James Trimm’s Nazarene Commentary on Mattityahu Chapter 12
12:1-2
1 At that time, Yeshua went through the grain on the Sabbath: and His talmidim were hungry, and began to pluck the ears from the stalks, and to eat.
2 But the P’rushim seeing, said, Behold, your talmidim do that which is not right to do on the Sabbath.
(Matthew 12:1-2 HRV)
The activity described is clearly permitted by the Torah in general, though not necessarily on the Shabbat (Duet. 23:26 (23:25 in non-Jewish editions)). According to Pharisaic halacha threshing and reaping were forbidden (m.Shabbat 7:2f). This was also forbidden by Qumran halacha which stated:
A man may not go about in the field to do his desired activity
on the Sabbath… A man may not eat anything on the Sabbath
except food already prepared.
(Damascus Document Col. 10; lines 20-22).
12:3-4
3 But He said to them: Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, both he and they that were with him?
4 For he entered into the House of Elohim, and did eat the showbread: which was not lawful for him to eat them, neither for them which were with him, but only for the cohenim.
(Matthew 12:3-4 HRV)
Yeshua cites the story of 1Sam. 21:1-6 (2-7 gentile versions) where David and his men ate the show bread which was only loosed to the cohanim (Lev. 24:5-9).
The Talmud addresses the account in 1Sam. 21:1-6 as follows:
R. Judah maintains that he [David] found [the priests] baking [the Shewbread] on a weekday and said to them, You are baking it on a weekday? But since it has been sanctified this day in the vessel it will become invalid by being kept overnight! R. Simeon maintains that he found them baking it on the Sabbath and said to them, Should you not have baked it on a weekday? After all it is not the oven that hallows the bread but the table. But how can it be said that he found them baking [the Shewbread]? Is it not written, So the priest gave him hallowed bread; for there was no bread there but the Shewbread that was taken from before the Lord? — Rather it is this that he meant by ‘in a manner common’. They said to him, There is no bread here but the Shewbread that has been taken from before the Lord. And he [David] replied, As to that bread there is no doubt at all, for since it is no more subject to the law of sacrilege it is in a manner common. But even that which has been sanctified this day in the vessel you may give him to eat for he is in danger of his life.
(b.Menachot 95b)
Thus Rashi, in his commentary to 1Sam. 21: 6 writes:
and even if today it would be hallowed in the vessel: and even if today were the commencement of its sanctity on the table, I should (or perhaps it should read, ‘you would’) be obliged to take it from there and feed us, for a ravenous hunger has seized me, and my life is in danger. Thus it is explained in Men. (95b).
By Yeshua’s halacha, as explained in the following verses, the Sabbath is loosed when mere health and not necessarily life is in danger. Yeshua and his talmidim, like David and his men, were permitted to eat, because they had traveled a long distance without food, and their heal was at issue.
12:5-6
5 Have you not read in the Torah, that the cohenim profane the Sabbath; in the Temple, and are blameless?
6 But I tell you, that here, is greater than the Temple.
(Matthew 12:5-6 HRV)
Yeshua argues that the priests do their work on the Shabbat. circumcision (Jn. 7:21-24 & m.Shabbat 18:3-19:2) and sacrifice.
Note the following from Qumran:
No one should offer any sacrifice on the Sabbath
except the Sabbath whole burnt offering,
for so it is written, “besides your Sabbaths” (Lev. 23:38)
(Damascus Document Col. 11 lines 17-18)
12:7
7 But if you had known what it means, For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,(Hosea 6:6) you would not have condemned the guiltless.
(Matthew 12:7 HRV)
Yeshua is quoting Hosea:
For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice:
and the knowledge of Elohim, rather than burntofferings.
(Hosea 6:6 HRV)
The word for “mercy” here is “CHESED” which is a Hebrew word meaning “mercy, grace, undue favor, loving kindness.”
From this verse we learn that any matter of CHESED overrides the sacrifices. This is important, because we know that the sacrificial offerings override the Sabbath, because they are performed on the Sabbath despite the fact that they involve acts normally prohibited on the Sabbath.
From the second phrase of Hosea 6:6 we can see that the same weight is given to matters concerning “the knowledge of Elohim” relative to the laws related to Sabbath.
12:8
8 For the Son of Man is Adonai; even of the Sabbath.
(Matthew 12:8 HRV)
A longer version of this saying appears in the parallel account in Mark 2:27-28 which includes the premise from which Yeshua derives this conclusion. In my commentary to Mark 2 I show the rabbinic parallel to that proposition as well as the Torah based foundation for the premise.
There are two possible interpretations of this statement. The term “son of man” is a Hebrew and Aramaic idiom for a human being, a mortal man. However Dan. 7:13 refers to a Messianic figure called the “Son of Man” who is depicted as “riding on the clouds”. (See commentary to Daniel 7:13). So there is an interpretive question that hinges on whether we read here, as we do in the DuTillet Hebrew Matthew, “the Son of Man” (בן האדם) or “a son of man” (בן אדם) as we read in the majority of manuscripts of the Shem Tob Hebrew Matthew.
If we read “the Son of Man” then the passage is declaring the “Son of Man” (the Messiah) is the Adonai of the Sabbath. (DuTillet has Adonai)
However, if we read “a son of man” then the passage is following the reasoning of Mark 2:27 to conclude that “a son of man” (a human being) is adon (lord, master) of the Sabbath. (Shem Tob has Adon.)
To complicate the matter, Aramaic lacks a strong definite article, and often uses the term “His Son of Man” to describe the Son of Man, vs. “son of man” for a human being. And in both the Old Syriac and Peshitta Aramaic of Matt. 12:8 and Mark 2:28 the Aramaic reads literally “His Son of Man.”
Based on the Aramaic readings, and the general superiority of the DuTillet Text, I followed the “Son of Man” and “Adonai” readings in the HRV translation. However, based on the context provided in Mark 2:27, I am now favor the Shem Tob reading here.
12:9-10
9 And when He had passed over from there, He entered into their synagogue.
10 And behold, a man which had his hand withered. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to heal the sick? And all this was, that they might accuse Him before the beit din.
(Matthew 12:9-10 HRV)
The fourth Century “Church Father” Jerome gives the following additional information about this story taken from the Goodnews according to the Hebrews:
In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use
which I have lately translated into Greek from the Hebrew
and which is called by many people the original of Matthew,
this man who has the withered hand is described as a mason,
who prays for help in such words as these: “I was a mason
seeking a livelihood with my hands: I pray you Yeshua,
to restore me my health, that I may not beg meanly for food.”
(Jerome; On. Mt. 12:13)
Moreover an 8th to 9th century Commentary on Matthew gives further information which it also cites from the Goodnews according to the Hebrews:
“a man” by name Malchus [Melekh] and he was a mason.
(Commentary on Matthew 12:10; MS: Wurzburg, M.p.th.
fol. 61, 8th-9th Century; cited by Bischoff in
Sacris Erudiri VI, 1954, 252)
The account in the Goodnews according to the Hebrews adds the added dimension that a mason is here praying on the Sabbath that his hand be healed so that he may engage in work. So we also have here the issue of a work related prayer on the Sabbath.
And all this was, that they might accuse Him before the beit din. This entire phrase is lacking in the Shem Tob version. The phrase “before the beit din” is lacking from the Old Syriac Aramaic.
Healing was permitted on the Sabbath by Pharisees, but only if a human life was in danger. We read in the Mishnah:
He who has a pain in his throat-they drop medicine into his mouth on the Sabbath, because it is a matter of doubt as to danger to life. And any matter of doubt as to danger to life overrides the prohibitions of the Sabbath.
(m.Yoma 8:6)
And as the Gemara to this Mishnah reads:
R. Ishmael, R. Akiba and R. Eleazar b. Azariah were once on a journey, with Levi ha-Saddar and R. Ishmael son of R. Eleazar b. Azariah following them. Then this question was asked of them: Whence do we know that in the case of danger to human life the laws of the Sabbath are suspended? –
R. Ishmael answered and said: If a thief be found breaking in. Now if in the case of this one it is doubtful whether he has come to take money or life; and although the shedding of blood pollutes the land, so that the Shechinah departs from Israel, yet it is lawful to save oneself at the cost of his life – how much more may one suspend the laws of the Sabbath to save human life! R. Akiba answered and said: If a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour etc. thou shalt take him from My altar, that he may die. I.e., only off the altar, but not down from the altar.
And in connection therewith Rabbah b. Bar Hana said in the name of R. Johanan: That was taught only when one’s life is to be forfeited, but to save life one may take one down even from the altar. Now if in the case of this one, where it is
doubtful whether there is any substance in his words or not, yet [he interrupts] the service in the Temple [which is important enough to] suspend the Sabbath, how much more should the saving of human life suspend the Sabbath laws!
R. Eleazar answered and said: If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the two hundred and forty-eight members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall [the saving of] the whole body suspend the Sabbath! R. Jose son of R. Judah said: Only ye shall keep My Sabbaths,’ one might assume under all circumstances, therefore the text reads:
‘Only’ viz, allowing for exceptions. R. Jonathan b. Joseph said: For it is holy unto you; i.e., it [the Sabbath] is committed to your hands, not you to its hands.
(b.Yoma 85a-85b)
But there were serious limitations. As we read elsewhere in the Mishnah:
They anoint and massage the stomach. But they do not have it kneaded or scraped… They do not induce vomiting. And they do not straighten [the limb of] a child or set a broken limb. He whose hand or foot is dislocated should not pour cold water over them. But he washes in the usual way. And if he is healed, he is healed.
(m.Shabbat 22:6)
12:11-12
11 And He said to them: What man among you, having one sheep that shall fall into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 And is not a man better than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
(Matthew 12:11-12 HRV)
Here Yeshua is addressing a group of Pharisees and citing an example of Essene halacha about which the Pharisees would agree with him against the Essenes:
No man shall help an animal in its delivery on the Sabbath day. And if
it falls into a pit or ditch, he shall not raise it on the Sabbath.
The Essenes had a very strict halacha concerning the Sabbath, as Josephus writes:
“…they [Essenes] are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting
from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food
ready the day before, that they not be obliged to kindle a fire on
that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its place, nor go
to stool thereon.”
(Wars 2:8:9)
The Damascus Document gives details of this Essene Sabbath Halacha (from which the above reference is taken):
“No man shall eat on the Sabbath day aught save that which is prepared
or perishing (in the field). Nor shall one eat or drink unless in the
camp. (If he was) on the way and went down to wash he may drink where
he stands, but he shall not draw into any vessel. … No man shall walk
after the animal to pasture it outside his city more than two thousand
cubits. None shall lift his hand to smite it with (his) fist. If it
be stubborn he shall not remove it out of his house. No man shall
carry anything from the house to the outside or from the outside into
the house, and if he be in the vestibule he shall not carry anything
out of it or bring in anything into it. … Let not the nursing father
take the sucking child to go out or to come in on the Sabbath. … No
man shall help an animal in its delivery on the Sabbath day. And if
it falls into a pit or ditch, he shall not raise it on the Sabbath. …
And if any person falls into a place of water or into a place of… he
shall not bring him up by a ladder or a cord or instrument. No man
shall offer anything on the altar on the Sabbath, save the
burnt-offering of the Sabbath, for so it is written `Excepting your
Sabbaths’.”
(Damascus Document 10:14-11:18)
(See Luke 14:3-6)
And is not a man better (tov) than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do well (tov) on the Shabbat. There is an obvious connection between the Hebrew word TOV in each phrase. The TOV that it is “lawful to do… on Shabbat” in line two is connected to the TOV in the halachic comparison in line one. In other words, the activities permitted in line two are limited by the argument on line one. Unfortunately this very important detail of the wording of this verse is lost in the Aramaic and Greek.
12:13
13 Then said He to the man: Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored to health, like as the other.
(Matthew 12:13 HRV)
See commentary on 12:9-10 above.
12:24-21
14 Then the P’rushim went out, and took counsel against Him–how they might destroy Him.
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha’yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
Verses 18-21 are quoting the Book of Isaiah 42 1-4 which is a Messianic prophecy. Of course we are all familiar with the suffering servant portion of Isaiah 53 however there are actually four Servant portions in Isaiah (Is. 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-11 & Is. 52:7-53:12). The Targum to this passage clearly identifies this as a prophecy of Messiah and the MEMERA (Word):
1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamor,
and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He shall not break,
and the poor who are as a glimmering wick with Him, He will not quench:
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not faint nor be weary,
till He have established judgment in the earth;
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1-4)
However the Greek version of Matthew reads quite differently in Matthew 12:21, as we read in the KJV:
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen;
my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my spirit upon him,
and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Matthew 12:15-21 KJV)
Both Hebrew and Greek Matthew follow the Masoretic Text of Isaiah 42:1-3 but Greek Matthew replaced Isaiah 42:4 with just one phrase: “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
This is not because Greek Matthew follows the Greek Septuagint in these verses, because Isaiah 42:1-3 read very differently in the Greek LXX:
1 Jacob is my servant, I will help him:
Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice],
nor shall his voice be heard without.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench;
but he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
4 He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged,
until he have set judgment on the earth:
and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Isaiah 42:1-4 LXX)
Suddenly in verse 4 Greek Matthew abandons the wording of the Masoretic Text of Isaiah and replaces verse 4 with the phrase “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust” extracted from the Greek Septuagint.
Two things about this replacement are very suspicious:
1. Greek Matthew does not follow the very different reading of the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 42:1-3, which actually identifies the servant as “Jacob” or “Israel” rather than the Messiah as it is understood in the Targum and in Matthew. Instead it follows the Masoretic Text in these three verses and switches suddenly to the Septuagint in verse 4!
2. Not all of verse 4 is transplanted from the Septuagint, but instead only one phrase from it awkwardly replaces an entire verse and the first two phrases of the verse are omitted entirely.
Clearly a later hand altered Matthew 12:21 as it appears in the Greek (and Aramaic) of Matthew 12:21 and removed the reference to Torah from the verse!
The Hebrew of Isaiah 42:1-9 paints picture of the nations waiting for the Torah, brought to them as a light, through the Messiah! But the early Gentile Christian Church could not stand for a passage that said that Yeshua was bringing the message of Torah to the nations! So the monks had to monkey with the text and make this very clumsy change to the Scripture!
The true reading is fortunately preserved for us by the original Hebrew text of Matthew which was preserved among the Jews (in the DuTillet and Munster texts):
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha’yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
These verses are telling us that the Messiah was fulfilling prophecy by teaching Torah! And this truth has been removed from this verse by Greek Matthew but has been preserved to us in the original Hebrew of Matthew!
12:22-23
22 Then was brought to Him one possessed by a shad; blind and mute, and He healed him, so that he was both to speak and to see.
23 And all the crowds were amazed, and said, Is He not the Son of David?
(Matthew 12:22-23 HRV)
Son of David This is a Messianic title. Under the two Messiah theory (See commentary to Matthew 11:1-3) Messiah Ben Yosef, also called Messiah Ben Ephraim, would come and suffer and die as a martyr, while Messiah Ben David would follow him, benefit from his work, and reign from David’s throne forever.
12:24-25
24 But when the P’rushim heard, they said, He does not cast out the shadim, but by Ba’al Z’vuv, the chief of the shadim.
25 And when Yeshua knew their thoughts, He said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
(Matthew 12:24-25 HRV)
Yeshua knew their thoughts – By saying these words Matthew was revealing Yeshua’s identity to them as both Messiah and as the incarnation of YHWH (see comments to Jn. 1:1). As we read of Messiah in Isaiah:
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of YHWH:
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
(Is. 11:3)
And as we read of YHWH in 1Kings 8:39:
Then hear You in heaven Your dwelling place,
and forgive, and do, and give to every man
according to his ways, whose heart You know;
(for You, even You only, know the hearts of
all the children of men;)
(1Kings 8:39)
The Talmud discusses this special ability of Messiah as follows:
The Messiah-as it is written,
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge of the fear of the Lord.
And shall make him of quick understanding [wa-hariho]
in the fear of the Lord. (Is. 11:2)
R. Alexandri said:
This teaches that he loaded him with good deeds
and suffering as a mill[is laden].
Raba said: He smells [a man] and judges, as it is written,
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears,
yet with righteousness shall he judge the poor. (Is. 11:3)
(Bar Koziba reigned two and a half years,
and then said to the Rabbis, ‘I am the Messiah.’
They answered, ‘Of Messiah it is written that he smells and
judges: let us see whether he [Bar Koziba] can do so.’
When they saw that he was unable to judge by the scent, they
slew him.)
(b.San. 93b)
By “scent” the Talmud speaks not of literal smell, but of a special supernatural ability to perceive what it in men’s hearts. Bar Kokhba (also called Bar Koziba) was a false Messiah and so he did not have this special ability that Messiah would have. Yet throughout the four Gospels (Mt. 9:4; 12:25; Mk. 2:8; Lk. 6:8; 9:47) we read that Messiah did have “scent”, he did have this special ability to know what was in men’s hearts.
12:26-28
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself, and how then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I, by Ba’al Z’vuv cast out the shadim, by whom do your sons cast out? Therefore, they will be your judges.
28 But because I am casting out the shadim by the Spirit of Elohim, then the Kingdom of Elohim has come to you.
(Matthew 12:26-28 HRV)
Casting out demons was not a practice unique to Yeshua in the Second Temple Era, it was a common Jewish practice (see Acts 19:13-16) . Exorcism formulas have been found at Qumran, and method of exorcism are discussed in the Talmud. Yeshua is suggesting that they are not using equal weights and measures in judging him.
But because I am casting out the shadim by the Spirit of Elohim, then the Kingdom of Elohim has come to you. Yeshua returns to the question asked by the crown in verse 23 Is He not the Son of David?
12:29
29 And how can a man enter into the strong man’s house to plunder his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
(Matthew 11:29 HRV)
The “strong man” is HaSatan. Before the Messianic Kingdom can be established, HaSatan must be subdued. Spiritual warfare and casting out of demons is, therefore, a necessary part of that process.
12:30
30 Whoever is not with Me, the same is against Me: and whoever gathers not with Me, the same scatters.
(Matthew 12:30 HRV)
There is no middle ground in the conflict between light and darkness. As we read in the Torah:
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death; the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life that you may live, you and your seed.
(Deut. 30:19 HRV)
12:31-32
31 And therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven the sons of men: but the blasphemy which is against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And every man that says a word against a son of man, it will be forgiven him. But he that says a word against the Ruach HaKodesh, it will not be forgiven him: neither in this world, or in the world to come.
(Matthew 12:31-32 HRV)
a word against a son of man The term “son of man” in Hebrew and Aramaic is an idiom for a “human being, mortal man”. However there is also a Messianic prophecy in Daniel 7:13 (see commentary to Dan. 7:13) concerning “The Son of Man” who is depicted as “riding on the clouds. If we read “a son of man” (בן אדם) with the DuTillet Hebrew text of Matthew, then the passage is saying that a man can be forgiven forgiven for speaking a word against another man (following the flow from verse 31). However, if we read “the Son of Man” (בן האדם) as in the Munster and Shem Tob Hebrew texts of Matthew, then the passage is contrasting speaking a word against the Messiah as being forgivable, with speaking a word against the Ruach HaKodesh, which is not (which seems to flow against the grain of verse 30). (Aramaic has a very weak definite article and generally indicates the difference between “a son of man” and “The Son of Man” by reading literally in the Aramaic “His Son of Man” which both the Old Syriac and Peshitta Aramaic have in this verse).
12:33
33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad: for the tree is known by its fruit.
(Matthew 12:33 HRV)
There are several layers of meaning to this concluding phrase, which ties some previous ideas together.
First, Yeshua is telling this group before him, that he should be fairly judged by his works (reaching back to verses 26-28) which should reveal whether or not he is acting ob behalf of HaSatan.
Second, Yeshua is returning to the thought of verse 30, telling his audience that they must choose which kind of tree they are going to be.
12:34-37
34 Generation of vipers! How can you speak good things, being yourselves evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
35 The good man brings forth good things out of his good store, but the evil man brings forth evil things out of his evil store.
36 And I tell you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they will render an account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned….
(Matthew 12:34-37 HRV)
Generation of vipers! – (see comments to Matthew 3:7)
For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. As we read in the Midrash on the Psalms: “What is in the heart, is in the mouth.” (Midrash Tehillim 28:4)
every idle word that men shall speak This concerns the sin of “Lashon HaRa” (the evil tongue) is the sin of harming another person with words, even when they are true. Those who would never harm a person with a stick, but would not hesitate to harm them with words.
The Torah tells us:
You shall not go up and down as a talebearer
among your people; neither shall you stand idly
by the blood of your neighbor: I am YHWH.
(Lev. 19:16)
When HaSatan comes before the throne of Elohim with accusation, there can be little doubt that the accusations are true (why would he even try to lie to the All-Knowing One). The Torah requires two witnesses for a case to brought. Thus HaSatan is always on the look out for a collaborating witness. When we engage in Lashon HaRa we place ourselves in the position of becoming HaSatan’s collaborating witness.
12:38-40
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the P’rushim answered Him, saying, Rabbenu, we wish to see a sign from You.
39 But He answered and said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Yonah the prophet.
40 For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the fish’s belly, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
(Matthew 12:38-40 HRV)
Rabbenu – Our Rabbi
the sign of Yonah Just as Yonah (Jonah) was in the belly of the fish for three days, Messiah was to be resurrected on the third day after his death (See commentary to Luke 11:30 and Luke 24:21).
was three days and three nights in the fish’s belly, quoting Jonah 1:17
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Some Greek manuscripts of Matthew have a marginal note to this passage which says the “Jewish version” of Matthew read differently here:
το ιουδαικον ουκ εχει τρεις η [μερας και τρεις νυκτας] >>
The Judaikon (Jewish version) has not “three [days and three nights]” there [in the heart of the earth].
So the reference to “three days and three nights” does not appear in Luke in the parallel text in Luke 11:30, nor did it appear in the ancient “Jewish version” of Matthew and it is unclear whether this passage actually belongs to the original or was inserted from Jonah 1:17.
12:41-42
41 And the men of Nineveh will arise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, because they repented at the proclaiming of Yonah: and behold, a [One] greater than Yonah is here.
42 The queen of the south will arise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the farthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo: and behold, a [One] greater than Shlomo is here.
(Matthew 12:41-42 HRV)
because they repented at the proclaiming of Yonah: see Jonah 3:4-10
The queen of the south This passage is generally associated with the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Shlomo to “prove him with hard questions” (1Kn. 10:1-10; 2Chron. 9:1-12)
However, a reference to the Goodnews according to the Hebrews which is found in an 8th to 9th century Commentary on Matthew has “‘the queen’, namely Meroe, ‘of the South’ that is Ethiopia.” (Commentary on Matthew 12:42; MS: Wurzburg, M. p. th. Fol. 61, 8th-9th Century; cited by Bischoff in Sacris Erudiri VI, 1954, 252)
to hear the wisdom of Shlomo The term may be generic referring to Shlomo’s answers to the “hard questions” of the Queen of Sheba, however in the first century “The Wisdom of Solomon” was the name of a book attributed to Solomon and now delegated to the collection known as “Apocrypha”.
12:43-45
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest, but finds none.
44 Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came out, and it comes and finds it empty, and cleaned out with shovels, and adorned.
45 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits, more wicked than itself, and they enter in and dwell there, so that the latter end of that man is worse than the beginning. Even so will it be to this wicked generation.
(Matthew 12:43-45 HRV)
Yeshua warns us that casting a shed out of a host may do more harm than good, if their house is left empty. This is just what happened with King Saul. David drove the shed from him on more than one occasion, but the shed found Saul’s house vacant and only returned with more shedim, making his condition even worse. In the case of King Saul, we read in the Tanak that the shed was able to trouble Saul because the Spirit of YHWH had departed from him (1Sam. 16:14). In order to prevent the host from being re-inhabited by seven times as many shedim, their “house” must be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh. It is not enough for this person to simply be “saved”, they must be immersed into the Body of Messiah.
12:46-50
46 And as He continued to speak to the crowds, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside, and sought to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to Him, Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, and are seeking You.
48 But He answered him that told Him [this], and said: Which is My mother? And who are My brothers?
49 And he stretched out His hand toward His talmidim, and said: Behold, My mother and My brothers!
50 Every man that does the will of My Father which is in heaven: they are My brothers, My sisters, and My mother.
(Matthew 12:46-50 HRV)
The fourth century Church Father Epiphanius writes of the Ebionites and their version of the Goodnews according to the Hebrews:
Moreover, they deny that he [Messiah] was a man,
evidently on the ground of the word which the Savior
spoke when it was reported to him:
“Behold, your mother and your brothers stand without.”
Namely:
“Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”
And he stretched out his hand towards his talmidim
and said:
“These are my brothers and mother and sisters,
who do the will of my Father.”
(Epiphanius, Panarion 30:14:5)
This passage was not attempting to say that Yeshua’s mother and brothers were not the Messiah’s mother and brothers.
The meaning of the passage is this:
his mother and his brothers stood outside, and sought to speak with him – In Mark’s account this refers back to Mark 3:21 in the Aramaic:
And his kinsmen heard and went out to seize him,
for they were saying that he was out of his mind.
Although Yeshua’s kinsmen would later accept him, even becoming leaders in the movement, at this early stage they were not his supporters at all. Quite to the contrary they were proclaiming that he was crazy! They were not here to tell him he was late for dinner, they were here to seize him as a lunatic and drag him away!
Every man that does the will of my Father which is in heaven, they are my brothers and my sisters and my mother –In his parallel account Luke (8:21) has “those who hear the Word of Eloah and do it.”. The Word of Eloah is the Torah and the incarnation of the Word is the Messiah who is the incarnate Torah (see notes to Jn. 1:1). This passage recalls Deut. 5:22-27 in which the Israelites promise Moshe in regards to the Torah “we will hear and do it.” One of the commandments of the Torah is to accept the Messiah when he comes “from among their brothers” (Deut. 18:18). Yeshua is saying that his true mother and brothers are those who hear and do the Torah, and that by rejecting him and deeming him as being out of his mind, his physical mother and brothers were placing themselves outside of the Torah covenant.