New Testament Commentary - Matthew 12

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

           CHAPTER 12
Jesus proclaims himself Lord of the Sabbath and heals thereon—He is accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub—He speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and says an evil an adulterous generation seeks signs.

I AM LORD of the Sabbath

1 AT that time Jesus went on the ^asabbath day through the ^bcorn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ^cears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

3 But he said unto them, Have ye not ^aread what ^bDavid did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the ^ashewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the ^asabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the ^atemple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have ^amercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the ^asabbath day.
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 ¶ And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

I AM LORD GOD ALMIGHTY ~ Yet, I Did Refrain

14 ¶ Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But ^awhen Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by ^aEsaias the prophet, saying.
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

ISAIAH 42
1 BEHOLD my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit on him: he shall bring forth Judgement to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

MY SERVANT
This is spoken from the frame of reference of the Father, whether it be Jehovah speaking in the stead of the Father. And it is completely clear by Jesus' reference to Isaiah concerning this prophecy that it is Jesus Christ who is being spoken of though some apply it differently. What is of interest is the variance in text though the sense and meaning is pretty much the same. It speaks of translation and editorial differences in the Biblical text through time.
'Whom I uphold' is 'whom I have chosen'. 'Mine elect' is 'my beloved'. 'My soul delighteth' is 'my soul is well pleased'. 'To bring forth' is 'to shew/show'. 'To bring forth judgment unto truth' is 'to send forth judgment unto victory'. 'To set judgment in the earth and the isles to wait for his law' is 'that in his name shall the Gentiles trust'. Perhaps the original Hebrew perspective might actually be understood by so combining these thoughts into one as both are translations and 'editions' removed from those originals.
The bottom line is that it speaks soundly that Jesus knew exactly who he was, the Redeemer and the same as Jehovah, God of the Old Testament.

18 Behold my ^aservant, whom I have ^bchosen; my ^cbeloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor ^acry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break^a, and smoking flax shall he not quench^b, till he send forth ^ajudgment unto victory.
21 And in his ^aname shall the ^bGentiles trust.
20^a A bruised reed shall he not break Now the parallel here is that those who the 'reed' did represent were the oppressing rulers over the people which did consist of the Roman rulers, the false Jewish kings and of such as the 'priestcraft' rulers, the judges and lawyers, of the Jews of which the Pharisees were a representation. The fact that they were 'bruised' or 'damaged' rulers lay in their corruption, especially against Christ, his kingdom, the gospel and the agency of man not to mention their speaking against Jesus Christ, the Lord God among them. But the Lord reframed from 'breaking' them, for certainly the power to do such was with and in him to do so. And thus his ministry would remain a subdued one until he had won the victory, meaning accomplished the atonement. And it would be in the day of his judgment that such would be acted against for their sin, having let the agency of men to run its full course and purpose as to the intent of this earthly probation.
20^b smoking flax shall he not quench [satisfy] The smoking flax, which could have been so easily stirred up into flame was that of the injustices against Israel and the type of Lord which the Jews were seeking after to avenge and deliver them. Christ had not come to be the war lord of deliverance in the fulness of triumphal glory to over throw Israel's oppressor and physically save and redeem the Jews. He was not come for that intend. How easy it would have been to fuel the flame, stir the revolt and lead the Jews to victory as the Lord God Jehovah. But he would not. For the 'delivering Lord' would not come until the day of judgment and well after the victory of the atonement had been won.

22 ¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of ^aDavid?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by ^aBeelzebub the prince of the devils.

25 And Jesus knew their ^athoughts, and said unto them, Every ^bkingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if ^aSatan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out ^adevils by the ^bSpirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto ^cyou.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and ^aspoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not ^awith me scattereth abroad.

31 ¶ Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven ^aunto men: but the ^bblasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall ^cnot be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be ^aforgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his ^afruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his ^bfruit.

34 O ^ageneration of vipers, how can ye, being evil, ^bspeak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good ^atreasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth ^bevil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every ^aidle ^bword that men shall ^cspeak, they shall give ^daccount thereof in the day of ^ejudgment.
37 For by thy ^awords thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned^a.
37^a by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned How easy a precept or principle this is to see work. For no man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost, and if the Holy Ghost is able to bear a strong and true testimony by, in and through the words of that man, then indeed the words of that man have justified him, showing forth that the Spirit doeth abide in him indicating his righteousness. And if a man cannot so testify of Christ in truth but does speak of him and represent him falsely, being that which he is not, then by that voice he has condemned himself, that he knows not Jesus, the Lord and Savior. Thus it in truth may be as simple as coming down to the Lord asking, 'Who say ye that I AM?' And if a man can answer in depth correction he is justified and if he answers falsely, representing Christ to be that which He is not, then by his own words he stands condemned. And here in is a key. Indeed, this is life eternal to know the truth of God the Eternal Father and of Jesus Christ the One True Lord. And so we are commanded to search the scripture, for in them we think we have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Christ.

38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a ^asign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a ^asign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be ^athree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of ^aNineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they ^brepented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The ^aqueen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

43 ^aWhen the ^bunclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth ^ahe, and taketh with himself seven other ^bspirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last ^cstate of that man is ^dworse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

46 ¶ While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his ^abrethren stood ^bwithout, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my ^amother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the ^awill of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my ^bbrother, and sister, and mother.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 12 Jesus proclaims himself Lord of the Sabbath and heals thereon—He is accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub—He speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and says an evil an adulterous generation seeks signs.
I AM LORD of the Sabbath
1 AT that time Jesus went on the ^asabbath day through the ^bcorn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ^cears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not ^aread what ^bDavid did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the ^ashewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the ^asabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the ^atemple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have ^amercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the ^asabbath day.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10 ¶ And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
I AM LORD GOD ALMIGHTY ~ Yet, I Did Refrain
14 ¶ Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15 But ^awhen Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16 And charged them that they should not make him known: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by ^aEsaias the prophet, saying.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
ISAIAH 42 1 BEHOLD my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit on him: he shall bring forth Judgement to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.	MY SERVANT This is spoken from the frame of reference of the Father, whether it be Jehovah speaking in the stead of the Father. And it is completely clear by Jesus' reference to Isaiah concerning this prophecy that it is Jesus Christ who is being spoken of though some apply it differently. What is of interest is the variance in text though the sense and meaning is pretty much the same. It speaks of translation and editorial differences in the Biblical text through time. 'Whom I uphold' is 'whom I have chosen'. 'Mine elect' is 'my beloved'. 'My soul delighteth' is 'my soul is well pleased'. 'To bring forth' is 'to shew/show'. 'To bring forth judgment unto truth' is 'to send forth judgment unto victory'. 'To set judgment in the earth and the isles to wait for his law' is 'that in his name shall the Gentiles trust'. Perhaps the original Hebrew perspective might actually be understood by so combining these thoughts into one as both are translations and 'editions' removed from those originals. The bottom line is that it speaks soundly that Jesus knew exactly who he was, the Redeemer and the same as Jehovah, God of the Old Testament.
18 Behold my ^aservant, whom I have ^bchosen; my ^cbeloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive, nor ^acry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break^a, and smoking flax shall he not quench^b, till he send forth ^ajudgment unto victory. 21 And in his ^aname shall the ^bGentiles trust.	20^a A bruised reed shall he not break Now the parallel here is that those who the 'reed' did represent were the oppressing rulers over the people which did consist of the Roman rulers, the false Jewish kings and of such as the 'priestcraft' rulers, the judges and lawyers, of the Jews of which the Pharisees were a representation. The fact that they were 'bruised' or 'damaged' rulers lay in their corruption, especially against Christ, his kingdom, the gospel and the agency of man not to mention their speaking against Jesus Christ, the Lord God among them. But the Lord reframed from 'breaking' them, for certainly the power to do such was with and in him to do so. And thus his ministry would remain a subdued one until he had won the victory, meaning accomplished the atonement. And it would be in the day of his judgment that such would be acted against for their sin, having let the agency of men to run its full course and purpose as to the intent of this earthly probation. 20^b smoking flax shall he not quench [satisfy] The smoking flax, which could have been so easily stirred up into flame was that of the injustices against Israel and the type of Lord which the Jews were seeking after to avenge and deliver them. Christ had not come to be the war lord of deliverance in the fulness of triumphal glory to over throw Israel's oppressor and physically save and redeem the Jews. He was not come for that intend. How easy it would have been to fuel the flame, stir the revolt and lead the Jews to victory as the Lord God Jehovah. But he would not. For the 'delivering Lord' would not come until the day of judgment and well after the victory of the atonement had been won.
22 ¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of ^aDavid? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by ^aBeelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their ^athoughts, and said unto them, Every ^bkingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if ^aSatan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out ^adevils by the ^bSpirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto ^cyou. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and ^aspoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not ^awith me scattereth abroad.
31 ¶ Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven ^aunto men: but the ^bblasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall ^cnot be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be ^aforgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and his ^afruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his ^bfruit.
34 O ^ageneration of vipers, how can ye, being evil, ^bspeak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good ^atreasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth ^bevil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every ^aidle ^bword that men shall ^cspeak, they shall give ^daccount thereof in the day of ^ejudgment. 37 For by thy ^awords thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned^a.	37^a by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned How easy a precept or principle this is to see work. For no man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost, and if the Holy Ghost is able to bear a strong and true testimony by, in and through the words of that man, then indeed the words of that man have justified him, showing forth that the Spirit doeth abide in him indicating his righteousness. And if a man cannot so testify of Christ in truth but does speak of him and represent him falsely, being that which he is not, then by that voice he has condemned himself, that he knows not Jesus, the Lord and Savior. Thus it in truth may be as simple as coming down to the Lord asking, 'Who say ye that I AM?' And if a man can answer in depth correction he is justified and if he answers falsely, representing Christ to be that which He is not, then by his own words he stands condemned. And here in is a key. Indeed, this is life eternal to know the truth of God the Eternal Father and of Jesus Christ the One True Lord. And so we are commanded to search the scripture, for in them we think we have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Christ.
38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a ^asign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a ^asign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be ^athree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of ^aNineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they ^brepented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The ^aqueen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 ^aWhen the ^bunclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth ^ahe, and taketh with himself seven other ^bspirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last ^cstate of that man is ^dworse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46 ¶ While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his ^abrethren stood ^bwithout, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my ^amother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the ^awill of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my ^bbrother, and sister, and mother.