Matthew 12:1-13
THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH... [ Continue Reading ]
THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH... [ Continue Reading ]
1. The disciples pluck ears of corn on the Sabbath. 2. A man with a withered hand cured on the Sabbath. Mark 2:23-28; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:1-11 1. ἘΠΟΡΕΎΘΗ. St Luke has the less classical ἐγένετο διαπορεύεσθαι. ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΣΆΒΒΑΣΙΝ. For the form as if from a sing. σάββας -ατος see Winer 73. τὸ σάββατον an... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὃ ΟΥ̓Κ ἜΞΕΣΤΙΝ ΠΟΙΕΙ͂Ν ἘΝ ΣΑΒΒΆΤΩΙ. This prohibition is a Pharisaic rule not found in the Mosaic Law. It was a principle with the Pharisees to extend the provisions of the Law and make minute regulations over and beyond what Moses commanded, in order to avoid the possibility of transgression. To plu... [ Continue Reading ]
Ahimelech, the priest at Nob, gave David and his companions five loaves of the shewbread (1 Samuel 21:1-7). ‘It is no improbable conjecture that David came to Nob either on the Sabbath itself, or when the Sabbath was but newly gone.’ Lightfoot, _Hor. Heb. ad loc_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὃ for οὕς. 4. ΤΟῪΣ ἌΡΤΟΥΣ ΤΗ͂Σ ΠΡΟΘΈΣΕΩΣ. Literally, ‘loaves of the setting forth,’ i.e. the bread that was set forth in the sanctuary. It was also called ‘continual bread’ as being set forth perpetually before the Lord, hence the Hebrew name, ‘bread of the presence.’ Twelve loaves or cakes were pl... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΈΓΝΩΤΕ. For the aor. see ch. Matthew 5:21 and Matthew 11:27. ΒΕΒΗΛΟΥ͂ΣΙΝ. By labour in removing the shewbread, preparing fire for the sacrifice, and performing the whole temple service. ‘Not merely does the sacred _history_ relate exceptional instances of _necessity_, but the _Law_ itself ordains... [ Continue Reading ]
6. μεῖζον for μείζων. 6. ΜΕΙ͂ΖΟΝ. The neuter gives the sense of indefinite greatness; cp. Luke 11:32, πλεῖον Σολομῶνος ὧδε, and Eur. _Ion_, 973, καὶ πῶς τὰ κρείσσω θνητὸς οὖσʼ ὑπερδράμω, where τὰ κρείσσω is equivalent to τὸν θεόν.... [ Continue Reading ]
7. ἔλεος for ἔλεον; in these instances the _textus receptus_ represents an unauthorised change to an easier construction or a more usual grammatical form. 7. ΕἸ ΔῈ ἘΓΝΏΚΕΙΤΕ. This form of the conditional sentence implies that the action of the protasis did not take place. The Pharisees did not reco... [ Continue Reading ]
ΧΕΙ͂ΡΑ ἜΧΩΝ ΞΗΡΆΝ, i.e. paralysed or affected by atrophy. St Luke has ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἡ δεξιά. ΕἸ does not introduce direct questions in Attic Greek. For this later use, compare Latin _an_ and even _si_. The construction is probably due to an ellipse. Winer, 639.... [ Continue Reading ]
In the other Synoptic Gospels the argument is different. ‘Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life or to kill?’ St Matthew states the argument that bears specially on the Jewish Law. St Luke, however, mentions the application of the same argument by our Lord on a diff... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙΑΦΈΡΕΙ. Cp. ch. Matthew 10:31, πολλῶν στρουθίων διαφέρετε ὑμεῖς.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΕΚΑΤΕΣΤΆΘΗ. For the double augment see Winer, P. ii., xii. 7.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΥΜΒΟΎΛΙΟΝ ἜΛΑΒΟΝ ΚΑΤʼ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. St Mark adds that the Herodians joined the Pharisees. ὍΠΩΣ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ�. This sequence of the subjunctive on the historic tenses is the established usage in Hellenistic Greek. For instances in the Classics see note, ch. Matthew 14:36. The use of the subjunctive gradually d... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PHARISEES PLOT AGAINST JESUS, WHO RETIRES Mark 3:6-12; Luke 6:11-12... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΕΧΏΡΗΣΕΝ ἘΚΕΙ͂ΘΕΝ. See ch. Matthew 10:23. Jesus follows the principle which He laid down for his disciples’ guidance.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ῬΗΘῈΝ ΔΙᾺ ἩΣΑΪ́ΟΥ. Isaiah 42:1-4. The quotation follows the Hebr. with slight variation. After ἕως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ … κρίσιν a clause follows, expanding the thought of those words: ‘His force shall not be abated nor broken. Until he hath firmly seated judgment in the earth’ (Lowth’s trans.). In the LXX... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΠΑΙ͂Σ ΜΟΥ. ‘My servant.’ In Isaiah’s prophecy, either (1) ‘the chosen one,’ whom Jehovah raised ‘from the north’ (Isaiah 41:25) _to do his will_, and bring about His people’s deliverance from the Babylonish Captivity, or (2) the nation of Israel the worker out of Jehovah’s purposes, in either case... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΡΊΣΕΙ. Here, only in N.T., it may be noted that in this citation there are three ἅπαξ λεγόμενα in N.T. αἱρετίζειν—ἐρίζειν—τύφομαι, none of which occur in the LXX. version of the prophecy; the fut. κατεάξει is extremely rare, and the construction of ἐλπίζειν is found here only in N.T. The divergence... [ Continue Reading ]
19, 20. These verses describe the gentleness and forbearance of Christ. He makes no resistance or loud proclamation like an earthly prince. The bruised reed and the feebly-burning wick may be referred to the failing lives which Jesus restores and the sparks of faith which He revives.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΩΣ ἊΝ ἘΚΒΆΛΗΙ ΕἸΣ ΝΙ͂ΚΟΣ ΤῊΝ ΚΡΊΣΙΝ, i.e. ‘until he makes his judgment triumph—until he brings it to victory.’ ἐκβάλλειν denotes the impulse of enthusiasm. See ch. Matthew 9:38. For εἰς νῖκος the lit. rendering of the Hebr. is ‘to truth.’ Maldonatus suggests as an explanation of the discrepancy, a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΩ͂Ι ὈΝΌΜΑΤΙ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. The LXX. reading, ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι, nearly agrees with this. The Hebrew text has ‘for his law.’ It is hardly probable that the mistake should have arisen, as Maldonatus suggests, from the similarity of νόμῳ and ὀνόματι.... [ Continue Reading ]
22, 23. CURE OF A MAN WHO WAS BLIND AND DUMB Luke 11:14-16 St Luke omits to mention that the man was blind as well as dumb.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΉΤΙ ΟὟΤΌΣ ἘΣΤΙΝ Ὁ ΥἹῸΣ ΔΑΥΕΊΣ; This form of interrogation implies a negative answer. Those who can scarcely hope for an affirmative reply, naturally give a negative cast to their question. ‘Can this possibly (τι) be the son of David?’ But the question itself implies a hope. See Winer, p. 641, note... [ Continue Reading ]
ΒΕΕΛΖΕΒΟΎΛ. See ch. Matthew 10:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHARGE, ‘HE CASTETH OUT DEVILS BY BEELZEBUB.’ THE ANSWER OF JESUS Mark 3:22-27; Luke 11:15... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑ͂ΣΑ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΊΑ ΜΕΡΙΣΘΕΙ͂ΣΑ Κ.Τ.Λ. Not that civil disputes destroy a nation, but a nation disunited, rent by factions, in the presence of a common enemy must fall. Here Satan’s kingdom is regarded as warring against the kingdom of God. Observe the gradation of βασιλεία—πόλις—οἰκία—Σατανᾶς; it is a c... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΥἹΟῚ ὙΜΩ͂Ν ἘΝ ΤΊΝΙ ἘΚΒΆΛΛΟΥΣΙΝ; The children are the disciples of the Pharisees, who either really possessed the power of casting out evil spirits, or pretended to have that power. In either case the argument of Jesus was unanswerable.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΙ ΘΕΟΥ͂. ἐν δακτύλῳ θεοῦ (Luke). ἜΦΘΑΣΕΝ ἘΦʼ ὙΜΑ͂Σ. ‘Came upon you,’ surprised you; aorist of immediate past. φθάνειν, from its classical force of ‘anticipating,’ or ‘coming before others,’ passes to that of simply coming and arriving at a place. This was indeed probably the original meani... [ Continue Reading ]
Not only is Satan not an ally, but he is an enemy and a vanquished enemy. ΤᾺ ΣΚΕΎΗ. Including τὴν πανοπλίαν ἐφʼ ᾗ ἐπεποίθει, as well as the τὰ ὑπάρχοντα of St Luke—his goods and furniture, his armour and equipment generally. Cp. Isaiah 53:12, τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα (LXX).... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΜῊ ὪΝ ΜΕΤʼ ἘΜΟΥ͂ ΚΑΤʼ ἘΜΟΥ͂ ἘΣΤΊΝ] The thought of the contest between Christ and Satan is continued. Satan is not divided against himself, neither can Christ be. Neutrality is impossible in the Christian life. It must be for Christ or against Christ. The metaphor of gathering and scattering may be... [ Continue Reading ]
The omission of τοῖς� after οὐκ� is on the authority of the leading editors and has the sanction of the oldest MSS. and several versions. But, with the exception of א B, all the important Uncials contain the words, and their retention gives weight and solemnity to the clause. 31. ΔΙᾺ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟ. The co... [ Continue Reading ]
BLASPHEMING AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST... [ Continue Reading ]
ὋΣ Δʼ ἊΝ ΕἼΠΗΙ ΚΑΤᾺ ΤΟΥ͂ ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΟΣ ΤΟΥ͂ ἉΓΊΟΥ. To speak against the Holy Ghost is to speak against the clear voice of conscience, to call good evil and light darkness, to pursue goodness as such with malignity and hatred. Such sin, or sinful state, cannot be forgiven since from its very nature it ex... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἢ ΠΟΙΉΣΑΤΕ ΤῸ ΔΈΝΔΡΟΝ ΚΑΛΌΝ Κ.Τ.Λ. The meaning and connection are; ‘Be honest for once; represent the tree as good, and its fruit as good, or the tree as evil and its fruit as evil; either say that I am evil and that my works are evil, or, if you admit that my works are good, admit that I am good al... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΕΝΝΉΜΑΤΑ ἘΧΙΔΝΩ͂Ν. Cp. ch. Matthew 3:7. Here the argument is turned round against the Pharisees: ‘your words and works are evil, and spring from an evil source.’ The burst of indignation after an argument calmly stated resembles the turn in St Stephen’s speech (Acts 7:51) σκληροτράχηλοι, καὶ�.τ.λ.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΗ͂Σ ΚΑΡΔΊΑΣ after θησαυροῦ is rightly rejected as a gloss. 35. ἘΚΒΆΛΛΕΙ expresses vigorous and enthusiastic teaching and influence. ΘΗΣΑΥΡΟΥ͂. Treasury or storehouse. Cp. ch. Matthew 2:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΡΓΌΝ, without result (α and ἔργον, cp. the frequent rhetorical contrast between λόγος and ἔργον, also between ῥῆμα and ἔργον, as Soph. _O. C._ 873; Thuc. 12:111), so ‘useless,’ ‘ineffective,’ and by _litotes_ ‘harmful,’ ‘pernicious.’ Cp. τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς�. Ephesians 5:11. Words must be not only not... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PHARISEES ASK FOR A SIGN St Luke 11:16; Luke 11:29-32. St Luke omits, or at least does not state explicitly, the special application of the sign given in Matthew 12:40, to understand which required a knowledge of the Jewish prophets which would be lacking to St Luke’s readers.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΘΈΛΟΜΕΝ�. This is the second expedient taken by the Pharisees after their resolution to destroy Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΟΙΧΑΛΊΣ, estranged from God; a figure often used by the Prophets to express the defection of Israel from Jehovah. Cp. ch. Matthew 16:4 and Isaiah 1:21, πῶς ἐγένετο πόρνη πόλις πιστὴ Σιὼν πλήρης κρίσεως; and Isaiah 57:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jonah is a sign (1) as affording a type of the Resurrection, (2) as a preacher of righteousness to a people who needed repentance as this generation needs it. ἘΝ ΤΗ͂Ι ΚΟΙΛΊΑΙ ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΉΤΟΥΣ. The A.V. introduces a needless difficulty by translating κήτους, ‘whale.’ κῆτος (probably from a root meaning ‘... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΑΣΤΉΣΟΝΤΑΙ Κ.Τ.Λ., ‘Shall stand up in the judgment, (i.e. in the day of judgment) beside.’ When on the day of judgment the Ninevites stand side by side with the men of that generation, they will by their penitence condemn the impenitent Jews. ΕἸΣ ΤῸ ΚΉΡΥΓΜΑ. Cp. εἰς διαταγὰς�, Acts 7:53. In both i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΒΑΣΊΛΙΣΣΑ ΝΌΤΟΥ. ‘The Queen of the South.’ So correctly and not _a_ queen of the South as some translate. The absence of the definite article in the original is due to the influence of the Hebrew idiom. For an account of the queen of Sheba or Southern Arabia, see 1 Kings 10:1. ΒΑΣΊΛΙΣΣΑ. This form... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΈ, ‘but,’ introducing the explanation of the facts stated. The connection is obscured in A.V. by the omission of the particle. ἈΝΎΔΡΩΝ ΤΌΠΩΝ. The waterless desert uninhabited by man was regarded by the Jews as the especial abode of evil spirits.... [ Continue Reading ]
A FIGURE TO ILLUSTRATE THE SURPASSING WICKEDNESS OF THE DAY Luke 11:24-26, where the connection is different. St Luke, as usual, omits the direct application to Israel. This short parable explains the supreme wickedness of the present generation. And herein lies the connection. The Jews of former... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΧΟΛΆΖΟΝΤΑ. Properly ‘_at leisure_.’ There must be no leisure in the Christian life; to have cast out a sin does not make a man safe from sin. Christians are οἱ σωζόμενοι not οἱ σεσωσμένοι.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὝΤΩΣ ἜΣΤΑΙ ΚΑῚ ΤΗ͂Ι ΓΕΝΕΑ͂Ι ΤΑΎΤΗΙ. Israel had cast forth the demon of idolatry—the sin of its earlier history, but worse demons had entered in—the more insidious and dangerous sins of hypocrisy and hardness of heart.... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS IS SOUGHT BY HIS MOTHER AND BRETHREN. THE TRUE MOTHER AND BRETHREN OF JESUS Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21 The account is given with very slight variation by the three Synoptists. But see Mark 3:21; Mark 3:30-31, where a _motive_ is suggested—‘When his friends heard of it, they went out to lay ho... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ�. It is a point of controversy whether these were (1) the own brothers of Jesus, sons of Joseph and Mary, or (2) sons of Joseph by a former marriage, or (3) cousins, sons of a sister of Mary. The names of the ‘brethren’ are given ch. Matthew 13:55, where see note. It may be observed in regard t... [ Continue Reading ]
ἸΔΟῪ Ἡ ΜΉΤΗΡ ΜΟΥ ΚΑῚ ΟἹ�. The new life subverts the old relationships. By the spiritual birth new ties of kindred are established.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΣΤΙΣ ΓᾺΡ ἊΝ ΠΟΙΉΣΗΙ Κ.Τ.Λ. ‘These which hear the word of God and do it’ (Luke 8:21). ΤΟΥ͂ ἘΝ ΟΥ̓ΡΑΝΟΙ͂Σ. The addition is important. ‘Not those who do the will of my earthly father, but those who do the will of my heavenly Father are brethren.’ The essence of sonship is obedience, and obedience to... [ Continue Reading ]