Matthew 12:39

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:39

‘But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will no sign be given to it apart from the sign of Jonah the prophet,” ’ ‘Answered and said.’ In Matthew ‘answered’ does not necessarily refer back to a particular question. It rather has in mind that Jesus’ words are a total answer to all who hear them, that Jesus is God’s answer to all men’s questions. Jesus’ reply is that the only reason that the present generation, who had seen His works... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:22-45

Matthew 12:22-Romans : . Jesus’ Answer to the Verdict of the Jerusalem Scribes, and the Intervention of His Family ( Mark 3:20-Habakkuk : *, Luke 11:14-Isaiah :; Luke 11:29-Jonah :; Luke 12:10; Luke 8:19-Ecclesiastes :).— For the painful statement in Mark 3:20 f. Mt. (like Lk.) substitutes the healing of a blind and dumb man probably a second (compressed) use of Matthew 9:27-Obadiah : and Matthew 9:32-Nahum :. The word for “ were amazed” is an adaptation of the word for “ is beside himself”... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:38-42

Matthew 12:38-Luke : . The Request for a Sign Refused ( Luke 11:29-Jonah :. From Q. Cf. Mark 8:11 f.*= Matthew 16:1-Exodus : a, Matthew 16:4).— Mt. uses the incident here as an additional illustration of the hostility between the Pharisees and Jesus. They ask for some more authentic and unique attestation of His claim than a miracle of healing or an everyday exorcism. But to a people that has been God’ s unfaithful bride no sign shall be given but that of Jonah. As he, coming from a... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - Matthew 12:38-45

CRITICAL NOTESMatthew 12:38. A sign.—See Luke 11:16. They wanted something of an immediate and decisive nature, to show, not that His miracles were real—that they seemed willing to concede—but that they were from above, not from beneath (Brown). Gerlach and Lisco suggest that these Pharisees were better inclined, and less opposed to Jesus, than the others. But in our opinion they were rather the worst among the bad (Lange).Matthew 12:39. Adulterous.—Adultery, taken in a spiritual sense,... read more

William Nicoll

Sermon Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:38-43

Matthew 12:38-43 Truth through and by life. Consider in what respects Christ was greater than Solomon. I. The Proverbs could not well be spared from the Bible nor dropped out of the life of the world. They are of highest use, and ought to be read and re-read, for their wisdom, their broad interpretation of life, and their ethical value. If they were heeded and obeyed they would bring the individual, the family, the community, the nation into a state of ideal perfection. Their lack is that they... read more

William Nicoll

Sermon Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:39-40

Matthew 12:39-40 Jonah being spoken of in the text as a type of Christ, let us consider that part of his history which is typical. It is contained in the first and second chapters, and presents us with the following pictures: I. Man shunning God's presence. Like those mariners who, leaving the sacred soil which was the place of God's sanctuary and the scene of God's revelations, launched forth upon the waste salt billows and made for the great heathen mart of Tarshish, so went man forth from... read more

Charles Simeon

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae - Matthew 12:39-41

DISCOURSE: 1357JONAH A TYPE OF CHRISTMatthew 12:39-41. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of... read more

Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith Bible Commentary - Matthew 12:1-50

Shall we turn to the twelfth chapter of the gospel of Matthew?Jesus was not one to follow traditions. He's already pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, that through their interpretation of the law, they have thoroughly disallowed the law, for the purposes that God intended it. For they were interpreting the law after a physical sense. "Thou shalt not kill," interpreting that as clubbing your enemy to death. But Jesus said, no, really if you have hatred in your heart for your brother, you're... read more

Joseph Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 12:1-50

Matthew 12:2 . Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath- day. The pharisees did not find fault with eating a few ears of barley in their hunger, while others enjoyed their feasts, because it was allowed by the law of Moses, provided they put nought of the fruit in their vessel, or their pouch; but they objected on the ground of the sabbath. Now, the appeal which Jesus made to David’s eating the holy bread, which belonged exclusively to the priests, shows that the... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Matthew 12:39

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: Ver. 39. An evil and adulterous generation, &c. ] Spuria soboles, a bastardly brood. So he calleth them, because utterly degenerate from their forefathers’ faith and holiness. Seeking after a sign ] επιζητει , summo studio efflagitat. Seeking with utmost earnestness, as if it were such a business as must be done or... read more

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