12:1,2
At that time Jesus passed through the sown fields on the Sabbath; His disciples became hungry and began to pick the ears of corn and eat. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what ought not to be done on the Sabbath.
The Old Testament nowhere prohibits plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath in order to eat. God's law on the Sabbath forbade engaging only in vain matters of whim - those that are in addition to life-sustaining needs (Is. 58:58:13). Expect from God that, having endowed us with an appetite and the daily need to eat, he would forbid searching and preparing food - stupid, the “elders” of Israel in compiling lists of prohibitions for interpreting the Law - clearly overdid it and distorted the requirements of God.
In this case, the disciples of Christ cannot be compared with farmers who have the whole week to cultivate their fields.
12:3,4
And he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he and them that were with him were hungry?
4 How did he enter into the house of God and eat the showbread, which neither he nor those with him were to eat, but only the priests? When answering, Jesus remembered the incident of 1 Samuel 21:1-6, let us dwell on it in more detail: only clean people, sanctified by the Most High, had the right to eat sacred bread (in the Old Testament - only priests in a holy place, Lev. 22:10; 24: 5-9). And David and other men not from the priesthood ate them. Why were none of the Ministry of Health violators punished in this case? (1 Samuel 21:5,6; Mark 2:25,26). Because for God, observing the spirit of the law (the purpose for which He introduced some “letter” of the Ministry of Health) is much more important than fulfilling the letter of the law (just as, for example, achieving the goal of catching a train is more important than the route to get to the station ).
What were the letter and spirit of the Corn Law? The spirit of the law for the loaves, its meaning or purpose (which is the same thing) is to feed those servants of Jehovah who were holy (ritually pure) and could not be satisfied in any other way (God does not need bread, but these loaves should not be defiled ritual impurity, so they ate them in a holy place). What about David? He and his people were Jehovah's servants; they were ritually pure at that time (holy) and could not eat any other way (they found themselves in difficult - exceptional circumstances).
As a result, the spirit (goal, meaning) of the law of bread was observed: the ritually pure servants of Jehovah, who were unable to be satisfied in any other way, were satisfied with the showbread; and the shrine of God was not defiled outside the temple (the bread from the holy temple was placed in clean “vessels” of men - after eating the bread, they placed it in their undefiled bodies). So the priest Ahimelech made sure that in these exceptional circumstances the spirit of the law was observed, so there was nothing to punish them for.
Let's return to the example of Christ and his disciples: firstly, the disciples also found themselves in exceptional circumstances (they had nothing to eat and nowhere to get food except from a wheat field); plucking ears of corn on Saturday - a day dedicated to God - was the same as eating God's bread (belonging to God). The disciples of Christ were spiritually pure in the eyes of God, otherwise He would not have chosen them as apostles to His son. That is, it turned out as in the case of David: Christ is the greater David, and those who were with him were pure in the eyes of God and therefore could well eat “Sabbath” bread, even if, according to the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath was forbidden.
And secondly, the prohibition of picking ears of corn on the Sabbath in order to eat is a prohibition of human rulers in Israel (there was no such prohibition in the Ministry of Health). Therefore, it would also be necessary to show the Pharisees that the spirit of God’s laws is more important than the letter of His laws and, even more so, more important than the letter of human traditions (see also Mark 2:23).
12:5,6
Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, but are not guilty?
6 But I tell you, here is He who is greater than the temple; But, realizing that the Pharisees would not be satisfied with David's example and might even say that the priest was wrong - Jesus gives an example of their own violations of the sanctity of the Sabbath: the law prohibiting work on the Sabbath nevertheless exempts the priests who work in the service of God - from the requirements of the Law . Jesus is greater than the temple and his service to God is greater than their service. Therefore, accusing him and his disciples of violating the Sabbath is as absurd as accusing the priests of Sabbath sacrifices.
12:7
If you knew what it means: I want mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
To complete the explanation to the Pharisees, Jesus reminds them of the words of Hosea (Hosea 6:6), which says that worship of God comes down to not to sacrifices, but to devotion to Him and piety, the consequence of which should be love for people and compassion for them (the word “mercy” is associated with devotion, fidelity to God, since mercy, kindness are a consequence of devoted love for God, who loves God , his heart is softened by mercy and compassion for people).
In theory, teachers of the law should have known this passage of Scripture. Therefore, it is surprising how they, KNOWING what God expects from them, nevertheless put the need for sacrifices (for which they themselves break the Sabbath) above mercy and compassion for the hungry, who get food for themselves on the Sabbath in order to preserve life. There is only one conclusion: they do not understand God’s principles at all, they do not have the knowledge of God that the prophet Hosea spoke about, they have not known their God and therefore act wrongly, condemning the innocent.
12:8
For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
In what sense is Jesus “Lord of the Sabbath”?
In two spiritual senses: 1)
The Jews, having become “slaves to the letter” of the Sabbath law, were not able to understand that God’s law is flexible: it was given to help people in spiritual healing, and not to make people tremble before the points of the rules ( Jer.18:7-10; Matt.12:11,12). Since the Israelites did not devote time to spiritual matters and serving Jehovah voluntarily, God established the law of the 7th day for them so that they would devote time to spiritual matters at least 1 day a week - for their own good.
But if Jesus voluntarily devoted all his time to serving Jehovah, why did he need the Sabbath law? (Gal.5:23). He has a spiritual “Sabbath” - every day, He decided for himself when to “have a Sabbath” - to engage in spiritual affairs, and when not: thus Jesus, as it were, controlled the “Saturday” himself, and not “the Saturday ruled him” . This is the first meaning of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Sabbath. The Pharisees, who slavishly “served the 7th day,” could not understand this. Why?
Because they were too carried away by the point about the 7th day, it became an idol for them, and people became victims, obliged to serve their beloved “Sabbath”. Preoccupation with the external side of the Sabbath law crowded out from their understanding the essence of the Sabbath as a day intended for the good of people. Therefore, they did not understand that healing on the Sabbath could not be a sin (Matt. 12:10-12).
2) Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath in the sense of “the rest of God” - in principle; he is the king of God's future world order, Lord over everything - in the period of God's rest, in the eternal Sabbath, in the eternal day of the Lord. If over eternity Jesus is the Lord in the earthly world order, then over the day of the week he has even more authority from God: he himself decides what to do on Saturday and what not. And the Pharisees are not a decree to him about this.
12:9-13
And He departed from there and entered their synagogue.
10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus to accuse Him: is it possible to heal on the Sabbath? 11 And he said to them, Which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take it and pull it out? Jesus did not stop there near the synagogue, but continued to explain the essence of the Sabbath of God - also in the synagogue itself with a clear example of healing, realizing that by healing on the Sabbath, he would certainly provoke indignation and a question to which he already knew what to answer to those asking. But for this he did not wait for Monday to ANSWER on Saturday and show them the absurdity of their own attitude towards the fulfillment of the Law.
The Pharisees, it seems, could not understand that the Sabbath, as one day a week, was introduced by God for doing good deeds, so that at least once a week the people of God would not do evil and would not fuss only about personal needs. And if, for the sake of the well-being of a sheep that fell into a pit, the Jews were ready to break the Sabbath without thinking for a second, then how much more should they be interested in the well-being of MAN, created in the image of God?! (if they are so proud of the fact that they love God, then not to love someone created in His image is at least strange)
12 How much better is a man than a sheep! So you can do good on Saturdays. 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he held out, and she became healthy, like anyone else.
And if they can be so kind to their sheep, then how much more, in theory, should they be kind to the suffering sheep of God - to the unfortunate patient?!
All this was heard not only by the Pharisees, but also by many people, which is what Jesus needed: the seed of God’s word was sown; he who had ears to hear heard.
12:14
And the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him.
Hard-heartedness blinded the Pharisees so much that they not only did not see the absurdity of their worship of God, but also planned to close forever the mouth of the one who so wisely and easily exposed them.
But Jesus, having learned, withdrew from there
Jesus never entered into a meaningless conflict, did not act as a hero, inviting fire upon himself, but quietly did God’s work and prudently avoided open confrontations with anyone who could prevent him from fulfilling the Father’s task completely - until a certain time.
12:15-21
And a great multitude followed him, and he healed them all, 16 and forbade them to make known him, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 18 Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, to whom My soul delights.
I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations; The fame of a physical healer and the hype around it could also greatly prevent him from fulfilling the work of the Father, which is why he forbade the healed to trumpet themselves everywhere, holding back, as far as possible, the onslaught of the masses who wanted to be healthy: to physically heal all the sick in this century - with the intention Christ did not enter.
19 He will not contradict, he will not cry, and no one will hear his voice in the streets;
Harsh and loud words close all doors and all hearts in front of us.
One could not expect rudeness or tactlessness from Christ. In addition, human squabbles of all kinds, shows, scandals and feuds are also not for Christ, all this greatly distracts from fulfilling the priority tasks of ANYONE, especially those set before Christ, and slows down the progress of the main thing. Therefore, it is impossible to imagine Christ stuck in a showdown with someone individually or in public scandals: he walked and spoke, spoke and walked. Everyone who joined him along the way—okay, no—didn’t persuade him.
20 He will not break a bruised reed, nor will he quench the smoking flax, until he brings victory to the judgment;
The main thing that had to be fulfilled on him was concern for spiritual healing. He is the one who announced to the people the essence of the future judgment of God and did not lose the spiritually “smoldering” wicks and “broken reeds”; he found and preserved for God His sheep, groaning under the burden of the Pharisaic understanding of righteousness. (Isa.42:1-4) .
21 And the nations will trust in His name.
He is the one who founded Christianity and showed the way to spiritual healing for all mankind.
12:22-24
Then they brought to Him a demon-possessed man, blind and dumb;
and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man began to speak and see. 23 And all the people marveled and said, Is this not the Christ the son of David? The common people, who have nothing to lose, did not mentally calculate the danger and “costs” for themselves from the presence of Christ. Therefore, he perceived his deeds correctly: the one who casts out demons, heals blindness and makes the dumb speak is clearly not a mere mortal, but a messenger of heaven. Therefore, ordinary people ingenuously speculated that Jesus is the long-awaited descendant of David and the promised Christ.
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.”
The Pharisees did not plan to accept Jesus as the Christ, and therefore they dissuaded the masses of the purity of his thoughts, attributing to him the actions of demons. They had something to lose and danger from Christ - they already felt well for themselves: everything that was dear to them in their way of life as “righteous” - Jesus easily called vanity, completely unnecessary for God.
12:25,26
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate;
and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand? Jesus, knowing the reasons for their accusation, again easily showed its absurdity: if I am a demon, then why on earth should I persecute my own people? But if the demon is already chasing his own people, then soon this brethren will come to an end. Jesus showed the Pharisees that everything demonic would soon be exposed, including their thoughts.
12:27
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they will be your judges. At the same time, he shows them the impossibility of proving the correctness of his accusations, for it is not only he who casts out demons, but also the sons of the priesthood claim to be healers. So, if he, when healing, in their opinion, is at one with demons, then the same can be said about their healing sons. So in this case, they are the losers with their arguments. That is, it was unprofitable for the Pharisees in any case to believe that he was dealing with demons, because in this case they would expose the priesthood to the accusation of complicity with demons.
12:28, 29
If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you.
29 Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? and then he will plunder his house. The Pharisees must understand that if he had healed with the power of demons, then nothing would have come of it to them. But if he expels him by the power of God, then beware, because before you is a representative of God’s Kingdom, and you regard him as a demon. And if the messenger of God has power over demons in the house of their leader (in this wicked age), this means that their leader is bound by those who are stronger than him, that is, by Christ. Well, it’s clear that if Christ, the leader of the evil spirits, curbed, then the Pharisees should not treat Christ so frivolously.
12:30-32
He who is not with Me is against Me;
and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men; Then he moves from a half-joking exposure of the stupidity of the Pharisees to a serious denunciation on which their life and future depend: about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
What does blasphemy against the holy spirit mean? These texts partially explain the meaning of blasphemy against the holy spirit: 29 There shall be one law for you, both for the natural inhabitant of the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among you, if anyone does anything by mistake.
30 If any native or foreigner does anything with a presumptuous hand, he blasphemes the Lord : that soul will be cut off from among his people, 31 for
he has despised the word of the Lord and broken His commandment
;
that soul will be destroyed; her sin is on her .
(Numbers 15) That is, if someone is ignorant of the actions of the holy spirit of God, of the commandments and principles of God, who does not understand the meaning of the events taking place, he commits a sin accidentally, by mistake, in ignorance, in a state of passion, without realizing , what is he doing. For unintentional sins, he provided guilt offerings for sin: when his sin is explained to a person, and if he repents, submitting to God, then God will forgive him (Num. 15:24-28). But if someone, knowing the commandments of God, understanding how the holy spirit of God can act in someone or how God himself through the holy spirit, but being of sound mind and consciously (with a bold hand
) acts against the commandments of God or specifically does not recognize the action of the holy spirit in someone, as in the case of Jesus, he may turn out to be His blasphemer in the eyes of God:
32 if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him;
if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future. Jesus warned the Pharisees that if someone, out of personal gain, does not want to admit that God works through him, he will turn out to be a blasphemer. All who try to pass off the actions of God’s power as the actions of the devil are denigrating the purity of God’s plans and actions and are guilty of blasphemy against God. Every detractor of the pure plans and actions of God will perish both in this age and in the next.
However, we should not rush to accuse it of blasphemy in our opinion, as happens in modern worship of God. For example, if a Christian belongs to a denomination that we personally consider satanic, then we should not rush to assume that giving up, for example, drinking, smoking, stealing, fornication, etc. - the devil is helping him. Why? Because GOD tells us through HIS word that we need to give up all this, and it is HIS word that can have a positive impact on a person’s personality, regardless of where that person is. 12:33-35
Or make the tree good, and its fruit good;
or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Here is the principle of recognizing a tree by its fruit and the contents of the heart by the lips. By the fruit of a tree, the usefulness of the tree itself is known, and this is not at all difficult to understand: if the result of a person’s activity brings benefit to society (the fruit is edible), then this person cannot be a servant of the devil (a bad tree). If Christ brings benefit to people, then the Pharisees have a responsibility to recognize him as a “good tree” - a servant of God.
34 Generations of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil?
But the Pharisees cannot say anything good in favor of Christ, for they themselves are the offspring of vipers (servants of the devil). Therefore, the principle of “a tree according to its fruit” boils down to the following: being a bad tree, they simply cannot bear good fruit and recognize Christ as God.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure.
What the heart is filled with (like the root of a tree) is what is brought out through the mouth (like the fruit). A good person endures good, an evil person endures evil. The Pharisees were evil, therefore they could not bear anything good with their lips, not recognizing Christ with their hearts - they could not recognize him with their lips.
12:36,37
But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
The Day of Judgment or Judgment Day is the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ—a period of time in which decisions will be made for every descendant of Adam living in this age. Someone will be brought back to life in the millennium and will be determined whether he is worthy of God's eternity or not. And someone, based on what he did during his life in this century, may not be brought back to life, but condemned to eternal death.
Jesus is saying here that a person's future can be affected by every word he says. And even if the Creator does not like an idle word (an idle word is an empty word, fruitless, not useful for instruction in faith, such words were spoken by the Pharisees) - then how much more severe will be the accusation for a word spoken thoughtlessly and with a bad meaning (Matt. 5:22 ). Therefore, Christians who want to be approved by God and enter into the millennium of Christ must be attentive to what they say and how they say it. Every word can affect God's attitude towards man. The sins of the tongue - insults, slander, lies - are no less serious than the sins of the rest of the flesh - fornication, for example - Rev. 21:8.
Therefore, Christians must monitor their speech and strive to make it pleasing to God.
12:38-42
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said: Teacher!
We would like to see a sign from You. 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah; The Pharisees innocently ask for some more signs to confirm that he is Christ: they say, they really want to believe him. And this despite the fact that a few minutes ago they witnessed a triple healing. Therefore, Christ did not even bother to satisfy their innocent request: no signs will help such an evil race of people, posing as the innocence of a sheep with the appetites of a wolf, to believe in what is unprofitable to believe.
40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Jesus Christ turned to the story of Jonah to communicate something important about his mission (Matt. 12:39-42; 16:4). Speaking about the “sign of the prophet Jonah,” he does not mean the similarity of the number of three days and three nights that Jonah spent in the belly of the whale, since Jesus himself spent two days and two nights in the belly of the earth (Matt. 16:21). What was Jesus talking about in connection with the sign of Jonah? That, like Jonah, Jesus will first be hidden in the belly of the earth, just as Jonah was hidden in the belly of the whale. And then he will come out of there, just as Jonah came out of the belly of the whale. That is, the sign of Jonah in relation to Jesus is a warning about his death and resurrection. As reported in Jonah 2:2,7, Jonah himself compared his location to the grave and hell - the grave, the place where the dead are (where Jesus was and from where he came out in the likeness of Jonah).
So, although Jesus was dead for part of the 14th of Nisan, the entirety of the 15th of Nisan and part of the day of the 16th of Nisan (death actually held him, capturing three days and three nights - from the evening of the 14th of Nisan to the morning of the 16th) - the sign of Jonah for the generation of the Pharisee in relation to Christ - in his captivity in the womb of the earth (grave) and return. Just as Jonah was in captivity in the belly of the whale, but “emerged” from this captivity and appeared after they thought that he had died, so Jesus Christ, following the example of Jonah, had to be in captivity in the belly of the earth, but came out of this captivity and appeared after how everyone will think that he died. Jesus, as he predicted about himself, truly emerged from the captivity of the womb of the earth (from the grave) - he was resurrected and appeared to his disciples on the third day after the crucifixion (Matt. 17:23, 20:19). And this event should, in theory, awaken sound thinking in the Pharisees. However, the “miracle of awakening” did not happen, as we remember, even after the sign of the resurrection of Christ.
What does the expression “three days and three nights” mean - according to the Bible - see. insert.
“Three Days and Three Nights” According to the traditional view and Jewish timekeeping, Jesus was dead for three partial days—part of Nisan 14, all of Nisan 15, and part of Nisan 16. In the understanding of the Jew, this fully corresponded to the description of “three days and three nights.” How is this possible? Idiom like “ so many days and nights”
” was very common in Hebrew, and was almost never taken literally.
(Compare Esther 4:16; 5:1) It is easy to see that in Scripture, including the Gospels, the designations “ after three days
” and “
on the third day
” are used interchangeably in the same sense (Genesis 40:12, 13, 18-20; 42:17, 18; 2 Proverbs 10:5, 12).
This once again confirms the “ inclusive reckoning
” in the perception of time by the ancient Jews. Their practice of counting days for performing rituals is consistent with this. The baby must be circumcised “on the eighth day,” and even if he was born a few minutes before the start of the new day, this short period was taken as the whole day.
Let us turn for testimony to Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who lived around 100 AD. e., as an expert and bearer of Jewish vocabulary: “Day and night constitute onah ['segment of time'], and part of onah is taken as the whole.” There are other examples in rabbinic literature where the “three days and three nights” of Jonah 1:7 are discussed in parallel with Old Testament passages that mention events that took place “on the third day.” “It is in this light that we should understand Matthew 12:40,” writes Gerhard Dilling (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 1974), vol. II, p. 950. For more details, see Watchtower, 1944, pp. 86-88 )
41 The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.
This generation of evil ones, which appeared among the people of God, “surpassed” in unbelief both the sinful Ninevites, who repented only from the word of God through Jonah without any signs, and other pagans, for the Queen of Sheba came to listen only to the wisdom of God through Solomon, and not see signs from him. But the wicked do not believe the word of God even in the presence of signs.
12:43-45
When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none;
44 Then he says: I will return to my house from whence I came. And, having arrived, he finds [it] unoccupied, swept and put away; 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation. Here, according to the principle “with a free hand, there is always work to do”: in order to remain in a pure state, it is not enough to free yourself from the influence of demons and just stop doing evil deeds. It is necessary to DO good deeds, to occupy your “hand” with useful activities, otherwise over time it will inevitably return to evil deeds.
This example was supposed to show the Pharisees that their righteousness in the form of “not doing what is prohibited by the law” was not enough for the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is not measured by the number of things we did not do because we were forbidden to do them. And the number of things we have done out of love for God and people.
12:46-50
While He was still speaking to the people, His mother and brothers stood outside [the house], wanting to speak with Him.
47 And someone said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You. 48 And he answered and said unto him that spake, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers? 49 And pointing his hand to his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers; 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Some saw in these words of Jesus a disregard for his mother and relatives, some even saw a violation of God’s law regarding his relationship with his relatives. But here Jesus showed the essence of the closeness of relationships between fellow believers: sometimes it seems like a relative by human blood - but in life it is further than a stranger to us. And another distant person becomes closer to his native one in his worldview.
Everything depends on the basis on which relationships with each other are built: if people are united by love for one heavenly Father, then they feel like real brothers and sisters, because they are like-minded in everything they undertake. Family ties mean little if they are not intertwined with spiritual ties. However, spiritual ties are always stronger than family ties.
This is the advantage in relationships between spiritual brothers and sisters who have a heavenly Father, compared to those who have one earthly father or are only united by family ties.
Shabbat and ears of corn
1 At that time, Yeshua was walking through the wheat fields one Shabbat day. His talmidim were hungry, so they began to pick the ears of corn and eat them.
2 When the Perushim saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your talmidim are breaking Shabbat.”
3 But he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?
4 He entered the House of Yahweh and ate the Bread of the Presence, which he and his companions were forbidden to do, only the kohanim were allowed to do so.
5 Or have you not read in the Torah that on Shabbat, the kohanim break Shabbat, but are still innocent?
6 I tell you, here in this place there is something greater than the Temple!
7 If you knew what it means “... I want devotion, not sacrifices...”, then you would not condemn the innocent,
8 Therefore, the sons of men are adons of the Sabbath.”
This story has several explanations today. Some believe that since Yeshua is Mashiach, he is allowed to break the Shabbat. Another point of view is that Yeshua broke the Shabbat and he is not Mashiach.
In fact, he did not violate Shabbat, but violated the decree of perushim. From the context we see that Yeshua justifies the action of the disciples. At first glance, his disciples violated the Shabbat, and he allowed them to do this, citing that David was not allowed to eat the Special Bread, which only the Kohanim could eat. But he proved to them that the disciples did not violate anything, with the exception of the doctrine of the Sabbath invented by the Perushim.
The Torah prohibits harvesting on Shabbat. Therefore, the decree of Perushim about rubbing the ears of grain with hands is equivalent to threshing. Even if we assume that this is a violation, what does Yeshua tell them: The priests in the Temple on Shabbat violate it, but this is not considered a sin to them.
in this place there is something greater than the Temple - man is the crown of creation and everything created in the world was created for him. Both the Torah and the Temple were created for his benefit. Therefore, the Torah and the Temple cannot be more valuable than a person. The teaching of Perushim teaches the opposite. Although they do not officially recognize that the Temple and the Shabbat are more valuable than a person, their theology teaches this.
If there are no priests in the Temple, then the Temple becomes useless. People make the Temple the Temple, and the Sabbath the Sabbath. Therefore, the disciples who ate grains to satisfy their hunger are called Yeshua, greater than the Temple.
I want devotion, not sacrifices - the teaching of perushim was aimed at visible, ostentatious service, where a demonstration of holiness was manifested. Therefore, for them, sacrifice was more important than human righteousness, achieved by observing the Torah. Of course, they do not officially believe that sacrifice is more important than repentance, but this stems from their theology.
sons of men - adons of the Sabbath - in other translations this phrase refers to Yeshua himself, considering him the lord of the Sabbath. However, from the context it is clear that we are talking about the disciples who were grinding the ears of corn. By calling them greater than the Temple, he also meant that they are greater than the Sabbath, therefore they are masters over the Sabbath, just as the priests serve the Temple on the Sabbath. A person has the right on Shabbat to do things that he is obliged to do as a person of love. Love for your neighbor begins with evaluating yourself - treating your neighbor as you would treat yourself. Is it permissible to leave your neighbor hungry on Shabbat for the sake of Shabbat? Therefore, Yeshua did not prevent the disciples from tearing and grinding the grains. Every person, regardless of Shabbat or ordinary day, should take care of his health. A hungry person is no longer a healthy person, because hunger weakens the body. Moreover, Shabbat is a holiday; Should you go hungry on holiday? Fasting on Shabbat, even according to the teaching of perushim, is a sin. Whims should not be confused with natural needs.
Additional information on this material can be read in the article Ye Hoshua and the Ears of Ears .
Children of the snake!
34 “Children of the snake! How can you, with your evil nature, say anything good? After all, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
35 A righteous person brings out what is holy from his holy storehouse, but a wicked man brings out filthiness from his unclean storehouse.
36 Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment, people will have to answer for every word they carelessly speak;
37 For by your own words you will be justified, and by your own words you will be condemned.”
Verse 34 – a snake cannot do good with its bite. Its bite brings death. Therefore, Yeshua calls the feathered children of snakes who are incapable of any good deed. All good deeds are done from a good heart. If the heart, under the guise of good, pursues self-interest, this is not counted as good, but is counted to the person as evil. A person can do good to the whole world, but if his intentions are evil, this great good that he has done for people will not be counted to him as good, but as real evil.
in your own words you will be justified and in your own words you will be condemned - words are always easier to say than to do any deeds. Therefore, evil words are deeds that have not yet taken place. For the perushim, against Yeshua, everything began with words and ended with the death penalty. This suggests that from the very beginning, when he denounced them as apostates from the Torah, they intended to kill him.
Sign of the Prophet Jonah
38 To this some of the Torah teachers said: “Rabbi, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
39 He answered: “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign?! No! No sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the belly of darkness.
41 The people of Nineveh will be indignant on the Day of Judgment along with the present generation and will condemn them, because they turned from their sins to Yahweh after Jonah's preaching. Here, more Yona.
42 The Queen of the Southern Country will stand with this generation on the Day of Judgment and judge it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. Here, there is more Shelomo.”
we want to see a miraculous sign from you - what sign did they want to see from Yeshua? Judging by the context, they wanted to make sure that he really was Moshiach. The miracles he performed did not convince them. They wanted to see the supernatural.
Verses 39,40 – Yeshua did not call that generation lawless for nothing. Adulterers are those who cheat on their spouse. But Yeshua did not mean physical betrayal, but spiritual, because the people apostatized from the Torah and revered human teaching. They lived not according to the rules of the Torah, but according to the rules of the perushim and the teachers of the Torah. Therefore, to this Torah teacher, the answer was this: you are adulterers .
Yeshua draws an analogy between Jonah and himself. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster, so Moshiach is destined to be in the belly of the darkness of death. What happened next to Yona? The fish could not accept and hold him. She vomited it out. The same thing will happen to Yeshua - mortal darkness will not be able to accept and hold him, since he did not commit any violation of the Torah. That's why death spewed him back. And if death cannot digest him, then Yeshua is immortal. It is very important to understand what death is. Some understand that death is the continuation of life in a different form. Death is non-existence, disappearance. This is the power of death.
The problem with perushim, both in those days and now, is not understanding the purpose of Moshiach. For them, the question of the immortality of the Moshiach and the immortality of those who are redeemed by his death remains unclear. Although in the teachings of Orthodox Judaism there is such an understanding as the atonement of sins by the righteous, they do not recognize the Moshiach as a tzaddik who should die for the sins of his people.
Verse 41 – the goyim turned to Jehovah because they heard a warning about the destruction of the city. What did they do? They believed Jonah's preaching. What happens at the words of Yeshua? – they are ignored by people who have the Torah and Prophets. No one predicted the coming of Jonah the prophet to the inhabitants of Nineveh, but when they heard him, they turned from their deeds according to the word of their king, because they realized their sins and believed that for this the punishment spoken by the prophet would befall them. The leadership of the cities of Yehudea did not see lawlessness in their way of life and did not need to correct their ways, and the deeds of Yehoshua did not touch them, but, on the contrary, infuriated them. Jonah brought temporary salvation from death to the inhabitants of Nineveh, but Mashiach brought eternal salvation to his people from death.
Verse 42 – The Queen of the South (Sheba), having heard that the Almighty had endowed Solomo with extraordinary wisdom, decided to make sure of this and went to Yerushalayim. There were many famous kings at that time, but she went to Solomo, because the glory of the wisdom that the Almighty had endowed him with became known to all the goyim. The queen of the goyim honored Yehovah by coming to Solomo. What is happening in the society of Yehudea? They ignore the one the prophets spoke about.
Solomo, having such high wisdom, did not find a way to become immortal. Therefore, Yeshua calls himself more than Shelomo, since the wisdom given to him from the Father will bring immortality to him and people.
Insult to Ruach HaKodesh
30 “Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scatterers.
31 Therefore I tell you that people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but insulting the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven.
32 You can insult the Son of Man, and it will be forgiven; but if someone continues to insult the Ruach HaKodesh, he will not be forgiven either in Olam Ha-Ze or in Olam Ha-Ba.
33 Either recognize the tree as good, because its fruit is useful; or recognize the tree as bad because its fruits are poisonous; for trees are recognized by their fruits.”
Verse 30 – everyone who is against Yeshua serves Satan. In the Synodal translation there is the word Antichrist, which means both instead of Christ and against Christ. Against Christ, the Adversary stands - Diavale, Satan. And everyone who goes against him is the Antichrist. These are, first of all, Jews, who were teachers of the Torah, perushim, tsedukim. They initially stood up against him, which showed which side they were on.
The martyr Stephen spoke well about these:
51 'Stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears!' You constantly resist the Ruach HaKodesh! You are doing the same thing as your fathers!
52 Which prophet was not persecuted by your fathers? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Tsadik, and now you have become his traitors and murderers!
53 You who acknowledge that the Torah was brought by angels, but do not observe it!”
(Activities of messengers 7)
Verse 31 – What contributes to blasphemy on the Ruach HaKodesh? Non-observance of the Torah and persecution of the righteous.
The people, who in their majority apostatized from the Torah throughout history, developed their own idea of righteousness and the fulfillment of the Torah. When the prophet came and told them about their sins, they killed him because they did not want to listen. In this case, the same thing happens with the insult to Yeshua. Blasphemy against the Ruach HaKodesh is to attribute His power, the power of Satan. When they called the prophets false prophets, they blasphemed the Ruach HaKodesh, calling the prophecies uttered in the field of the Spirit false prophecy.
Verse 32 - by insulting the prophets and Yeshua, in this case, they insulted people, therefore such an insult is forgiven to a person when he repents. But when the deeds done by the prophets are insulted as being done by an unclean spirit, then this is blasphemy against the Ruach HaKodesh. Likewise with Yeshua, insulting him as a servant of Satan, they blasphemed the Ruach HaKodesh, believing that the power in him is the power of the Baalzibul.
He will not be forgiven either in olam ha-ze, or in olam ha-ba - he will not be forgiven either in this age or in the next.
Jews and rabbis who slander Yeshua mock him, one might say, insult a person. But there is a fine line between insulting Yeshua as a man and insulting his holy ministry as Moshiach. Having crossed it, a person will not be able to receive forgiveness either in this century or in the next, when each person will be judged according to his deeds.
When the Perushim and Tzedukim executed Yeshua at the hands of the goyim in Yerushalayim, many of the people who came to the Passover holiday supported them. But when, on the holiday of Shavuot, these same people encountered the talmidim and the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, they repented of their thoughts and changed their position:
36 So, let the whole house of Israel know for sure that Elohim has made him both Adon and Mashiach - the same Yeshua whom you executed!
37 These words touched them to the quick; and they said to Even and the rest of the messengers: “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Evan answered them: “Turn from your sins, return to Elohim, and let each of you be immersed in the authority of Yeshua HaMashiach for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of Ruach HaKodesh.
39 For this promise is made to you, to your children, and to all who are far off—to all those whom Yahweh will call.”
(Activities of messengers 2)
These people were forgiven because they committed a sin out of ignorance, their own, in contrast to the perushim and tsedukim, who, seeing the expulsion of an unclean spirit from a person, attributed this miracle to the manifestation of the power of Satan. Such people will not be forgiven either in earthly life or at the great Judgment.
Verse 33 – the deeds that Yeshua does are the fruits of the Ruach HaKodesh, and the deeds that those who slander Yeshua do are the fruits of Satan abiding in man. A person is recognized by his fruits. Yeshua brought this simple truth to them to show them whose side they were on and what fate was in store for them for their blasphemy against the Ruach HaKodesh.
Whoever supports those who slander Yeshua, who do not recognize him as the Jewish Moshiach, whoever learns from them, supports the manifestation of Satan in these people. Such will share the reward together in the coming Judgment.
Shabbat and the paralyzed hand
9 Walking on from there, he entered the synagogue.
10 One man there had a withered hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they asked him: “Is it permissible to heal on Shabbat?”
11 But he answered, “If you have a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, who among you will not take it and pull it out?
12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, doing good is what is permitted on Shabbat.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And as soon as he extended his hand, it became healthy, like the other.
14 However, the Perushim went out and began to secretly consult on how to deal with Yeshua. Knowing this, he left that area.
On the same day, when there was a dispute with the Perushim about Shabbat, Yeshua and his disciples went to worship in the synagogue.
Is it permissible to heal on Shabbat - why did he ask such a question? Because healing on Shabbat is considered work by the Perushim.
14 But the leader of the synagogue, outraged that Yeshua healed on the Sabbath, loudly said to the congregation: “There are six days a week in which you can work - so come to be healed on these days, but not on the Sabbath!
(Bsura Tova from Luke 13)
However, the Perushim faced a dilemma: if one admits that one cannot, then one cannot do good on Shabbat, and if one admits that one can, then the teachings of the fathers (the traditions of the elders) are violated. And then Yeshua tells them about a certain fact: if a sheep falls into a pit on Shabbat, no one will wait for the end of Shabbat. Why? Because leaving an animal to suffer in a pit, which can die from its wounds, is evil in the eyes of Yahweh. What could the Perushim say to this? They decided to kill him because he disgraced them and the teaching of the elders before the people.
Knowing this, he left that area - knowing about the impending danger and being indifferent to it - tempting Jehovah. That is why he left that place so that he would not be caught and dealt with.
Fulfillment of Yeshaya's prophecy
15 A great multitude followed him; and he healed them all,
16 But he warned them not to make known about him,
17 So that what was spoken through the prophet Yeshaya may be fulfilled:
18 “This is My servant, whom I support, My chosen one, whom My soul desires. I have placed My spirit on him, and he will bring law to the nations.
19 He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor let his voice be heard in the street.
20 He will not break a bruised reed, nor quench a dim wick; he will execute judgment in truth.
21 He will not weaken or be broken until he establishes justice on earth, and the teachings of his island will wait.”
Verses 16 and 17 - why did he not allow them to talk about him and what does Yeshaya’s prophecy have to do with this? From the context of the prophecy it is clear that Mashiach will perform his service modestly, humbly, without pursuing fame and glory.
Freeing the Possessed
22 Then some people brought him a man possessed by the power of spirits of blindness and dumbness. Yeshua healed him so that he could see and speak.
23 The people in the crowd were amazed and asked, “Is this not the Son of David?”
24 But when the Perushim heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons with the help of Baalzibul, the lord of demons.”
25 However, knowing their intentions, Yeshua told them: “Every kingdom divided within itself will be destroyed, and every city or family divided within itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out demons, then his kingdom is divided; How can it then resist?
27 Moreover, if I cast out demons with the help of Baalzibul, then with whose help do your sons cast them out? So, let them be your judges!
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of Yahweh, then the kingdom of Yahweh has come to you!
29 Or how can anyone break into the house of a strong man and run away with his property unless he first binds the man? Only then will he be able to rob his house.”
Isn’t he the Son of David - the paternal descendant of King David, promised by Yahweh, according to the Tanachic genealogy , who will forever sit on the throne of his father David. The miracles that Yeshua performed led people to believe that he was the Messiah.
casts out demons with the help of Baalzibul - the lord of demons - if non-religious people saw Yeshua as Mashiach, then the perushim did not want to see him as Mashiach, because he did not recognize their authority and did not recognize the teachings of the elders as the Oral Torah. In addition, they called him the servant of Baal zibulah - the Lord of manure , feces, excrement (this is how the Jews insulted the deity of the Philistines).
The Oral Torah was under Moshe, which at that time had not yet been written down. When it was written down, the need for an oral Torah disappeared. And what perushim call today the oral Torah is just the opinions of the rabbis. The essence of the fiction of the Oral Torah is that it is supposedly understandable only to the perushim. These perushim make themselves a mediator between the Torah and the people.
With whose help do your sons cast them out - if Satan cannot cast out his demons from people because he cannot divide his kingdom, then by whose power do the talmidim cast out the demons? Although these were his talmidim, he called them sons of the people, as one of them.
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of Yahweh, then the Kingdom of Yahweh has come to you - Mashiach came to you to give you immortality. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place where there is no death, lawlessness, disease, etc. This is the peculiarity of this Kingdom. Therefore, they should recognize that Yeshua is Mashiach, since he has the power to cast out demons from those possessed.
Verse 29 – if Yeshua came to Satan’s house and overthrew his servants. This means that he has more power than Satan, which in fact he proved when he was tempted in the desert and resisted, relying on the Torah. In the desert, he gave a decisive rebuff and Satan turned out to be powerless, unable to tempt him and lead him into sin.
So it will be with this sinful generation
43 “When an unclean spirit leaves a person, he wanders through dry places and finds no rest.
44 Then he says to himself: “Let me return to the house I left.” When he gets there, he finds the house empty, swept clean and tidy.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits, even more evil than himself, and they come to live there, so that in the end the person becomes even worse than he was before. This is exactly what will happen to these sinful people.”
Yeshua told this parable as a sign to show what would happen to the country because this generation, the generation of Moshiach, did not want to listen to his words, the words of the one who is greater than Jonah and greater than Shelomo.
Yahweh purified His people with His commandments so that they would be pure. However, having the commandments, the people did not want to serve Jehovah, but began to live according to their own lusts.
The seven unclean spirits symbolize maximum possession, and in this case maximum apostasy and defilement. If earlier, before becoming the people of Yahweh, they were like goyim, then from now on, they become seven times worse than goyim.
