Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Matthew 12:35-50 (NET)

Context
12:35 The good person brings good things out of his good treasury , and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury . 12:36 I tell you that on the day of judgment , people will give an account for every worthless word they speak . 12:37 For by your words you will be justified , and by your words you will be condemned .”
The Sign of Jonah
12:38 Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him , “Teacher , we want to see a sign from you .” 12:39 But he answered them , “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign , but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah . 12:40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights , so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights . 12:41 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it , because they repented when Jonah preached to them– and now , something greater than Jonah is here ! 12:42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it , because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now , something greater than Solomon is here !
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
12:43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a person , it passes through waterless places looking for rest but does not find it. 12:44 Then it says , ‘I will return to the home I left .’ When it returns , it finds the house empty , swept clean , and put in order . 12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself , and they go in and live there , so the last state of that person is worse than the first . It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”
Jesus’ True Family
12:46 While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds , his mother and brothers came and stood outside , asking to speak to him . 12:47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.” 12:48 To the one who had said this, Jesus replied , “Who is my mother and who are my brothers ?” 12:49 And pointing toward his disciples he said , “Here are my mother and my brothers ! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Sheba

    [ebd] an oath, seven. (1.) Heb. shebha, the son of Raamah (Gen. 10:7), whose descendants settled with those of Dedan on the Persian Gulf. (2.) Heb. id. A son of Joktan (Gen. 10:28), probably the founder of the Sabeans. (3.) Heb. i...

  • Seven

    [ebd] This number occurs frequently in Scripture, and in such connections as lead to the supposition that it has some typical meaning. On the seventh day God rested, and hallowed it (Gen. 2:2, 3). The division of time into weeks o...

  • RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST, THE

    [isbe] RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST, THE - || 1. First Proof: The Life of Jesus 2. Second Proof: The Empty Grave 3. Third Proof: Transformation of the Disciples 4. Fourth Proof: Existence of the Primitive Church 5. Fifth Proof: The...

  • PERSON OF CHRIST, 4-8

    [isbe] PERSON OF CHRIST, 4-8 - VI. Teaching of Jesus. 1. The Johannine Jesus: The Gospel narratives not only present us, however, with dramatizations of the God-man, according to their authors' conception of His composite person. T...

  • Nineveh

    [ebd] First mentioned in Gen. 10:11, which is rendered in the Revised Version, "He [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria and builded Nineveh." It is not again noticed till the days of Jonah, when it is described (Jonah 3:3; 4:11)...

  • Miracles

    [nave] MIRACLES. Index of Sub-topics Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-...

  • Miracle

    [ebd] an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate the divine commiss...

  • Matthew, Gospel according to

    [ebd] The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an apostle of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the Gospel of Christ according to his own plans and aims, and from his own point of view, as did also the other "e...

  • Kings, The Books of

    [ebd] The two books of Kings formed originally but one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX., which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as the third and fourth books of Kings...

  • Judgment

    [nave] JUDGMENT. The General 1 Chr. 16:33; Job 14:17; Job 21:30; Job 31:13-15; Psa. 9:7; Psa. 50:3-6; Psa. 96:13 Psa. 98:9. Eccl. 3:17; Eccl. 11:9; Eccl. 12:14; Ezek. 18:20-28; Dan. 7:9, 10; Amos 4:12; Matt. 3:12 Luke 3:17. Matt....

  • Jonah, Book of

    [ebd] This book professes to give an account of what actually took place in the experience of the prophet. Some critics have sought to interpret the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. They have done so for variou...

  • Jesus, The Christ

    [nave] JESUS, THE CHRIST. Index of Sub-topics History of; Miscellaneous Facts Concerning; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Ascension of; Atonement by; Attributes of; Compassion of; Confessing; Creator; Death of; Design of His...

  • JONAS (2)

    [isbe] JONAS (2) - jo'-nas (yonah, or yochanan; Iona): (1) The name given in Mt 12:39-41; 16:4; Lk 11:29-32 the King James Version to the Old Testament prophet Jonah (the Revised Version (British and American) renders "Jonah"). See...

  • JONAS

    [ebd] (1.) Greek form of Jonah (Matt. 12:39, 40, 41, etc.). (2.) The father of the apostles Peter (John 21:15-17) and Andrew; but the reading should be (also in 1:42), as in the Revised Version, "John," instead of Jonas.
    [smith] (a dove). The prophet Jonah. (Matthew 12:39,40,41; 16:4) Father of Peter. (John 21:15-17) [JONA]

  • JONAH, THE BOOK OF

    [isbe] JONAH, THE BOOK OF - This little roll of four short chapters has given rise to almost as much discussion and difference of opinion as the first four chapters of Genesis. It would be presumptuous to think that one could, in a...

  • JESUS CHRIST, 4C1

    [isbe] JESUS CHRIST, 4C1 - C. THE GALILEAN MINISTRY AND VISITS TO THE FEASTS 1. The Scene: Galilee was divided into upper Galilee and lower Galilee. It has already been remarked that upper Galilee was inhabited by a mixed populatio...

  • Daemon

    [ebd] the Greek form, rendered "devil" in the Authorized Version of the New Testament. Daemons are spoken of as spiritual beings (Matt. 8:16; 10:1; 12:43-45) at enmity with God, and as having a certain power over man (James 2:19; ...

  • Chronicles, Books of

    [ebd] The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., "Acts of the Days." This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version "Chronicon," and hence "Chronicles." In the Sep...

  • BRETHREN OF THE LORD

    [isbe] BRETHREN OF THE LORD - In Mt 12:46 ff; Mk 3:31 ff; Lk 8:19 ff, while Jesus was in the midst of an earnest argument with scribes and Pharisees, His mother and brothers sent a message evidently intended to end the discussion. ...

  • Adultery

    [ebd] conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress. Intercourse between a married man and an unmarried woman was fornication. Adult...

Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • Ya Tuhan, pada Saat Dibaptiskan [KJ.307]
  • [Mat 12:40] Come, Ye Faithful, Raise The Strain
  • [Mat 12:41] As Jonah, Issuing From His Three Days’ Tomb

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

How Jesus Interacted With People; A Sign for Unbelievers; Judgments in Scripture; General

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Nob stood one and one-half miles northeast of Jerusalem and two and one-half miles southeast of Gibeah. There Ahimelech served as high priest. Priestly activity and evidently the tabernacle were now there (cf. 17:54). It is s...
  • The writer seems to have included this event here to support his claim that Solomon's reign was so glorious that rulers came from all over the world to meet him (4:34; cf. 3:16-18). It also shows that some of Solomon's wealth...
  • On the basis of all that precedes Solomon exhorted his sons to live by his words and thereby gain wisdom. Again wisdom leads to life, but those who lack wisdom begin to die."Many have equated wisdom in this chapter with Jesus...
  • Israel deserved judgment, and this pericope shows why. Jeremiah presented a series of pictures of the nation's irresponsibility and corruption.2:29 The Lord wanted to know why His people were angry with Him. The difficulties ...
  • Since the rise of critical scholarship in the nineteenth century, many writers and teachers now believe that the events recorded in this book were not historical.8They interpret this book as an allegory or as a parable.The al...
  • For the second time in this incident God took the initiative to move His prophet to carry out His will (cf. v. 1). This time Jonah turned to the Lord.1:17 The identity of the great fish remains a mystery since the only record...
  • 3:1 Zechariah's guiding angel next showed the prophet, in his vision, Joshua (lit. Yahweh saves), Israel's current high priest (6:11; Ezra 5:2; Neh. 7:7; Hag. 1:1), standing before the angel of the Lord (1:11-12). "The accuse...
  • Matthew often grouped his material into sections so that three, five, six, or seven events, miracles, sayings, or parables appear together.27Jewish writers typically did this to help their readers remember what they had writt...
  • I. The introduction of the King 1:1-4:11A. The King's genealogy 1:1-17B. The King's birth 1:18-25C. The King's childhood 2:1-231. The prophecy about Bethlehem 2:1-122. The prophecies about Egypt 2:13-183. The prophecies about...
  • Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (...
  • 6:5-6 Jesus assumed that His disciples would pray, as He assumed they would give alms (v. 2) and fast (v. 16). Again He warned against ostentatious worship. The synagogues and streets were public places where people could pra...
  • Chapters 11-13 record Israel's rejection of her Messiah and its consequences. Opposition continued to build, but Jesus announced new revelation in view of hardened unbelief."The Evangelist has carefully presented the credenti...
  • Jesus proceeded to describe the Jews' reaction to John and Himself more fully to clarify their opposition.11:16-17 The generation Jesus spoke of consisted of the Jews to whom He offered the kingdom (cf. vv. 20-24; 12:39, 41-4...
  • The immediate connection between this section and what precedes is twofold. The first is the theme of rising opposition (11:2-13:53), and the second is the heavy yoke of Pharisaic tradition that made the Israelites weary and ...
  • 12:22 "Then"(Gr. tote) does not demand a close chronological connection with what precedes (cf. 2:7; 11:20). The Greek text describes the man's afflictions in terms that show that his demon possession produced his blindness a...
  • 12:25-26 Probably Jesus' knew His critics' thoughts as anyone else who had suffered such an attack would (cf. 9:4). Alternatively this may be a statement of Jesus' omniscience. Any kingdom, city, or household that experiences...
  • The fourth incident and the third type of conflict concerned a sign that Jesus' critics requested.12:38 Matthew's connective again was weak. This incident was not a continuation of the preceding controversy chronologically bu...
  • A very subtle form of opposition arose from Jesus' physical family members. It provided an opportunity for Jesus to explain true relationship to Messiah.12:46-47 Jesus' brothers were evidently his physical brothers, the sons ...
  • "The die is cast. The religious leaders have openly declared their opposition to their Messiah. The people of Israel are amazed at the power of Jesus and His speech, but they fail to recognize Him as their King. Not seeing th...
  • Matthew linked this parabolic teaching with the controversy in chapter 12 by using the phrase "on that day"(NASB) or "that same day"(NIV, Gr. en te hemera ekeine). These parables were a response to Israel's rejection of her K...
  • Matthew leaves the reader with the impression from this concluding transition, as well as from the structure of the discourse, that Jesus related all the preceding parables at one time. This was apparently the case. Jesus now...
  • 15:10-11 Jesus had been responding to the question of His critics so far. Now He taught the assembled crowds the same lesson and at the same time gave a direct answer to the Pharisees and scribes. He responded with a parable ...
  • 16:1 Matthew introduced the Pharisees and Sadducees with one definite article in the Greek text. Such a construction implies that they acted together. That is remarkable since they were political and theological enemies (cf. ...
  • 16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
  • 16:21 This is only the second time in the Gospel that Matthew used the phrase apo tote erxato, "from that time"(cf. 26:16). The first time was in 4:17 where Jesus began to present Himself to Israel as her Messiah. Here it ann...
  • Jesus next gave His disciples His second clear announcement of His passion (cf. 16:21-24).682He had alluded to it in veiled terms before He articulated it clearly (cf. 9:15; 10:38; 12:40).17:22 Matthew's reference to time was...
  • Matthew evidently included this instruction because the marriage relationships of His disciples were important factors in their effective ministries. Jesus clarified God's will for His disciples that was different from the co...
  • There is a theological connection between this section and the former one. The death of Jesus provided the basis for God's gracious dealings with believers in His Son. This connection is clear to Matthew's readers because Mat...
  • 22:34 The Pharisees learned that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees. In other words, they learned that the Sadducees would no longer oppose Him publicly. Consequently the Pharisees decided to renew their attack against Him.22:3...
  • Jesus concluded the Olivet Discourse with further revelation about the judgment that will take place at the end of the present age when He returns. He had referred to it often in the discourse, but now He made it a special su...
  • Matthew's Gospel is the only one that includes this pericope. It is a witness to the falsehood of the chief priests and elders' claim that someone stole Jesus' body (28:11-15).27:62 The day to which Matthew referred was the S...
  • "The crowning events of the resurrection narrative are the appearances of the risen Jesus first to the women and then to his disciples, i.e., the eleven. The empty tomb, for all of its impressiveness and importance, is not su...
  • 28:11 Some of the guards left the others at the tomb and reported the earthquake, the angel, and the empty tomb to the chief priests.28:12-14 The action of these Sanhedrin members proves that their promise to believe in Jesus...
  • Whereas the chief priests used bribe money to commission the soldiers to spread lies, the resurrected Jesus used the promise of His power and presence to commission His disciples to spread the gospel.1091This is the final add...
  • Abbott-Smith, G. A. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1937.Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. Matthew. The Anchor Bible series. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.Alford, Henry. The Greek Testa...
  • Jesus apparently taught these parables shortly after the incident Mark just finished recording (3:20-35; cf. Matt. 13:1). This was a very busy day in Jesus' ministry that evidently included all the events in 3:19-4:41 (cf. Ma...
  • This is the last exorcism that Mark recorded. His narration of this story includes more detail than either Matthew's or Luke's. The disciples' lack of glory in this story contrasts with Jesus' glory in the Transfiguration.9:1...
  • Jesus' point in this parable was that a person of bad character cannot normally produce good conduct (cf. Matt. 12:33-35). Therefore His disciples needed to clean up their lives before they could minister for Him effectively....
  • This short parable makes more explicit the same point about human conduct that Jesus had just made about trees (cf. Matt. 12:35). The conduct of people follows from their character, for good or for bad (cf. 3:7-9). The man's ...
  • Apparently Luke moved this teaching from Jesus' earlier controversy with the Pharisees over His authority to provide a conclusion for this section of teaching (cf. Matt. 12:22-50; Mark 3:19-35). It continues the theme of the ...
  • This teaching responded to the request of Jesus' critics for a sign (v. 16; cf. Matt. 16:1-4). It is the second main part of His answer to these opponents.11:29-30 Luke's reference to the crowds increasing ties this verse in ...
  • 11:45-46 The lawyers (or scribes) were a distinct group, though most of them were Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees often acted together. The lawyer who spoke up wanted to distinguish his group from the Pharisees, but Jesu...
  • These inflammatory words of criticism and condemnation fanned the embers of Pharisaic hostility into an inferno of hatred and hostility. Luke wrote that these religious leaders now questioned Him closely on many subjects. He ...
  • Jesus used His condemnation of the Pharisees' hypocrisy as an occasion to warn His disciples against being hypocritical. The context of this teaching in Matthew's Gospel is Jesus' instruction of the Twelve before He sent them...
  • "Luke 16:1-8 contains probably the most difficult parable in Luke."36716:1 The linguistic connection that ties this parable with its preceding context is the word "squander"(Gr. diaskorpizo, cf. 15:13). This is the clue to th...
  • This is another incident that only Luke recorded. It reflects his interest in needy people receiving salvation from Jesus. This is such a dominent theme in Luke's Gospel that one commentator concluded that this incident is th...
  • The Synoptics record Jesus' cleansing of the temple after His triumphal entry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45-46). Only John noted this cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The differences b...
  • If I were to boil down to one sentence what the Book of Acts is in the Bible to teach us, I would say this.The message of Acts is that the church of Jesus Christ is God's instrument to glorify Himself in the present age. The ...
  • 3:17-18 If Peter's charges against his hearers were harsh (vv. 13-15), his concession that they acted out of ignorance was tender. Peter undoubtedly hoped that his gentle approach would win a reversal of his hearers' attitude...
  • Peter focused his discussion next on the false teachers' final doom to warn his readers of the serious results of following their instruction.2:20 To whom does "they"refer? Some interpreters believe the antecedent is the new ...
  • 20:11 This "And I saw"introduces something else John saw in this vision (cf. 19:11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 12; 21:1, 2). The continuation of chronological progression seems clear from the continued use of "And"to introduce new info...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Matthew 9-28
  • Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synago...
  • A greater than Jonas is here.'--Matt. 12:41.THERE never was any man in his right mind, still more of influence on his fellows, who made such claims as to himself in such unmistakable language as Jesus Christ does. To say such...
  • A greater than Solomon is here.'--Matt. 12:42.IT is condescension in Him to compare Himself with any; yet if any might have been selected, it is that great name. To the Jews Solomon is an ideal figure, who appealed so strongl...
  • The second section (Matt. 16:21-23) contains the startling new revelation of the suffering Messiah, and the disciples' repugnance to it. The Gospel has two parts; Jesus is the Christ, and the Christ must suffer and enter into...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #22: To open links on Discovery Box in a new window, use the right click. [ALL]
created in 0.06 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA