Matthew 12:37 - Exposition

For by ( ἐκ )—referring to, as it were, the source of the verdict— thy words ( τῶν λόγοι σου ); thy , individualizing. Ob-nerve the change from ῥῆμα ( Matthew 12:36 ), which might in itself refer to the utterance of a madman, or to a parrot-like quotation. But by here using λόγοι our Lord shows that he is thinking of utterances of the reason. sentences spoken with a knowledge of their meaning, and forming parts of what are virtually, though not literally, discourses. A ῥῆμα may be the merely mechanical utterance of the lips, λόγοι imply consciousness. The presence of λόγον in the preceding clause is probably entirely accidental. Thou shalt be justified ( Matthew 11:19 , note)—'Quid enim aliud sermones sancti quam tides sonans" (Calovius, in Meyer)— and by thy words thou shalt be condemned ( Matthew 12:7 , note).