1724 | Matthew 12:36
good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that every one will have to give ac count on the day of judg ment for ev ery empty word they have spo ken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
12:39-42pp— Lk 11:29-32 12:43-45pp— Lk 11:24-26
38 Then some of the Phar i sees and teach ers of the law said to him,“ Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” z
39 He an swered,“ A wicked and adul ter ous gen er a tion asks for a sign! But none will be given it ex cept the sign of the prophet Jo nah. a 40 For as Jo nah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, b so the Son of Man c will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. d 41 The men of Nin e veh e will stand up at the judg ment with this gen er a tion and con demn it; for they re pented at the preach ing of Jo nah, f and now something greater than Jo nah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judg ment with this gen er a tion and con demn it; for she came g from the ends of the earth to lis ten to Solo mon’ s wis dom, and now some thing greater than Sol o mon is here.
43“ When an im pure spirit comes out of a per son, it goes through arid places seek ing rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says,‘ I will re turn to the house I left.’ When it ar rives, it finds the house un oc cu pied, swept clean and put in or der. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spir its more wicked than it self, and they go in and live there. And the fi nal con di tion of that per son is worse than the first. h That is how it will be with this wicked gen er a tion.”
12:38 z Mt 16:1; Mk 8:11, 12; Lk 11:16; Jn 2:18; 6:30; 1Co 1:22
12:39 a Mt 16:4; Lk 11:29
12:40 b Jnh 1:17 c Mt 8:20 d Mt 16:21
12:41 e Jnh 1:2 f Jnh 3:5
12:42 g 1Ki 10:1; 2Ch 9:1
12:45 h 2Pe 2:20
12:46 i Mt 1:18; 2:11, 13, 14, 20; Lk 1:43; 2:33, 34, 48, 51; Jn 2:1, 5; 19:25, 26 j Mt 13:55; Jn 2:12;
7:3, 5; Ac 1:14; 1Co 9:5; Gal 1:19
12:50 k Jn 15:14 13:1 l ver 36; Mt 9:28 13:2 m Lk 5:3
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
12:46-50pp— Mk 3:31-35; Lk 8:19-21
46 While Jesus was still talk ing to the crowd, his mother i and broth ers j stood out side, want ing to speak to him. 47 Some one told him,“ Your mother and broth ers are stand ing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He re plied to him,“ Who is my mother, and who are my broth ers?” 49 Point ing to his dis ci ples, he said,“ Here are my mother and my broth ers. 50 For who ever does the will of my Fa ther in heaven k is my brother and sis ter and mother.”
The Parable of the Sower
13:1-15pp— Mk 4:1-12; Lk 8:4-10 13:16,17pp— Lk 10:23,24 13:18-23pp— Mk 4:13-20; Lk 8:11-15
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house l and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds
gath ered around him that he got into a boat m and sat in it, while all the peo ple stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in par a bles, say ing:“ A farmer went out
kinds of people:“ good” and“ evil.” The distinguishing criterion is their response to Jesus. 12:36 – 37 Our whole lives come under review on judgment day. Particularly telling, however, is our speech, because it reflects what exists in our hearts. See Jas 3:1 – 12. 12:36 empty word. A careless one that somehow does damage. 12:38 – 45 Ironically, the Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus ask him for a sign to prove he is heaven sent. What more could they possibly want after all the miracles he has already worked? The only new kind of sign they will receive will be“ the sign of the prophet Jonah”( v. 39), i. e., Jesus’ death and resurrection. These Israelites who are rejecting Jesus are worse than the pagan Ninevites in the OT who eventually repented. 12:40 three days and three nights. Any parts of three consecutive 24-hour periods of time in Jewish idiom. Hence Jesus’ death on Friday afternoon through his resurrection on Sunday morning can be spoken of this way. The language is used to match Jonah 1:17. Jonah appeared as if he had died and been raised up in order to save Israel from future destruction by the Assyrians.
12:41 greater than Jonah. After Jonah preached, the Ninevites repented( Jonah 3:5 – 10). But Jesus and his ministry are“ greater than Jonah,” so all the more worthy of acceptance. 12:42 The Queen of the South. The queen of Sheba( probably in Ethiopia) who came to learn from Solomon’ s wisdom and praised Israel’ s God as a result( 1 Kgs 10:1 – 13). But Jesus and his ministry are“ greater than Solomon,” so all the more worthy of acceptance. 12:43 impure spirit. See note on 10:1. It cannot find“ rest” in“ arid places” because demons are associated with watery regions( cf. 8:26,32). 12:44 The word picture suggests a person from whom a demon has been cast out but who has not replaced the spiritual vacuum with Christ. 12:45 worse than the first. Even those from whom Jesus has cast out demons must become true disciples or they will revert to an even worse condition than before: they will be inhabited by even more demonic spirits. 12:46 – 50 The one who becomes a Christfollower receives a new, extended( and extensive) spiritual family, with intimacy and allegiance that should transcend even ties to biological family members, and this in a culture of honor and shame that highly prized family loyalty and honor. 12:46 brothers. Actually half brothers, most likely the children that Mary and Joseph subsequently conceived, though some ancient traditions suggest that Joseph had children by a previous marriage. Still others— usually only in circles that believe in Mary’ s perpetual virginity— assume they were cousins, but this is a rare usage of the Greek adelphoi. At this stage it does not appear that Jesus’ brothers believed in him yet. 12:50 Having biological siblings and other close relatives who are also Christ-followers creates the potential for having the best of both worlds: spiritual and genealogical families in sync with each other.
13:1 – 52 Parables of the Kingdom. Jesus employs the parable, a characteristic rabbinic teaching device, to illustrate spiritual truths about God’ s reign. Parables are stories or analogies involving people and activities familiar