matthew-12:24-34

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:29

Parallel passages: Mark 3:27 ; Luke 11:21 , Luke 11:22 . Mark is practically identical with Matthew. Luke ("the strong man armed," etc.) is more detailed and vivid, and is perhaps the original form of the saying. Or else ; or (Revised Version); i.e. if this be not the case, that the kingdom of God is come upon you, how else do you explain what has happened, the fact of Satan's instruments being taken from him? How can one enter into a strong man's house; the house of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:29

Robbing the strong man's house. The circumstances under which it was spoken explain this parable. Our Lord had just cast out a demon from a poor creature who was both blind and dumb. A more pitiable object than such a demoniac can hardly be conceived. And yet in this extreme instance of the tenderness of Jesus to the bruised reed his enemies only see sinister motives and suspect malign influences. they charge the great Deliverer with being in league with Satan. The parable is our Lord's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:30

Parallel passage: Luke 11:23 , omitted in Mark. The aim of this verse is doubtful. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:31

Wherefore ( διὰ τοῦτο ). Referring primarily to Matthew 12:30 , and to be joined closely to "I say unto you." Because such is the terrible effect of what you think mere indifferentism, I say this solemnly, Beware of committing the great sin. Luke's connexion of our verse 43 with verse 30 gives a good but a weaker sense—Become fully decided, lest the devil return to you stronger than ever. Matthew's connexion is—Become fully decided, for the legitimate outcome of want of decision is the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:31-32

Parallel passages: Mark 3:28-30 and Luke 12:10 (where the context is not the same, he having passed straight from our Luke 12:30 to our Luke 12:43 , vide infra ) . It is to be observed that all three accounts differ a good deal in form, though but slightly in substance. The Apostolical Constitutions contain what is probably a mixture of these verses with 2 Peter 2:1 and other passages of the New Testament. Resch, in accordance with his theory, thinks that the Constitutions have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:32

Our Lord applies the general principle of Matthew 12:31 to "blasphemy" against himself. This might be, comparatively speaking, innocuous if it was merely defamation or detraction of him as man; but if, on the other hand, it referred to his work in such a way as to mean a real detraction of God's actions considered as Divine, it indicated a state of feeling which did not admit of forgiveness ( vide supra ) . If it be asked whether the individual Pharisees referred to in Matthew 12:24-28 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33

Either make ( ἢ ποιήσατε ) . Not "suppose" ( fac, pone ), still less "declare," but "make." The Lord is speaking in a parable. You would not, surely, make a tree in any other way; it would be against nature; how then imagine it can be so in your own persons? Matthew 7:18 and Luke 6:43 state as a fact that the reverse case does not take place in nature. The tree good, and his fruit good ( i.e. one if the other); or else make the tree corrupt ( Matthew 7:17 , note), ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33

The tree and its fruit. This illustration is applied by our Lord to the use of the tongue. Words are the fruits of the heart that prompts them. But they are the simplest and least considered forms of action, and they stand for the extreme representatives of a process that applies to all conduct. Let us consider the laws of life thus set forth in their widest range. I. CONDUCT IS THE FRUIT OF LIFE . 1 . It is not possible without life. Growth in the tree is only produced... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33-35

Parallel passage: Luke 6:43-45 (cf. Matthew 7:16-18 , notes). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33-37

You wonder that I make so much of words; words are not trivialities, but are really the legitimate and normal fruit of the heart, and therefore by them each man will be judged. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:29

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:29

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:30

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:31

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:31-32

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:32

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33-35

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 12:33-37

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