It is probably not accidental that this “follows the offer of ‘rest’ in 11:28–30, since ‘rest’ was the declared aim of the sabbath law (Exod 23:12; Deut 5:14, etc.... Fundamental to the rabbinic discussion was the agreed list (Šabb. 7:2)16 of 39 categories of activity which were to be classified as ‘work’ for this purpose, some of which are very specific (‘writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters’) others so broad as to need considerable further specification (‘building, pulling down’), while the last (‘taking anything from one domain [normally a private courtyard] to another’) is so open-ended as to cover a vast range of daily activities. The 39 categories of work do not explicitly include traveling, but this too was regarded as ‘work,’ a ‘sabbath day’s journey’ being limited to 2,000 cubits, a little over half a mile.... Some rabbis spoke about this as ‘putting up a fence around the law.’ Jesus’ disagreement with this Pharisaic approach centers on two considerations. The first (which is in view in vv. 3–6 and 8) is that of authority: who has the right to declare what is and is not forbidden on the sabbath?... The second (developed in vv. 11–12, and cf. v. 7) is the issue of priorities: as in 5:21–48, Jesus is concerned to get behind the regulations to the original spirit and intention of God’s law.’” (R. T. France)
Click link to the next study in my sequential chapter study through the Gospel of Matthew. https://www.mymorningmanna.com/post/matthew-13
The Sabbath command and weekly observance is a memorial of Yahweh’s six-day creation. They were 24 hour days, according to the Genesis account- “evenings” and “mornings.“ “God certainly anticipated the controversy over the Genesis account of Creation. He knew that after the fall of man, there would be doubts about His claims of manufacturing all the staggering mass of matter by merely commanding it to exist. To safeguard His sovereignty, He established a mark that denoted His absolute right to rule as Lord. He chose to memorialize His display of creative power by setting aside the seventh day of the Creation week as a holy day of rest and remembering…Once a week, as the earth rotates on its axis, the Sabbath reminder travels around the earth reaching every man, woman, and child with the message of an instant creation and the One who did the creating. Why did God say remember? Because to forget the true Sabbath is to forget the true Creator.” ("Why God Said to Remember" by Joe Crews)
Many today call the seventh-day Sabbath the "Jewish Sabbath." “Nowhere is this expression found in the Bible.” (Joe Crews) The seventh day is called "the sabbath of Yahweh" (Exodus 20:10) but it is never called "the sabbath of the Jews. As we strive to keep the Commandments of God, there is a rest which will enable the believer to keep them. It is trust in Jesus, which results in an indwelling of His Spirit. God wants us to enter into that rest firstly. That is what Paul taught in Hebrews 4. “The Hebrews might well say, ‘We have always enjoyed the Lord’s Sabbath, and our fathers have long occupied Canaan, why then do you speak so much about entering into God’s rest?’ The verses which follow meet this objection, showing that neither of those ‘rests’ was meant by David in Psalm 95, nor by himself here in Hebrews 4…
The ‘rest’ to which the apostle was pointing the Hebrews was so blessed, so important, so far surpassing anything that Judaism had known, that he was the more careful they should not be mistaken in connection with its nature and character.” (A. W. Pink)
“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. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!’ “Picking the grain could be understood as ‘reaping.’ [26–For varying rabbinic views on this see Y.-E. Yang, Jesus 170, n. 133.] And in order to eat it they would also have to rub the grain out of the husks (as Luke 6:1 specifically mentions) which could be understood as ‘threshing;’ both of these activities occur in the list of 39 forbidden acts; even within the OT law itself ‘harvesting’ on the sabbath is forbidden (Exod 34:21).” (The NI Commentary by R. T. France)
“But He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God’ (1-3)—Strictly speaking, it was in the tabernacle at Nob, where Ahimelech was ministering as high priest (1 Samuel 21:6). —‘and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?’ (3b-4) The shewbread [was in the holy place and] consisted of twelve loaves, in two rows of six each, which were offered every Sabbath day (Exodus 25:30; Exodus 40:23; Leviticus 24:5-9), the loaves of the previous week being then removed and reserved for the exclusive use of the priests.” (C. J. Ellicott) The religious leaders were supposed to be in the business of making a nation of priests. And it was for their sustenance. They were failing but David was being persecuted for righteousness sake began to draw people to himself, fulfilling the mission. Therefore, he and His followers were hungry and did eat.
“‘Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?’(5) The work of the priests, as described, e.g., in Numbers 28:9, viz., slaying victims, placing the shewbread, involved an amount of labour which, in work of any other kind, would have broken the Sabbath rest; yet no one blamed the priests, for they were serving in the Temple of Jehovah.” (C. J. Ellicott) So were Jesus with His disciples in the world, as He prepared to die, and therefore they are blameless. “‘Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.’ (6) “Though they might not have thought of the matter before, the claim of the temple to overrule the Sabbath law would be admitted by the Pharisees. Therefore, Jesus could base on it an argument a fortiori. The Sabbath must give way to the temple and its higher interests, therefore to something higher still. What was that something? Christ Himself, according to the almost unanimous opinion of interpreters, ancient and modern.” (The Expositor's Greek Test.) “But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (7-8) “Our Lord taxes the Pharisees both with ignorance of the Scriptures, in which they pretended to be very knowing, and took upon them to be the interpreters of.” (John Gill)
“Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’— that they might accuse Him. 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? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.” They “made the Sabbaths, which God had instituted for the solace of man—of the man of Israel, and of the stranger who, in the integrity of his heart, accepted the law, a burden and a snare; forbidding to pluck the ears of corn to satisfy the cravings of hunger; forbidding even to relieve mankind from their infirmities and grievous afflictions on the seventh day. But ‘the Lord of the Sabbath’ did, to their vexation and confusion, repeatedly perform the merciful act of healing on that prime holiday; and for that reason the Pharisees held a council against Him how they might destroy Him (Matt. 12:13-14).” (The Lord's Day No Jewish Sabbath by D. MacPherson)
“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "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 will declare justice to the Gentiles.— (9-18) That is, He will publish the Gospel to the heathens... ‘He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.’ (19) It will rather be a matter of communion in their secret chambers. ‘A bruised reed’— an emblem of weakness, Ezekiel 29:6, — ‘He will not break,’ signifying that state of weakness that borders on dissolution and death. — ‘And smoking flax’— the wick of a lamp—‘He will not quench,’- This is intended to point out its expiring state, when the oil has been all burnt away from it, and nothing is left but a mere snuff, emitting smoke. Some suppose the Jewish state, as to ecclesiastical matters, is here intended, the prophecy declaring that Christ would not destroy it, but leave it to expire of itself, as it already contained the principles of its own destruction.” (Adam Clarke) Perhaps both are meant— “till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust.’” (21)
“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’ Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’ But Jesus knew 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.’ They will be destroyed by the end-time wrath of God. “Jude emphasizes the perpetuity of Sodom’s desolation when he says that Sodom serves ‘as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 7).” (The Fire That Consumes by Edward Fudge) ‘If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?’ (22-26) The devils in the possessed person were many, yet they say, ‘My name’ (not our name) ‘is Legion.’ Though many, they speak and act as one in the possession. That kingdom, we see, is not divided.” (Trapp) — ‘And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they’— the Gentiles— ‘shall be your judges. “’But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or 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. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.’ (30) The general thrust of v.30 is straightforward: in our relationship to Jesus there can be no neutrality. As to some issues and persons, neutrality is possible and may even be wise. But in the great struggle (vv.25–29), neutrality is impossible. The claims of the kingdom and the demands of Jesus are so exclusivistic that to be indifferent or apathetic to him is to be on the side of those who do not confess that he is the Messiah who brings in the kingdom of God.” (D. A. Carson)
“‘Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.’ God blots out the thick cloud as well as the cloud, enormities as well as infirmities. Man cannot commit more than he can and will remit to the penitent. The sun by His force can scatter the greatest mist, as well as the least vapor; and the sea by its vastness drown mountains as well as mole hills...— ‘but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.’ In Mark the language is awfully strong, ‘hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation’ (Mark 3:20) - or rather, according to what appears to be the preferable though very unusual reading, ‘in danger of eternal guilt’- a guilt which he will underlie forever.” (The New International Commentary by R. T. France) or until the sin is dealt with at the Judgement, when the sinner is destroyed.
“‘Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it 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.’ This sin is against the immediate effects, work, and office of the Holy Ghost, against that shining light kindled by God’s Spirit in man’s soul, and that sweetness and comfort felt in Christ, that taste of the good word of God, and of the powers of the world to come, Hebrews 6:4-6.” (John Trapp) “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (34b-37) “As words as well as actions, yea thoughts, which are the womb of both, plainly manifest the state of the heart, whether renewed by grace, or remaining in the old state of unrenewed nature; the idle sinful discourse of the unawakened sinner, (for it is to such our Lord is here speaking,) daily testify the state in which he is; and who is already prejudged by his conversation; just as in like manner the lips of the gracious manifest that they are born to God, to whom there is no condemnation. Romans 8:1; Song of Solomon 4:11; Malachi 3:16-18.” (Hawker’s Poor Man’s commentary)
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.’ He who can read the hearts of men describes them as a generation of vipers, and unworthy of the kingdom of heaven. He displays them to the multitude in their true colours, (Matt. xiii. passim) as the most odious impostors. As men who said but did not; as men who, while they were exact and punctilious in the observance of the smaller rites of the law, and of such ordinances as could best be made subservient to their false show of superior sanctity, neglected the weightier matters, judgment, mercy, and faith. ‘Blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel,’ (Matt. xxiii. 24.) Dissemblers who denounced the most venial transgressions of the people while they, themselves, were guilty of the most fearful crimes; and of impiously insulting the majesty of God with their long and hollow prayers.” (The Lord's Day No Jewish Sabbath; Or, the Sabbatarian Heresy Confuted on Scripture Authority by D. MacPherson)— ‘and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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.’ (40)
This sign “was similar to Isaiah’s sign in Isaiah 7:14 and to the sign given to Moses in Exodus 3:12, a sign that would become a reality in he future. “ (Peter Pett)
“The first point of comparison between Jonah and Jesus is that they were both delivered from death—a deliverance that attested the trustworthiness of their preaching. The second point of comparison is the different responses of the hearers.” (D. A. Carson)
“The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The 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.” (41-42) “Neither the men of Nineveh nor the queen of the South (i.e. of Sheba, in South Arabia – see 1 Kgs 10:1–13) might have been expected to take seriously the words of an Israelite. Because they did, their response will, by contrast, condemn ‘this (Jewish) generation’. Cf. the contrasts drawn in 10:15; 11:21–24, again in the light of the (day of) judgment. The contrast is not simply that the pagans responded to God’s messenger while ‘this generation’ did not; their offence is compounded by the fact that they are rejecting something greater than an Old Testament prophet, wise man, or king.” (R. T. France) “(1) He is greater than the temple (Matt.12:6), (2) He is greater that Jonah (Matt. 12:41) and, (3) He is greater than Solomon. (Matt. 12:42) Jesus is great than Solomon and the Queen of Sheba even said of Solomon, ‘behold, the half was not told me.’ (1 Ki. 7:10)” (Charles Box Commentary)
“While Christ continued his discourses which bore so hard upon the Pharisees, we are told, ‘that his mother and brethren stood without’: apprehensive perhaps of the danger to which he would be exposed, they desired to speak to him, and warn him against giving such offensive and plain rebukes. Hereupon one of his auditors immediately informed him of their request.... Near relations, by their fears for us, often lay hindrances in our way... Danger must not deter us from fidelity in the way of our duty. Christ replies, in answer the message,
‘Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?’ not as contemning parental authority, or disregarding the ties of blood; but intimating that the address was unseasonable; for when God's glory was concerned, no natural or civil respects were to be regarded. We are bound to love them much, but to love God more: yea, and the union which divine grace makes between kindred souls, is in many respects stronger than the bonds of blood. He stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, ‘Behold my mother and my brethren; so affectionately did he regard them: for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, attentive to the gospel, and obedient to the faith, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother,’ (50) so near and dear to him.” (Thomas Coke)
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