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