoughts - Luke 6:8) ordered the man to stand in the middle and asked them the question given in the Gospel. There is no further question about the animal in Mark, but in Luke (Luke 14:5) the same question is repeated, only in another similar case. Of course, there is no contradiction in the testimony of the evangelists, because in the crowd surrounding Christ, it was possible that both were possible, with one evangelist reporting one thing, and the others reporting another. This is often the case in the stories of eyewitnesses and other writers, which do not contradict, but complement one another. The more important question is about the legal side of the matter. The question was given by the Pharisees in order to catch Christ. If He had healed the withered man on the Sabbath, He would have been guilty of breaking the Sabbath. If he had not healed, then he would have been powerless and incapable of performing miracles, and perhaps even inhuman. The use of εἰ in a question is foreign to classical Greek, but is found in Gen. Seventy. 17 etc.; Wed Matt. 19:3; OK. 13:23, 22:49; Acts 1and often; This form of the question indicates uncertainty and hesitation, and at the same time its tempting nature.

Matthew 12:11. He said to them: Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out?

Matthew 12:12. How much better is a man than a sheep! So you can do good on Saturdays.

Matthew 12:13. Then he says to the man: Stretch out your hand. And he held out, and she became healthy, like anyone else.

(Compare verse 11 and Luke 14:5).

In Luke, a similar speech of Christ is placed in the story of the healing of a man with watery sickness, but in the story of the healing of a withered arm it is omitted. In general, in Lk. 6:8–9 the details of the story are completely different from those in Matthew. Luke says: “But He, knowing their thoughts, said to the man who had a withered hand: Arise, and step into the midst. And he stood up and spoke. Then Jesus said to them: I ask you: what should you do on the Sabbath? good or evil? save your soul or destroy it? They were silent." Judging by the construction of Matthew’s speech, it suggests two questions, literally: “1) Which of you is a man who will have one sheep? 2) and if she falls into a hole on Saturday, will he not take her and pull her out? But some accept that there is only one question here, and the last three sentences are made dependent on ὅς (which). Meaning: What man is there among you who will have one sheep, and who, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out? Latest translation(literal) closer to the original. The Savior resonates not on the basis of any special opinions then accepted by the Pharisees and scribes, but on the basis of universal custom. Not a single person who has a sheep will say that they need to behave differently.

Matthew 12:14. The Pharisees went out and had a council against Him, how to destroy Him. But Jesus, having learned, withdrew from there.

(Compare Mark 2:6, 3:6–7; Luke 6:11, 17).

In foreign editions of the New Testament text and foreign translations the second half of the verse (but Jesus knowing...) refers to the next 15th verse. In Slavic it is the same as in Russian. According to Mark, the Pharisees had a conference with the Herodians, and, moreover, immediately (εὐθύς) after the event, and, according to Luke, the scribes and Pharisees became furious and talked among themselves about what Christ should do. Here is the first mention of the agreement of the Pharisees with the Herodians (omitted by Matthew and Luke) - to put the Savior to death. The penalty specified in the law for breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14; Num. 15:32–36) is death by stoning. Matthew does not say where Jesus Christ went. But Mark says that “He withdrew to the sea,” and perhaps this also includes Luke’s testimony (Luke 6:17; cf. Matt. 4:25) that He stood out of the blue and delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Since Matthew presented the Sermon on the Mount earlier, he now skips these details.

Matthew 12:15. And a great crowd followed Him, and He healed them all

(Cf. Mark 3:7–8; Luke 6:17).

Christ was now looked upon as the Great Teacher, and it was natural that large crowds of people followed Him everywhere.

(Compare Mark 3:12; Luke 4:41).

Here the difference is in the reading. According to some codes - as in Russian; according to others - “and all whom he healed, he rebuked them...”. In the last reading, there is an incorrectness of grammatical construction (πάντας δὲ, οὓς ἐθεράπευσεν ἐπιτίμησεν αὐτοῖς), the reading is less confirmed and therefore considered “less probable.” According to Mark (Mark 3:11–12) and Luke (Luke 4:41), unless this latter passage is indeed parallel to the passages in Matthew and Mark (some consider it parallel to Matthew 8:16–17 and Mark 1: 34), the matter seems clearer. Christ forbade making Him known and saying that He is the Christ, not to all the people, but only to the unclean spirits, which He cast out from people. If so, then the reasons for the ban are clearer. Christ did not want to be declared the Son of God by demons; in other words, He did not want confirmation of His sonship in relation to God from such a source.

Matthew 12:17. that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, saying:

A definite indication of who the messianic prophecy stated below belongs to.

Matthew 12:18. Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations;

This passage is taken from Isa. 42:1–4. From the Hebrew literally: “Behold, My Servant, whom I hold upright, My chosen one, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him; He will spread righteousness among the nations; He will not cry out, nor lift up His voice, nor let it be heard in the streets; He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not quench smoking flax; in truth He will spread judgment; He will not weaken or faint until he establishes righteousness on earth, and the islands will trust in His law.” Without going into detailed analysis Hebrew text, let's say that the Russian translation is approximately similar to it. As for the translation of the Seventy, there are some deviations from the Hebrew text. According to the literal translation: “Jacob my servant, I will help him; Israel, My chosen one, My soul has accepted him. I have given My Spirit upon him; he will bring judgment upon the nations. He will not cry out and will not forsake (ἀνήσει), and His voice will not be heard outside. He will not break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but he will bring out judgment in truth. He will shine and will not be crushed until He establishes judgments on the earth, and the nations will trust in His name.” The expression “will not leave” is translated by some as “will not raise” (voices). Such a translation would correspond to the Hebrew original, but is hardly possible, because ἀνίημι never has such a meaning. If we now compare the translation of the Seventy and the Hebrew text with the Greek of Matthew, it turns out that Matthew deviates greatly from both the Hebrew text and the translation of the Seventy. They think, however, that Matthew had a translation of the Seventy, and this is indicated by the expression: “and in His name the nations will trust” (verse 21; in the Seventy: καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσ ιν, in the Hebrew text – “islands”) . The use of the translation of the Seventy is also indicated by Matthew’s change from the Hebrew “vetorato” (and on the law) to the Greek τῷ ὀνόματι (in the Seventy: ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι), a change for which there was no need, and it had no basis. In the Seventy the words of the prophet obviously refer to Israel. But the fact that Matthew refers them to the Messiah serves as a corrective here, as do the actual words of Isaiah. Isaiah depicts the future Messiah, although not according to His deity, but according to His humanity. From what has been said, we can conclude that this place is given by the evangelist partly from his own translation, and partly from the translation of the Seventy. The application of prophecy to Christ by the evangelist does not present any particular difficulties. But there is no doubt that with the help of prophecy a new feature has been added here to the characterization of Christ who appeared on earth, as historical figure, - a feature that we would only have to guess about if the evangelist had not given this quote, which is completely consistent with what we know about Christ from the Gospels. He was meek and lowly in heart and did many things in such a way that the Old Testament prophecy would be fully fulfilled in Him. It was difficult, but He fulfilled the prophecy. This is the view of the evangelist.

The words: “he will proclaim judgment to the nations” (κρίσιν) are difficult. Many have interpreted the word "judgment" to mean the gospel, the law, the laws, what is right, right doctrine, right worship, right behavior. But all these interpretations are incorrect, because the word κρίσις does not express all these concepts, just like the Hebrew “mishpat” in Isaiah. Eigenvalueκρίσις, of course, “court”. But in some places in the New Testament it has a different meaning, as in Matt. 23:23; OK. 11:42; Acts 8 (from Is. 53:8), - here κρίσις is put in connection with ἔλεος (mercy), πίστις (faith) and ἀγάπη (love). Therefore, to understand the word, you need to keep in mind that the main objective judgment is to deliver the right to the oppressed, why κρίνειν in some cases is synonymous with δικαιοῦν (to justify) and in parallel with σώζειν (to save), λυτροῦν (to cleanse, whitewash), etc. (Ps. 139:13; Isa. 1:17, 28:17, 33:5; Jer. 5:28, 22:16). Taking all this into account, we can interpret the prophecy in question as follows: “he will proclaim truth to the peoples” or “justice.”

Matthew 12:19. He will not contradict, He will not cry, and no one will hear His voice in the streets;

Neither the Hebrew nor the Seventy have the expression “will not contradict.” This verse is again interpreted in many ways. One interpretation, due to Jerome, is purely external, mechanical. Christ spoke about the narrow gates and the narrow path (Matthew 7:14) leading to the Kingdom of Heaven, He Himself walked along this path, and therefore it is natural if His voice was not heard on the big streets. Since “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go therein” (Matthew 7:13), it is natural if these many do not hear the voice of the Savior, because they are not on the narrow path, but on the wide one. According to another interpretation, the words of the prophet applied to the Messiah simply depict the meekness of the Savior, who, walking along the wide streets, does not shout or make noise. All these expressions in the mouth of the evangelist are obviously figurative.

Matthew 12:20. he will not break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, until he brings victory to the court;

This verse contains an indication of the Savior's ideal meekness and love towards all people, and not just towards the Jews. This is exactly how the prophet portrays the future Deliverer. A broken reed is every contrite, torn heart, smoking flax - traces in it of the desire for good, for God, the repentant feeling of a sinner, which is accepted, no matter how little it is. It is quite clear that by bruised reeds and smoking flax we mean people. No one can say that this does not depict, so to speak, the highest relations towards them on the part of the Savior, which are not similar to ordinary human relations in the field of “hardness of heart.”

Matthew 12:21. and in His name the nations will trust.

Instead of “nations” in the Hebrew text, “islands”, i.e. the most distant peoples living on the islands - they will place all their hopes on Christ the Savior.

Matthew 12:22. Then they brought to Him a man possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man began to speak and see.

In Luke. 11 literally translated: “And he cast out a demon, and he was dumb. And it came to pass, when the demon came out, that the dumb man spoke.” Thus, there is a difference in the testimony: according to Matthew, the demoniac was blind and dumb, but according to Luke, he was only dumb. This has led some commentators to think that Matthew and Luke are talking about two different healings. But this opinion is refuted by Augustine, who says that if Luke is silent about something, then one cannot think that he is talking about something else, and the order of events in him is the same as in Matthew.

The fact that the sick man was dumb and blind is also evident from Matthew’s further words, that after the healing he began to speak and see. To show that the healed person was deaf and dumb, some codes added “to hear” (ἀκούειν). The opinion that this event is identical with that told in Matt. 9 And that Matthew, wanting to talk more about him, adds blindness here is untenable. Mark (Mark 3:20–22) does not speak about the healing of a demoniac, but adds further speech here in a special way. According to Theophylact, the demon imprisoned the demoniac on the path to faith - eyes, hearing and tongue.

Matthew 12:23. And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ, the son of David?

(Compare Luke 11:14).

The form of the question proposed by the people indicates their savagery and slowness to recognize the great Wonderworker in Jesus Christ; this slowness tended towards a negative answer to the question. The idea that the Wonderworker was the Messiah, the Son of David, was imposed on the people's mind, but the people were not yet able to fully assimilate it. No matter how amazing the Wonderworker was, He was not a king. He was not born in royal palaces. All this is expressed through the negative particle μήτι, placed at the beginning of the question, which presupposes a negative answer: “Is this not Christ, the son of David?” Suggested answer: no, not that. It is quite curious that the old translators tried to smooth out this negative answer and presented the question in such a way that the answer should have been affirmative. So in our Russian. Closer to the original it would be possible to translate: “is this really Christ, the Son of David?” In the Slavic translation the meaning of the question is expressed somewhat better. But in general it is difficult to express Greek properly in other languages. When an affirmative answer is expected, then μή is not used (cf. Matt. 7:16, 26:22, 25; Mark 4:21; Luke 6, etc.). On the foregoing grounds, it can be assumed that both the event itself and the question among the people were introduced here in order to more strongly express the contrast with the previous expressions of the evangelist. He wants to say the following. All the activity of Christ, His teaching and miracles tended to ensure that everyone recognized Him as the chosen and beloved Child (Servant) of the Most High, about whom Isaiah prophesied. But, despite such obvious evidence of the Savior’s supreme dignity, even the most fanatical ὄχλοι (people) who followed Him hesitated. And the Pharisees went even further and began to attribute the miracles of Jesus Christ to demonic power. This is the evangelist’s transition to further speech. Seeing the miracles of Christ, the people were only inclined to think that Christ was the Son of David, but they hesitated to accept it completely. But the Pharisees were alien to even such hesitations.

Matthew 12:24. The Pharisees, having heard this, said: He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

(Compare Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15–16).

According to Mark, this was not said by the Pharisees, but by scribes who came from Jerusalem. Since many of the scribes belonged to the society of the Pharisees, there is no disagreement between the evangelists here. According to Luke, not all the Pharisees accused Christ, but only “some of them.” Further speech according to the translation: He does not cast out demons, except in Beelzebub, the prince of demons (cf. Matt. 9:34). Thus, the expression “not through” and “not by force” (as underlined in the Russian translation) of Beelzebub, but “in Beelzebub”, i.e. together with Beelzebub. The circumstance that it is mentioned not just Beelzebub, but with the addition “prince of the demons,” shows quite clearly what is meant here, if, perhaps, not the most important, then at least one of the main demons, who, according to the concepts of the Pharisees, had other demons subordinate to him. Beelzebub, in any case, was considered the most evil and at the same time the dirtiest of the demonic leaders. Therefore, the accusation of Christ in connection with him was dirty and, as it seems, in the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes, especially caustic. It was intended to distract the people from Christ and arouse in them hostility towards His activities, teachings and miracles.

Matthew 12:25. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand.

(Cf. Mark 3:23–25; Luke 11:17).

Mark has a detailed speech about the same thing, but Luke is even shorter than Matthew, with a slight difference in expression. John Chrysostom explains this speech of Christ as follows: “If I, having a demon in Me, through him cast out other demons, then it means that there is disagreement and strife between the demons and they rebel against one another; if they rebel against each other, then their strength perished and collapsed.”

Matthew 12:26. And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand?

(Cf. Mark 3:26; Luke 11:18).

Luke omitted: “Satan casts out Satan,” and replaced it: “if Satan also is divided (divided?) in himself.” Mark's expressions are completely different from those of the other evangelists. In the second case, the name of Satan is used either instead of a reflexive pronoun, i.e. instead of the words “Satan casts out himself,” it is said: “Satan Satan”; or this expression should be understood as follows: one Satan drives out another Satan. They claim that according to Jewish concepts, Satan was one and was considered the main leader of demons. If so, then it would be necessary to understand the expression in the first sense. It is objected to that in general Jewish demonology was not an “ordered system.” On the other hand, Christ Himself does not call only an individual person Satan (cf. Matt. 4:10, 16:23), and from the nature of the accusation and defense of Christ it can be concluded that He Himself was called Satan, and precisely because He cast out another Satan. But the word “Satan” in the Holy Scriptures is always used only in the singular. Thus, if we accept the first interpretation, that Satan casts out himself, then there will not be much difference in meaning, and the argumentation is equally strong in both cases. The first interpretation, however, is more consistent with the testimony of Mark and Luke, where “Satan” (in the second case in Matthew) is replaced by the expressions ἑφ´ ἑαυτόν, i.e. “Satan rose up against himself” (Mark 3:26) and “was divided against himself” (Luke 11:18). In this sense, we must interpret the expressions of Matthew (cf. (Ex. 16:8; Lev. 14:15, 26) - Seventy and Heb., where in the first case the personal pronoun is repeated in a similar way, and in the last two ἱερεύς or "Kogen")

Matthew 12:27. And if I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

(Cf. Luke 11 – almost literally).

The meaning of this verse has long been the subject of great debate. Hilary, Chrysostom, Theophylact and Euthymius Zigavinus accepted that “your sons” meant the apostles, who, of course, were the sons of the Jews. Chrysostom discusses this in detail. “Look with what meekness He speaks to them here too. He did not say: My disciples, or apostles; but: your sons, so that if the Pharisees want to think as nobly as His disciples, give them an opportunity, and if they continue in their former ingratitude and do not abandon their shamelessness, deprive them of all justification. The meaning of His words is as follows: by whose power do the apostles cast out demons? The apostles had already cast out demons, having received authority to do so from the Savior, but the Pharisees did not accuse them. They armed themselves not against deeds, but against persons. Therefore, Christ, wanting to show that envy alone is the reason for their accusation, points to the apostles.” But Jerome hesitates in his interpretation of the passage in question. According to him, the expression “sons of the Jews” means either exorcists or apostles who were Jews. If the Savior speaks of exorcists who, calling on the name of the Lord, cast out demons, then he denounces the Pharisees with prudent questions, seeking recognition on their part that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. If he speaks of the apostles, which is more likely, then they will be judges of the Pharisees, because they will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the interpretations of later exegetes, the idea expressed by Chrysostom and others is completely abandoned. This is because the Gospels, firstly, say nothing about the apostles, and secondly, because the Pharisees would not have found it at all difficult to attribute the miracles of the apostles casting out demons to the devil, just as they attributed the miracles of Christ to him. Thus, there is only one thing left to do - admit that we are talking about spellcasters here. There is no doubt that there were a lot of them at that time. This is what Schürer says about this (III, 408 et seq.): “Magic had great importance among the Jews in the age of Christ and later. The casting out of demons by the sons of the Pharisees, as discussed in Matt. 12:27, judging by everything we know from other sources, was not performed without magic formulas. Simon the Magus (Acts 8:9) and Bar Jesus (Acts 13:6) are known. In Ephesus, Paul dealt with Jewish exorcists who used the name of Jesus for their own purposes (Acts 19ff.)... Justin suggests spells as something common among the Jews (Dialogus cum Tryphone, 85). Between by various means, used against gout, Lucian mentions a spell by one Jew, and in another case speaks of the famous “Syrian from Palestine” who cast out demons with spells. Irenaeus also speaks of the expulsion of demons through the invocation of the divine name, as a matter common among the Jews (Adversus haereses, II, 6, 2).”

We cannot here enter into a detailed exposition of this subject, which is very extensive, and we believe that the above excerpt from Schürer is sufficient. Thus, by “your sons” we can understand the Jewish exorcists, who are called the sons of the Pharisees (according to the context) not because they were descended from them by carnal birth, but in the same sense as “the sons of the prophets” (1 Kings 20:35 ). The meaning of the Savior’s words, therefore, is this: if your disciples cast out demons, then you do not attribute this to Beelzebub, therefore they can be your judges and judge you for the fact that you, out of enmity, say this about Me. It remains for us to say a few words on the question of whether these spellcasters, to whom Christ points, were real or imaginary. His argument, of course, did not lose its force in either case, because in neither case did the Pharisees, of course, attribute the activities of their exorcists to the power of the devil. But the question of the validity of spells is interesting in itself. Alford believes that it is of the utmost importance to examine the reality of these spells, because otherwise an unfavorable impression will be left on the soul of the reader of the Gospels if we assume that the Lord, solemnly comparing the Jewish spells with his own miracles, argued on the basis of the Jewish deceptions about which the Pharisees were told these are known to be deceptions. Alford thinks that the sons of the Pharisees actually cast out demons. This view is confirmed by the words of the crowd in Matt. 9:33. When the mute from whom the demon had been expelled spoke, the crowd exclaimed: “Never has such a phenomenon happened in Israel,” making it clear that a more complete healing had taken place here than had been seen before. The difficulty, says Alford, arose only from forgetting the fact that miracles as such do not in themselves confirm the truth, but were performed in false religions and by false teachers, and they prophesied about them (see Ex. 7:22, 8:7; Matt. 24:24; Deut. 13:1–5).

Matthew 12:28. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then of course the Kingdom of God has come to you.

(Compare Luke 11:20).

The meaning of the verse is this: if you are obliged to admit that I cast out demons by the power not of Beelzebub, but of God, then you must also draw the further conclusion that an extraordinary Person has appeared among you, Who acts by the power of God, and that, therefore, My deeds serve as a sign of visiting you God and the coming of the Kingdom of God among you. In Luke: “if I cast out demons with the finger of God,” etc. By “Kingdom of God” John Chrysostom here understands “My (Christ’s) presence” (ἡ παρουσία ἡ ἐμή).

Matthew 12:29. Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his things, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house.

(Compare Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21–22).

In verse 28 the first conclusion was drawn from the evidence presented by Christ. Both the evidence and the conclusion were sufficient in themselves. But considering the subject from the other side, the Savior presents further evidence. In Luke. 11:21–22 the speech, although almost identical in meaning, differs in expression. Matthew is closer to Mark here than to Luke. The word “or” is translated differently: “otherwise”, “and”, “for”, “whether”; V Arabic translation- "And". We cannot agree with the opinion that the article before ἰσχυροῦ here denotes a special force. He simply refers to the previous one, to Satan or Beelzebub, because it is clear that it is he who is to be understood by “the strong,” although the speech has a somewhat more general meaning. This figurative speech, reminds Isa. 49 syllables The images are taken from real life. The meaning of the speech is clear. When applied to the activity of Christ, it is distinguished by great persuasiveness. If someone is strong, it is not easy to attack him and plunder his property. Likewise, Christ could not have resisted the devil if he had been strong enough to prevent the expulsion of the demons subordinate to him.

Matthew 12:30. He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.

(Cf. Luke 11 – literally).

This verse has also been the subject of much debate. John Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigavin, Jerome and others attributed him to the devil; others to the Jewish exorcists mentioned above. Still others understood the words of Christ in the sense of a general proverb and meant “whoever it may be.” Finally, some thought that this depicts a complete and complete separation of the two kingdoms - the kingdom of Satan and God. This last opinion is better than the others. There can be no middle ground between the two kingdoms (cf. Rom. 8:7). There are no exceptions to the application of the principle given by Christ. A neutral attitude towards Him is impossible. He who is not with Him is against Him... The reason is this: in the moral field, a person must be either right or wrong. There is no middle position... Christ is always absolutely right... This speech of the Savior is expressed negatively in Mark. 9:40: “For whoever is not against you is for you.”

In συνάγων there is a hint of the idea of ​​​​gathering the harvest (see Matt. 3:12, 6:26, 13:30; John 4, etc.). Σκορπίζει scatters, scatters (cf. John 10:12, 16:32; 2 Cor. 9:9). Thus, gathering without Christ does not bring any benefit to the gatherer; it even amounts to waste, scattering, and can only bring loss and anxiety to the gatherer.

Matthew 12:31. Therefore I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men;

(Compare Mark 3:28–29).

The last word “to people” is not found in the best codes; in some, instead of “to people”, “to them” is added. Already in ancient times, it was believed that the meaning of the expression is as follows: “if other deeds and actions are mercifully forgiven (liberali venia), then mercy does not exist when God is denied in Christ” (Hilary). John Chrysostom considered this verse very unclear, “but if,” he said, “we delve into it, we will easily understand it. What do these words mean? That sin against the Holy Spirit is predominantly unforgivable. Why? Because they did not know Christ, who He was, but they had already received sufficient knowledge about the Spirit... So, I release to you that with which you slandered Me before the cross, even the fact that you want to crucify Me on the cross, and your very unbelief will not be held against you... But what you said about the Spirit will not be forgiven you... Why? Because the Holy Spirit is known to you, and you are not ashamed to reject the obvious truth.”

The Holy Spirit is God and God is Spirit. The Pharisees who listened to Christ’s speech hardly imagined the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Holy Trinity, and for them the expression “Holy Spirit” was equivalent to the word “God” or at least “Spirit of God”. Thus, the expression “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” was equivalent to the words “blasphemy against God” in the ears of the Pharisees. If so, then it becomes clear why every other sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Because the latter is an attack against God Himself and at the same time the approach of the human spirit to πνεμα ἀκάθαρτον - to evil spirit, whose guilt, according to the concepts of the Jews of that time and ours, will never be forgiven. This, so to speak, is fundamental blasphemy, the greatest slander, characteristic only of rejected spirits of evil, who have never been invited to repentance and can never repent. In this greatest blasphemy, God Himself is denied as an All-Good, All-Righteous, Almighty Being, with all His properties, and at the same time, all religion, all morality is denied at the very root. Here the deepest fall of man is assumed, from which the grace of God itself cannot lead him, because it is denied in such blasphemy. The human spirit that utters such blasphemy becomes on the same level as an unclean spirit. “Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father” (John 8:44). You tell lies, just like him, because “he is a liar, and the father of lies.” The rapprochement of the Pharisees with the unclean spirits of malice, apparently, gives the Savior a reason to speak not about God, but about the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:32. if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future.

(Cf. Mark 3:29–30; Luke 12:10).

If the interpretation of the previous verse can be accepted, then it is clear why a “word” spoken “against the Son of Man” can be forgiven, but a word “against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” either in this age or in the next. In the eyes of the Pharisees, the Son of Man was neither God (cf. Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21) nor the Son of God. And not only the Pharisees, but even the disciples of Christ were able to grasp this idea with difficulty and only gradually. This came from ignorance, and therefore could be forgiven. But the “word” against the Holy Spirit or God is not only a mistake arising from ignorance, and therefore is not forgiven. Some of the arguments of various exegetes regarding this saying are quite interesting, although sometimes they have little to do with the very essence of the matter. So Augustine thinks on the basis of this verse that the forgiveness of sins is possible not only in this age, but also in the future, because it would be impossible to say about some people that their sins will not be forgiven either in this age or in the future, if there would be no forgiveness at all in the future. Origen speaks of universal forgiveness that will come at the end of the “great age” that Plato spoke about, and even claims that Judas and Lucifer himself with the demons condemned along with him will one day be saved. Catholic theologians derive their teachings about purgatory from the verse in question. According to some of them, it would be vain and idle to say: “it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the next,” if no sin were forgiven in the future. “This is as if someone were to say in vain and irrelevantly: I will not marry either in this age or in the future, when in the future it is absolutely impossible to marry.” Leaving aside all these interpretations, we will only say that the expression “neither in this age nor in the next” is the most difficult to explain in this entire speech of Christ. Morison considers this expression simply an extension of the word "never". We can agree with this last interpretation. The Savior, obviously, does not speak here about whether there will or will not be forgiveness of sins in the afterlife. He points only to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and argues that this sin will never be forgiven. The expression αἰὼν μέλλων occurs here in Matthew only once (cf. Eph. 1:21; 1 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 2:5, 6, etc.).

Matthew 12:33. Or recognize the tree as good and its fruit as good; or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.

(Compare Luke 6:43).

According to Jerome, in Christ’s speech there is a syllogism here, called by the Greeks ἄφυκτον (inevitable, cunning, from which one cannot get out). If, says the Savior, the devil is evil, then he cannot do good. If you consider what I did to be good, then it follows that the devil does not do this. And it cannot be that good comes from evil or evil from good. Just as a good person cannot do evil and a bad person cannot do good, so Christ cannot do evil, and the devil cannot do good deeds. A similar idea is expressed by Augustine, according to which a person must first change in order for his deeds to change, because if a person remains evil, he cannot have good deeds, and if he is good, then he cannot have bad deeds. It can be noted that the thoughts expressed by the Savior here and in subsequent verses are very similar to what He said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:16–20).

Matthew 12:34. Spawn of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

(Compare Luke 6:45).

The connection of speech in this verse in the Russian translation is not clearly expressed. This can be easily seen if you expand the speech a little. “How can you say good things when you are evil?” You cannot speak anything good, because “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” But if you insert a sentence here: you cannot say anything good, because your heart is filled with malice, and “from the abundance of the heart,” i.e. from the fact that it overflows, “the mouth speaks,” then the Savior’s speech will become clearer. However, the Russian translation is accurate; in Greek there is the same omission of intermediate thoughts and sentences as in Russian. In a few manuscripts, however, the desire is expressed, with the help of corrections, to express this idea somewhat differently, namely through the addition after “the mouth speaks” of the words either “good” (ἀγαθά) or “bad” (mala). Thus: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks good” (evil). The Savior calls the Pharisees “a generation of vipers,” like John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7) and “for the reasons indicated there.” Evfimy Zigavin paraphrases this speech as follows: it is not surprising if you blaspheme this (My actions), because you, being evil, cannot speak good. Christ then shows “physiologically” why they cannot do this.

Matthew 12:35. A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure.

(Compare Luke 6:45).

Those. when there is a lot of good in the heart, then good is brought out, and when there is a lot of evil, then evil.

Matthew 12:36. I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment:

The connection of speech is clear. The Pharisees spoke idle words, blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Not only for such idle words, but for any idle word in general, people will have to give an account on the day of judgment. Sublime and highly moral teaching. Literally, the verse should be translated as follows: “I tell you that every idle word that people speak will give account for it on the day of judgment.”

Matthew 12:37. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

The immediate meaning of this expression is that a person is justified or condemned by his own words in an ordinary human court. But this idea is elevated to a principle, and it is generally said that a person’s words justify or accuse him. Judgment and acquittal here mean accusation or acquittal primarily at the Last Judgment.

Matthew 12:38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher! We would like to see a sign from You.

The word “then” cannot be taken here as an exact indication of time. It is very possible that what was said in this and the following verses was at another time and for another, albeit unknown, reason. In any case, we must admit that now other people spoke to Christ, and not those who accused Him of having a relationship with the devil (verse 24). This is also clear from Luke. 11:16, which speaks of “other” people “tempting” Him and asking for a sign. Regarding this request of the scribes and Pharisees, Chrysostom notes: “When they rudely (τραχέως) asked Him questions and reviled Him, He answered them meekly, and when they began to flatter Him, He addresses them with all severity and utters defamatory words against them, showing by the fact that He is above both passions and that just as then they could not anger Him, so now they cannot soften Him with their flattery.”

Matthew 12:39. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah;

(Compare Luke 11:29).

“Evil generation” would be better translated “evil, full of evil.” This race is called the Savior adulterous because in general Old Testament deviation from true religion and true worship of God was considered adultery (Jer. 3:8–9, 5:7, 13:27; Ezek. 16). But, on the other hand, this expression can, it seems, be connected with other expressions of the Savior about Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 11:22-24) and understand what was said in such a way that the generation contemporary with Christ was depraved. Both phenomena, idolatry and sexual debauchery, are often put in connection with one another and are understandable from our information about pagan life. No sign will be given to this generation now. Morison thinks that this is an extremely condensed expression, in which an element of uncertainty and mystery is deliberately introduced. More complete contents This speech of the Savior can be stated as follows: “No sign, for the sake of satisfying curiosity, will be given to this generation. The sign will not bring him or anyone else any benefit. The hatred of the evil generation towards Me will not cease. It will reject Me. However, it will not make My mission in vain. When it puts Me to death, I will give it a sign much more amazing than the curious things it expects from Me. I will give him the sign of the prophet Jonah." The Savior wants to give the Jews a sign not from heaven, but from earth, and, moreover, a sign in the heart of the earth. This, however, did not mean that Christ would not perform any miracles or signs before performing this sign. They did not seem like signs to the Jews who did not believe in Him. The indicated sign will be given specifically to them and in general to all unbelievers.

Matthew 12:40. for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

(Compare Luke 11:30).

The speech here is obviously figurative. The only question that can arise is why the Savior here spoke in images and did not simply express it: The Son of Man will be buried and will remain in the earth for three days and three nights. But similar images are used in other places (see John 2:19, 3, etc.).

Matthew 12:41. The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here.

(Compare Luke 11:32).

In Luke (Luke 11:31–32) the verses are presented in the reverse order compared to Matthew, i.e. first it speaks of the queen of the south, and then of the Ninevites. The latter are described in the same book of the prophet Jonah. Christ's speech can be called a very brief and condensed summary of this entire book. The meaning is clear. The Ninevites repented after Jonah's preaching, but the scribes and Pharisees did not, although Christ Himself and His preaching were higher than Jonah and his preaching. This last, it seems, is expressed somewhat covertly in the words: “and behold, here is more than Jonah.” Πλεῖον fully corresponds to the Latin plus quam, and, like the latter, is used in the neuter gender. The repentant Ninevites will “rise” (here we can translate “resurrect”, although in the New Testament ἀνιστάναι does not always indicate resurrection), all the same physically or spiritually, and, as if as a reward for their repentance, they will become judges of the contemporary generation of Christ, who did not bring repentance .

Matthew 12:42. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.

(Compare Luke 11:31).

Instead of “to judgment with this generation” - in Luke “with the men of this generation” (in the Russian Bible - with people); and then instead of “his” the corresponding “their”. Otherwise, Matthew's speech is literally similar to Luke's. In the words of the Savior there is an obvious reference to the story told in 1 Kings. 10:1–13; 2 Par. 9:1–12. Solomon's "wisdom" is mentioned in both stories. The brevity of the evangelists’ story does not allow us to judge whether the Savior is referring here to the book of Kings or Chronicles, or to both of these books. Talking about the same thing reported in the books of Kings and Chronicles, Josephus ("Antiquities of the Jews", VIII, 6, 5), calls this southern queen queen σιλεύουσαν γυναῖκα, i.e. Meroe (whose queens were usually called Candace (Plinius, Historia naturalis, VI, 29). The Abyssinian tradition, according to this story, calls her Makeda and suggests that she accepted the Jewish faith in Jerusalem. The Arabs, for their part, also make claims on her, calling her Valkis (Koran, sura 27 [this sura, among other things, talks about Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, but the latter is not called by name. – Note ed.]). This latter view is probably closer to the truth. Saba was a highway in happy Arabia, not far from the Red Sea and from the present Aden (see Plinius, Historia naturalis, VI, 23), abounding in aromas, gold and precious stones. Wellhausen notes that this is the first time that the name Yemen (south νότος) has been applied to southwestern Arabia.

Matthew 12:43. When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it;

Matthew 12:44. Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came. And, having arrived, he finds it unoccupied, swept and put away;

Matthew 12:45. then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and entering they live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.

(Compare Luke 11:24–26).

In Luke, this section is almost literally similar to Matthew's speech, with the exception of a few words. One must think that Christ, by saying this, figuratively adapts to the concepts of time, according to which unclean spirits were the personification of various evils, spiritual and material.

Matthew 12:46. While He was still speaking to the people, His Mother and brothers stood outside the house, wanting to speak with Him.

(Compare Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19).

Since Christ’s relatives according to the flesh did not have the opportunity to personally approach Him, they announced this to Him through a messenger (whom is unknown) to call Him. So according to Mark and Luke. In Matthew and Mark, the story follows a diatribe against the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The connection of this verse is different among different evangelists, but Matthew’s note ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος can be considered here as an exact designation of time, corresponding to the testimony of Mark.

Matthew 12:47. And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You.

Matthew 12:48. He answered and said to the one who spoke: Who is My Mother? and who are my brothers?

(Compare Mark 3:33).

The Savior here expressed the idea that spiritual kinship with people listening and perceiving His teaching was higher in His eyes than carnal kinship (cf. Luke 2:49).

Matthew 12:49. And pointing His hand at His disciples, He said: Here are My mother and My brothers;

(Compare Mark 3:34; Luke 8:21).

Mark says that Jesus Christ looked around at those sitting around and at that time said, etc. The Savior’s words here serve as some clarification and confirmation of the words of the previous verse, and their meaning is the same.

Matthew 12:50. for whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.

(Cf. Mark 3 – almost the same).

Although the Savior here introduces the additional term ἀδελφ into His answer, he does not mention the (earthly) father, about whom He does not speak anywhere in His speeches. This is in accordance with the testimony of the evangelists Matthew and Luke about His unmarried birth.

It can hardly be concluded from this that the mention of a mother and next to her a brother and sister confirms the opinion that the Savior’s brothers were His own brothers. All three terms - "brother", "sister" and "mother" - are used here, obviously, in spiritual sense.

How to use the data interpretation of the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew?

1. The title number is the number of the verse or verses that will be discussed.
2. The Scriptures follow in logical order.
3. Having thought about them and connecting it into a logical chain, you you'll get the point the place under discussion, its true meaning.

Matthew 12:1

1 At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat.

• 25 When you come into your neighbor's harvest, pluck the ears of corn with your own hands, but do not bring a sickle into your neighbor's harvest. (see Deut. 23:25)

Matthew 12:3,4

3 And he said to them, Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? 4 How did he enter into the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those with him were to eat, but only the priests?

Responding to the claims of the Pharisees about the violation of the Sabbath, Christ showed the ESSENCE of this seventh day. The answer consisted of two parts. The first part of the answer shows that the story of the Lord's forefather, David, was a prophetic action that indicated that his Son, from the tribe of Judah, would become a Priest. This is precisely the principle described in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews (Heb. 7: 1-19.), which tells about Melchizedek, who was both a king and a priest. “For it is known that our Lord arose from the tribe of Judah, about which Moses said nothing regarding the priesthood. And this is even more clearly seen [from the fact] that in the likeness of Melchizedek another priest is raised, who is not such according to the law of the carnal commandment, but according to the power of unceasing life” (Heb. 7:14-16).

The people who came with David and also ate the loaves prophetically indicated that the faithful followers of Christ, who kept themselves in spiritual purity, would be heavenly co-priests of the Lord. And this will be regardless of what nation, tribe and rank they previously belonged to.

• 4 And the priest answered David, saying, I have no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only [your] people would abstain from women! 5 And David answered the priest and said to him, There were no women with us yesterday, nor the third day since I went out, and the vessels of the youths are clean, and if the road is unclean, then [the bread] will remain clean in the vessels. 6(a) And the priest gave him the sacred bread; (1 Samuel 21:4-6(a))
• 17 This is a shadow of the future, but the body is in Christ. (Col 2:17)
• 14 For it is known that our Lord arose from the tribe of Judah, about which Moses said nothing regarding the priesthood. 15 And this is even more clearly seen [from the fact that] another priest is raised in the likeness of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:14,15)
• 11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: 12 (a) I will proclaim your name to my brethren (Hebrews 2:11,12(a))
• 1 And I looked, and behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 4 These are they who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are redeemed from among men, as the firstborn of God and the Lamb, 5 and there is no guile in their mouth; they are blameless before the throne of God. (Rev 14:1,4,5)
• 4 During Solomon's old age, his wives turned his heart toward other gods, and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father. ((see 1 Kings 11:4))
• 14(a) Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? 17 Therefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. ((2 Cor 6:14(a),17,18))

Matthew 12:2(b),5-8

2(b) Thy disciples do what ought not to be done on the Sabbath. 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent? 6 But I tell you, here is He who is greater than the temple; 7 If you knew what it means: I want mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent, 8 for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

The second part of the Teacher's answer showed the ESSENCE of Saturday. Not having the Holy Spirit to understand (1 Cor. 2:7-14.), the scribes and Pharisees honored this day literally (basically, it was doing nothing). Christ said: “The Sabbath is made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The seventh day was the time of spiritual creation of man, and the Jews were not exempt from doing good on this day - see further: Matt.12:9-12. John 5:16,17.

To understand what the expression means: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” you should pay attention to the following passage of Scripture from Hebrews 4. It shows that Joshua was only a certain image of the greater “Joshua”, i.e. Jesus Christ, who leads us Christians into peace, into His spiritual inheritance, Heavenly Kingdom(Heb. 11:8-16.)

• 1(c) And suddenly the Lord will come to His temple 3 and sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and will purify the sons of Levi and refine them as gold and as silver, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord in righteousness. 5 And I will come to you for judgment and will be a swift accuser of sorcerers and adulterers and those who swear falsely and withhold wages from a hireling, oppress the widow and the orphan, and repel the stranger, and do not fear Me, says the Lord of hosts. (Mal 3:1(c),3.5)
• 6 For I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
• 13 If you keep your foot for the sake of the Sabbath from doing your desires on My holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord, honored, and honor it by not doing your usual business, pleasing your desires and talking idle words, - 14 then shalt thou have joy in the Lord, and I will bring thee up upon the high places of the earth, and will cause thee to taste the inheritance of Jacob thy father: the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58:13,14)
• 8 For if Joshua [Joshua] had given them rest, no other day would have been spoken of after that. 9 Therefore there still remains a Sabbath for the people of God. 3(a) But we who have believed enter into rest (Hebrews 4:8,9,3(a))
• 4 Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious by God, 5 you also, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Pet 2:4,5,9)

Matthew 12:5,8

5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent? 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

• In addition to the fact that the Son of Man is the lord of the spiritual Sabbath (which was commented on above), the Lord Christ will also reign as Judge on the seventh thousand-year day of judgment. This is most clearly recorded in the book of Revelation, chapter 20 (also: Zech. 14:16-19.).
• 17(a) This is a shadow of the future (Col 2:17(a))
• 30 Therefore, leaving the times of ignorance, God now commands people everywhere to repent, 31 for He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed, having given proof to all by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:30,31)
• 20 But Christ rose from the dead, the firstborn of those who died. 23(b) then Christ’s at His coming. (1 Cor 15:20,23(b))
• 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: the second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6)
• 8(a,c) One thing should not be hidden from you, that with the Lord a thousand years are as one day. ((2 Pet 3:8(a,c)))

Matthew 12:9-12

9 And he departed from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath? 11 And he said to them, Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out? 12 How much better is a man than a sheep! So you can do good on Saturdays.

• 8(a-c) Thus says the Lord: In an acceptable time I heard You, and on the day of salvation I helped You; 13 Rejoice, O heavens, and be glad, O earth, and shout for joy, O mountains; for the Lord comforted His people and had mercy on His sufferers. (Isaiah 49:8(a-c),13)
• 35 Then Jesus said to them, “For a little while yet the light is with you; walk while there is light, lest darkness overtake you: but he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 (a) While the light is with you, believe in the light, that you may be children of light. (John 12:35,36(a))
• 14 You who do not know what will happen tomorrow: for what is your life? steam that appears for a short time and then disappears. (Jacob 4:14)
• 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength; because in the grave where you go there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom. (Eccl 9:10)

Matthew 12:15

15 And many people followed him, and he healed them all

• 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said: He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. ((see Mat 8:17))

Matthew 12:20

20 He will not break a bruised reed, nor will he quench the smoking flax, until he brings victory to the judgment;

• The healing of the literally lame, blind, and deaf, which were described above, was a sign indicating the spiritual healing of Israel. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Bring out a blind people, although they have eyes, and a deaf people, although they have ears” (Is. 43:8). A spiritually sick people were like “a bruised reed” and “smoking flax”, “sheep” who have no shepherd" (Mark 6:34). Based on this, it is worth paying attention to one more prophecy: "Strengthen the weak hands and strengthen the trembling knees; say to the timid in soul: be strong, do not be afraid; behold, your God is coming vengeance, the recompense of God; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35). :3-6). The words from verse 6: “for waters shall break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert,” point to the Holy Spirit from the Heavenly Father (through the Lord Christ - John 7:37-39.), namely thanks to this, this salvation and victory must happen.
• 2(b) Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves! Shouldn't shepherds feed the flock? 6 My sheep wander on all the mountains and on every high hill, and My sheep are scattered throughout all the face of the earth, and no one spies for them, and no one seeks them. 22 Then I will save My sheep, and they will no longer be spoiled, and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 16 I will find the lost, and bring back the stolen, and bind up the wounded, and strengthen the sick, and destroy the fat and violent; I will shepherd them with righteousness. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the Lord, have said this. (see Eze 34:2(b),6,22,16,24)

Matthew 12:22-24,28,31,32

22 Then they brought to Him a demon-possessed man, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man began to speak and see. 23 And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ the son of David? 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.” 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you. 31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men; 32 If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future.

• To understand the meaning of the words: “if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the next” - it is worth turning to the Gospel of John. Christ said: “If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me; and if I do, then if you do not believe Me, believe My works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him” (John 10:37,38). Further, the Apostle Paul (as if continuing this theme) wrote about these Jews: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. For what can be known about God is obvious to them, because God has revealed it to them. For His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the consideration of creation, so that they (the Jews) are without excuse (have no justification). They know the righteous [judgment] of God, that those who do such [deeds] are worthy of death; however, not only do [them] do, but they also approve of those who do them” (Rom. 1:18-20,32). From these passages of Scripture, we can conclude that if the Lord had not provided His testimony and miracles, then the Jews would not have had sin; however, the Spirit of the Most High testified about Him. Having rejected Him, and also worse than that in opposing Him they had no justification; This is indicated in the following passages of Scripture in the commentaries.
• 24(a) If I had not done among them the works that no one else had done, they would not have had sin; 22(b) but now they have no excuse for their sin. (John 15:24(a),22(b))
• 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 13:9)
• 39 And Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” (John 9:39)
• 14(b) The wisdom of his wise men will perish, and his understanding will be lost among those who have understanding. 18 And on that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of darkness and gloom. (Isaiah 29:14(b),18)
• 6 Then the lame will leap up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing; For waters will break out in the desert, and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:6)
• 37 On the last great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” 38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 39(a) These things He said concerning the Spirit, which those who believed on Him were about to receive: (John 7:37-39(a))
• 13(a) When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth: 8 And He, having come, will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment: (John 16:13(a), 8)
• 1 And you will say on that day: I will praise you, O Lord; You were angry with me, but You turned away Your anger and comforted me. 3 And with joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation, 4 and you will say in that day, Praise the Lord, call on His name; proclaim His works among the nations; remind us that His name is great; 6 Rejoice and rejoice, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst. (Isaiah 12:1,3,4,6)
• 1(a,b) I do not want to leave you, brethren, ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed; the stone was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with many of them, for they were slain in the wilderness. 6 And these were examples for us, so that we would not lust after evil, as they lusted. (1 Cor 10:1(a,b),4-6)
• 12 Therefore strengthen your bowed hands and weakened knees, 13 and walk straight with your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside, but rather be made straight. 14 Strive to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 15(a) 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; (Hebrews 12:12-15(a))
• 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and furious fire ready to devour the adversaries. 29 How much more severe punishment do you think will be liable to the one who tramples on the Son of God and does not consider holy the Blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and insults the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26,27,29)
• 14(b,c) behold, you have recovered; Don’t sin anymore, lest something worse happen to you. ((see John 5:14(b,c)))

Matthew 12:27-32,39,43-45

27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men; 32 If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future. 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah; 43 When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it; 44 Then he says: I will return to my house from whence I came. And, having arrived, he finds [it] unoccupied, swept and put away; 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.

By what criteria does God judge and condemn?.. For example: the sacrifices themselves (without love) brought by the Israelites to God were not needed - Micah 6:6-8. Psalm 49:10-13,23. Also, the expensive temple built under Solomon was destroyed by the Almighty due to the crimes of Israel (Isaiah.66:1,2,4.).

Not only the evil generation that lived during the Lord’s sojourn on earth, but also everyone who does not seek God with all his heart, keeping himself in spiritual purity, will be condemned according to the same principle that is presented in the Bible verses below.

• 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. (John 6:33)
• 5 (a, d) and the people spoke against God and against Moses: and our souls were sick of this worthless food. 6 And the Lord sent against the people poisonous snakes which bit the people, and a great multitude of the [sons of] Israel died. (Numbers 21:5(a,d),6)
• 45(d) So it will be with this evil generation. (Matthew 12:45(g))
• 17 For behold, I will send serpents against you, basilisks, against whom there is no conspiracy, and they will hurt you, says the Lord. (Jer 8:17)
• 4 (a) one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, 6 (b, c) was a thief. He had [a cash] box with him and wore what was put in there. (John 12:4(a),6(b,c))
• 3 And Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, one of the twelve, 4 and he went and spoke with the chief priests and rulers, how to betray Him to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him money; ()
• 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. (John 12:31)
• 26 Jesus answered, “He is the one to whom I dip a piece of bread and give it.” And, having dipped the piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot. 27 And after this piece Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, “Whatever you are doing, do it quickly.” (John 13:26,27)
• 16(b) It was necessary to fulfill what the Holy Spirit had spoken in the Scriptures through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of those who took Jesus; (Acts 1:16(b))
• 14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and the sin of his mother not be blotted out; 17 He loved the curse, and it will come upon him; did not want the blessing, it will move away from him; 20 This is the reward from the Lord for my enemies and for those who speak evil against my soul! (Ps 109:14,17,20)
• 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How will you escape from condemnation to Gehenna? (Matthew 23:36,33)
• 11 All these things happened to them [as] images; but it is described for the instruction of us who have reached the last centuries. (1 Cor 10:11)
• 12 Let all those who did not believe the truth but delight in unrighteousness be condemned. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, so that they will believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:12,11)
• 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 12(b) Woe to those who live on earth and on the sea! because the devil has come down to you in great rage, knowing that he has little time left. (Rev 12:9,12(b))
• 9(a) Pray thus: 13(a) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matt 6:9(a),13(a))
• 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15)
• 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 11 And many false prophets will arise and deceive many; 9(b) And you will be hated by all nations because of My name; 10 And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another; (Matthew 24:24,11,9(b),10)

Matthew 12:32(a),31

32(a) If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; 31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men;

• The following Scriptures will show the difference: between Paul, who then became the apostle to the Gentiles; also, pagans who did not know about the Most High and acted in their own ignorance - and apostates from the holy covenant, about whom it is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews. “For if we, having received the knowledge of the truth, sin willfully, then there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour our opponents. [If] one who rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is without mercy [punished] with death, then how much more severe punishment do you think will be guilty of the one who tramples on the Son of God and does not consider as holy the Blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace ? (Heb. 10:26-29).
• 1 Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, so that whoever he found following this teaching, both men and women, would be bound and brought to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1,2)
• 1(a) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God, 12 I thank him who gave me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to serve, 13 me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because , that [he] acted out of ignorance, in unbelief; 16 But for this reason I received mercy, so that Jesus Christ in me first might show all long-suffering, as an example to those who will believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Tim 1:1(a),12,13,16)
• 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar 34 (a) Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 47 But the centurion, seeing what was happening, glorified God and said, “Truly this man was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:36,34(a),47)
• 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps. 12 And lead a virtuous life among the Gentiles, so that for the reasons why they revile you as evildoers, when they see your good deeds, they may glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Pet 2:21,12)
• 30 And behold, there are last which will be first, and there are first which will be last. (Luke 13:30)
• 1 There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and, denying the Lord who bought them, bring upon themselves swift destruction. 20 For if, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome by them, then the latter is worse for them than the first. 21 It would be better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. (2 Pet 2:1,20,21)

Matthew 12:34

34 Generations of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

• 14(a) And the Lord God said to the serpent: 15(a) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; (Genesis 3:14(a),15(a))
• 42(a,b) Jesus said to them: If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded from God and came; 44(a-c) Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. (John 8:42(a,b),44(a-c))
• 23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? So can you do good if you are accustomed to doing evil? (Jer 13:23)

Matthew 12:35-37

35 A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure. 36 But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

• 2 If I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that [I can] remove mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my goods and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 8(a) Love never fails (1 Cor 13:2,3,8(a))
• 1 Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. (2 Tim 3:1)
• 12 And because iniquity abounds, the love of many will grow cold; 10 And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another; (Matthew 24:12,10)
• 22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment; whoever says to his brother: “raqa” is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, “You fool,” is subject to fiery hell. (Matthew 5:22)
• 5(a,b) then, making every effort to do this, show virtue in your faith, 7 in godliness brotherly kindness, in brotherly kindness love. 10 (b) if you do this, you will never stumble (2 Pet 1:5(a,b),7,10(b))

Matthew 12:39-42

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah; 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.

Why will the Ninevites “condemn” the evil race of the Jews?.. The Almighty said: “Should I not have pity on Nineveh... who do not know how to distinguish their right hand from their left (in the spiritual sense of the word)? This points to the idea that God gave the Ninevites a spirit of repentance because they did evil because of their ignorance.

Queen Savea sincerely admired the wisdom of Solomon. In contrast to her, the deceitful and corrupt priesthood, out of self-interest, rejected the teaching greatest teacher of all times and peoples (Mark 1:22.).

It is for this reason that this generation, evil and adulterous, was worthy of only one thing: to kill the Son of the Most High, and, having found themselves guilty of this sin, to become rejected and cursed (Matt. 23:33.).

• 5 And the Ninevites believed God, and declared a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6 This word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and took off his royal vestments, and put on sackcloth, and sat down on ashes, 7 and commanded that it be proclaimed and said in Nineveh in the name of the king and his nobles: “So that Neither the people, nor the cattle, nor the oxen, nor the sheep, ate anything, went to pasture, or drank water (Jonah 3:5-7)
• 11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, a great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and a multitude of cattle? (Jonah 4:11)
• 3 And the Queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built, 5 (a) And she said to the king: 7 Blessed are your people, and blessed are these your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom! (2 Chronicles 9:3,5(a),7,8;)
• 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14,15)
• 31 For He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed, having given proof to all by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)
• 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them; and each one was judged according to his deeds. 15 And whoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 14(b) This is the second death. ((Rev 20:13,15,14(b)))

Matthew 12:41,42

41 The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.

What can the story of the Ninevites teach us?..

The Benjamites can be called the younger brothers of the Jews; after the death of Solomon, these two tribes constituted a single kingdom of Judah. The Scriptures below show that the Apostle Paul from the tribe of Benjamin was a persecutor of the church - but then became an apostle to the pagans; and this was not an accident...

Explanation: The Lord said about the calling of the Gentiles from other nations: “I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and these I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). ). Later, Paul would write: “Remember that you who were once pagans in the flesh... that at that time you were without Christ, estranged from the commonwealth of Israel... But now in Christ Jesus you, who once were far off, have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. For He is our peace, having made both one and destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle. So you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:11-14,19). Next, it is worth paying attention to what concerns us specifically, those who will live to see the time of the sign of the end of the wicked world.

Paul wrote: “I, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. But for this reason I received mercy, so that Jesus Christ in me first might show all longsuffering, as an example to those who will believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:13,16). Further, the Apostle Peter continues, as it were, instructing you and me: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And to lead a virtuous life among the pagans (in the sense: spiritual pagans, i.e. unbelievers), so that for the reasons why they revile you as evildoers, when they see your good deeds, they may glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:9 ,12). The following verses, from the book of vice, Isaiah chapter 19, point specifically to spiritual pagans, figurative “Egyptians” and “Assyrians” (kingdoms of “north and south”, from the book of Daniel 11 ch. 29-45 v.). Understanding the true meaning of what was written in the 19th chapter of the book of Isaiah, we need to learn to treat such “pagans” kindly (see also: Matt. 5:44-48.).

• 4(a) But whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction (Rom 15:4(a))
• 1(a) Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an Apostle (Rom 1:1(a))
• 13(a,b) I say to you, the Gentiles. As the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13(a,b))
• 13 me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance, in unbelief; 16 But for this reason I received mercy, so that Jesus Christ in me first might show all long-suffering, as an example to those who will believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Tim 1:13,16)
• 14 But now I have come to tell you what will happen to your people in the last times, since the vision concerns the distant days." (Dan 10:14)
• 33 And the wise among the people will admonish many, although they will suffer for a while from sword and fire, from captivity and robbery; (Dan 11:33)
• 9 I saw at last that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down; 13 I saw in the night visions, behold, one like the Son of Man walked with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him. (Dan 7:9(a),13)
• 20(b) because they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a savior and intercessor and deliver them. (Isaiah 19:20(b))
• 11(c) and great fear fell upon those who looked at them. (Rev 11:11(c))
• 21 And the Lord will reveal Himself in Egypt; and the Egyptians on that day will know the Lord, and will offer sacrifices and gifts, and will make vows to the Lord, and will fulfill them. 24 On that day Israel will be third with Egypt and Assyria; there will be a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 which the Lord of hosts will bless, saying, Blessed is my people the Egyptians, and the work of my hands the Assyrians, and my inheritance Israel. (Isaiah 19:21,24,25)
• 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 12 And lead a virtuous life among the Gentiles, so that for the reasons why they revile you as evildoers, when they see your good deeds, they may glorify God on the day of visitation. ((1 Pet 2:9,12))

Matthew 12:46,47

46 While He was still speaking to the people, His mother and brothers stood outside [the house], wanting to speak with Him. 47 And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You.

• 21 And when his neighbors heard, they went to take him, for they said that he had lost his temper. (Mark 3:21)
• 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him. (John 7:5)

Matthew 12:48-50

48 And he answered and said unto him that spake, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers? 49 And pointing his hand to his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers; 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.

• 13 And again: I will trust in Him. And one more thing: here I am and the children whom God gave Me. 11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: 12 I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the church I will sing Your praises. (Hebrews 2:13,11,12)
• 26 And Jerusalem which is above is free: she is the mother of us all. ((see Gal 4:26))
• 5(a) And she gave birth to a male child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron; ((Rev 12:5(a)))
• 13 And all your sons will be taught by the Lord, and your sons will have great peace. ((Isaiah 54:13))
• 45 It is written in the prophets: And they will all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard from the Father and learned comes to Me. ((John 6:45))

. At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat.

Wanting to clarify the provisions of the law, the Lord leads the disciples through a sown field so that they break the Sabbath law by eating.

. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him: Behold, your disciples are doing what ought not to be done on the Sabbath.

. He said to them: Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?

. how did he enter the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those who were with him were to eat, but only the priests?

The Pharisees again blame the natural feeling of hunger, sinning worse themselves, but the Lord shames them with the story of David. For he, says the Lord, because of hunger, went to something more. By the showbread we mean those breads that were laid out every day, for there were twelve loaves of bread laid out at the table: six on the right side and six on the left. Although David was a prophet, he should not have eaten them (only priests could do this), much less those who were with them. However, due to hunger, he is worthy of forgiveness. In the same way, the disciples.

. Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent?

. But I tell you that here is He who is greater than the temple;

The law forbade working on the Sabbath, but the priests chopped wood and kindled the fire on the Sabbath, so they desecrated the Sabbath, that is, they went crazy, as you think. But you tell Me that they were priests, but the disciples were not. To this I will answer you that here is He who is greater than the temple, that is, since I, the Master, am greater than the temple and am with My disciples, they have greater power to break the Sabbath than the priests.

. if you knew what it means: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” () , then the innocent would not be condemned,

. for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

He also shows them to be ignorant, since they do not know the prophetic writings. Shouldn’t he, he says, be merciful to people who are starving? Moreover, I, the Son of Man, am Lord of the Sabbath, as of all things, and the creator of these days; therefore, as Master, I break the Sabbath. Understand this also in a figurative sense: the apostles were workers; the harvest and the ears of corn are the believers; the apostles picked them and ate them, that is, with their food they had the salvation of people. They did this on Saturday, the day when they were supposed to avoid evil deeds. The Pharisees were indignant. This happens in church too. While teachers often teach and are helpful, the pharisatical and envious are annoying.

. And He departed from there and entered their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath?

Other evangelists say that Jesus asked the Pharisees. So, we can say that the Pharisees, being envious people, warned and asked Him, as Matthew says; then Christ, for his part, asked them, as if mocking and ridiculing their insensibility, as the other evangelists talk about. The Pharisees asked Him for the purpose of having a reason for slander.

. He said to them: Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out?

. How much better is a man than a sheep! So, you can do good on Saturdays.

It shows that they violate the Sabbath for self-interest and in order not to lose a sheep, but in order to heal a person they do not allow this. So, in the same case, he shows them to be covetous, and cruel, and to neglect God, for they neglect the Sabbath so as not to lose a sheep, and are unmerciful when they do not want to heal a person.

. Then he says to the man: Stretch out your hand. And he held out, and she became healthy, like anyone else.

Many even now have dry hands, that is, unmerciful and stingy. But when the word of the Gospel sounds loudly to them, they stretch out their hands for alms, although the Pharisees, proud demons, cut off from us, due to their enmity, do not want our hands to be stretched out for alms.

. The Pharisees went out and had a council against Him, how to destroy Him. But Jesus, having learned, withdrew from there.

Oh envy! when they receive a benefit, then they go berserk. Jesus leaves because the time of suffering has not yet come, but at the same time he spares His enemies so that they do not fall into murder. For to be recklessly exposed to danger is not a godly thing to do. Think about this word “out”. When they left God, they began to confer about how to destroy Jesus, for none of those who are in God are planning such a thing.

. And a great crowd followed Him, and He healed them all

. and forbade them to announce Him,

Taming the envy of his enemies, he did not want anyone to announce Him, but, however, he tried in every way to heal the sick.

. that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, who said () :

. Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations;

. He will not contradict or cry out,

The evangelist also brings the prophet as a witness of the meekness of Jesus. For whatever, he says, the Jews want, He will do. If they want Him not to appear, He will do this too and will not resist, like an ambitious person, and will not argue, but will announce to the crowds following Him not to announce Him. But He will announce judgment to the pagans, that is, He will teach the pagans too, for judgment is teaching, knowledge and discernment of good; or he will announce the coming judgment to the pagans who have never heard of the future judgment.

For He taught not in the public square, like the ambitious, but in the temple and in the synagogues, and on the mountain, and on the seashore.

. He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not quench smoking flax,

He could, he says, crush the Jews like a bruised reed, and quench their anger like smoking or burning flax, but he did not want to until he had fulfilled his dispensation and defeated them in everything. This is also what the following words mean.

until he brings victory to the court;

. and in His name the nations will trust.

So that they would not have anything as an excuse, he endured everything in order to subsequently condemn them and defeat those who had nothing to say in response. For what did He not do to win them? But they didn't want to. Therefore, the nations will trust in Him, while the Jews would not.

. Then they brought to Him a man possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb began to speak and see.

. And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ, the Son of David?

The demon closed the ways to faith: eyes, hearing and tongue, but Jesus heals, and the people call Him the Son of David, for Christ was expected from the seed of David. And now, if you see that another does not comprehend goodness himself, and does not accept another’s words, then consider him blind and dumb, whom may God heal by touching His heart.

. The Pharisees, when they heard this, They said: He casts out demons only by force Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

Although the Lord has withdrawn, they, listening from afar, slander precisely when He is doing good deeds to people. Thus, they were enemies by nature, like the devil.

. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand.

. And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand?

By revealing their thoughts before them, the Lord shows that He is God. He defends himself against them by citing common examples and shows their madness. For how can demons cast out themselves when they are trying most of all to unite? The adversary is called Satan.

. And if I by force Beelzebub cast out demons, whose sons are yours by force expelled? Therefore they will be your judges!

Let him say, I am like this; but your sons, that is, my disciples, by whose power do they expel? Are they also by the power of Beelzebub? If they are of Divine power, then how much more am I, for they perform miracles in My name. So, they will serve to your condemnation, because you, seeing that they perform miracles in My name, continue to slander Me.

. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then, of course, the Kingdom of God has come to you.

He says: if I cast out demons by Divine power, then I am the Son of God and came for your sake to do good to you, so that My coming, which is the Kingdom of God, has “reached you.” Why do you slander My coming, which happened for your sake?

. Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his things, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house.

So far, he says, am I from having demons as friends, that I resist them and bind them, who were strong before My coming. For, having entered the house, that is, the world, Christ plundered the vessels of demons, I mean people.

. He who is not with me is against me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.

How, he says, will Beelzebub help Me if he opposes Me more than anyone else? I teach virtue, he teaches evil. How is he with Me? I gather people for salvation, but he scatters. He also points to the Pharisees, because when He taught and brought benefit to many, they scattered the people so that they would not come to Him. So, the Lord shows that they are indeed like demons.

. Therefore I say to you: every blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men;

. if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future.

He says the following here: everyone else has at least a small excuse, for example, fornication, theft. For in such cases we refer to human weakness and are deserving of apology. But when someone sees miracles performed by the Spirit and slanderes them as if they were the power of a demon, what justification can he have? Clearly, he knows that they come from the Holy Spirit, but he deliberately acts badly. How can one receive an apology? So, when the Jews saw that the Lord eats, drinks, treats publicans and harlots and does everything else like the Son of Man, and then they blamed Him as a poisoner and a wine drinker, then for this they are worthy of an apology, and repentance will not be required from them this, since it seemed to them that they were being tempted for a sufficient reason. But if they, seeing that He performed miracles, nevertheless slandered and blasphemed the Holy Spirit, saying that this was a demonic work, then how can they admit that this sin will be forgiven them if they do not repent? So, know that whoever reviles the Son of Man, seeing that He lives like a man, and calling Him a friend of fornicators, a food drinker and a drinker of wine because Christ did this, such a person, if he does not repent, will not give an answer: he deserves an apology because he did not think that God was hidden in Jesus Christ. But whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit or the spiritual works of Christ and calls them demonic, unless he repents, will not be forgiven, for he did not have sufficient reason for slander, like the one who slandered Christ, seeing Him among the fornicators and tax collectors. So, he will not be forgiven either here or there, but he will be punished both here and there. For many are punished here, but not there at all, like poor Lazarus; others both here and there, like the Sodomites and those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit; the third is neither here nor there, like the apostles and the Forerunner. They apparently suffered punishment when they were persecuted, yet it was not punishment for sins, but trials and crowns.

. Or recognize the tree as good and its fruit as good; or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Since the Jews could not slander miracles as evil deeds, but Christ, who performed them, was blasphemed as like demons, the Lord says: either recognize Me as a good tree, and then My miracles, which are the fruit, will be beautiful, or if If you recognize Me as a bad tree, then the fruit or My miracles will obviously be bad. But miracles, that is, fruits, you call good; therefore, I am a good tree. For a tree is known by its fruit, just as I am known by My miracles.

. Spawn of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil?

You, he says, being bad trees, bear bad fruit when you revile Me; so, if I were bad, I would bear bad fruit, and not such great miracles. He calls them brood of vipers, since they boasted about Abraham. The Lord shows that they do not come from Abraham, but from ancestors worthy of their malice.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

. A good man brings forth good things from a good treasure; and an evil man brings forth evil from an evil treasure.

When you see someone blaspheming, then know that in his heart he does not mean what he says, but much more. For what comes out comes only from excess, and the one who hides a treasure within himself reveals only a certain part of it. Likewise, the one who speaks good things carries much more in his heart.

. I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment:

. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Here the Lord frightens us that we too will give an answer for every empty word, that is, false, slanderous or tactless and mocking. Then he brings evidence from Scripture, so that they would not think that He is saying something of His own: from your words, he says, you will receive justification, and from your words you will be condemned.

. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher! We would like to see a sign from You.

The Evangelist added with surprise, “then,” because when it was necessary to submit as a result of past miracles, then they demand a sign. They want to see a sign from heaven, as another evangelist says. It seemed to them that He performed earthly signs with the power of the devil. For the ruler of the world. What about the Savior?

. ...He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah;

. for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

He calls them an “evil generation” as flatterers and treacherous people, and “adulterous” as those who have apostatized from God and united with demons. He calls His resurrection a sign, as an extraordinary phenomenon. For He, having descended into the heart of the earth - I mean the underworld, hell - on the third day rose from the dead. By three days and nights mean parts, not full days and nights. He died on Friday - that's one day; Saturday lay dead in a coffin, and here comes another day; Sunday night found Him still dead. So there are three incomplete days and nights. For we often have the custom of counting time in this way.

. The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here.

When he says, Jonah preached after coming out of the belly of the whale, they believed him, but after My resurrection I will not find faith on your part; Therefore, you will be condemned by the Ninevites, who believed My servant Jonah apart from the signs, and they did this despite the fact that they were barbarians. You were brought up on prophets, saw signs and did not believe Me, the Master. For this is signified by the words: “And behold, here is a greater Jonah.”

. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.

This queen, he says, came from afar, although she was a weak woman, to listen about trees, forests and some natural objects. But you did not receive Me when I came to you, speaking unspeakable things.

. When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it;

. Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came. And when he comes, he finds his unoccupied, swept and put away;

. then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and entering they live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.

The Lord shows that they have reached the brink of destruction without accepting Him. Just as those who are freed from demons, if they do not care, suffer worse, so your family was under the power of a demon when you worshiped idols; but through the prophets I cast out this demon and I myself came, wanting to cleanse you; but since you have pushed Me away and, moreover, are striving to destroy Me, then, like those who have sinned worse, you will be punished more severely, and your final captivity will be heavier than the previous ones. You must also understand that through baptism the unclean spirit is cast out and wanders through waterless deserts and unbaptized souls, but finds no rest in them. For rest for demons is to confuse the baptized with evil deeds, while he already has the unbaptized in his power. So the demon returns to the baptized one with seven spirits. For just as there are seven gifts of the Spirit, so in contrast to this there are seven spirits of wickedness. When he enters the baptized person, then his misfortune is great, for before there was hope of being cleansed by baptism, but after that there is no hope of being cleansed except by the baptism of repentance, which is very difficult.

. While He was still speaking to the people, His mother and brothers stood outside Houses, wanting to talk to Him.

Due to some human property, the Mother wanted to show that she had power over her Son, since She had not yet thought anything great about Him. Therefore, loving the honor of seeing the Son obedient to himself, he wants to attract Him to himself at the time when He was talking. What about Christ? Since He knew her intention, listen to what he says.

. And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You.

. He said to the one who spoke: Who is My Mother? and who are my brothers?

. And pointing His hand at His disciples, He said: Here are My mother and My brothers;

. for whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.

Not reproaching the Mother, he says this, but correcting her ambitious and human thought, for he did not say: “this is not My Mother,” but “if She does not fulfill the will of God, then it will not be of any use to her that She gave birth to Me.” " The Lord does not renounce natural kinship, but adds kinship through virtue, because everyone unworthy does not benefit from kinship. Having thus corrected the disease of vanity, He again obeys the call of His Mother, as the evangelist further says.

12:1,2 At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what ought not to be done on the Sabbath.
The Old Testament nowhere prohibits plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath in order to eat. God's law on the Sabbath forbade engaging only in vain matters of whim - those that are in addition to life-sustaining needs (Is. 58:58:13). Expect from God that, having endowed us with an appetite and the daily need to eat, he would forbid searching and preparing food - stupid, the “elders” of Israel in compiling lists of prohibitions for interpreting the Law - clearly overdid it and distorted the requirements of God.

In this case, the disciples of Christ cannot be compared with farmers who have the whole week to cultivate their fields.

12:3,4 He said to them: Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?
4 How did he enter into the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those with him were to eat, but only the priests?
When answering, Jesus remembered the incident of 1 Samuel 21:1-6, let us dwell on it in more detail:
Only clean people, sanctified by the Almighty, had the right to eat sacred bread (in the Old Testament - only priests).
David was not a priest in letter, but he was one in spirit. Although he did not undergo the ceremony of official consecration according to the letter like priests, he became God’s anointed and a prophet with the help of consecration from above according to the will of God:
The Spirit of the Lord speaks in me, and His word is on my tongue (2 Samuel 23:2).

In general, he was internally pure in the opinion of God and in spirit - he was likened to a priest, therefore he had the right to eat God's meal along with priests according to the letter (the advantage of internal purity in spirit compared to physical purity in the letter of ceremonies is undoubted).

The priest Ahimelech was aware of David's calling: whoever is chosen by God as a prophet is pure from the point of view of God. But to be approved by God, one must observe not only the spirit, but also the letter of the law (the spiritual freedom of the anointed one is not absolute neither in the OT nor in the NT, it is limited by the letter of God’s requirements, for example, prohibitions on lying, stealing, etc.).
So he asked David about outward cleanliness. If he had been with women, he would have been unclean all day (Lev. 15:16), and the priest would not have been able to feed David: he should not have violated not only the spirit, but also the letter of the law.
But David did not touch the woman that day, and therefore he observed the ritual purity of the letter of the law. That is, nothing prevented him from tasting the bread of God.

As for the rest: those who were with David were also pure in spirit in principle, this is shown by the fact that they joined the persecuted David, they were not afraid of the persecution of the official king Saul, but took the side of God’s chosen one. In essence, the priest's actions in feeding these travelers are God's direction: their vessels were clean, therefore God's meal even on something defiled (corpses, for example) on the road - she could preserve her purity in the clean vessels of travelers (1 Samuel 21:5).

Let's return to the example of Christ and his disciples:
plucking ears of corn on Saturday - a day dedicated to God - was the same as eating God's bread (belonging to God). Disciples of Christ they were pure in the eyes of God, otherwise He would not have chosen them as apostles to His son.
That is, it turned out as in the case of David: Christ is the greater David, and those who were with him were pure in the eyes of God and therefore had the right to “Sabbath” bread, even if, according to the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath is prohibited.

12:5,6 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are innocent?
6 But I tell you, here is He who is greater than the temple;
But, realizing that the Pharisees would not be satisfied with David's example and might even say that the priest was wrong - Jesus gives an example of their own violations of the sanctity of the Sabbath: the law prohibiting work on the Sabbath nevertheless exempts the priests who work in the service of God - from the requirements of the Law . Jesus is greater than the temple and his service to God is greater than their service. Therefore, accusing him and his disciples of violating the Sabbath is as absurd as blaming the priests for Sabbath sacrifices.

12:7 if you knew what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice, you would not condemn the innocent,
To complete the explanation to the Pharisees, Jesus reminds them of Hosea 6:6, which says that worship of God does not come down to sacrifices, but to devotion to Him and piety, the result of which should be love for people and compassion for them (the word “mercy” means “devotion, fidelity to God” or “mercy, kindness - as a consequence of devoted love for God”).

In theory, teachers of the law should have known this passage of Scripture.
Therefore, it is surprising how they, KNOWING what God expects from them, nevertheless put the need for sacrifices (for which they themselves violate the Sabbath) above mercy and compassion for the hungry, who get food for themselves on the Sabbath in order to preserve life. There is only one conclusion: they do not understand God’s principles at all, they do not have the knowledge of God that the prophet Hosea spoke about, they have not known their God and therefore act wrongly, condemning the innocent.

12:8 for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
In what sense is Jesus "Lord of the Sabbath"? In two spiritual senses:
1) The Jews, having become "slaves to the letter" of the Sabbath law, were not able to understand that God's law is flexible: it was given to help people in spiritual healing, and not to make people tremble before the points of the rules (Jer. 18: 7-10 ; Matthew 12:11,12). Since the Israelites did not devote time to spiritual matters and serving Jehovah voluntarily, God established the law of the 7th day for them so that they would devote time to spiritual matters at least 1 day a week - for their own good.

But if Jesus voluntarily devoted all his time to serving Jehovah, why did he need the Sabbath law? (Gal.5:23). He has a spiritual “Sabbath” - every day, He decided for himself when to “have a Sabbath” - to engage in spiritual affairs, and when not: thus Jesus, as it were, ruled the “Saturday” himself, and not “the Saturday ruled him” . This is the first meaning of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Sabbath. The Pharisees, who slavishly “served the 7th day,” could not understand this. Why?

Because they were too carried away by the point about the 7th day, it became an idol for them, and people became victims, obliged to serve their beloved “Sabbath”. Preoccupation with the external side of the Sabbath law crowded out from their understanding the essence of the Sabbath as a day intended for the good of people. Therefore, they did not understand that healing on the Sabbath could not be a sin (Matt. 12:10-12).

2) Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath in the sense of "God's rest" - in principle; he is the king of God's future world order, Lord over everything - in the period of God's rest, in the eternal Sabbath, in the eternal day of the Lord. If over eternity Jesus is the Lord in the earthly world order, then over the day of the week he has even more authority from God: he himself decides what to do on Saturday and what not. And the Pharisees are not a decree to him about this.

12:9-13 And He departed from there and entered their synagogue.
10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath?
11 And he said to them, Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out?
Jesus did not stop there near the synagogue, but continued to explain the essence of the Sabbath of God - also in the synagogue itself on clear example healing, realizing that by healing on Saturday, he will certainly provoke indignation and a question to which he already knows what to answer to the questioners. But for this he did not wait for Monday to ANSWER on Saturday and show them the absurdity of their own attitude towards the fulfillment of the Law.

The Pharisees, it seems, could not understand that the Sabbath, as one day a week, was introduced by God for doing good deeds, so that at least once a week the people of God would not do evil and would not fuss only about personal needs. And if for the sake of the well-being of a sheep that fell into a pit, the Jews were ready to break the Sabbath without thinking for a second, then how much more should they be interested in the well-being of MAN, created in the image of God?! (if they are so proud of the fact that they love God, then not to love someone created in His image is at least strange)

12 How much better is a man than a sheep! So you can do good on Saturdays.
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he held out, and she became healthy, like anyone else.
And if they can be so kind to their sheep, then how much more, in theory, should they be kind to the suffering sheep of God - to the unfortunate patient?!

All this was heard not only by the Pharisees, but also by many people, which is what Jesus needed: the seed God's word it was sown; he who has ears to hear heard.

12:14 The Pharisees went out and had a council against Him, how to destroy Him.
Hard-heartedness blinded the Pharisees so much that they not only did not see the absurdity of their worship of God, but also planned to close forever the mouth of the one who so wisely and easily exposed them.

But When Jesus found out, he left there
Jesus never entered into a meaningless conflict, did not act as a hero, inviting fire upon himself, but quietly did God’s work and prudently avoided open confrontations with anyone who could prevent him from fulfilling the Father’s task completely -until a certain time.

12:15-21 And a great crowd followed Him, and He healed them all
16 and forbade them to declare Him,
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said:
18 Behold, My Servant, whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations;
The fame of a physical healer and the hype around it could also greatly prevent him from fulfilling the work of the Father, which is why he forbade the healed to trumpet themselves everywhere, holding back as far as possible the onslaught of the masses who wanted to be healthy: to physically heal all the sick in this century - his intention was Christ did not enter.

19 He will not contradict, he will not cry, and no one will hear his voice in the streets;
Harsh and loud words close all doors and all hearts in front of us. One could not expect rudeness or tactlessness from Christ.

Besideshuman squabbles of all kinds, shows, scandals and feuds are also not for Christ, all this greatly distracts from fulfilling the priority tasks of ANYONE, especially those set before Christ, and slows down the progress of the main thing. Therefore, it is impossible to imagine Christ stuck in a showdown with someone individually or in public scandals: he walked and spoke, spoke and walked. Everyone who joined him along the way—okay, no—didn’t persuade him.

20 He will not break a bruised reed, nor will he quench the smoking flax, until he brings victory to the judgment;
The main thing that had to be fulfilled on him was concern for spiritual healing. He is the one who announced to the people the essence of the future judgment of God and did not lose the spiritually “smoldering” wicks and “broken reeds”; he found and preserved for God His sheep, groaning under the burden of the Pharisaic understanding of righteousness. (Isa.42:1-4) .

21 And the nations will trust in His name.
He is the one who founded Christianity and showed the way to spiritual healing for all mankind.

12:22-24 Then they brought to Him a man possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man began to speak and see. 23 And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ the son of David?
The common people, who have nothing to lose, did not mentally calculate the danger and “costs” for themselves from the presence of Christ. Therefore, he perceived his deeds correctly: the one who casts out demons, heals blindness and makes the dumb speak is clearly not a mere mortal, but a messenger of heaven. Therefore, ordinary people ingenuously speculated that Jesus is the long-awaited descendant of David and the promised Christ.

24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.”
The Pharisees did not plan to accept Jesus as the Christ, and therefore they dissuaded the masses of the purity of his thoughts, attributing to him the actions of demons. They had something to lose and danger from Christ - they already felt well for themselves: everything that was dear to them in their way of life as “righteous” - Jesus easily called vanity, completely unnecessary for God.

12:25,26 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand?
Jesus, knowing the reasons for their accusation, again easily showed its absurdity: if I am a demon, then why on earth should I persecute my own people? But if the demon is already chasing his own people, then soon this brethren will come to an end. Jesus showed the Pharisees that everything demonic would soon be exposed, including their thoughts.

12:27 And if I [by the power of] Beelzebub cast out demons, by whose [power] do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
At the same time, he shows them the impossibility of proving the correctness of his accusations, for it is not only he who casts out demons, but also the sons of the priesthood claim to be healers. So, if he, while healing, in their opinion, is at one with the demons, then the same can be said about their healing sons. So in this case, they are the losers with their arguments. That is, it was unprofitable for the Pharisees in any case to believe that he was dealing with demons, for in this case they would expose the priesthood to the accusation of complicity with demons.

12:28, 29 If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then of course the Kingdom of God has come to you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house.
The Pharisees must understand that if he had healed with the power of demons, then nothing would have come of it to them. But if he drives out the power of God, then beware, because before you is a representative of God’s Kingdom, and you regard him as a demon. And if the messenger of God has power over demons in the house of their leader (in this wicked age), this means that their leader is bound by those who are stronger than him, that is, by Christ. Well, it’s clear that if Christ, the leader of the evil spirits, curbed, then the Pharisees should not treat Christ so frivolously.

12:30-32 He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.
31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men;
Then he moves from a half-joking exposure of the stupidity of the Pharisees - to a serious denunciation on which their life and future depend: about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
What does blasphemy against the holy spirit mean?
These texts partially explain the meaning of blasphemy against the holy spirit:
29 There shall be one law for you, both for the natural inhabitant of the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among you, if anyone does anything by mistake.
30 But if any of the natives or foreigners does anything with a bold hand, he blasphemes the Lord: That soul shall be cut off from among its people,
31 for he despised the word of the Lord and broke His commandment; that soul will be destroyed; her sin is on her. (Numbers 15)

That is, if someone is ignorant of the actions of the holy spirit of God, of the commandments and principles of God, who does not understand the meaning of the events taking place, he commits a sin accidentally, by mistake, in ignorance, in a state of passion, without realizing what he is doing. For unintentional sins, he provided guilt offerings for sin: when his sin is explained to a person, and if he repents, submitting to God, then God will forgive him (Num. 15:24-28).
But if someone, knowing the commandments of God, understanding how the holy spirit of God can act in someone or how God himself through the holy spirit, but being of sound mind and consciously ( with a daring hand) acts against the commandments of God or specifically does not recognize the action of the holy spirit in someone, as in the case of Jesus - he may turn out to be a blasphemer of Him in the eyes of God:
32 If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future.

Jesus warned the Pharisees that if someone, out of personal gain, does not want to admit that God works through him, he will turn out to be a blasphemer. All who try to pass off the actions of God's power as the actions of the devil are denigrating the purity of God's plans and actions and are guilty of blasphemy against God. Every detractor of the pure plans and actions of God will perish both in this age and in the next.

However, we should not rush to accuse it of blasphemy in our opinion, as happens in modern worship of God. For example, if a Christian belongs to a denomination that we personally consider satanic, then we should not rush to assume that giving up, for example, drinking, smoking, stealing, fornication, etc. - the devil is helping him. Why? Because GOD tells us through His word that we need to give up all this, and it is HIS word that can have a positive impact on a person’s personality, regardless of where that person is.

12:33-35 Or recognize the tree as good and its fruit as good; or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
Here is the principle of recognizing a tree by its fruit and the contents of the heart by the lips. By the fruit of a tree, the usefulness of the tree itself is known, and this is not at all difficult to understand: if the result of a person’s activity brings benefit to society (the fruit is edible), then this person cannot be a servant of the devil (a bad tree). If Christ brings benefit to people, then the Pharisees have the responsibility to recognize him as a “good tree” - a servant of God.

34 Generations of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil?
But the Pharisees cannot say anything good in favor of Christ, for they themselves are the offspring of vipers (servants of the devil). Therefore, the principle of “a tree according to its fruit” boils down to the following: being a bad tree, they simply cannot bear good fruit and recognize Christ as God.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure.
What the heart is filled with (like the root of a tree) is what is brought out through the mouth (like the fruit). A good person endures good, an evil person endures evil. The Pharisees were evil, therefore they could not bear anything good with their lips, not recognizing Christ with their hearts - they could not recognize him with their lips.

12:36,37 I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment:
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Judgment Day or Judgment Day is a period thousand year reign of Jesus Christ- the period of time when decisions will be made for each descendant of Adam living in this age. Someone will be brought back to life in the millennium and will be determined whether he is worthy of God's eternity or not. And someone, based on what he did during his life in this century, may not be brought back to life, but condemned to eternal death.

Jesus is saying here that a person's future can be affected by every word he says. And ifeven an idle word does not please the Creator (idle is an empty word, fruitless, not useful for instruction in faith, such words were spoken by the Pharisees)- how much more serious will be the accusation based on the word,spoken thoughtlessly and with a bad meaning (Matt. 5:22). Therefore, Christians who want to be approved by God and enter into the millennium of Christ must be attentive to what they say and how they say it. Every word can affect God's attitude towards man. The sins of the tongue - insults, slander, lies - are no less serious than the sins of the rest of the flesh - fornication, for example - Rev. 21:8.

Therefore, Christians must monitor their speech and strive to make it pleasing to God.

12:38-42 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher! We would like to see a sign from You.
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah;
The Pharisees innocently ask for some more signs to confirm that he is Christ: they say, they really want to believe him. And this despite the fact that a few minutes ago they witnessed a triple healing. Therefore, Christ did not even bother to satisfy their innocent request: no signs will help such an evil race of people, posing as the innocence of a sheep with the appetites of a wolf, to believe in what is unprofitable to believe.

40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Jesus Christ turned to the story of Jonah to communicate something important about his mission (Matt. 12:39-42; 16:4). Speaking about the “sign of the prophet Jonah,” he does not mean a similar quantity three days And three nights, which Jonah spent in the belly of the whale, just as Jesus himself spent two days and two nights in the belly of the earth (Matt. 16:21). What was Jesus talking about in connection with the sign of Jonah?
That, like Jonah, Jesus will first be hidden in the belly of the earth, just as Jonah was hidden in the belly of the whale. And then he will come out of there, just as Jonah came out of the belly of the whale.
That is, the sign of Jonah in relation to Jesus is a warning about his death and resurrection.
As reported in Jonah 2:2,7, Jonah himself compared his location to the grave and hell - the grave, the place where the dead are (where Jesus was and from where he came out in the likeness of Jonah).

So, although Jesus was dead for part of Nisan 14, all of Nisan 15, and part of Nisan 16 (death really held him, capturing three days and three nights - from the evening of Nisan 14 to the morning of 16)- the sign of Jonah for the family of the Pharisee in relation to Christ - in his captivity in the womb of the earth (grave) and return.
Just as Jonah was in captivity in the belly of the whale, but “emerged” from this captivity and appeared after they thought that he had died, so Jesus Christ, following the example of Jonah, had to be in captivity in the belly of the earth, but came out of this captivity and appeared after how everyone will think that he died.
Jesus, as he predicted about himself, truly emerged from the captivity of the womb of the earth (from the grave) - he was resurrected and appeared to his disciples on the third day after the crucifixion (Matt. 17:23, 20:19). And this event should, in theory, awaken sound thinking in the Pharisees. However, the “miracle of awakening” did not happen, as we remember, even after the sign of the resurrection of Christ.

What does the expression “three days and three nights” mean - according to the Bible - see. insert.

"Three days and three nights "
According to the traditional view and Jewish timekeeping, Jesus was dead for three partial days - part of Nisan 14, all of Nisan 15, and part of Nisan 16. In the understanding of the Jew, this fully corresponded to the description of “three days and three nights.” How is this possible?

Idiom like “ so many days and nights” was very common in Hebrew, and was almost never taken literally. (Compare Esther 4:16; 5:1) It is easy to see that in Scripture, including in the Gospels, the designations “ after three days" And " on the third day” are used interchangeably in the same sense (Genesis 40:12, 13, 18-20; 42:17, 18; 2 Proverbs 10:5, 12). This once again confirms “ inclusive notation” in the perception of time by the ancient Jews. Their practice of counting days for performing rituals is consistent with this. The baby must be circumcised “on the eighth day,” and even if he was born a few minutes before the start of the new day, this short period was taken as the whole day.

Let us turn for testimony to Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who lived around 100 AD. e., as an expert and bearer of Jewish vocabulary: “Day and night constitute onah [‘segment of time’], and part of onah is taken as the whole.” There are other examples in rabbinic literature where the “three days and three nights” of Jonah 1:7 are discussed in parallel with Old Testament passages that mention events that took place “on the third day.” “It is in this light that we should understand Matthew 12:40,” writes Gerhard Dilling (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 1974), vol. II, p. 950. For more details, see Watchtower, 1944, pp. 86-88 )

41 The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.
This generation of evil ones, which appeared among the people of God, “surpassed” in unbelief both the sinful Ninevites, who repented only from the word of God through Jonah without any signs, and other pagans, for the Queen of Sheba came to listen only to the wisdom of God through Solomon, and not see signs from him. But the wicked do not believe the word of God even in the presence of signs.

12:43-45 When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it;
44 Then he says: I will return to my house from whence I came. And, having arrived, he finds [it] unoccupied, swept and put away;
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation.
Here, according to the principle “with a free hand, there is always work”: in order to remain in a pure state, it is not enough to free yourself from the influence of demons and just stop doing evil deeds. It is necessary to DO good deeds, to occupy your “hand” with useful activities, otherwise over time it will inevitably return to evil deeds.

This example was supposed to show the Pharisees that their righteousness in the form of “not doing what is prohibited by the law” was not enough for the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is not measured by the number of things we did not do because we were forbidden to do them. And the number of things we have done out of love for God and people.

12:46-50 While He was still speaking to the people, His Mother and His brothers stood outside [the house], wanting to speak with Him.
47 And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You.
48 And he answered and said unto him that spake, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?
49 And pointing his hand to his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers;
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.
Some saw in these words of Jesus a disregard for his mother and relatives, some even saw a violation of God’s law regarding his relationship with his relatives. But here Jesus showed the essence of the closeness of relationships between fellow believers: sometimes it seems like a relative by human blood - but in life it is further than a stranger to us. And another distant person becomes closer to his native one in his worldview.

Everything depends on the basis on which relationships with each other are built: if people are united by love for one heavenly Father, then they feel like real brothers and sisters, because they are like-minded in everything they undertake. Family ties mean little if they are not intertwined with spiritual ties. However, spiritual ties are always stronger than family ties.

This is the advantage in relationships between spiritual brothers and sisters who have a heavenly Father, compared to those who have one earthly father or are only united by family ties.

on Saturday. The Sabbath is a symbol of God's authority over creation (Ex. 20:8). Saturday is a remembrance of the redemption of God's people (Deut. 5:12). The Sabbath represents the hope of eternal rest after the fullness of time (Heb. 4:9). Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and therefore all three meanings are fulfilled in Him (Col. 2:16.17).

12:3-6 In response to the Pharisees' accusation, Jesus gives two reasons; both lead from the lesser to the greater, and both point to Him and His power. David, in his hour of need, was allowed to break the ritual law, but now before the Pharisees is He whose power is much greater. In the same way, the needs of temple service exempt priests from the requirement of the law that they cannot work on the Sabbath, and “he who is greater than the temple is here” (v. 6).

12:6 He who is greater than the temple. Just as true faith is more important to God than ritual symbols, so He in Whom God dwells fully is greater than the place where He dwells symbolically. Jesus - Immanuel ("God with us") - the true Temple to which the symbol pointed (John 1:14; 2:21). The disciples were then with Jesus, and therefore their ministry was greater than what the priests did in the temple.

12:7 I want mercy. Quoting from Hosea 6:6 (cf. 9:13) Jesus condemns the Pharisees for perverting the law. God gave the law to help man, but the Pharisees changed its very purpose, making it a heavy burden (Mark 2:27).

12:8 lord and sabbath. The Son of Man received authority over all creation and the power of redemption (20:28). Thus, He has power over the Sabbath, which signifies God’s sovereignty, over creation, and over redemption. What Jesus said shocked the Pharisees and strengthened their resolve to kill Him (v. 14).

12:9-14 Another example of Christ being Lord of the Sabbath. In the Old Testament there is no direct prohibition to heal on this day, and in general it is always allowed to do good. Note that Jesus nowhere teaches that the Sabbath will be abolished with the coming of the Kingdom. He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (see 5:17&N). It is not that the Pharisees kept the Sabbath, but that they misunderstood it and turned what should be joy into a burden.

12:16 forbade them to announce. The words of Isaiah (42:1-4) explain why Jesus forbade "declaring" who He was. He came to proclaim and establish the truth, but without showing strength, and even more so without raising the people to a political or military uprising. But since the prophecies about the Messiah were understood in precisely this sense, He had to prevent the false raptures that would inevitably arise.

12:24 Beelzebub. See com. to Mk. 3.22.

12:29 will not bind the mighty. By defeating Satan in the desert and casting out demons, Jesus showed that he had “bound the strong man” and he was powerless to prevent the coming of the Kingdom. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, the words “to bind Satan” meant the messianic era (see 20:2).

12:36-37 Jesus points out here that words, even thoughtlessly spoken, affect our position in eternity. Sins in words - lies, gossip, insults - are condemned in Scripture no less severely than adultery and murder (5:22.37; 2 Cor. 12:20; 1 Tim. 1:10; James 3:6; Rev. 21:8 ).

12:38 signs. It is amazing that they are looking for signs about what they have just witnessed.

12:39 signs of Jonah. Jonah was as if dead and came to life. The Resurrection of the Son of Man is the greatest sign that the Kingdom has come.

12:40 three days and three nights. A figurative expression meaning "three days."

12:43-45 If the Holy Spirit does not dwell in the heart, unclean spirits can dwell there (Rom. 8:9).