Matthew 12-13

Matthew 12:1-8: The Pharisees cite the 4th commandment in Exodus 20:8-12, as to the disciples picking heads of grain and eating them on the Sabbath being unlawful. Jesus responds with two Old Testament examples that put this commandment in perspective. 

Matthew 12:3-4: Jesus cites 1 Samuel 21:6 in which David and his companions violated Leviticus 24:9 by eating bread that was set aside for the priests. 

Matthew 12:5: Jesus cites Numbers 28:9-10 which also violates the 4th commandment by commanding a burnt offering to be performed on the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:7: Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to reveal God’s heart for protecting the innocent. In Hosea, God judges Israel for gross sin and not having mercy.  Legalism is here trumped by doing good.

Matthew 12:9-14 Jesus performs another miracle and explains that the purpose of the Sabbath rest is refreshment and getting in touch with God. A person is much more valuable than rules designed to help people, and doing good, helping a person heal, more important than legalistic rule-following.

Matthew 12:15-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1-4, where God promised to send His messenger among false gods who were sowing confusion in Israel.

Matthew 12:22-37 The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the lord of dung, or lord of the flies (presumably near dung), judging Jesus by invoking the Chaldean dung god. They were deceived by Satan. Jesus’ response was threefold:

• If He was doing this by the spirit of God, this was a demonstration of the presence of God’s kingdom.
• Anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven in eternity. (I would like to dive deeper into this but I don’t dare because some spiritual realities are so transcendent we cannot fathom them. Like, why would the devil, knowing the ultimate consequence of rebellion would be eternal damnation, choose to do so anyway?)
• What comes out of a person reveals what is inside him.

On judgment day they will have to give account for the emptiness of their words in 12:24.

Matthew 12:38-45 The Pharisees ask for a sign. Jesus gives a threefold response.

Matthew 12:39-41 Jesus cites Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of the whale (pointing forward to His death and resurrection), and the Ninevites subsequent repentance. (Jonah 1:17 & 3:5-9). 

Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south will condemn the Pharisees because she traveled from outside civilization to hear Solomon’s wisdom, and Jesus’ is greater than his. (1 Kings 10:1-9)

Matthew 12:43-45 The observation that a cleansed soul that does not have the Holy Spirit occupying it will be eight times worse off, because the expelled demon will find seven others to move in along with it when it re-occupies the vacant space.

Matthew 12:46-50: In appearing to devalue His mother and siblings, Jesus is simply saying that spiritual truth trumps earthly understanding. 12:50 says that family relationship with Him doesn’t come though natural birth lines; it is simply recognizing the Father’s will and doing it.

Matthew 13

Jesus Teaches in Parables, and explains secrets of the kingdom of God

Matthew 13:1-9 Parable of the sower and the seed, explained in 13:18-23.

Matthew 13:10-17 Jesus explains why He teaches in parables. He quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, which are words spoken by the Lord in Isaiah’s vision of the glory of the throne of God in heaven. Jesus explains that the secrets of heaven are too precious for unbelievers, dangerous for seekers. Seeing God’s glory would destroy mortals (not born again). See Exodus 33:20.

Matthew 13:12 Good ideas of man will fail before the revelation of God; revelation trumps wisdom.

Matthew 13:18-23 Jesus explains the parable of the sower and the seed. Very well-known passage. I often wonder why people react differently to the gospel. Jesus gives a lucid explanation.

Matthew 13:24-30 Parable of the weeds, explained in 13:36-43.

Matthew 13:31-32 Parable of the mustard seed. Most likely an explanation of how genuine faith can grow, under God’s tutelage, from a very small start.

Matthew 13:33 Parable of yeast. This one is a bit of a puzzle.  Most likely, Jesus is saying that the the kingdom of God grows unseen in the lives of people, their family and friends, and in society, until the time when the whole earth has been given the the gospel, and then will become known. (Matthew 24:14) The meaning of three loaves is a mystery, at least to me.

Matthew 13:34-35 Repetition of why Jesus taught in parables. Quotes Psalm 78:2, which is was written by Asaph recounting what God did when Israel left Egypt.  Asaph explicitly says there are parables in Psalm 78, in the story of the Exodus.

Matthew 13:36-43 Jesus explains the parable of the weeds. Very clearly.

Matthew 13:44-50 A quiz for the disciples; three parables that Jesus doesn’t explain. Since the answers aren’t given, this is a quiz for us as well.

Matthew 13:44 Parable of the treasure in the field. The kingdom of heaven is worth trading in everything else in life. (Matthew 19:21) True treasure is in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21  )

Matthew 13:45-46 Parable of the pearl of great price. Jesus is the pearl of great price. Pearls are also the gates of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, to which entry requires that we be in Jesus.  (Revelation 21:21)

Matthew 13:47-50 Parable of the net.  Jesus provides the explanation of this parable  immediately.  The interesting thing is that this runs counter to the usual interpretation of the rapture, in which believers will rise in the air to meet Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) In Jesus’ words here, at the end of the age the angels gather the wicked from the earth to throw them into the fiery furnace.

Matthew 13:51 Jesus asks the disciples if they passed the quiz.

Matthew 13:52 Parable of storeroom treasures. Teachers of the law who become disciples learn kingdom truths and are not destroyed by them, nor twist or distort them. They have both the law and the gospel (both old and new treasures). Their hearts are His. 

Matthew 13:53-58 Jesus returns to his hometown. This completes the thought that the natural cannot receive the spiritual without being born again. (John 3:3ff) Sometimes we have to leave the comfort of where we grew up to build God’s kingdom, as He shows us their spiritual  shortcomings.