00350 00351 \\One greater than the temple\\ (\\tou hierou meizon\\). Ablative of comparison, \\tou hierou\\. The Textus Receptus has \\meiz“n\\, but the neuter is correct. Literally, "something greater than the temple." What is that? It may still be Christ, or it may be: "The work and His disciples were of more account than the temple" (Plummer). "If the temple was not subservient to Sabbath rules, how much less the Messiah!" (Allen). 00352 \\The guiltless\\ (\\tous anaitious\\). So in verse # 5 Common in ancient Greek. No real ground against, it means \\an\\ + \\aitios\\. Jesus quotes # Ho 6:6 here as he did in # Mt 9:13 A pertinent prophecy that had escaped the notice of the sticklers for ceremonial literalness and the letter of the law. 00353 00354 \\Lord of the Sabbath\\ (\\kurios tou sabbatou\\). This claim that he as the Son of Man is master of the Sabbath and so above the Pharisaic regulations angered them extremely. By the phrase "the Son of man" here Jesus involves the claim of Messiahship, but as the Representative Man he affirms his solidarity with mankind, "standing for the human interest" (Bruce) on this subject. 00355 \\Is it lawful?\\ (\\ei exestin\\). The use of \\ei\\ in direct questions is really elliptical and seems an imitation of the Hebrew (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 916). See also # Mt 19:3 It is not translated in English. 00356 00357 \\How much then is a man\\ (\\pos“i oun diapherei anthr“pos\\). Another of Christ's pregnant questions that goes to the roots of things, an _a fortiori_ argument. "By how much does a human being differ from a sheep? That is the question which Christian civilization has not even yet adequately answered" (Bruce). The poor pettifogging Pharisees are left in the pit. 00358 \\Stretch forth thy hand\\ (\\ekteinon sou tˆn cheira\\). Probably the arm was not withered, though that is not certain. But he did the impossible. "He stretched it forth," straight, I hope, towards the Pharisees who were watching Jesus # Mr 3:2 00359 \\Took counsel against him\\ (\\sumboulion elabon kat' autou\\). An imitation of the Latin _concilium capere_ and found in papyri of the second century A.D. (Deissmann, _Bible Studies_, p. 238.) This incident marks a crisis in the hatred of the Pharisees toward Jesus. They bolted out of the synagogue and actually conspired with their hated rivals, the Herodians, how to put Jesus to death # Mr 3:6; Mt 12:14; Lu 6:11 By "destroy" (\\apoles“sin\\) they meant "kill." 00360 \\Perceiving\\ (\\gnous\\). Second aorist active participle of \\gin“sk“\\. Jesus read their very thoughts. They were now plain to any one who saw their angry countenances. 00361 00362 \\That it might be fulfilled\\ (\\hina plˆr“thˆi\\). The final use of \\hina\\ and the sub-final just before (verse # 16 The passage quoted is # Isa 42:1-4 "a very free reproduction of the Hebrew with occasional side glances at the Septuagint" (Bruce), possibly from an Aramaic collection of _Testimonia_ (McNeile). Matthew applies the prophecy about Cyrus to Christ. 00363 \\My beloved\\ (\\ho agapˆtos mou\\). This phrase reminds one of # Mt 3:17 (the Father's words at Christ's baptism). 00364 00365 \\A bruised reed\\ (\\kalamon suntetrimmenon\\). Perfect passive participle of \\suntrib“\\. A crushed reed he will not break. The curious augment in \\kateaxei\\ (future active indicative) is to be noted. The copyists kept the augment where it did not belong in this verb (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1212) even in Plato. "Smoking flax" (\\linon tuphomenon\\). The wick of a lamp, smoking and flickering and going out. Only here in N.T. Flax in # Ex 9:31 Vivid images that picture Jesus in the same strain as his own great words in # Mt 11:28-30 00366 00367 00368 \\Is this the Son of David?\\ (\\mˆti houtos estin ho huios Daueid?\\). The form of the question expects the answer "no," but they put it so because of the Pharisaic hostility towards Jesus. The multitudes "were amazed" or "stood out of themselves" (\\existanto\\), imperfect tense, vividly portraying the situation. They were almost beside themselves with excitement. 00369 \\The Pharisees\\ (\\hoi de Pharisaioi\\). Already # Mt 9:32-34 we have had in Matthew the charge that Jesus is in league with the prince of demons, though the incident may be later than this one. See note on "Mt 10:25" about "Beelzebub." The Pharisees feel that the excited condition of the crowds and the manifest disposition to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (the Son of David) demand strenuous action on their part. They cannot deny the fact of the miracles for the blind and dumb men both saw and spoke # 12:22 So in desperation they suggest that Jesus works by the power of Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 00370 \\Knowing their thoughts\\ (\\eid“s de tas enthumˆseis aut“n\\). What they were revolving in their minds. They now find out what a powerful opponent Jesus is. By parables, by a series of conditions (first class), by sarcasm, by rhetorical question, by merciless logic, he lays bare their hollow insincerity and the futility of their arguments. Satan does not cast out Satan. Note timeless aorist passive \\emeristhˆ\\ in # 26 \\ephthasen\\ in # 28 (simple sense of arriving as in # Php 3:16 from \\phthan“\\). Christ is engaged in deathless conflict with Satan the strong man # 29 "Goods" (\\skeuˆ\\) means house-gear, house furniture, or equipment as in # Lu 17:36 and # Ac 27:17 the tackling of the ship. 00371 00372 00373 00374 00375 \\He that is not with me\\ (\\ho mˆ “n met' emou\\). With these solemn words Jesus draws the line of cleavage between himself and his enemies then and now. Jesus still has his enemies who hate him and all noble words and deeds because they sting what conscience they have into fury. But we may have our choice. We either gather with (\\sunag“n\\) Christ or scatter (\\skorpizei\\) to the four winds. Christ is the magnet of the ages. He draws or drives away. "Satan is the arch-waster, Christ the collector, Saviour" (Bruce). 00376 \\But the blasphemy against the Spirit\\ (\\hˆ de tou pneumatos\\ \\blasphˆmia\\). Objective genitive. This is the unpardonable sin. In # 32 we have \\kata tou pneumatos tou hagiou\\ to make it plainer. What is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? These Pharisees had already committed it. They had attributed the works of the Holy Spirit by whose power Jesus wrought his miracles # 12:28 to the devil. That sin was without excuse and would not be forgiven in their age or in the coming one # 12:32 People often ask if they can commit the unpardonable sin. Probably some do who ridicule the manifest work of God's Spirit in men's lives and attribute the Spirit's work to the devil. 00377 00378 00379 \\Ye offspring of vipers\\ (\\gennˆmata echidn“n\\). These same terrible words the Baptist had used to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism # Mt 3:7 But these Pharisees had deliberately made their choice and had taken Satan's side. The charge against Jesus of being in league with Satan reveals the evil heart within. The heart "spurts out" (\\ekballei\\) good or evil according to the supply (treasure, \\thˆsaurou\\) within. Verse # 33 is like # Mt 7:17-19 Jesus often repeated his crisp pungent sayings as every teacher does. 00380 00381 \\Every idle word\\ (\\pan rhˆma argon\\). An ineffective, useless word (\\a\\ privative and \\ergon\\). A word that does no good and so is pernicious like pernicious anaemia. It is a solemn thought. Jesus who knows our very thoughts # 12:25 insists that our words reveal our thoughts and form a just basis for the interpretation of character # 12:37 Here we have judgment by words as in # 25:31-46 where Jesus presents judgment by deeds. Both are real tests of actual character. Homer spoke of "winged words" (\\pteroenta epea\\). And by the radio our words can be heard all round the earth. Who knows where they stop? 00382 00383 \\A sign from thee\\ (\\apo sou sˆmeion\\). One wonders at the audacity of scribes and Pharisees who accused Jesus of being in league with Satan and thus casting out demons who can turn round and blandly ask for a "sign from thee." As if the other miracles were not signs! "The demand was impudent, hypocritical, insulting" (Bruce). 00384 \\An evil and adulterous generation\\ (\\genea ponˆra kai moichalis\\). They had broken the marriage tie which bound them to Jehovah (Plummer). See # Ps 73:27; Isa 57:3; 62:5; Eze 23:27; Jas 4:4; Re 2:20 What is "the sign of Jonah?" 00385 \\The whale\\ (\\tou kˆtous\\). Sea-monster, huge fish. In # Jon 2:1 the LXX has \\kˆtei megal“i\\. "Three days and three nights" may simply mean three days in popular speech. Jesus rose "on the third day" # Mt 16:21 not "on the fourth day." It is just a fuller form for "after three days" # Mr 8:31; 10:34 00386 \\In the judgment\\ (\\en tˆi krisei\\). Except here and in the next verse Matthew has "day of judgment" (\\hˆmera krise“s\\) as in # 10:15; 11:22,24; 12:36 Luke # Lu 10:14 has \\en tˆi krisei\\. \\They repented at the preaching of Jonah\\ (\\metenoˆson eis to kˆrugma I“na\\). Note this use of \\eis\\ just like \\en\\. Note also \\pleion\\ (neuter), not \\plei“n\\ (masc.). See the same idiom in # 12:6 and # 12:48 Jesus is something greater than the temple, than Jonah, than Solomon. "You will continue to disbelieve in spite of all I can say or do, and at last you will put me to death. But I will rise again, a sign for your confusion, if not for your conversion" (Bruce). 00387 00388 00389 \\Into my house\\ (\\eis ton oikon mou\\). So the demon describes the man in whom he had dwelt. "The demon is ironically represented as implying that he left his victim voluntarily, as a man leaves his house to go for a walk" (McNeile). "Worse than the first" is a proverb. 00390 00391 \\His mother and his brothers\\ (\\hˆ mˆtˆr kai hoi adelphoi autou\\). Brothers of Jesus, younger sons of Joseph and Mary. The charge of the Pharisees that Jesus was in league with Satan was not believed by the disciples of Jesus, but some of his friends did think that he was beside himself # Mr 3:21 because of the excitement and strain. It was natural for Mary to want to take him home for rest and refreshment. So the mother and brothers are pictured standing outside the house (or the crowd). They send a messenger to Jesus. 00392 Aleph, B, L, Old Syriac, omit this verse as do Westcott and Hort. It is genuine in # Mr 3:32; Lu 8:20 It was probably copied into Matthew from Mark or Luke. 00393 00394 \\Behold my mother and my brothers\\ (\\idou hˆ mˆtˆr mou kai hoi\\ \\adelphoi mou\\). A dramatic wave of the hand towards his disciples (learners) accompanied these words. Jesus loved his mother and brothers, but they were not to interfere in his Messianic work. The real spiritual family of Jesus included all who follow him. But it was hard for Mary to go back to Nazareth and leave Jesus with the excited throng so great that he was not even stopping to eat # Mr 3:20 00395 00396 \\On that day\\ (\\en tˆi hˆmerai ekeinˆi\\). So this group of parables is placed by Matthew on the same day as the blasphemous accusation and the visit of the mother of Jesus. It is called "the Busy Day," not because it was the only one, but simply that so much is told of this day that it serves as a specimen of many others filled to the full with stress and strain. \\Sat by the\\ \\seaside\\ (\\ekathˆto para tˆn thalassan\\). The accusative case need give no difficulty. Jesus came out of the stuffy house and took his seat (\\ekathˆto\\, imperfect) along the shore with the crowds stretched up and down, a picturesque scene. 00397 \\And all the multitude stood on the beach\\ (\\kai pas ho ochlos epi\\ \\ton aigialon histˆkei\\). Past perfect tense of \\histˆmi\\ with imperfect sense, had taken a stand and so stood. Note accusative also with \\epi\\ upon the beach where the waves break one after the other (\\aigialos\\ is from \\hals\\, sea, and \\agnumi\\, to break, or from \\aiss“\\, to rush). Jesus had to get into a boat and sit down in that because of the crush of the crowd. 00398 \\Many things in parables\\ (\\polla en parabolais\\). It was not the first time that Jesus had used parables, but the first time that he had spoken so many and some of such length. He will use a great many in the future as in Luke 12 to 18 and Matt. 24 and 25. The parables already mentioned in Matthew include the salt and the light # 5:13-16 the birds and the lilies # 6:26-30 the splinter and the beam in the eye # 7:3-5 the two gates # 7:13 the wolves in sheep's clothing # 7:15 the good and bad trees # 7:17-19 the wise and foolish builders # 7:24-27 the garment and the wineskins # 9:16 the children in the market places # 11:16 It is not certain how many he spoke on this occasion. Matthew mentions eight in this chapter (the Sower, the Tares, the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Hid Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Net, the Householder). Mark adds the Parable of the Lamp # Mr 4:21; Lu 8:16 the Parable of the Seed Growing of Itself # Mr 4:26-29 making ten of which we know. But both Mark # Mr 4:33 and Matthew # 13:34 imply that there were many others. "Without a parable spake he nothing unto them" # Mt 13:34 on this occasion, we may suppose. The word parable (\\parabolˆ\\ from \\paraball“\\, to place alongside for measurement or comparison like a yardstick) is an objective illustration for spiritual or moral truth. The word is employed in a variety of ways (a) as for sententious sayings or proverbs # Mt 15:15; Mr 3:23; Lu 4:23; 5:36-39; 6:39 for a figure or type # Heb. 9:9; 11:19 (b) a comparison in the form of a narrative, the common use in the Synoptic Gospels like the Sower; (c) "A narrative illustration not involving a comparison" (Broadus), like the Rich Fool, the Good Samaritan, etc. "The oriental genius for picturesque speech found expression in a multitude of such utterances" (McNeile). There are parables in the Old Testament, in the Talmud, in sermons in all ages. But no one has spoken such parables as these of Jesus. They hold the mirror up to nature and, as all illustrations should do, throw light on the truth presented. The fable puts things as they are not in nature, Aesop's Fables, for instance. The parable may not be actual fact, but it could be so. It is harmony with the nature of the case. The allegory (\\allˆgoria\\) is a speaking parable that is self-explanatory all along like Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_. All allegories are parables, but not all parables are allegories. The Prodigal Son is an allegory, as is the story of the Vine and Branches # Joh 15 John does not use the word parable, but only \\paroimia\\, a saying by the way # Joh 10:6; 16:25,29 As a rule the parables of Jesus illustrate one main point and the details are more or less incidental, though sometimes Jesus himself explains these. When he does not do so, we should be slow to interpret the minor details. Much heresy has come from fantastic interpretations of the parables. In the case of the Parable of the Sower # 13:3-8 we have also the careful exposition of the story by Jesus # 18-23 as well as the reason for the use of parables on this occasion by Jesus # 9-17 \\Behold, the sower went forth\\ (\\idou ˆlthen ho speir“n\\). Matthew is very fond of this exclamation \\idou\\. It is "the sower," not "a sower." Jesus expects one to see the man as he stepped forth to begin scattering with his hand. The parables of Jesus are vivid word pictures. To understand them one must see them, with the eyes of Jesus if he can. Christ drew his parables from familiar objects. 00399 \\As he sowed\\ (\\en t“i speirein auton\\). Literally, "in the sowing as to him," a neat Greek idiom unlike our English temporal conjunction. Locative case with the articular present infinitive. \\By the wayside\\ (\\para tˆn hodon\\). People will make paths along the edge of a ploughed field or even across it where the seed lies upon the beaten track. \\Devoured\\ (\\katephagen\\). "Ate down." We say, "ate up." Second aorist active indicative of \\katesthi“\\ (defective verb).