Matthew 12

Matthew 12 is the chapter in which the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees comes fully into the open. Matthew 11 ends with the invitation "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," and this chapter opens with "At that time," leading into a dispute over the Sabbath, the day of rest.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 When the disciples pluck ears of grain and eat them on the Sabbath, the Pharisees object. Jesus cites the occasion when David ate the showbread (the holy bread set out in the sanctuary), as well as the priests who work in the temple even on the Sabbath. He then declares that "the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day."
• Verses 9–14 In the synagogue, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. The Pharisees then take counsel on how they might destroy him.
• Verses 15–21 Jesus withdraws from there, heals many who are sick, and charges them not to make him known. Matthew presents this as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the "chosen servant" in Isaiah 42:1–4.
• Verses 22–30 When a demon-possessed man who is blind and mute is healed, the Pharisees claim that Jesus casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus refutes them with the analogy that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. He also says that if he casts out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already come.
• Verses 31–37 Jesus warns that the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. He goes on to give the analogy of the tree and its fruit and says that people will give account for their words on the day of judgment.
• Verses 38–42 The scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign (a miracle serving as proof that he was sent by God). Jesus replies that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah, and he rebukes this generation by pointing to the people of Nineveh and the queen of the south.
• Verses 43–45 Jesus tells of an unclean spirit that goes out of a man and then returns to the empty house, bringing with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself.
• Verses 46–50 When his mother and brothers come looking for him, Jesus says that whoever does the will of his Father in heaven is his brother, and sister, and mother.

Key Verses

• Matthew 12:8 "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." — This verse declares Jesus' authority over the Sabbath and is central to understanding the Sabbath.
• Matthew 12:20 "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench." — This verse shows the Messiah's gentleness toward the weak.
• Matthew 12:31 "But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." — This verse is the starting point for doctrinal discussion of the unforgivable sin.

People and Places

• Jesus and his disciples
• The man with the withered hand — The man healed on the Sabbath in the synagogue.
• Beelzebub — The name the Pharisees used for the "prince of the devils." In his rebuttal, Jesus treats it as equivalent to Satan.
• Isaiah — His prophecy is quoted in verses 18–21.
• The queen of the south — The queen who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, commonly identified as the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10).
• His mother and brothers — Jesus' mother Mary and his brothers. Mark 6:3 gives the brothers' names, one of whom is James.

Points for Reflection

• The Sabbath: The words in verse 7, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," are a quotation of Hosea 6:6 and also appear in Matthew 9:13. Many Protestant denominations read this chapter as a text that reveals the spirit of the law and as a basis for understanding the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. The Seventh-day Adventist Church regards it as a passage in which Jesus did not abolish the Sabbath itself but taught how to keep it rightly.
• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: This saying also appears in Mark 3:28–30 and Luke 12:10. Various Protestant denominations emphasize the context. Because the saying arose when the Pharisees called the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan, it is often interpreted not as a momentary lapse or slip of the tongue but as an obstinacy that knowingly and persistently rejects the Christ to whom the Holy Spirit bears witness. The Catholic Church explains it as a deliberate refusal to accept God's mercy through repentance.
• Three days and three nights: Some point out that if Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday, the period does not arithmetically amount to three days and three nights. The common explanation appeals to the Jewish custom of counting part of a day as a whole day, while a minority view holds that the crucifixion took place on a Wednesday or Thursday.
• Jesus' brothers: Protestants generally understand them as children born to Mary after Jesus. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, following the tradition of Mary's perpetual virginity, understand them as close relatives or as Joseph's children from another marriage.
• Textual issues: Verse 47 is known to be absent from some ancient manuscripts.

In the Korean Church

• The "bruised reed" and "smoking flax" of verse 20 are frequently used as a sermon text to comfort the discouraged.
• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in verses 31–32 is a topic church members often ask about, anxious that they may have committed this sin. A common pastoral response is that "the very fact that you worry about it is a sign that your heart is not hardened."