PLUCKING CORN ON THE SABBATH. BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST 1-8. Plucking the corn on the sabbath (Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1). This chapter begins the period of active conflict with the Pharisees. It is characteristic of the pedantry of the Pharisees that their opposition turned more upon minute point... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THAT TIME] RV 'season.' This is one of the few events that can be accurately dated. The corn is in the ear, but not yet quite ripe for reaping. The time is therefore about May (perhaps April), and St. Matthew is therefore correct in placing the event soon after the return of the Twelve at Passove... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT WHICH IS NOT LAWFUL] Maimonides says: 'He that reaps on the sabbath, though never so little, is guilty. And to pluck the ears of corn is a kind of reaping.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE YE NOT READ] Jesus might have defended His disciples on purely technical grounds, maintaining that they had broken not the Law, but the interpretation which certain rabbis placed upon it. But instead of this, He laid down the principle that even the Divine Law itself, so far as it is purely cer... [ Continue Reading ]
_One_ GREATER THAN THE TEMPLE] lit. 'a greater thing.' He means Himself. If the servants of the Temple, doing the Temple's work, may break the sabbath, much more may the servants of Christ, who is greater and holier than the Temple.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL HAVE MERCY] Hosea 6:6, quoted also Matthew 9:13. Here the meaning is that God is satisfied if men keep the sabbath in the right spirit, i.e. as a day of holy rest. He does not demand obedience to an irksome code of sabbath observance. 'The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath' (M... [ Continue Reading ]
The authority of THE SON OF MAN (the Messiah) extends to the abrogation of the whole Law, and therefore of the Law of the sabbath. Observe that Jesus rests the final vindication of His disciples upon His own inherent authority, which extends to the abrogation even of the divine Law: cp. Matthew 5:21... [ Continue Reading ]
ANOTHER SABBATH CONTROVERSY. THE MAN WITH THE WITHERED HAND (Mark 3:1; Luke 6:6). The sequence is the same in all the evangelists. St. Luke mentions that this took place on another sabbath.... [ Continue Reading ]
A MAN] In the so-called Gospel of the Hebrews (65-100 a.d.) the man with the withered hand is described as a mason, who begged help from Jesus, saying, 'I was a mason earning my living with my hands. I pray Thee, Jesus, restore me my health, that I may not disgracefully beg my bread.' IS IT LAWFUL]... [ Continue Reading ]
IF IT FALL INTO A PIT] The schools of Hillel and Shammai differed on this point, but it is clear from our Lord's way of referring to the practice that it was generally allowed.... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW MUCH THEN] a striking saying on the value of human life and health. The literal meaning does not exclude the more spiritual interpretation that a man is of more value than a sheep as possessing an immortal soul.... [ Continue Reading ]
HELD A COUNCIL] RV 'took counsel.' St. Mark adds, 'with the Herodians.' 15-17. Cp. Mark 3:7, where a fuller account is given. St. Mark mentions that the multitudes came from Idumæa, and from beyond Jordan, and from Tyre and Sidon. This explains the references to the Gentiles (Matthew 12:18; Matthew... [ Continue Reading ]
CHARGED THEM] In St. Mark He charges the unclean spirits. The design of Jesus was to repress the dangerous popular enthusiasm which might lead to an outbreak.... [ Continue Reading ]
ESAIAS] i.e. Isaiah. The quotation is from Isaiah 42:1. It is a free translation from the Heb., with occasional correspondences with the LXX. It curiously omits the words, 'He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth,' which would have been very applicable to our Lor... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SERVANT] i.e. 'the Messiah.' Jesus is so called frequently in the Acts (Acts 3:13; Acts 3:26 RV; Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30 RV), also in the 'Didache.' He is hardly ever so called in later writings.... [ Continue Reading ]
He shall not court popularity.... [ Continue Reading ]
The BRUISED REED and the SMOKING FLAX (or, rather, 'dimly burning wick') in this connexion are the persons weak in body whom Jesus healed, and those weak in faith, whose faith He strengthened. The idea is that Jesus is tender and loving, not harsh, towards human weakness. JUDGMENT is here the Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PHARISEES ACCUSE JESUS OF BEING IN LEAGUE WITH BEELZEBUB (Mark 3:22 cp. Luke 11:17; Matthew 9:32). The ridiculous charge of the Pharisees is strong evidence of the genuineness of Christ's miracles. They would have denied them if they could (see John 9:18), but this was impossible, so numerous an... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SON OF DAVID] the popular title of the Messiah: Matthew 9:27; Matthew 15:22; Matthew 20:30; Matthew 21:9; Matthew 22:42; John 7:42. See on Matthew 1:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY BEELZEBUB] see on Matthew 10:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
SATAN] The original Heb. word of which _diabolos_ ('devil') is the Gk. translation. It means 'accuser,' 'calumniator,' 'adversary.'... [ Continue Reading ]
YOUR CHILDREN] i.e. 'your disciples.' Famous rabbis and their disciples professed to cast out devils by magic and exorcism, and their success was attributed to the power of God. Why then, asked Jesus, are My miracles, which are much more striking than theirs, and are not worked by magic, but by a me... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD] Luke 11:20; 'by the finger of God.' THEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COME UNTO YOU] This is shown not by the mere fact of Jesus working miracles (the exorcists were supposed to work them too), but by the extraordinary character, number, and variety of His miracles, which fully fulfil... [ Continue Reading ]
The argument is, 'No man can carry away the furniture from a strong man's house until he has overpowered and bound the strong man. So I could not remove the inferior devils out of the bodies of men, unless I had first conquered and bound their master, Satan himself.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT IS NOT WITH ME IS AGAINST ME] Jesus refers to the Pharisees. Since they do not take His side in His warfare against Satan, they are on Satan's side. Since they do not help Him to gather the sheaves of the spiritual harvest, they scatter them and prevent them from being gathered into God's ga... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST (Mark 3:28; Luke 12:10). What this sin was is not really doubtful. St. Matthew intimates that the Pharisees had come very near to committing it. St. Mark states exactly what their sin was. It lay in their malignant slander that Jesus was possessed by an unclean s... [ Continue Reading ]
THE _world_ TO COME] This phrase has two meanings among the Jews, (1) the age of the Messiah which begins with the resurrection of the dead, (2) the state of souls after death. E.g. they say, 'The world to come is, when a man is departed out of this world.' The second meaning is to be adopted. Jesus... [ Continue Reading ]
'Pharisees, be logical. You say that to cast out devils is good, but that I who do it, am corrupt. That is as if you said, The fruit of this tree is good, but the tree itself is corrupt. Make up your minds which way you will have it. Either say that My works are good, and therefore that I am good al... [ Continue Reading ]
'The same argument applies to words. A man is known by his words. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Your evil and venomous words, declaring that I have an evil spirit, and work My miracles by Beelzebub, prove you to be really the “off-spring of vipers,” as John has already righ... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY IDLE WORD] i.e. every idle word that expresses the true inward character of the man. These will pronounce judgment upon him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 11:16 : cp. Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11. A SIGN] Lk 'a sign from heaven': something startling, unlike the healing of the sick to which they were accustomed. Let Him repeat the miracle of Moses, and call down manna from the skies, as the Messiah was expected to do (John 6:30). 39-42. Luke 11:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
A SIGN DEMANDED. Astounding impudence after they had just ascribed His miracles to Beelzebub, and declared Him possessed with an unclean spirit. It was the practice of Jesus to work signs for those who sought them in a right spirit. He worked many for the disciples of John (John 11:4). He raised Laz... [ Continue Reading ]
ADULTEROUS] True religion was represented by the prophets as marriage with Jehovah, so that apostasy from Him was called adultery or fornication (Isaiah 57:3, etc.). THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAS] RV 'Jonah.' 'The sign of the prophet Jonah,' which is mentioned here and in Matthew 16:4 as the only si... [ Continue Reading ]
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS] The difficulty is that our Lord only lay in the grave _two_ nights. The expression resembles the Jewish inclusive way of reckoning ('on the third day,' etc.), but goes beyond it. The most plausible explanation is that of J. Lightfoot. He supposes that Jesus, speaking in... [ Continue Reading ]
THE QUEEN] see on 1 Kings 10:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
A MAN] i.e. the Jewish nation. DRY PLACES] or deserts, were supposed to be the favourite abode of demons (Tob 8:3; Bar 4:35; Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:14). These pictorial details must not be pressed as if they were dogmatic statements.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RETURN OF THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT (Luke 11:24). The connexion in St. Matthew is preferable. The expulsion of the evil spirit represents the submission of the nation to the baptism of John, which was a baptism of repentance. The sweeping and garnishing of the house represents the superficial but fairl... [ Continue Reading ]
MY HOUSE] i.e. the man himself; here, the nation. EMPTY] Though the evil has been temporarily expelled, nothing good has been put in its place, so that the demon can return. If our Lord had been admitted, the return would have been impossible. The 'sweeping' and 'garnishing' is that empty show of fa... [ Continue Reading ]
SEVEN] Symbolical for completeness. As many as the house will hold. Mary of Magdala had seven devils (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2).... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS MOTHER AND BRETHREN (Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19). Jesus here, as on other occasions, declares Himself independent of family ties, and united by spiritual kinship to all who do God's will. _THE BRETHREN OF JESUS_ Our Lord had four 'brethren,' James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, Judas; and at least three sis... [ Continue Reading ]