Matthew 12
AEKMatthew 12:24-41
24 It is usual to associate this chief of the demons with the god of Ekron, called Baalzebub, Owner or Lord of Flies (2 Kings 1:2). This the Septuagint renders Baal muian, Baal fly. But all the Greek texts have a different ending -boul. This is supposed to be derived from a Rabbinic word meaning dung. But it is not likely that a god Ekron should be the chief of the demons, though doubtless he was one of them (1 Corinthians 10:20). There is a Hebrew verb zabal (Genesis 30:20) which means reside.
It may be that the name of the chief of the demons is Owner-residence, the equivalent of Master of the house. Our Lord calls him a householder (Matthew 10:25). There is no real reason for identifying him with Satan, but rather, like Apollyon, he seems to be subordinate, though head of that division of Satan’s kingdom which includes the demons.
29 Compare Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21-22. See Isaiah 49:24; Isaiah 53:12. 30 Compare Luke 11:23. See Luke 9:50. 31-32 Compare Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10.
31 The blasphemy of the Spirit consists in attributing the works of Christ, done by the power of God’s Spirit, to demons or unclean spirits. As these works were the means used to produce repentance and pardon, and this was essential for entrance into the kingdom, it is readily seen that pardon is quite impossible in such a case. The time, however, is limited to this eon or the coming eon of the kingdom. Eventually, all mankind will be far more than pardoned. They will be justified (Romans 5:18) and reconciled (Colossians 1:20). But this will not take place until a full con later, when the kingdom is given over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24).
We cannot commit the sin against the holy Spirit because our salvation not based on miracles and signs. It follows faith, not sight. And we are not pardoned, but justified (Romans 3:24; Romans 3:26). Condemnation is impossible (Romans 8:1). Moreover, we are explicitly told that, in the latter eras, some will be withdrawing from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teaching of demons. Any spirit manifestation in perfect accord with the scriptures should be given the most severe tests, lest we be among those who are deceived by them.
33-37 Compare Luke 6:43-45. See John 3:6; John 3:739
What sign can be given to those who attribute His wonderful works to the agency of the demons? No sign shall be given them. They, instead, will provide themselves with a sign by murdering the Messiah. His death, entombment and resurrection is the only sign He will give them. Briefly, they will have one more opportunity to repent after He has been roused from the dead. This is given them in the Pentecostal era.
38 Compare Mark 8:11-12 John 2:18-22. See 1 Corinthians 1:22-23. 39-40 Compare Luke 11:29-30.
40 Twelve times in the four accounts of our Lord’s life we read that He would be roused “ the third day” . When speaking to Romans it is twice “ after three days” . Here only, quoting from the Hebrew, it is “ three days and three nights” . The designation of time varies much in all languages. Hebrew chronology always counts the smallest part of a year or a clay as a whole. The twelve times repeated testimony of our Lord, besides Peter (Acts 10:40), and Paul (1 Corinthians 15:4), shows that “ the third day” is a literal and this phrase an idiomatic expression.
40 In Jonah this sea monster is called a large fish. The Greek name is now used as a scientific term for sea mammals, such as the whale. We are not told what species of sea monster it was, nor is there any good reason why we should know. Among the Greeks there was a tradition that it was a shark. There is a species in the Mediterranean some of which are so large that a man could stand upright in their outstretched throat. Men have been found whole in their stomachs.
There are marine monsters in the depths of the sea, which are seldom seen. These are so large that they could swallow several mere at one time. It is said that an English seaman, thrown into the water when a gigantic sperm whale capsized the boat, was given up for drowned. But two days later, when the whale was cut up, he was found in the stomach of the sea monster, unconscious, but alive. He recovered completely. In some ways this is more remarkable than Jonah’s case, for his sea monster had been specially prepared for his reception.
41 Compare Luke 11:32. See Jonah 3:1-.42 Compare Luke 11:31. See 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1.
Matthew 12:42-13
42 “ The ends of the earth,” an expression which does not include the sea, would describe any location on Eurasia or Africa not far from the further coast line.
43-45 Compare Luke 11:24-26
43 Actual idolatry had no place in Israel. That evil spirit had been cast out since the captivity. They were like the empty house, for the spirit of God had not displaced the unclean spirit. Though untenanted, like the temple on Moriah’s mount, they kept to the outward form of cleansing and ceremony. But during the time of the end they will receive the false christ and will worship the miracle-working image, and bring down upon the apostates the judgments of the bowls (Revelation 15:5-8; Revelation 16:1-21).
46-50 Compare Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21. See Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; John 2:127:3; John 2:5 Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19.
46 This is not intended to show disrespect and disregard for His own family. Rather it is brought up just at this juncture to indicate the change coming over His ministry. He no longer recognizes a merely physical relationship.
1-9 Compare Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8.
1 The action is significant, and corresponds with His repudiation of His relatives. He takes Himself outside the artificial Jewish system. Though vast throngs come, He does, not proclaim the nearness of the kingdom but speaks so they cannot comprehend, concealing His meaning in parables. His subject is still the kingdom, but He is concerned with its past and future history, not its present proclamation. He utters secrets hitherto unrevealed, which even His own disciples could not understand.
3-5 See verses 18 to 21.
3 The removal of the kingdom to a distance in time is indicated by comparing it with the sowing and growing and harvesting of a crop. Had it still been imminent, He would not have called Himself a Sower, but a Reaper, as in the Unveiling, when the kingdom is about to appear (Revelation 14:14). The Lord is Himself the Sower, and the parable gives us the results of His past ministry. It shows us why His proclamation had not swept the whole nation into the kingdom. We must now wait until the sowing is ready for the harvest. The picture presented is true to the life of the Orient.
The unfenced fields were allotted to farmers, and the roads ran right through the grain, so that it was quite impossible to avoid sowing some on the hard ground. There were often outcroppings of the country rock and shallow soil near it, and in many places thorns were so thick that the farmers despaired of eradicating them. As their soil, so the people. It takes the sun and rain of heaven to change the rocks into fertile soil. The heart of the people was still hard. It will take the storms of persecution and the fire of affliction to prepare it for the kingdom of Christ.
7-8 See verses 22 and 23. 10-13 Compare Mark 4:10-13; Luke 8:9-10.
11 It cannot be too strongly emphasized that our Lord’s parables were not intended to explain, but to mystify. He veiled His message in figures lest they should understand.
12 Compare Mark 4:24-25; Luke 8:18.
12 This somewhat enigmatic statement must be understood in connection with its context. Our Lord’s disciples had received spiritual gifts which enabled them to receive more. Those who had not believed on Him had no means of receiving what He was now dispensing, for they had no spiritual discernment. Not only would they lose these spiritual benefits but, as a result of the national apostasy, they would also lose the privileges which they had as the people of God.
14 This quotation from the sixth chapter of Isaiah is quoted more frequently than any other passage from the prophets. It occurs at the two great crises in the spiritual history of Israel, the rejection of the kingdom ministry of Christ, and the repudiation of its renewal by the holy spirit in Acts (Acts 28:25-27). It always marks the cessation of the evangel of the kingdom, seeking to open their eyes, but to blind them. After Paul’s pronunciation of Israel’s doom the kingdom proclamation ceased. The history of the kingdom ended. It will not be resumed until the present administration of God’s grace, in which the evangel goes direct to the nations apart from Israel’s mediacy, is finished. Then once more the evangel will not only go to Israel, but through them to all the nations.