Matthew 12

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:36

Verse 36 36.Of every idle word This is an argument from the less to the greater; for if every idle word is to be called in question, how would God spare the open blasphemies and sacrilegious insolence of those who bark against his glory? (139) An idle word means one that is useless, or that yields no edification or advantage. Many look upon this as too severe; (140) but if we consider the purpose for which our tongues were made, we will acknowledge, that those men are justly held guilty who... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:37

Verse 37 37.By thy words thou shalt be justified This was a common proverb, which he applied to the present subject; for I have no doubt that this was a saying which the people had frequently in their mouths, that “every man is condemned or acquitted by his own acknowledgment.” But Christ turns it to a meaning somewhat different, that a wicked speech, being the indication of concealed malice, is enough to condemn a man. The attempt which the Papists make to torture this passage, so as to set... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:39

Verse 39 Matthew 12:39.A wicked generation He does not merely charge that age with malice, but pronounces the Jews—or at least the scribes, and those who resembled them—to be a wicked nation; thus declaring that they labored under a hereditary disease of obstinacy. The word γενεά sometimes denotes an age, and sometimes a people or nation. He calls them adulterous, that is, spurious or illegitimate, (165) because they were degenerated from the holy fathers; as the prophets reproach the men of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:41

Verse 41 Matthew 12:41.The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment. Having spoken of the Ninevites, Christ takes occasion to show that the scribes and others, by whom his doctrine is rejected, are worse than the Ninevites were. “Ungodly men,” he says, “who never had heard a word of the true God, repented at the voice of an unknown and foreign person who came to them; while this country, which is the sanctuary of heavenly doctrine, hears not the Son of God, and the promised Redeemer.” Here lies the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:42

Verse 42 42.The queen of the south. As Ethiopia lies in a southerly direction from Judea, I willingly concur with Josephus and other writers, who assert that she was the queen of Ethiopia. In sacred history she is called the queen of Sheba, (2 Chronicles 9:1.) We must not suppose this Sheba to be the country of Saba, which rather lay toward the east, but a town situated in Meroe, an island on the Nile, which was the metropolis of the kingdom. Here, too, we must attend to the points of contrast.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:43

Verse 43 43.But when the unclean spirit hath gone out. He speaks of scribes and hypocrites of a similar character, who, despising the grace of God, enter into a conspiracy with the devil. Against such persons he pronounces that punishment which their ingratitude deserves. To make his doctrine more extensively useful, he points out, in a general manner, the condemnation that awaits those who, despising the grace offered to them, again open the door to the devil. But as almost every particle has... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:44

Verse 44 44.He findeth it empty Christ is unquestionably describing those who, being destitute of the Spirit of God, are prepared for receiving the devil; for believers, in whom the Spirit of God efficaciously dwells, are fortified on all sides, so that no opening is left for Satan. The metaphor of a house swept and embellished is taken from men who find pleasure in the cleanness and neatness of their apartments; for to Satan no sight is beautiful but deformity itself, and no smell is sweet but... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:45

Verse 45 45.He taketh with him seven other spirits The number seven is here used indefinitely, as in many other passages. By these words Christ shows that if we fall from his grace, our subjection to Satan is doubled, so that he treats us with greater cruelty than before, and that this is the just punishment of our slothfulness. (149) Let us not then suppose that the devil has been vanquished by a single combat, because he has once gone out of us. On the contrary, let us remember that, as his... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:48

Verse 48 Matthew 12:48.Who is my mother? These words were unquestionably intended to reprove Mary’s eagerness, and she certainly acted improperly in attempting to interrupt the progress of his discourse. (157) At the same time, by disparaging the relationship of flesh and blood, our Lord teaches a very useful doctrine; for he admits all his disciples and all believers to the same honorable rank, as if they were his nearest relatives, or rather he places them in the room of his mother and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:50

Verse 50 50.For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven. When he says that they do the will of his Father, he does not mean that they fulfill, in a perfect manner, the whole righteousness of the law; for in that sense the name brother, which is here given by him to his disciples, would not apply to any man. (158) But his design is, to bestow the highest commendation on faith, which is the source and origin of holy obedience, and at the same time covers the defects and sins of... read more

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