Matthew 12:1-12

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:2

But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him . The Revised Version ( but the Pharisees , when they saw it , said unto him ) retains the simple order of the Greek, which more vividly represents the Pharisees as a party opposed to him. Behold. They suggest that he had not noticed it. Were the disciples behind him (cf. Matthew 8:23 )? Thy disciples . Notice that all the accusations brought against the disciples in this Gospel concern food: Matthew 9:14 , as regards... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:2

Rigidity in sabbath rules. That which the disciples did was not regarded as a wrong thing in their day. Thomson tells us that, when travelling in harvest-time, his muleteers plucked off the ears of corn, rubbed them in their hands, and ate the grains, just as the apostles did. And this was quite allowable; it was never thought of as stealing. The Pharisees did not object to the thing that was done, but to the infringement of their stiff rule, that this particular act should not be done on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:3

But he said unto them, Have ye not read. Our Lord answers them by showing that the principle of the action of his disciples was sanctioned in the Scriptures to which they implicitly appealed. He calls their attention first ( more Rabbinico ; cf. on Matthew 12:5 ) to the Prophets (i.e. the former prophets, according to the Hebrew division), as teaching by example that holy things are of secondary importance compared with the benefit of God's people; and afterwards to the Law, which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:4

How he entered into the house of God, and did eat; rather, and they did eat , with Revised Version margin ( ἔφαγον ), the simple plural verb laying the action less at David's door than does the phrase in the parallel passages—"and he gave" them to eat. Observe that the mention of ordinary people, like David's attendants, adds to the force of our Lord's illustration. The shew-bread ( Exodus 25:30 ; Le Exodus 24:5-7 ). Which . Which kind of food ( ὅ ). Was not lawful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:5

Matthew only. Or. A second example, if the first does not convince you. Have ye not read in the Law . Beyond which there is no appeal. Jewish authors often appeal to Scripture in the order of Hagio-graphs, Prophets, and, last of all, Law. He here refers to Le Matthew 24:8 (cf. also 1 Chronicles 9:32 ), but Bengel's suggestive remark that Leviticus was read in the services at that very time of year is vitiated by the double uncertainty, first, what time of year it really was; and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:6

Matthew only. But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple ( τοῦ ἱεροῦ μειζόν ἐστιν ὧδε ); "Gr. a greater thing ". A similarly difficult neuter is found in verses 41, 45. If the neuter be insisted upon, we must understand Christ to refer to his cause, the work in which the disciples were engaged. This was greater than the temple; lunch more, therefore, was it greater than the sabbath. Probably, however, our Lord is referring to himself, to his own Person... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:7

Matthew only. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I wilt have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless (on the quotation, see Matthew 9:13 , note). Had you learned the simple Bible truth that God places the exercise of your moral faculties, particularly those of kindness, above merely external observances, you would not have committed this sin of taking up the position of wrong judges. He traces their error up to its true source, ignorance of the first... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

Parallel passages: Mark 2:28 ; Luke 6:5 . For . With immediate refer-once to guiltless. The Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day ; is Lord of the sabbath (Revised Version); ere , being added in the Received Text from Mark and Luke. Christ clinches the argument, and at the same time explains his phrase in verse 6. The temple is greater than the sabbath; I am greater than the temple; these my disciples are therefore guiltless; for, to put it briefly, I, whom they are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

The Lord of the sabbath. Sabbath observance had been exalted into the chief position in the Jewish religion, so that to "sabbatize" was a proverbial expression, used to describe the following of Judaism, even among Latin writers, it was not the Law, it was the trivial and yet burdensome additions to the Law, that marked the later Jewish keeping of the sabbath, Many of these observances were as lax in spirit as they were strict in regard to the letter, and thus it was that the hypocrisy of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

The sabbath an agency within Christ's control. "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." It would open up a most interesting subject if we were to inquire whether our Lord spoke these words in his personal or in his representative capacity—whether he meant, "I, as an individual, am Lord of the sabbath," or whether he recant, "Every man, if he is a true man, with right motives and purposes, is lord of his sabbath, and has both the power and the liberty to arrange it as he thinks... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:8

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