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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:8

For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. By "the Son of man" is meant, not any man, as some have thought; for no mere man is lord of any law, moral or ritual, natural or positive; or has a power of disposing of it, and dispensing with it at pleasure; but Christ himself; which is the constant sense of this phrase in the New Testament, and is a character of the Messiah in the old, Daniel 7:13 who, as he was the institutor of the sabbath among the Jews, that being a ritual, and of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:9

And when he was departed thence ,.... From the corn fields, where the disciples had plucked the ears of corn, and this conversation passed between Christ and the Pharisees about the violation of the sabbath, he went into their synagogue; not on the same sabbath day, as one might be led to conclude from the account of this evangelist, but on another sabbath, as Luke expresses it, Luke 6:6 . He might indeed directly go into one of their synagogues the same day, where he and his disciples... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:10

And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered ,.... Or dry; the juices were dried up, the nerves and sinews contracted, so that it was of no manner of use to him: Luke says, it was his right hand, which was so much the worse; and means not only his hand, but the whole arm. Such a case is mentioned in the Talmud F1 T. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 40. 1. , "it happened to one, "wewrz hvbyv, that his arm was dry, or withered. Jerom says F2 In loc. , in the Gospel which the Nazarenes... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:11

And he said unto them ,.... Well knowing their intentions, and also their usages and customs, which he was able to produce and object to them; in which, through covetousness, they showed more regard to their beasts, than they did humanity to their fellow creatures: what man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out ? Christ appeals to them in a case which was usually done among them, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:12

How much then is a man better than a sheep? .... As a rational creature must be better, and more excellent, than an irrational one, more care is to be taken of, and more mercy shown unto, the one, than the other: even the health of a man is preferable to the life of a beast; and if it is lawful to give food to a beast, and make use of means for its relief, and for the lifting it up out of a ditch, when fallen into it on the sabbath day, "wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:13

Then saith he to the man ,.... That is, after he had looked round about upon them, to observe their countenances; and what answer they would make to his arguments; and with anger for their inhumanity and cruelty; being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, i.e. their unmercifulness to their fellow creatures, and the stupidity and blindness of their minds, being ignorant of the Scriptures, and of the sabbath, the nature, use, and Lord of it; which things are observed by the Evangelist... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:14

Then the Pharisees went out ,.... Of the synagogue, being, as Luke says, filled with madness, at the unanswerableness of his arguments; and because of the violation of the sabbath, as they thought; and most of all, because of the miracle wrought by him; and which was so glaringly a proof of his being Lord of the sabbath, and could not fail of creating him esteem among the people: and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. Mark says, the council was held by them with the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:15

But when Jesus knew it ,.... Their consultation against him, as he did, not by any discovery made to him by men, but as the omniscient God; he withdrew himself from thence; from the synagogue and city, where he was, to the sea of Galilee, and his disciples with him, as Mark observes; not through fear, but because his time was not yet come, that he must suffer and die for his people; he had some other work to do first, and therefore rightly and wisely provides for his safety. And great... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:1

At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath-day through the corn - " The time is determined by Luke in these words, εν σαββατω δευτεροπρωτω , that is, on the Sabbath from the second-first. "Provision was made by the Divine law that the sheaf of first-fruits should be offered on the second day of the pass-over week, Leviticus 23:10 , Leviticus 23:11 . On the morrow after the Sabbath, the priest shall shake (or wave) it. Not on the morrow after the ordinary Sabbath of the week, but the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:2

Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do - The Jews were so superstitious, concerning the observance of the Sabbath, that in their wars with Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Romans, they thought it a crime even to attempt to defend themselves on the Sabbath: when their enemies observed this, they deterred their operations to that day. It was through this, that Pompey was enabled to take Jerusalem. Dion. Cass. lib. xxxvi. Those who know not the spirit and design of the divine law are... read more

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