Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 10:12
And when ye come into a house, salute it.
12. when ye come into a house ] Translate, when ye are entering into the house, i. e. the house of him who is indicated as “worthy.” The injunction to remain in the same house was, perhaps, partly to avoid feasting from house to house, partly for the sake of secrecy a necessary precaution in after times. Such “worthy” hosts of the Church afterwards were Lydia at Philippi (“If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there.” Act 16:15), Jason at Thessalonica, Gaius perhaps at Derbe, see Rom 16:23. This kind of general hospitality is still recognised as a duty in the East, where indeed it may be regarded as a necessity.
salute it ] Saying “Peace be unto you,” ( shalom l’cha,) the usual salutation at this day.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 10:12-13
And if the house be worthy.
The happy family
Illustrate the transcendent importance of religion by presenting some of the leading characteristics of the family which is governed by its influence.
I. The general aim of its arrangements.
II. Its department of education.
III. Its every-day pursuits-its ordinary habits and dispositions.
IV. Amid the sacred employment of the sabbath,
V. In its seasons of prosperity and adversity.
VI. In its final union in heaven. (J. Nilson, A. M.)
The peaceful salutation
1. The clergyman is to be the minister of peace.
2. But it all depends upon adaptation-the peace is to the house, but the question whether the house or any one in it can say, the peace turns upon the point of adaptation. If the house is worthy i.e., if there be fitness in the house to receive it. What that peace means:
1. It is peace with God.
2. It is peace through the blood of Jesus Christ.
3. It is a peace within.
4. It is peace with the whole world. (J. Vaughan M. A.)
Spiritual adaptation
It is a principle which pervades everything. To select the congenial soil, or by art to make it congenial to the seed, is the secret of husbandry. The man of physical science is certain of the properties and powers of natural substances; but his difficulty is to secure that the state of the recipient match with its virtues. In the most exquisite and delicate of modern inventions, the capability of the ray of light to leave its impression, is invariable and undoubted; the science lies in procuring a material which is capable to take and to retain it. Nothing lives, nothing really exercises its being, but in that to which it stands in a certain sympathy and proportion. So grace is to the gracious, and peace to the men of peace. (J. Vaughan M. A.)
Saluting a house
When a Persian enters an assembly, after having left his shoes without, he makes the usual salutation of Peace be unto you, which is addressed to the whole assembly-as it were, saluting the house. (Morier.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Salute it] , , saying, “Peace be to this house.” This clause, which, as explanatory of the word , is necessary to the connection in which it now stands, is added, by the MSS. D and L, and forty-three others, the Armenian, Ethiopic, Slavonic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the copies of the old Itala, Theophylact, and Hilary. The clause is also found in several modern versions. The modern Greek has . The Italian, by Matthew, of Erberg, and of Diodati, renders it thus: Pace sia a questa casa. Peace be to this house.
It is found also in Wickliff, and in my old MS. Seyinge, pees be to this hous. Some suppose it is an addition taken from Luke; but there is nearly as much reason to believe he took it from Matthew.
Peace, , among the Hebrews, had a very extensive meaning: – it comprehended all blessings, spiritual and temporal. Hence that saying of the rabbins, Gadal shalom, shecol haberacoth culoloth bo. Great is PEACE, for all other blessings are comprehended in it. To wish peace to a family, in the name and by the authority of Christ, was in effect a positive promise, on the Lord’s side, of all the good implied in the wish. This was paying largely even beforehand. Whoever receives the messengers of God into his house confers the highest honour upon himself, and not upon the preacher, whose honour is from God, and who comes with the blessings of life eternal to that man and his family who receives him.
In India, it is customary for a way-faring man, when night draws on, to enter a house, and simply say, “Sir, I am a guest with you this night.” If the owner cannot lodge him, he makes an apology, and the traveller proceeds to another house.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
12. And when ye come into anhouseor “the house,” but it means not the worthyhouse, but the house ye first enter, to try if it be worthy.
salute itshow it theusual civilities.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when ye come into an house,…. Or the “house”; that is, the house of an hospitable man, when, upon inquiry, found out:
salute it; meaning the inhabitants of it; or, as the Persic version reads, those of the household, especially the master of the family. Some copies add, saying, peace be to this house, as in Lu 10:5 and so read the Vulgate Latin, and Munster’s Hebrew Gospel; and is a very just, and proper explanation of saluting: for the usual form of salutation among the Jews was in such words; of which
[See comments on Mt 5:47] by which is meant all kind of happiness, and prosperity, temporal, spiritual, and eternal.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When ye come into [] . The Greek indicates more distinctly the simultaneousness of the entrance and the salutation : as ye are entering. Rev., as ye enter. So of the departure, as ye are going forth (ejxercomenoi, ver. 14).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when ye come into an house,” (eiserchomenoi de eis ten oikian) “And when you enter into a house or household,” into a residence to reside, one of the kind described above, selected after proper inquiry or certification.
2) “Salute it,” (aspasasthe auten) “Greet it,” or the members of the household, identify yourself, to all members of the family and the servants. Greet them with good will; Among the Hebrews they said, 1) Prosperous be thou,” or 2) “Blessed be thou of the Lord,” or 3) “Peace be unto thee.”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. Salute it. As they could not distinguish the devout worshippers of God from despisers, he enjoins them to address in a friendly manner any family which they may have occasion to meet. The act of saluting is a kind of opening to a conversation. They had already been warned to look out for persons to entertain them, whose religious zeal was generally known and believed. But as it sometimes happens that persons of lofty reputation, when they are brought to a serious trial, discover their impiety, it was proper that this rule should be expressly laid down. The meaning therefore is: “Make trial, when you first enter, whether your entertainers will cheerfully submit to hear you. Whoever shall willingly embrace your doctrine, remain in their house, that your salutation may be confirmed. If any shall reject, depart from them immediately, and, so far as lies in your power, withdraw your salutation.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) When ye come into an house.The English indefinite article is misleading. We must read into the house, i.e., the dwelling of the man who had been reported as worthy. The salutation, as the words that follow imply, was the familiar, Peace be with theePeace be to this house (Luk. 10:5).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Salute it According to the customary form among the Jews, namely, “Peace be to this house.” But this was not to be a mere form. In that phrase of technical politeness, religion should breathe a divine power. It is not a compliment, but a prayer and a blessing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And as you enter into the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.”
As they entered the house that welcomed them they were to salute it, probably with the words ‘shalom elechem’ (peace to you), a regular Jewish greeting. But in their case it would signify more, for they were the representatives of the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:7). Thus their granting of peace carried His authority with it. And if the house proved worthy, presumably by its response to their message, God would ensure that their words would then result in their own fulfilment. At their word God’s peace would come on the house. Indeed all within it would find peace, for they would find it in response to the words of Jesus through the Apostles. But if the house did not respond to their message then it would be rejecting God’s peace, and the peace would therefore return to them. The idea is probably that the disciples should take back their peace, either by leaving and going elsewhere, or by shaking their dust off their feet against them (Mat 10:14), or indeed both. But in the end the message is that men are blessed by God, not on the basis of what they do, but on the basis of how they respond to Him in it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Parable of the straying sheep:
v. 12. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
v. 13. And if so be that he find it, verily, I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
v. 14. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. A most effective comparison! The picture is that of a mountain meadow, where the shepherd has taken his flock to give them the full benefit of the rich grass. But now it happens that one goes astray, leaving the richness of the meadow for an occasional hummock of bunch grass, exchanging the safety of the shepherd’s protecting care for the uncertainty of the gullies and canyons, with the danger of rock-slides and bloodthirsty animals. For the shepherd that one sheep then becomes an object of concern. Leaving the other sheep behind him, he climbs up into the pathless mountains, and searches for the stray. And if he has the good fortune to see his toil rewarded, his joy over that one sheep will be greater than that over the others that have not felt the temptation to leave the meadow in search of adventures. Most solemnly Jesus emphasizes, most solemnly He states the conclusion: In the same manner it is not the object of the heavenly Father’s will that even a single one of the lowly and humble disciples be lost, especially not on account of an offense given by a brother in the faith. The Father in heaven has only one will, the will to save; only one desire He has, to save by grace. The idea of a predestination to damnation is as ridiculous as it is blasphemous.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 10:12-13. When ye come, &c. The Vulgate, and many manuscripts, add to the end of the 12th verse,saying, Peace be to this house; words which we find in the parallel place, Luk 10:5 and which serve to explain the verse following; for they shew that this salutation was no formal compliment in the mouths of the apostles, but efficacious to minds rightly disposed. A calm and composed spirit is necessary for hearing the word of God profitably. See Heylin.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 10:12 . ] This does not mean the house at which you arrive (de Wette), but that which belongs to him whom, on inquiry, you find to be worthy of you (Mat 10:11 ), and where, if the owner is worthy, you are to stay until you remove to another locality. The article is definite as referring to .
] Euth. Zigabenus: , the usual form of salutation, , Gen 40:23 ; Jdg 19:20 ; Luk 10:5 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
Ver. 12. And when ye come into an house ] Into the synagogues and other places of public meeting, our Saviour sends them not as yet, because they were but young beginners and lacked boldness and other abilities; but bids them teach privately, catechise from house to house, and not stretch the wing beyond the nest till better fledged and fitted for flight.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12. ] Not the house of the , for this would be sure to be worthy; but any house , as is necessary from the subsequent . ., which on the other supposition (Meyer, &c.) would have been ascertained already. The full command as to their conduct, from arriving to departing , is given in Mat 10:11 . Then, the subject being taken up again at their arrival in the city, the method of is prescribed to them in Mat 10:12-13 . When they enter into an house, (so, idiomatically, E. V.,) they are to salute it: and if on enquiry it prove worthy, then &c. See notes on ch. Mat 9:1 ; Mat 9:28 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 10:12 . , the house selected after due inquiry. , salute it, not as a matter of formal courtesy, but with a serious mind, saying: “peace be with you,” thinking the while of what peace the kingdom can bring.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
an house = a man’s house.
salute it: i.e. make your salaam = pronounce “peace”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12. ] Not the house of the , for this would be sure to be worthy; but any house, as is necessary from the subsequent . ., which on the other supposition (Meyer, &c.) would have been ascertained already. The full command as to their conduct, from arriving to departing, is given in Mat 10:11. Then, the subject being taken up again at their arrival in the city, the method of is prescribed to them in Mat 10:12-13. When they enter into an house, (so, idiomatically, E. V.,) they are to salute it: and if on enquiry it prove worthy, then &c. See notes on ch. Mat 9:1; Mat 9:28.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 10:12. , salute) i.e. say , peace, mentioned in Mat 10:13, i.e. salvation. Our Lord adopted formul and ceremonies already observed, but He elevated them to a higher use.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
salute it: Luk 10:5, Luk 10:6, Act 10:36, 2Co 5:20, 3Jo 1:14
Reciprocal: Exo 13:3 – there Deu 2:26 – with words Jdg 18:15 – saluted him 1Sa 17:22 – saluted his brethren 1Sa 25:6 – Peace be both 2Ki 4:26 – Is it well with thee Eze 2:5 – whether Mat 5:47 – salute Mat 22:6 – the remnant
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE SALUTATION OF PEACE
And when ye come into an house, salute it.
Mat 10:12
In the only Service of our Prayer Book which is provided for private ministration,if we except Private Baptism, and the communion for the Sick,the command expressly runs, When any person is sick, notice shall be given thereof to the Minister of the Parish, who coming into the sick persons house, shall say, Peace be to this house, and to all that dwell in it. The Minister is to say it with a humble consciousness and assurance that Gods peace is committed to him. Not that he should feel it only, but that he should impart it. He goes as one who is a medium, who carries an inestimable treasure, which he is authorised and bound to communicate.
Now my message to you is peace. Let me unfold to you what that peace means.
I. Peace with God.the peace which a man feels when his sins are forgiven, and he knows that God is no longer his enemy, but his Friend.
II. Peace through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is the peace which has no fear in it. It is the peace which is above all joy and passeth all understanding. It is the peace which every one wants, and which the believer has. It is the peace which gives a man strength to live, and confidence to die.
III. Peace within,between a man and himself. His conscience, being sprinkled, is at peace; and the past does not now awake up to torment him; and the man is one,which he was not before,but now, with one desire, the whole man is seeking one object,his heart is single, and singleness of heart is peace.
IV. Peace with the whole world.The peace with God made a peace within; and the peace within, makes peace without. He is too humble to quarrel; and too little in his own eyes to see wrong in other men. He contemplates God, till he grows like Him; as God is, so is he in this world,and God is love.
It is a peace unqualified and universal, for all men, in all things, under all circumstances, and for all time. Peace be to this house.
The Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
0:12
The inquiry mentioned above would include the added information they would receive through the attitude manifested by the residents of a house upon entering it. A house might be selected temporarily because of some apparently favorable indications, and the test would be concluded after meeting the people on the inside. This would be introduced by an act of courtesy in the form of saluta- tion. That word is from ASPAZOMAI and Thayer defines it at this place, “To salute, greet, wish well to.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 10:12. The house. The house they might enter, whether it was the house of one really worthy was to be tested. But whether worthy or not they were to salute it. Conformity to proper social customs, without official pride, with an immediate and friendly recognition of the expected hospitality, irrespective of the worthiness or unworthiness of the host.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 12
House; family.