At that time joins this chapter to ch. 11. At the time the Lord was calling people to rest from striving to keep the law and religious regulations, He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to pick ears of grain and eat, seemingly breaking the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was ordained so that the Jews would remember the completion of God's creation (Gen. 2:2), keep the sign of God's covenant made with them (Ezek. 20:12), and remember God's redemption accomplished for them (Deut. 5:15). Hence, to profane the Sabbath was a serious matter in the eyes of the religious Pharisees. To them it was not lawful, not scriptural. But they did not have adequate knowledge of the Scriptures. Based on their meager knowledge, they cared for the ritual of keeping the Sabbath, not for the hunger of the people. What folly to observe a vain ritual!

The Pharisees said that it was not lawful for the Lord's disciples to pick the ears in the grainfields and to eat; thus, they condemned the disciples for acting contrary to the Scriptures. But the Lord answered, "Have you not read...?" pointing out to them another aspect of the Scriptures that justified Him and His disciples. The Pharisees were thus condemned for lacking adequate knowledge of the Scriptures.

The Lord's word here implies that He is the real David. In the ancient time David and his followers, when rejected, entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presence (v. 4), seemingly breaking the Levitical law. Now the real David and His followers were rejected, and the disciples took action to pick ears of grain and eat, seemingly going against the sabbatical regulation. Just as David and his followers were not held guilty, so Christ and His disciples should not have been condemned.

Furthermore, the Lord's word here implies the dispensational change from the priesthood to the kingship. In the ancient time the coming of David changed the dispensation from the age of the priests to the age of the kings, in which the kings were above the priests. In the age of the priests the leader of the people had to listen to the priest (Num. 27:21-22). But in the age of the kings the priest had to submit to the king (1 Sam. 2:35-36). Hence, what King David did with his followers was not illegal. Now the coming of Christ changed the dispensation again, this time from the age of the law to the age of grace, in which Christ is above all. Whatever He does is right.

Here the Lord pointed out to the Pharisees another case in the Scriptures, exposing how little they knew the Scriptures.

The Lord revealed to the Pharisees that He was greater than the temple. This indicated another turn, a type-fulfilling turn from the temple to a person. In the case of David there was a turn from one age to another. In this case, a case concerning the priests, there was a turn from the temple to a person who is greater than the temple. Since the priests were guiltless in acting on the Sabbath in the temple, how could the Lord's disciples be guilty in acting on the Sabbath in Him who is greater than the temple? In the first case the king broke the Levitical regulation; in the second case the priests broke the sabbatical regulation. According to the Scriptures neither was guilty. Hence, scripturally, what the Lord did here was right.

Here the Lord indicated the third turn, a right-asserting turn from the Sabbath to the Lord of the Sabbath. As the Lord of the Sabbath, He had the right to change the regulations concerning the Sabbath. Thus, the Lord gave the condemning Pharisees a threefold verdict. He was the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, He could do whatever He liked on the Sabbath, and whatever He did was justified by Himself. He was above all rituals and regulations. Since He was there, no attention should have been paid to any ritual or regulation.

This chapter records the Lord's move on two Sabbaths (Luke 6:1, 6). What He did on the first Sabbath indicates that He cared for Himself as the Head of the Body. As the Head, He is everything — the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. What He did on the second Sabbath signifies that He cared for His members. On this Sabbath He healed a man's withered hand, likening this man to a sheep (vv. 11-12). The hand is a member of the body, and the sheep is a member of the flock. The Lord would do anything for the healing of His members, for the rescue of His fallen sheep. Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing the dead members of His Body. To Him, regulations do not matter; the rescue of His fallen sheep means everything.

The Lord gave the man the word, "Stretch out your hand." In the Lord's word was the enlivening life. By stretching out his hand the man took the Lord's life-giving word, and his withered hand was restored by the life in His word.

In the eyes of the religious Pharisees, for the Lord to break the Sabbath was to destroy God's covenant with the nation of Israel, that is, to destroy the relationship between God and Israel. Hence, they took counsel against Him as to how they might destroy Him. The breaking of the Sabbath caused the Jewish religionists to reject the heavenly King.

The Greek word means boy attendant.

Or, righteousness, (righteous) judgment. So in v. 20.

This indicates clearly that because of the Jews' rejection, the heavenly King with His heavenly kingdom would turn to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles would receive Him and trust in Him (v. 21).

The Jews were accustomed to making flutes of reeds. When a reed was bruised, they broke it. Also, they made torches out of flax, which can burn oil. When the oil ran out, the flax smoked and they quenched it. Some of the Lord's people are like a bruised reed, which cannot give a musical sound; others are like smoking flax, which cannot produce a shining light. Yet the Lord will not break the bruised ones or quench the smoking ones.

The Greek word refers to a torch made with flax.

A blind and dumb man signifies one who is without spiritual sight, i.e., who is unable to see God and spiritual things, and who, for this reason, is unable to praise God and speak for God. This is the real condition of all fallen people.

This indicates that they recognized Christ as their Messiah, their King.

See note Matt. 10:25^1a. So in v. 27.

Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as rulers, authorities, and world-rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12). Hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).

The Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God. Where the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is, and there the demons have no ground.

The kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the heavens, is indicated here. Even at that time the kingdom of the heavens still had not come. The kingdom of God, however, was there already.

The house here signifies the kingdom of Satan.

The strong man is Satan, the evil one.

Or, instruments, apparatus; hence, goods, stuff. The fallen people, who are under Satan, are his vessels, his instruments, and are for his use. They are his goods, kept in his house, his kingdom.

This indicates that when the Lord cast out demons, He first bound Satan.

See note Mark 9:40¹.

Blaspheming the Spirit differs from insulting the Spirit (Heb. 10:29). To insult the Spirit is to disobey Him willfully. Many believers do this. If they confess this sin, they will be forgiven and cleansed by the Lord's blood (1 John 1:7, 9). But to blaspheme the Spirit is to slander Him, as the Pharisees did in v. 24. It was by the Spirit that the Lord cast out a demon. But the Pharisees, seeing it, said that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. This was blasphemy against the Spirit. By such blasphemy the Pharisees' rejection of the heavenly King reached its climax.

In the economy of the Triune God, the Father conceived the plan of redemption (Eph. 1:5, 9), the Son accomplished redemption according to the Father's plan (1 Pet. 2:24; Gal. 1:4), and the Spirit reaches sinners to apply the redemption accomplished by the Son (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2). If a sinner blasphemes the Son, as Saul of Tarsus did, the Spirit will still have the ground to work on him and cause him to repent and believe in the Son that he may be forgiven (see 1 Tim. 1:13-16). But if a sinner blasphemes the Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work on him, and there will be no one left to cause him to repent and believe. Hence, it is impossible for such a person to be forgiven. This is not only logical according to reason but also governmental according to God's administrative principle, as revealed here by the Lord's word.

In God's governmental administration His forgiveness is dispensational. For His administration He has planned different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages:
1) this age, the present one, from Christ's first coming to His second coming;
2) the coming age, the millennium, the one thousand years for restoration and heavenly reigning, from Christ's second coming to the end of the old heaven and old earth;
3) eternity, the eternal age of the new heaven and new earth.
God's forgiveness in this age is for sinners' eternal salvation. This forgiveness is given to both sinners and believers. God's forgiveness in the coming age is related to the believers' dispensational reward. If after being saved a believer commits a sin but will not make a clearance through confession and the cleansing of the Lord's blood (1 John 1:7, 9) before he dies or the Lord comes back, the sin will not be forgiven in this age but will remain and will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). In such a case, the believer will not be rewarded with the kingdom, i.e., will not participate with Christ in the glory and joy in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but will be disciplined so that the sin is cleared, and will be forgiven in the coming age (Matt. 18:23-35). This kind of forgiveness will maintain this believer's eternal salvation but will not qualify him to participate in the glory and joy of the coming kingdom.

Lit., from.

The Greek word means not working. An idle word is a non-working word, an inoperative word, a word that has no positive function and is useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren. Those who have spoken such words will render an account concerning every one of them in the day of judgment. Since this is the case, how much more must we account for every wicked word!

What a warning this is! We must learn to control and restrict our speaking.

A sign is a miracle that has some spiritual significance. The Jews always seek signs (1 Cor. 1:22).

Age in v. 32 refers to time; generation here refers to people.

The heart of the earth is called "the lower parts of the earth" (Eph. 4:9) and Hades (Acts 2:27), where the Lord went after His death. Hades, equal to Sheol in the Old Testament (see note Matt. 11:23^1d), has two sections, the section of torment and the section of comfort (Luke 16:23-26). The section of comfort is Paradise, where the Lord went with the saved thief after they died on the cross (Luke 23:43). Hence, heart of the earth, lower parts of the earth, Hades, and Paradise are synonymous terms, referring to the place where the Lord stayed for three days and three nights after His death and before His resurrection.

The Greek word for more, occurring also in v. 42, means better in quality and larger in quantity; hence, more. It differs from the word for greater in v. 6, which means greater in external size or measure. Christ, as the Prophet sent by God to His people (Deut. 18:15, 18), is more than Jonah the prophet. Jonah was the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was put into the belly of the great fish. After remaining there for three days, he came out to become a sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 3:2-10). This was a type of Christ, who would turn from Israel to the Gentiles and who would be buried in the heart of the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a sign to this generation for salvation.

See note Matt. 12:41^1c. Christ, as the Son of David, as the King, is more than Solomon the king. Solomon built the temple of God and spoke the word of wisdom. To him the Gentile queen came (1 Kings 6:2; 10:1-8). This too was a type of Christ, who is building the church, making it the temple of God, and is speaking the word of wisdom. To Him the Gentile seekers turn.

This type, and that in v. 41, indicate that Christ, whether as the Prophet sent by God or as the King anointed by God, would turn from Israel to the Gentiles, as prophesied in vv. 18, 21.

According to history King Solomon preceded Jonah the prophet. But according to spiritual significance Jonah came first, as recorded in Matthew. This too shows that Matthew's record is not according to the sequence of history but according to the sequence of doctrine (see note Matt. 8:16¹ par. 2 ). According to doctrine, first Christ had to die and be resurrected; then He would build the church and speak the word of wisdom. Christ's death and resurrection are the real sign to this generation, to both the Jews and the Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:22, 24).

The unclean spirit, a demon (v. 22), seeks rest but cannot find it in waterless places because the lodging place of demons, after God's judgment by water in Gen. 1:2, is the sea. (See Life-study of Genesis, Message Two.) Since a demon cannot find rest in dry places, it returns to the human body that it originally possessed and settles down there (vv. 44-45).

Doctrinally, v. 43 continues v. 22. Between these two verses is a record of the Jews' rejection of Christ and of Christ's forsaking of them. Here the Lord likened the evil generation of the rejecting Jews to the demon possessed man. In the eyes of the Lord the rejecting Jews were like the demon possessed people. The signs of Jonah and Solomon indicated that the Gentiles would repent, but the case of the demon possessed man indicated that the rejecting Jews would not repent. They would only sweep away the dirt and decorate by adding good things to beautify themselves. They would not receive Christ and allow Him to fill them. Rather, they would remain empty and unoccupied. This is the actual condition of today's Jews. Near the end of this age they will be seven times more possessed by demons, and their state will become worse than ever.

This indicates that the heavenly King forsook His relationship in the flesh with the Jews. In this chapter the Jews' rejection of Christ, having reached its climax, caused Christ to forsake them fully. At this point the break between them and Christ began, and they were severed from Christ (Rom. 11:17, 19-20).

After breaking with the Jews, Christ turned to the Gentiles. Thenceforth His relationship with His followers was not in the flesh but in the spirit. Whoever does the will of His Father is a brother who helps Him, a sister who sympathizes with Him, and a mother who tenderly loves Him.