matthew 12

Read Matthew 12 at Bible Gateway.

Mat 12 outline:

Mat 12:1-14, Pharisees dispute with Jesus: what is lawful on the Sabbath
Mat 12:15-23, The multitudes recognized Messiah, YHVH’s Servant of Isa 42:1-4, by His works
Mat 12:24-45, Pharisees dispute with Jesus: by what authority does He cast out demons
Mat 12:46-50, Mother + brothers of Jesus seek to speak with Him

Mat 12:1-45 chiastic structure:

1a) Mat 12:1-14, Pharisees dispute with Jesus: what is lawful on the Sabbath/ they plot to destroy Him;

1a.1) Mat 12:1-2, The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of eating grain on the Sabbath;
1a.2) Mat 12:3-5, Jesus answers them from the Scriptures;

1b) Mat 12:6, Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple;
central axis) Mat 12:7, But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless;
2b) Mat 12:8, For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath;

2a.1) Mat 12:9-10, The Pharisees accuse Jesus of healing on the Sabbath (the man with the withered hand);
2a.2) Mat 12:11-14, Jesus answers them from the Spirit of God working in power (his hand restored);

1b.1) Mat 12:15, Jesus withdrew from there/ great multitudes followed Him + He healed them all;

1b.2) Mat 12:16-17, He warned them not to make Him known, that Isaiah’s prophecy might be fulfilled;

central axis) Mat 12:18-21, Jesus fulfills the prophecy of the Beloved Servant in Isa 42:1-4;

2b.1) Mat 12:22, He healed the demon-possessed blind + mute;

2b.2) Mat 12:23, The multitudes were amazed: “Could this be the Son of David?” (they recognized Him);

2a) Mat 12:24-45, Pharisees dispute with Jesus: identifying works of the Spirit/ they spoke to defame Him;

1a) Mat 12:24, Pharisees’ accusation: by whose authority does Jesus cast out demons;
1b) Mat 12:25-30, The Pharisees’ sons who cast out demons shall judge them;

1a) Mat 12:25, Every kingdom divided against itself shall not stand;
1b) Mat 12:26, If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided/ How then will his kingdom stand;
central axis) Mat 12:27, By whom do your sons cast demons out? Therefore they shall be your judges;
2b) Mat 12:28, If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God then His kingdom has come upon you;
2a) Mat 12:29-30, He who is not with Me is against Me (he divides the kingdom of God);

1c) Mat 12:31, Every sin + blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit;
central axis) Mat 12:32a, Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him;
2c) Mat 12:32b, Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him;
2b) Mat 12:33-42, That which will rise up in the judgment and condemn them;

1a) Mat 12:33-37, Your words proceed from your heart and will justify or condemn you;
1b) Mat 12:38, Some scribes + Pharisees asked for a sign from Jesus;
central axis) Mat 12:39, But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah;”
2b) Mat 12:40, Jonah three days + nights in the fishes belly/ the Son of Man three days + nights in the earth’s heart;
2a) Mat 12:41-42, Nineveh + queen of the South will rise up in the judgment to condemn this generation;

2a) Mat 12:43-45, When an unclean spirit is cast out/ so is this wicked generation.

The thing which amazes me is the difference of proof required between the multitudes and the religious professionals. The multitudes recognized Him as the prophesied Son of David; so much so that He had to warn them not to make Him known (B pair of the greater structure). How did they know Him? He taught Torah with authority; He healed all who came to Him; He fulfilled the words of the Prophets concerning Messiah; even the winds and seas obeyed Him, as well as the unclean spirits.

But the Pharisees, who were experts in Torah, could not recognize Him, and disputed with Him on everything. Why could they not recognize Him? He was not one of them – He was outside the Pharisee club! They went so far as to ask Him for a sign – of His authority, of His Messiahship. This was after He had:

cleansed lepers (Mat 8);
healed the paralytic as a sign that He had authority on earth to forgive sins (Mat 9);
brought repentance to sinners (Mat 9);
healed a woman’s flow of blood (Mat 9);
raised a girl from the dead (Mat 9);
cast out demons, causing the mute and blind to be healed (Mat 9);
healed all who came of Him of every and various sickness (this chapter);
restored a man’s withered hand (this chapter);
cast out more demons, causing more healing for the mute and blind (this chapter).

How many additional signs did they need? Why were these signs not enough? Jesus Himself said it: they were an evil and adulterous generation. Why were the experts in Torah, the religious professionals, evil and adulterous? They sought the praise of men and not God, they added to and took away from Torah, even though God had commanded them not to (as shown by their disputes on what is lawful on the Sabbath), they ascribed the working of the Spirit to the devil, and they clearly believed both Jesus and John the Baptist to be false prophets, not inspired by God. They could not see what the multitudes saw, even though it was done right in front of their faces. What a warning for us, if we have been taught by men to despise the working of the Spirit, if we have been taught by men to despise the Law, and if we consider ourselves experts in Torah!

For further reading:

matthew 12, what is lawful on the sabbath (2011)