Discovery BoxMatthew 12:29-50
Context12:29 How 1 else can someone enter a strong man’s 2 house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. 3 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, 4 and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 5 12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, 6 but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. 7 But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, 8 either in this age or in the age to come.
12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad 9 and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 12:34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 12:35 The good person 10 brings good things out of his 11 good treasury, 12 and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. 12:36 I 13 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.”
12:38 Then some of the experts in the law 14 along with some Pharisees 15 answered him, 16 “Teacher, we want to see a sign 17 from you.” 12:39 But he answered them, 18 “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 19 for three days and three nights, 20 so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 12:41 The people 21 of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them 22 – and now, 23 something greater than Jonah is here! 12:42 The queen of the South 24 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, 25 something greater than Solomon is here!
12:43 “When 26 an unclean spirit 27 goes out of a person, 28 it passes through waterless places 29 looking for rest but 30 does not find it. 12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ 31 When it returns, 32 it finds the house 33 empty, swept clean, and put in order. 34 12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so 35 the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”
12:46 While Jesus 36 was still speaking to the crowds, 37 his mother and brothers 38 came and 39 stood outside, asking 40 to speak to him. 12:47 41 Someone 42 told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting 43 to speak to you.” 12:48 To the one who had said this, Jesus 44 replied, 45 “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 12:49 And pointing 46 toward his disciples he said, “Here 47 are my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is 48 my brother and sister and mother.”
[12:29] 1 tn Grk “Or how can.”
[12:29] 2 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
[12:29] 3 sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.
[12:30] 4 sn Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue.
[12:30] 5 sn For the image of scattering, see Pss. Sol. 17:18.
[12:31] 6 tn Grk “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.”
[12:32] 7 tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”
[12:32] 8 tn Grk “it will not be forgiven him.”
[12:33] 9 tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “tree” and “fruit,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).
[12:35] 10 tn The Greek text reads here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos). The term is generic referring to any person.
[12:35] 11 tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here and in the following clause (“his evil treasury”) as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
[12:35] 12 sn The treasury here is a metaphorical reference to a person’s heart (cf. BDAG 456 s.v. θησαυρός 1.b and the parallel passage in Luke 6:45).
[12:36] 13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:38] 14 tn Or “Then some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
[12:38] 15 tn Grk “and Pharisees.” The word “some” before “Pharisees” has been supplied for clarification.
[12:38] 16 tn Grk “answered him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence was changed to conform to English style.
[12:38] 17 sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
[12:39] 18 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
[12:40] 19 tn Grk “large sea creature.”
[12:40] 20 sn A quotation from Jonah 1:17.
[12:41] 21 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).
[12:41] 22 tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”
[12:42] 24 sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
[12:43] 26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:43] 27 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
[12:43] 28 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.
[12:43] 29 sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).
[12:43] 30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[12:44] 31 tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”
[12:44] 33 tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.
[12:44] 34 sn The image of the house empty, swept clean, and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.
[12:45] 35 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.
[12:46] 36 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:46] 37 tn Grk “crowds, behold, his mother.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[12:46] 38 sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.
[12:46] 39 tn “His mother and brothers came and” is a translation of “behold, his mother and brothers came.”
[12:47] 41 tc A few ancient
[12:47] 42 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:48] 44 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:48] 45 tn Grk “And answering, he said to the one who had said this.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) at the beginning of the clause has not been translated.
[12:49] 46 tn Grk “extending his hand.”
[12:49] 47 tn Grk “Behold my mother and my brothers.”
[12:50] 48 tn The pleonastic pronoun αὐτός (autos, “he”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.
