Verses 1-2 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
It will be repeated throughout this New Testament study that in order to understand the New Testament books, there must be an understanding of the Old Testament books. Jesus constantly referred to Scripture in the Old Testament as He taught the multitudes. The sabbath was the seventh day of the week and God commanded the Hebrew people through Moses to cease from all work and to rest. Why? Because God rested on the seventh day of creation and we are to be like Him, and because the human body needs a day of rest to recover from a week of work. Animals were also to have a sabbath day rest from their labors. When not working, people were able to think about God and His goodness instead of the task they were performing. It was to be a time to think about God and to be grateful. Unfortunately, the Jews took this to the extreme and did/do things like refuse to eat an egg that a chicken laid on the sabbath as the chicken engaged in work or refusing to travel to see a person as the distance needed to walk was long enough to be considered work, etc., etc., and so the true meaning of the sabbath was lost. It was to benefit mankind and refresh both body and soul. It was not to encumber or place people in a legalistic, religious bondage. Picking grain and feeding the body with it was not work as there would not be any monetary gain of some kind from the grain picked.
Application: Back in the 1950’s and 60’s stores and most places of commerce were closed on Sundays and employees got a day off from work to go to church. 1 Timothy 6:10 states, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Greed took over and companies stayed open seven days a week. Many people were forced to work on Sundays and therefore could not attend their houses of worship. The situation has not changed, and this writer believes that society has suffered as a result of placing profit before people and the commandments of God. What do you think?
Verses 3-4 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
See 1 Samuel chapter 21 for the story of King David that Jesus was referencing.
Verses 5-6 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
The priests had to minister in the Sanctuary and later in the Temple regardless of the day of the week. The daily sacrifice had to be done morning and evening. The lamps had to have their oil replenished so the light would not go out. The shewbread had to be made. The religious leaders ignored those things that did not suit their agenda. So if the priests were allowed and expected to perform their duties towards God, Jesus who was/is God and who is the Christian believers’ high priest can do the same. He was engaged in ministry and was therefore blameless.
Verses 7-8 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Once again, Jesus proclaimed Himself to the Pharisees to be the Messiah, but they would not believe Him. These religious leaders were serving the devil, and just as the devil has no compassion or mercy for mankind, these leaders did not have any compassion or mercy either. They were legalistic (excessive adherence to their doctrine and rules) and would rather have a person go hungry than violate their rules.
Verses 9-10 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
Synagogues were/are places where Jews met to discuss their religion. Remember that the Jews of Jesus’ day, just as the Jews today, were not bound by the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Old Testament) or by the books of the prophets, but were schooled in the Babylonian Talmud and its traditions which the Jews brought with them when they came out of Babylon and resettled Palestine. They knew the content of the Pentateuch, but they ruled with and followed the dictates of the Talmud and they still do so. Jesus did not accept the teachings of the Talmud and that must have been very irritating to the Jewish religious leaders. The Pharisees had just criticized Jesus publicly and unsuccessfully for “working” on the sabbath, and now they wanted to try to have another go at catching Him in a religious violation.
Verses 11-12 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
It is quite possible that Jesus, who knows all things and all the thoughts of men, knew that some of these Pharisees had engaged in “work” on their own farms, and therefore were guilty of breaking the very rules they were accusing Jesus of breaking.
Verse 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
In this example of healing, the person with the problem was commanded to do something. The man with the useless hand had to participate in the healing by following Jesus’ instructions. The verses do not say if the man had any faith or if he even knew who Jesus was. Perhaps he, like the Jewish multitudes, was intimidated by the Pharisees and wanted to in some small way go against their leadership rules. Regardless, when praying for someone with a sickness or infirmity, it may be necessary to have them participate in some way. The Greek word translated as “withered” is “xeros” and it means dry, shrunk, or wasted. Notice that Jesus did not beg the Father for the healing. He merely told the man to use a useless hand and it was restored.
Verses 14-21 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16 And charged them that they should not make him known: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
Instead of appreciating the ministry of Jesus and being glad that the people were all being healed and that human suffering was being alleviated, the religious leaders were only concerned about losing their power and control over the people. So they began a serious conspiracy to thwart the ministry of Jesus and His disciples and to literally destroy Him from off the face of the Earth. The Pharisees and their wicked spirit are still functioning today in the form of what has been called the Illuminati or the deep state or the Nazis or the Communists or . . . . Whatever name is applied to the people behind these movements or organizations or governments, the evil spirit driving them has not changed. It is the Devil or Satan. And the goal has not changed: get rid of God/Jesus and the Christian believers.
The passage in Isaiah referred to in verses 17-21 above reads as follows:
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Isaiah 42:1-9
Notice that the Messiah was to bring forth judgment to the Gentiles and judgement in the Earth. Notice that He created the heavens and that He spread forth the Earth. Notice that He gives breath to the people and He gives His Spirit. But notice also that He was given for a covenant of the people and for a light of the Gentiles. The Old Covenant made with the Old Testament saints is no longer in force. Jesus is the Messiah and the New Covenant is with any person, Jew or Gentile, that will follow Him and make Him their LORD and Savior.
Verses 22-23 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
This example of healing shows that physical symptoms can be caused by evil spirits. When the devil was cast out and the individual was set free from demonic bondage, sight and hearing returned. How many cases of physical illness and infirmity are being treated by physicians with drugs, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or psychiatry when all the person needs is to have the evil spirit/spirits cast out and to be freed from the bondage of the evil spirit/spirits?
The Jews were looking for an earthly savior, one who would take back the throne of King David and once again establish Israel as a free nation. The people realized to some extent that Jesus had lineage back to King David and His miracles and power that they witnessed made Him their candidate for defeating the Roman government and bringing in a new period of Jewish dominance. They did not understand the Old Testament Scripture that wrote about a suffering Messiah.
Verse 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Beelzebub is a name for Satan. It means “lord of the house”. The Pharisees attributed Jesus’ power to Satan.
Verses 25-29 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Jesus’ argument was logical. The enemy does not destroy itself. Satan would not cast out himself or one of his fallen angels from a person. That would be pointless. So since Jesus had power over Satan and his followers, Jesus must be the Messiah. Jesus was binding the evil spirits. The Pharisees were just engaging in misinformation to discredit Jesus. Perhaps they were the forerunners of today’s fake news media. King Solomon said that there was nothing new under the sun. Things just recycle down through time with different packaging to make it seem new and fresh.
Verses 30-32 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Application: Most Christian believers have heard of the term, “the unforgivable sin”, and many have wondered what that sin is. This writer was taught that using the names God or Jesus in a disrespectful manner was unforgivable, but a lot of unbelievers used the name of God or Jesus Christ as cuss words before their conversion and then, when repentant, are accepted into the Kingdom of God and filled with the Holy Ghost/Spirit, so that teaching was obviously wrong. Keeping the above verses in context, it is clear that Jesus was saying that speaking against the Holy Ghost by attributing the miracles or workings of the LORD to the devil is the sin that is unforgivable. Blasphemy means to slander, detract, or engage in speech that is injurious to another’s good name. Why is it unforgivable? Perhaps it is because if a person cannot see that the Holy Spirit/Ghost has healed or raised a person from the dead, then they are blind to the gift of salvation and eternal life and will be condemned to Hell by their unbelief.
Verses 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
There are always people who attend a church regularly, tithe some resources, and use all the right words to pass themselves off as Christian believers, yet when observed away from the church setting and in the world, they behave in a manner that is not Christ-like. They behave like their father, the devil, and are living a lie by pretending to be a follower of Jesus. What they do and say is not consistent with being a follower of Jesus, and therefore, their fruit (actions, words, thoughts) are rotten and not fit for the Kingdom of God. Just as a fruit tree that never produces edible fruit is cut down and removed to make room for a tree that will produce edible fruit, these people should be confronted and removed from the church they are attending until or unless they repent.
Verses 34-35 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
A viper is a venomous snake with large fangs and they can be dangerous. A viper in today’s vernacular can also be a spiteful or treacherous person. Regardless, Jesus’s portrayal of the Pharisees as a generation or offspring of snakes gives the reader an understanding that these religious leaders were dangerous as they were leading the people astray in their understanding of God, and this could lead to eternal damnation for their souls. They were also spiteful and treacherous in that they conspired to destroy the LORD Jesus Christ and His followers. The Jewish Pharisees live today in that the Jewish rabbis study and teach the Babylonian Talmud and lead the people astray and away from the truth of the Gospel. They have conspired and continue to conspire against any Gentile or converted Jew that follows Jesus. They refer to Christians and other Gentiles as “goyim” or “goys” in a derogatory manner and liken them to cattle that should be used and abused. The evil spirits that inhabited the Pharisees in Jesus’ day have just relocated into other Jewish leaders or people as their hosts died off down through the centuries.
Verses 36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Idle words are a part of human nature. Just listen to the useless and often gossipy conversations going on in any place where people gather. It is socially acceptable to engage in “small talk”. So it is difficult when raised in a culture that does not like silence, and that seeks to fill every quiet time with chatter to pay attention to what is being said, and to be sure that the words spoken are glorifying to the LORD. But Jesus promises that the words spoken can condemn a person or show a person to be righteous. Something to think about.
Verses 38-40 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 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: 40 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.
Jesus had just healed a man’s useless hand so that the man was made whole and the religious leaders and their lawyers were asking for a sign. Besides being hypocritical, they were being sarcastic by calling Jesus “Master”. The Greek word translated as “master” is “didaskalos” and it means a teacher, particularly one who teaches concerning the things of God. Since they considered Jesus to be a heretic and a threat to their position and power, their usage of the respectful title of Master was just sarcasm and ridicule on their part.
Application: There are many false religious systems in the world that have various human leaders that have been elevated to the status of gods, but only Christianity has a leader that came back from the dead. That was the sign Jesus was referring to in the above verse. Only Jesus can control death and life, matter and time. He is the creator, He is the one true God.
Verses 41-42 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
The city of Nineveh was first mentioned in Genesis 10:11 and it became a wicked city to which God instructed the prophet Jonah to go and cry against and to preach in. Jonah declined the opportunity to follow the commandments of God and ran away from Nineveh in the other direction down to the sea where he encountered a disastrous sea voyage and a large whale. See the book of Jonah in the Old Testament for the entire story. In Jonah 3:5 it is recorded, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” Jonah 4:11 records that there were more than 120,000 people living in the city. They heard the Word of God through the lips of a reluctant prophet and they repented. Standing before the Pharisees and scribes was more than a prophet, the very Messiah the Jews were looking for, the Son of God, and they would not listen to the message or repent. 1 Kings chapter 10 and 2 Chronicles chapter 9 tell the story of the queen of Sheba who came to see the fame of King Solomon for herself. Jesus used these two historical events to make the comparison between the repentant Gentile of old and the Jews during Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Verses 43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
The Greek word translated as “generation” is “genea” and it means several things, one of which is a race of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits, and character, a perverse race. It can also mean a multitude of men living at the same time as well as an age. When an evil spirit is cast out of a person or leaves on its own volition, if something is not put in its place, it can return and bring its buddies with it. If an evil spirit is cast out of an unbeliever, if that person does not commit to have Jesus and His Holy Ghost/Spirit inhabit his being, that person most likely will succumb to the influence of the same evil spirit or other evil spirits accompanying it. The individual is then in a worse state of bondage than before the evil spirit was cast out. So Jesus clearly told the Jewish people that through their unbelief in Him, evil spirits would negatively affect this generation: the race of Jews, the men living during this time and the age in which the events of Jesus ministry was taking place. This happened when the Jews were scattered by the Romans in 70AD.
Verses 46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Matthew 12)
Application: If you, the reader, are a Christian believer following the commandments of God, then you are His family. So if you do not have a loving physical family here on Earth, remember that your real family is the LORD and all the believers that are both in Heaven and here on Earth. You are never alone and you are loved.