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. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David 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 shewbread, 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 sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless ? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. 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. Il 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. 14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15 But when 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 Esaias the prophet, saying, 1 Some ancient authorities read they did eat. the Pharisees. Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, 4 and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and 1 did eat the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? 6 But I say unto you, that one greater than 7 the temple is here. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the 8 guiltless. For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath. 11 9 And he departed thence, and went into 10 their synagogue: and behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it 13 is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; 14 and it was restored whole, as the other. 12 2. That which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. The illegality was all of their manufacture. The law of God, through Moses, forbade the kindling of a fire to cook with on the sabbath (compare Exod. 16: 23, and 35:3), but did not forbid the satisfying of one's hunger. This was one of the glosses of the elders. 3. What David did (1 Sam. 21: 1-7). 5. Profane the sabbath. They used it as a day of work in performing the various duties of the temple (see Num. 28). 6. One greater than the temple. If the sacredness of the temple sanctified the sabbath-working of the priests, Christ's presence and the sacredness of his service (who was greater than the temple) sanctified the sabbathworking of his disciples, if working they would deem it. 7. I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. Quoted from Hos. 6: 6, as before in chap. 9:13. The law of mercy regards man's natural necessities and his general welfare, and thus makes exceptions in ritual observance. This is the second argument of our Lord against the carping Pharisees. 8. For the son of man is Lord of the sabbath. That is, he is the Lord God mentioned in the fourth commandment ("sabbath of the Lord thy God"), and therefore knows what allowance to make for his disciples, being the very one who originally made the declaration written in Iosea. This is a third argument against the Pharisees, which, of course, they could not comprehend. 9. Into their synagogue. This, Luke tells us (chap. 6: 6), was on another sabbath. 10. They asked him. Probably seeing that he was about to heal the man. 11. One sheep. If a sheep in trouble can be rescued, surely a man in distress can be healed on the sabbath. 14. The Pharisees. With the Herodians (Mark 3:6). The hostility of the Pharisees had now taken shape, and reached to Galilee from Jerusalem as its source and centre. Jesus, by his influence, his teaching, and his miracles, was undermining the influence of the Pharisees; and this stirred their jealousy, and excited them to vengeance. 16. Charged them that they should not make him known (see chap. 8: 4, and 9: 30). 17. By Isaiah. This prophecy (Isa. 42: 1-4) declares the gentleness of Christ. Hence the words, "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench," are considered by some as not referring to Christ's regard to a weak faith, but as belonging to the general description of the Messiah as one who would not make any Loise, or show any violence, even toward those things which required but a slight force to destroy. This seems to 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, 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 cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. 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 David ? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan 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 devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else, how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil 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 with me scattereth abroad. 31 ¶ Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not 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 forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 19 20 20 21 22 dumb healed. My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, And he shall declare judgement to the He shall not strive, nor cry aloud; A bruised reed shall he not break, And in his name shall the Gentiles Then was brought unto him 1one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the dumb 23 man spake and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Is this the 24 son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the 25 prince of the devils. And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided 26 against itself shall not stand: and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom 27 stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out 2 devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out 2 devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak 28 29 30 31 32 1 Or, a demoniac. 2 Gr. demons. s Or, in. 4 Some ancient authorities read unto you men. make the passage consistent. The last phrase, "and in his name shall the Gentiles hope," is according to the Seventy. 23. The son of David. See on 9:27. 24. Beelzebub. See on chap. 10: 25. 26. He is divided against himself. This is Christ's first argument. He was constantly destroying the works of the Devil (1 John 3: 8), and yet his enemies would charge him with working his miracles against Satan by Satan's help. 27. By whom do your sons cast them out? The Jews pretended to cast out devils. Josephus (Ant. 8, 2,5) says they derived the art from Solomon, and gives an instance of one Eleazar performing an exorcism before Vespasian. Jesus here uses the argumentum ad hominem, which does not require that the hypothetical case be true, but only counted true by the persons addressed. 28. The casting out of demons was one of the proofs that the promised kingdom of God, the dispensation of the Messiah, had arrived (see Isa. 49: 24, 25, and 53: 12). Matthew changes his usual phrase, "kingdom of heaven," to "kingdom of God," probably in allusion to Dan. 2: 44. 29. Spoil his goods; i.e., seize them as prey. Spoil his house; i.e., plunder his house. The verb 66 spoil " is obsolete in these senses. The use of this figure seems to be in direct allusion to the passages of Isaiah cited (49: 24, 25, and 53: 12), where the "strong" one is certainly Satan. 30. He that is not with me is against me. Those who opposed the destroyer of Satan's works were allies of Satan, and unbelief was opposition. 31, 32. We would thus paraphrase this passage: "The reception of God's offered Spirit by man insures the pardon (through Christ) of all sin, even if the sin has been a word against the Son of man:' but the rejection of God's Spirit is the rejection of salvation; and this rejection the Pharisees are engaged in perfecting when they refer the evident influences of God's Spirit, in destroying the power of the Devil, to the Devil himself." Perhaps no passage in the New Testament has called forth more discussion than this. Some, like Whitby, regard it as referring to the gift of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost; others, to the false estimate of a true miracle. The former view is wholly apart from the context, and the latter is too narrow. It meets all the demands in the case to refer it to a |