# Matthew 12 📖: Lord of the Sabbath [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Matthew Overview]] | [[Matthew 11]] | [[Matthew 13]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Lord of the Sabbath **Title**: **Principle**: Proper Perspective. [[#Verse 01]] At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. Hisdisciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat and eat them.  [[#Verse 02]] But when the Pharisees saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”  [[#Verse 03]] He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry— [[#Verse 04]] how he entered the house of God and ate the sacred bread, which was against the law for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests?  [[#Verse 05]] Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?  [[#Verse 06]] I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.  [[#Verse 07]] If you had known what this means: ‘**_I want mercy and not sacrifice_**,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.  [[#Verse 08]] For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” [[#Verse 09]] Then Jesus left that place and entered their synagogue.  [[#Verse 10]] A man was there who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” so that they could accuse him.  [[#Verse 11]] He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?  [[#Verse 12]] How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”  [[#Verse 13]] Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other.  [[#Verse 14]] But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him. ### God’s Special Servant **Title**: **Principle**: Jesus didn’t push. Jesus presented Truth. [[#Verse 15]] Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great crowds followed him, and he healed them all.  [[#Verse 16]] But he sternly warned them not to make him known.  [[#Verse 17]] This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: [[#Verse 18]] “**_Here is_** **_my_ _servant whom I have chosen,_** **_the one I love, in whom I take great delight_**. **_I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations_**. [[#Verse 19]] **_He will not quarrel or cry out,_** **_nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets_**. [[#Verse 20]] **_He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,_** **_until he brings justice to victory_**. [[#Verse 21]] **_And in his name the Gentiles_** **_will hope_**.” ### Jesus and Beelzebul **Title**: **Principle**: If you deny the Holy Spirit, there is nothing else coming. [[#Verse 22]] Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see.  [[#Verse 23]] All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?”  [[#Verse 24]] But when the Pharisees heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!”  [[#Verse 25]] Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and no town or house divided against itself will stand.  [[#Verse 26]] So ifSatan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?  [[#Verse 27]] And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.  [[#Verse 28]] But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.  [[#Verse 29]] How else can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.  [[#Verse 30]] Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.  [[#Verse 31]] For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  [[#Verse 32]] Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. ### Trees and Their Fruit **Title**: **Principle**: The fruit reveals the tree. [[#Verse 33]] “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.  [[#Verse 34]] Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.  [[#Verse 35]] The good person brings good things out of his good treasury, and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury.  [[#Verse 36]] I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak.  [[#Verse 37]] For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ### The Sign of Jonah **Title**: **Principle**: God’s Word is all the Sign we need. [[#Verse 38]] Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”  [[#Verse 39]] But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  [[#Verse 40]] For just as Jonah was **_in_** **_the belly of the huge fish_** **_for three days and three nights_**, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.  [[#Verse 41]] The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them—and now, something greater than Jonah is here!  [[#Verse 42]] The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now, something greater than Solomon is here! ### The Return of the Unclean Spirit **Title**: **Principle**: Clean up your life or evil returns. [[#Verse 43]] “When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but does not find it.  [[#Verse 44]] Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house empty, swept clean, and put in order.  [[#Verse 45]] Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!” ### Jesus’ True Family **Title**: **Principle**: God wants a spiritual family. [[#Verse 46]] While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brotherscame and stood outside, asking to speak to him.  [[#Verse 47]]  Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.”  [[#Verse 48]] To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”  [[#Verse 49]] And pointing toward his disciples he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  [[#Verse 50]] For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” # ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ##### Verse 01 ##### Verse 02 ##### Verse 03 ##### Verse 04 ##### Verse 05 ##### Verse 06 ##### Verse 07 ##### Verse 08 ##### Verse 09 ##### Verse 10 ##### Verse 11 ##### Verse 12 ##### Verse 13 ##### Verse 14 ##### Verse 15 ##### Verse 16 ##### Verse 17 ##### Verse 18 ##### Verse 19 ##### Verse 20 ##### Verse 21 ##### Verse 22 ##### Verse 23 ##### Verse 24 ##### Verse 25 ##### Verse 26 ##### Verse 27 ##### Verse 28 ##### Verse 29 ##### Verse 30 ##### Verse 31 ##### Verse 32 ##### Verse 33 ##### Verse 34 ##### Verse 35 ##### Verse 36 ##### Verse 37 ##### Verse 38 ##### Verse 39 ##### Verse 40 ##### Verse 41 ##### Verse 42 ##### Verse 43 ##### Verse 44 ##### Verse 45 ##### Verse 46 ##### Verse 47 ##### Verse 48 ##### Verse 49 ##### Verse 50 ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Picking grain by hand from a neighbor's field was allowed by the Law (Deuteronomy 23:25). The Pharisees objected because they counted it as harvesting on the Sabbath. 2. David ate the bread of the presence (12:3-4; 1 Samuel 21:1-6), twelve loaves that only priests were allowed to eat (Leviticus 24:5-9). 3. Priests worked on the Sabbath by offering sacrifices (Numbers 28:9-10), yet they were not guilty (12:5). 4. Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater: if people rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, how much more should they help a person (12:11-12). 5. Matthew 12:18-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1-4, one of the longest Old Testament quotations in Matthew's Gospel. 6. Jesus' picture of tying up the strong man (12:29) echoes Isaiah 49:24-25, where God rescues captives from the mighty. 7. Jewish reckoning counted part of a day as a day, so "three days and three nights" (12:40) fits a burial from Friday to Sunday. 8. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel's enemy, yet it repented at Jonah's preaching (Jonah 3:5). 9. The queen of the South (12:42) is the queen of Sheba, likely from southwest Arabia, who traveled to hear Solomon's wisdom (1 Kings 10:1). 10. Jesus' brothers are named later as James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (13:55). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is Lord of the Sabbath (12:8), greater than the temple, Jonah, and Solomon (12:6, 41-42). He is the chosen Servant in whom God delights (12:18; Isaiah 42:1). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The Pharisees cared more about their rules than about hungry disciples or a man with a withered hand (12:1-14). How can religious habits crowd out mercy? 2. Jesus says our words reveal what fills our hearts (12:34-37). What do your recent words say about your heart? 3. Jesus says those who do the Father's will are His family (12:49-50). How should belonging to God's family shape how you see other believers? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 8: The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. - 📖 verse 30: Whoever is not with Jesus is against Him. - 📖 verse 34: The mouth speaks from what fills the heart. - 📖 verse 40: Jesus' three days in the heart of the earth are the sign of Jonah. - 📖 verse 50: Whoever does the will of the Father is Jesus' brother, sister, and mother. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[1 Samuel 21#Verse 01.|1 Samuel 21:1-6]] - David eats the consecrated bread. - 🔗 [[Numbers 28#Verse 09.|Numbers 28:9-10]] - Priests offer sacrifices on the Sabbath. - 🔗 [[Hosea 06#Verse 06.|Hosea 6:6]] - I desire mercy, not sacrifice. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 42#Verse 01.|Isaiah 42:1-4]] - God's chosen Servant who will not break a bruised reed. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 49#Verse 24.|Isaiah 49:24-25]] - The captives of the mighty taken away. - 🔗 [[Mark 03#Verse 28.|Mark 3:28-30]] - Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. - 🔗 [[Luke 06#Verse 45.|Luke 6:45]] - Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. - 🔗 [[Jonah 01#Verse 17.|Jonah 1:17]] and [[Jonah 03#Verse 05.|Jonah 3:5]] - Jonah in the fish; Nineveh repents. - 🔗 [[1 Kings 10#Verse 01.|1 Kings 10:1-13]] - The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Matthew 12 - SOAP|God’s Family]] ## 📂 Internal Notes