Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 12:28

The alternative : if not by Satan then by the Spirit of God, with an inevitable inference as to the worker and His work. ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ. Luke has ἐν δακτύλῳ θ. The former seems more in keeping with the connection of thought as defending the ethical character of Christ's work assailed by the Pharisees. If, indeed, the spirit of God were regarded from the charismatic point of view, as the source of miraculous gifts, the two expressions would be synonymous. But there is reason to believe that by the time our Gospel was written the Pauline conception of the Holy Spirit's influence as chiefly ethical and immanent, as distinct from that of the primitive apostolic church, in which it was charismatic and transcendent, had gained currency (vide my St. Paul's Conception of Christianity, chap. xiii.). A trace of the new Pauline view may be found in Matthew 10:20 : “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you”. The influence is within, and the product is not unintelligible utterance, like that of the speaker with tongues (1 Corinthians 12:14), but wise, sincere apology for the faith. But why then did Luke not adopt this Pauline phrase? Because one of his main aims was to bring out the miraculousness of Christ's healing works; that they were done by the very finger of God (Exodus 8:19). ἔφθασεν. Fritzsche takes this word strictly as signifying not merely: the kingdom of God has come nigh you (ἤγγικεν, Luke 10:9), but: has come nigh sooner than you expected. The more general sense, however, seems most suitable, as it is the usual sense in the N. T. The point at issue was: do the events in question mean Satan's kingdom come or God's kingdom come? It must be one or other; make up your minds which.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 12:28

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