Matthew 12
BSASBJesus is challenged over the Sabbath, then heals and withdraws as opposition hardens into a plot to kill Him. He shows Himself as the gentle Servant promised by Isaiah, answers the charge that He works by Satan, and warns that words reveal the heart. He gives only the sign of Jonah, and says His true family is those who do His Father’s will.
Matthew 12:1-2
Hungry disciples pick grain as they walk through a field. The law allowed this kind of gleaning from a neighbor’s field. The Pharisees object only that it is done on the Sabbath, which they counted as reaping, a kind of work. They are watching Jesus closely.
BSA: unlawful (“not permitted or forbidden”): The charge rests on the Pharisees’ strict reading of Sabbath rules, not on the plain hunger of the disciples.
See also: Deuteronomy 23:25; Exodus 20:8-11.
Matthew 12:3-4
Jesus points to Scripture the Pharisees know well. When David and his men were hungry, they ate the holy bread set aside for the priests. Human need was not treated as a crime. The point is that the law was never meant to starve the people of God.
BSA: consecrated (“show, sacred”): This was the bread of the Presence, set apart for God’s table, which shows how serious David’s act was and how far mercy was allowed to reach.
See also: 1 Samuel 21:1-6; Leviticus 24:5-9.
Matthew 12:5-6
The priests work hard on the Sabbath, offering sacrifices, and the Law counts them blameless. If temple service outranks the Sabbath rules, then One greater than the temple outranks them still more. Jesus is quietly claiming that God’s presence now stands among them in Him.
BSA: break (“profane, treat as common”): Jesus uses the Pharisees’ own language, and says even this apparent profaning is innocent when it serves God.
Greek: βεβηλοῦσιν (bebēlousin, G953) — “they profane, treat as common.” The word means to treat a holy thing as ordinary. Jesus says even this is guiltless when it is done in God’s service.
See also: Numbers 28:9-10.
Matthew 12:7
Jesus quotes Hosea: God wants a heart of mercy, not religion that is merely outward. The Pharisees had condemned hungry men over a technicality. They had missed what God cares about most, and so they judged the guiltless.
BSA: mercy (“compassion, pity”): God wants a heart that feels for people in need, not only correct ritual.
See also: Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13.
Matthew 12:8
The Sabbath was given by God for people’s good, and the Son of Man stands over it as its Lord. Jesus does not abolish the day. He claims the authority to say what it is for. Christians have long seen rest and mercy together in His lordship.
BSA: Lord (“God, master”): Jesus claims the authority of the One who made the Sabbath.
See also: Mark 2:27-28.
Matthew 12:9-10
In the synagogue stands a man whose hand is withered. The question about healing is not sincere. It is asked to trap Jesus into a charge. The man becomes a test case, though Jesus sees him as a person in need.
BSA: accuse (“to charge with wrongdoing”): Their purpose was to build a case against Jesus, not to learn the truth.
Matthew 12:11-12
Jesus answers with common sense they cannot deny. Anyone would rescue a sheep from a pit on the Sabbath. A person is worth far more. So doing good is never forbidden on God’s day, and refusing to help is itself a failure.
BSA: valuable (“to what extent, in what degree”): Jesus measures the worth of a person against an animal, and the gap is large.
Matthew 12:13
Jesus asks the man to do the very thing he cannot do, and the hand is healed as he obeys. Jesus does not even need a work to break their rule. He only speaks. The hand becomes as sound as the other.
BSA: restored (“made whole, healed”): The hand is made fully whole, not merely improved.
Greek: ἀπεκατεστάθη (apekatestathē, G600) — “was fully restored to its former state.” The word carries the sense of putting something back exactly as it was meant to be.
Matthew 12:14
Instead of rejoicing at the miracle, the Pharisees go out to plan His death. The sharpest irony is that they call Jesus a lawbreaker while they plot murder on the same day. Hardness of heart grows when good is done in front of it.
BSA: plotted (“held a council, took counsel”): This was a deliberate, planned decision, not a sudden burst of anger.
Greek: συμβούλιον (symboulion, G4824) — “a council, a plan agreed together.” They took formal counsel together, which shows the plot was organized and settled.
Matthew 12:15-16
Jesus knows of the plot and quietly withdraws. He does not stop healing. Large crowds follow, and He heals every sick person among them. He asks them not to spread the news, since He did not seek fame or a clash before His time.
BSA: warning (“charging, instructing firmly”): This was a strong, serious instruction, not a casual request.
Matthew 12:17-18
Matthew shows that this gentle conduct was foretold. Isaiah spoke of God’s chosen Servant, loved by the Father and anointed with the Spirit. His mission reaches beyond Israel, to the nations, bringing God’s justice.
BSA: Servant (“My chosen one, the Messiah”): The Servant is the one God has picked for a special task, and Matthew points to Jesus. nations (“Gentiles, non-Jewish people”): The Servant’s work reaches people outside Israel.
See also: Isaiah 42:1-4; Matthew 3:16-17.
Matthew 12:19-21
The Servant is not loud or forceful. He is tender toward the weak, like a bruised reed or a flickering wick that others would throw away. In the end His justice wins, and the nations find hope in Him.
BSA: smoldering (“smoking, barely burning”): This is a lamp-wick almost out, a picture of a life nearly spent that He will not put out. name (“character, reputation, authority”): To hope in His name is to trust who He is and what He can do.
Greek: τυφόμενον (typhomenon, G5188) — “smoking, smoldering.” It describes a wick with only a thread of smoke left. Jesus does not snuff out what is barely alive.
See also: Isaiah 42:3.
Matthew 12:22-23
A man who is blind and mute under demonic power is brought to Jesus and fully healed. The crowds are astonished and ask if this could be the Son of David, the promised king from David’s line. Their question is hopeful, though not yet certain.
BSA: healed (“restored to health, made whole”): Both sight and speech return, so the whole man is freed.
Matthew 12:24
The Pharisees cannot deny the miracle, so they give it a dark source. They say Jesus works by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. It is a desperate answer, and it turns a good work into something evil.
BSA: Beelzebul (“the Lord of the flies, Satan”): The name is a title for Satan, so they are saying Jesus serves the devil.
Greek: Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboul, G954) — “a name for the ruler of demons.” It was an old name linked to a pagan god, and here it stands for Satan himself.
Matthew 12:25-26
Jesus knew what they were thinking and answers with plain logic. A kingdom or family at war with itself falls. If Satan were casting out Satan, his own rule would collapse. So their charge makes no sense.
BSA: divided (“split, fragmented”): A divided kingdom is breaking apart from within, so it cannot last.
Matthew 12:27
Other Jewish exorcists were also casting out demons, and the Pharisees did not accuse them of serving Satan. If the Pharisees’ charge were fair, it would condemn their own people too. Their own followers will stand as witnesses against them.
BSA: judges (“those who will condemn or vindicate you, authorities”): Their own sons will show how unfair the charge is.
Matthew 12:28
The real source of His power is the Spirit of God. So the long-awaited kingdom of God is no longer only a future hope. Its power has reached them now. Christians understand this as the start of God’s rule breaking in through Jesus.
BSA: Spirit (“the vital principle, divine breath”): The same life-giving breath of God that rested on the Servant works through Jesus. kingdom (“God’s royal power and dominion”): It means God’s kingly rule in action, not just a place.
Greek: ἔφθασεν (ephthasen, G5348) — “has arrived, has come upon.” The word suggests the kingdom has actually reached them, not merely drawn near.
See also: Luke 11:20.
Matthew 12:29
Jesus gives a picture. No one can plunder a strong man’s house unless he first ties him up. Casting out demons shows that Satan’s grip is being broken by One stronger than he is.
BSA: ties up (“binds, restrains”): The strong man is overpowered so his goods can be taken.
Greek: δήσῃ (dēsē, G1210) — “binds, ties up.” It is the ordinary word for tying someone with ropes, a vivid picture of power being overcome.
See also: Mark 3:27.
Matthew 12:30
In this conflict there is no neutral ground. Jesus is gathering people to God, and whoever does not work with Him ends up scattering them. The Pharisees thought they were safe onlookers, but they were really working against Him.
BSA: scatters (“disperse, drive away”): Like a shepherd’s flock driven off, people are lost when they are not gathered with Jesus.
Matthew 12:31-32
God’s forgiveness is very wide. Even a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven. But to call the plain work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan is to shut out the very One who brings people to repentance. Christians read this seriously, as a warning against hardening the heart.
BSA: blasphemy (“speaking badly of God or others”): It is slander, here aimed at what God Himself is doing. forgiven (“released, let go”): Forgiveness means the debt of sin is let go completely.
Greek: βλασφημία (blasphēmia, G988) — “slander, abusive speech.” It means speech that wrongs or defames, here aimed at the Spirit’s work.
See also: Mark 3:28-30.
Matthew 12:33
A tree shows its nature by what it grows. Good fruit comes from a good tree, and bad from a bad one. The Pharisees’ bitter words reveal their hearts, so the problem is not what is on the surface but what is inside.
BSA: fruit (“the visible evidence of its inner quality”): What people say and do shows what they are inside.
See also: Matthew 7:16-20.
Matthew 12:34
Jesus speaks bluntly. Those full of poison cannot speak what is wholesome. Words are what spill over from the heart, so a changed heart is needed, not only better manners.
BSA: brood (“offspring, generations”): They are like the young of vipers, showing the same nature. heart (“the seat of thoughts, feelings, and emotions”): The heart is the inner center from which speech flows.
Greek: γεννήματα (gennēmata, G1081) — “offspring, brood.” It speaks of what is born of a parent, so they carry the nature of vipers.
See also: Luke 6:45.
Matthew 12:35
The heart is like a storeroom. What is stored there comes out in speech and life. The good person draws out good things, the evil person draws out evil. What we fill our hearts with matters.
BSA: treasure (“inner, spiritual”): The store is within a person, a hidden supply of what he truly values.
Matthew 12:36-37
Even idle, thoughtless words will be weighed on the day of judgment, because they reveal what we are. Our words are evidence of the heart, and they will count for or against us. This should make us serious about our speech.
BSA: careless (“idle, useless”): These are words that do no good, spoken without thought. acquitted (“justified, declared righteous”): It is the language of a courtroom, where a person is declared not guilty.
Greek: ἀργόν (argon, G692) — “idle, unproductive.” It describes a word that does no work, empty and without good purpose.
See also: Proverbs 18:21.
Matthew 12:38-40
After many miracles, they ask for yet another sign. Jesus calls this a faithless demand and promises only the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was in the fish three days, the Son of Man will be in the earth, pointing to His burial and resurrection.
BSA: adulterous (“morally unfaithful, spiritually adulterous”): God’s people were pictured as His bride, so turning from Him was unfaithfulness.
Greek: μοιχαλίς (moichalis, G3428) — “adulterous, unfaithful.” The Bible often uses this word for a people who abandon God as a spouse breaks a marriage vow.
See also: Jonah 1:17; Hosea 2:2.
Matthew 12:41-42
Two outsiders are held up as witnesses. The people of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching, and a foreign queen traveled far to hear Solomon. Now someone greater than both is among them, and still they refuse. Greater privilege means greater responsibility.
BSA: repented (“turned from sin, changed their minds”): It means a real change of direction, not just feeling sorry. wisdom (“spiritual understanding, insight”): The queen came for understanding that is rooted in God.
See also: Jonah 3:5; 1 Kings 10:1-9.
Matthew 12:43-45
Jesus tells of a house cleaned and put in order but left empty. The evil spirit returns with others, and the person ends worse off. Clearing away evil is not enough. The heart must be filled with God, and that warns the generation that saw His works but did not follow Him.
BSA: vacant (“empty, unoccupied”): The house was tidy but no one lived in it, so it was open to return. plight (“condition, state”): It describes the person’s final state, which is worse than before.
Greek: ἀνύδρων (anydrōn, G504) — “waterless.” The spirit wanders through dry, lifeless places, a picture of restlessness without a home.
See also: Luke 11:24-26.
Matthew 12:46-47
While Jesus is teaching, His mother and brothers stand outside wanting to speak with Him. Someone passes along the message. The scene sets up a surprising lesson about who truly belongs to Him.
BSA: outside (“outwardly, in a physical location”): They are physically outside the crowd, and the word prepares us for a point about who is inside His family.
Matthew 12:48-50
Jesus does not despise His family. He opens the circle wider. Pointing to His disciples, He says that whoever does His Father’s will is His brother, sister and mother. In Jesus, belonging comes through obedient trust in God.
BSA: will (“desire, intention”): The Father’s will is what He wants and plans, and His family lives by it.
Greek: θέλημα (thelēma, G2307) — “will, what someone wants done.” It points to the Father’s heartfelt desire, not just a command, which His family gladly carries out.
See also: Mark 3:31-35.