Matthew 12:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Matthew 12:1

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 At that time ^aJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to ^bpluck heads of grain and to eat.

2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read ^awhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4 how he entered the house of God and ate ^athe showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, ^bbut only for the priests?

5 Or have you not read in the ^alaw that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple¹ profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is ^aOne greater than the temple.

7 But if you had known what this means, ^a‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

9 ^aNow when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ^a“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

14 Then ^athe Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Behold, My Servant

15 But when Jesus knew it, ^aHe withdrew from there. ^bAnd great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

16 Yet He ^awarned them not to make Him known,

17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

18 “Behold! ^aMy Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved ^bin whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;

21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

A House Divided Cannot Stand

22 ^aThen one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the¹ blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the ^aSon of David?”

24 ^aNow when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by¹ Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

25 But Jesus ^aknew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, ^asurely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 ^aOr how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

The Unpardonable Sin

31 “Therefore I say to you, ^aevery sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, ^bbut the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

32 Anyone who ^aspeaks a word against the Son of Man, ^bit will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and ^aits fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

34 ^aBrood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? ^bFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

35 A good man out of the good treasure¹ of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Scribes and Pharisees Ask for a Sign

38 ^aThen some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and ^aadulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 ^aFor as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 ^aThe men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and ^bcondemn it, ^cbecause they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

42 ^aThe queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

43 ^a“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, ^bhe goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; ^aand the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, ^abehold, His mother and ^bbrothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.

47 Then one said to Him, “Look, ^aYour mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My ^abrothers!

50 For ^awhoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Verse Comparison: Matthew 12:1

<< Matthew 11:30

Matthew 12:2 >>

American Standard Version
At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and to eat.

Amplified® Bible
AT THAT particular time Jesus went through the fields of standing grain on the Sabbath; and His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick off the spikes of grain and to eat.

Contemporary English Version
One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat.

Darby English Version
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears and to eat.

Good News Bible
Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick heads of wheat and eat the grain.

International Standard Version
At that time Jesus walked through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat.

King James Version
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

New American Standard Bible
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads {of grain} and eat.

New International Version
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.

New King James Version
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.

Revised Standard Version
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

Young's Literal Translation
At that time did Jesus go on the sabbaths through the corn, and his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears, and to eat,

New English Translation
At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His¹ disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat² and eat them.

<< Matthew 11:30

Matthew 12:2 >>