Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 10:13
And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Verse 13. If that house be worthy] If that family be proper for a preacher to lodge in, and the master be ready to embrace the message of salvation.
Your peace] The blessings you have prayed for shall come upon the family: God will prosper them in their bodies, souls, and substance.
But if it be not worthy] As above explained.
Let your peace] The blessings prayed for, return to you. , it shall turn back upon yourselves. They shall get nothing, and you shall have an increase.
The trials, disappointments, insults, and wants of the followers of Christ become, in the hand of the all-wise God, subservient to their best interests: hence, nothing can happen to them without their deriving profit from it, unless it be their own fault.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
13. And if the house beworthyshowing this by giving you a welcome.
let your peace come uponitThis is best explained by the injunction to the Seventy,”And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to thishouse” (Lu 10:5). This wasthe ancient salutation of the East, and it prevails to this day. Butfrom the lips of Christ and His messengers, it means something farhigher, both in the gift and the giving of it, than in the currentsalutation. (See on Joh 14:27).
but if it be not worthy, letyour peace return to youIf your peace finds a shut, instead ofan open, door in the heart of any household, take it back toyourselves, who know how to value it; and it will taste the sweeterto you for having been offered, even though rejected.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And if the house be worthy,…. If the family, and particularly the master of it, appeared to be civil, courteous, friendly, and hospitable, upon such a salutation, and ready to receive and embrace them, and provide for them,
let your peace come upon it, or it shall come upon it; the imperative for the future, which is not unusual; and so read the Syriac and Vulgate Latin. The sense is, the peace the apostles wished for, in their form of salutation, should come, and abide on the family; for not the Gospel of peace, and the preaching of it, are here meant, but the salutation itself, or the things desired in it, which should be granted, and the house be blessed for their sake, and as a reward of their generosity, and hospitality:
but if it be not worthy: does not prove to be what it was said to be, and they expected; namely, to be generous, liberal, and beneficent; but, on the contrary, uncivil and churlish, should neglect their salutation, discover an unwillingness to receive them, and turn their backs upon them:
let your peace return to you, or “it shall return to you”; the happiness wished for shall not come upon them, and the prayers and good wishes of the apostles shall be void, and of none effect, with respect to that family, but should be made good to themselves; and they should be directed to another house, where they should find persons more generous and free to entertain them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If the house be worthy ( ). Third class condition. What makes a house worthy? “It would naturally be readiness to receive the preachers and their message” (McNeile). Hospitality is one of the noblest graces and preachers receive their share of it. The apostles are not to be burdensome as guests.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And if the house be worthy,” (kai ean men e he oikia aksia) “And if the house (house name or family) be truly worthy or reputable,” an household of respectable character in morals and ethics.
2) “Let your peace come upon it:” (elthato he eirne humon ep’ auten) “Let your peace (good will) come upon it,” your prayer that God’s peace and prosperity may be upon that home, and that this is your desire to contribute to such.
3) “But if it be not worthy,” (ean de me e aksia) “Yet if it be not a reputable household,” or morally and ethically reputable house, or if you find no good will or favorable acceptance there.
4) “Let your peace return to you.” (he eirene humon pros humas epistrapneto) “Let your peace return to you,” that is, do not pronounce a blessing or pray for prosperity upon that household that receives not the spirit of your message and labors, Jud 19:20; Rth 2:4; 1Sa 25:6; 2Sa 20:9; Psa 129:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. If it be not worthy. The import of this mode of expression may be thus stated, — “As their ingratitude makes them unworthy to enjoy the blessing of God which you have supplicated for them, break off every bond of communication.” The word peace refers to the mode of salutation which generally used among the Jews. As the Hebrew word שלום, (shalom,) peace, denotes prosperity, when they desire that any one may be well and happy, and that his affairs may succeed to his wish, they pray that he may have peace I do acknowledge that the apostles brought to men a different kind of peace, but it is too great a refinement of speculation to make this passage refer to the free reconciliation which takes place between God and men.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) If the house be worthy.The doubt implied in the if seems at first somewhat inconsistent with the supposition that they only went into the house after having ascertained the worthiness of the occupant. It must be remembered, however, that the missionaries entered each city or village as strangers, and that in such a case even the most careful inquiry might not always be successful.
Let your peace come upon iti.e., the peace implied in the formula of salutation. The imperative is not so much a command addressed to them as the proclamation of an edict from the King in whose name they went. Their greeting was not to be a mere ceremonious form. It would be as a real prayer wherever the conditions of peace were fulfilled on the other side. At the worst, the prayer for peace would bring a blessing on him who prayed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Your peace return to you The blessing they cannot receive. Resume it, and bear it away with yourself. And when thus rejected be careful that no anger of yours shall mar the peace that comes back to you.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Reception and rejection;
v. 13. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
v. 14. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: when ye depart out of that house, or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
v. 15. Verily, I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city. If, after your salutation, the house be worthy of the honor that a servant of the Lord remain there, then your peace, which implies the blessing of the Lord, shall come and rest upon that house. But after all the pains you have taken, your judgment and the information of others may still be at fault; yet your greeting of peace will not have been spoken in vain, rather it shall be returned to you, to bless the speaker coming with the Lord’s good will. The unkind treatment, however, shall in no case provoke you. Nevertheless, the mode of action in such a case, when both the house selected for a center of work and the entire community concur in rejecting the Lord’s apostles is prescribed. He speaks with great emotion, as the form of the sentence shows. There is an absolute cutting-off reserved for people guilty of such rejection. The symbolical act of shaking off the dust from the feet or shoes to signify utter rejection of the unclean, to be done, not in the spirit of irritation nor of vindictiveness, but in the sorrow which undoubtedly filled the Lord’s heart at the thought of such blindness. The vengeance upon such a city will be taken over by the Lord Himself. Even Sodom and Gomorrah, types and examples of the punitive justice of God, would not be so utterly rejected at the final judgment as will be the inhabitants of a city or village that refuse admittance to the servants of Christ and deliberately cast away the offered grace of the Redeemer. So highly Christ values the good tidings, the Gospel-message He commissioned the twelve to preach. Unbelief is the sin of sins.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 10:13 . ] not “ bonis votis, quae salute dicenda continebuntur ” (Fritzsche), but, as in Mat 10:11 , worthy of your remaining in it . It should be noticed that and are put first for sake of emphasis; and should the house be worthy, then come, and so on; but if it is not a worthy one, then, and so on. In this way the reference of remains unchanged.
] shall come , that is my will .
] the blessings brought by you by way of salutation .
] Euth. Zigabenus: , . An expression which represents the idea to the senses. Isa 45:23 ; Isa 60:11 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Ver. 13. If that house be worthy ] The saints are the only worthies, of whom the world is not worthy,Heb 11:38Heb 11:38 . These shall walk with Christ, for they are worthy, Rev 3:4 . But the heart of the wicked is little worth, Pro 10:20 .
Let your peace come upon it ] Christian salutations are effectual benedictions. “We bless you in the name of the Lord,” Psa 129:8 .
Let your peace return unto you ] Something will come of your good wishes; if not to others, to yourselves; you shall be paid for your pains, as the physician is, though the patient dies; as the lawyer hath his fee, though his client’s cause miscarry. God will reward his ministers, though Israel be not gathered, Isa 49:4-5 , secundum laborem, non secundum proventum, Follow work not results, as Bernard hath it, , .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13. . ] The peace mentioned in the customary Eastern salutation . Luke has ( Mat 10:5 ). Compare with the spirit of Mat 10:10-13 , ch. Mat 7:6 . Stier remarks (Reden Jesu, i. p. 355, Exo 2 ), that the spirit of these commands binds Christian ministers to all accustomed courtesies of manner in the countries and ages in which their mission may lie. So we find the Greek instead of the Jewish form of greeting, Act 15:23 ; Jas 1:1 . And the same spirit forbids that repelling official pride by which so many ministers lose the affections of their people. And this is to be without any respect to the worthiness or otherwise of the inhabitants of the house. In the case of unworthiness , ‘let your peace return (see Isa 45:23 ) to you,’ i.e. ‘be as though you had never spoken it,’ , . Euthym [115]
[115] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 10:13 . . : after all pains have been taken, a mistake may be made; therefore the worthiness of the house is spoken of as uncertain ( , in an emphatic position, so , in next clause). . The meaning is: the word of peace will not be spoken in vain; it will bless the speaker if not those addressed. It is always good to wish peace and good for others, however the wish may be received. There is a tacit warning against being provoked by churlish treatment. Mat 10:14 . : Christ contemplates an unfavourable result of the mission in the host’s house, or in the town or village generally. The construction of the sentence is anacolouthistic, beginning one way, ending another: rhetorical in effect, and suitable to emotional speech; cf. Luk 21:6 : “these things ye see days will come in which not one stone will be left upon another” ( vide Winer, 63, on such constructions). : when an unreceptive attitude has once been decidedly taken up, there is nothing for it but to go away. Such a crisis severely tests the temper and spirit of promoters of good causes. : a symbolic act practised by the Pharisees on passing from heathen to Jewish soil, the former being regarded as unclean (Light., Hor. Heb.): Easy to perform, not easy to perform in a right spirit; too apt to be the outcome of irritation, disappointment, and wounded vanity = they did not appreciate me , I abandon them to their fate. Christ meant the act to symbolise the responsibility of the inhabitants for the result = leave the place, feeling that you have done your duty, not in anger but in sadness. The act, if performed, would be a last word of warning ( , Mark and Luke). Grotius and Bleek understand it as meaning: “we have nothing more to do with you”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
peace. Referring to the salaam of Mat 10:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13. .] The peace mentioned in the customary Eastern salutation . Luke has (Mat 10:5). Compare with the spirit of Mat 10:10-13,-ch. Mat 7:6. Stier remarks (Reden Jesu, i. p. 355, ed. 2), that the spirit of these commands binds Christian ministers to all accustomed courtesies of manner in the countries and ages in which their mission may lie. So we find the Greek instead of the Jewish form of greeting, Act 15:23; Jam 1:1. And the same spirit forbids that repelling official pride by which so many ministers lose the affections of their people. And this is to be without any respect to the worthiness or otherwise of the inhabitants of the house. In the case of unworthiness, let your peace return (see Isa 45:23) to you, i.e. be as though you had never spoken it, , . Euthym[115]
[115] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 10:13. , …, if indeed, etc.) i.e. if they receive you.–, let it come-let it return to) The imperative may here be taken in its strict sense. If you pray for it, let it come. If you are not unwilling, let it return. So bear yourselves, that [in the one case] it may come [upon the house], that [in the other] it may return [to you]. Impart your salutation to them with ready good-will, or take it back to yourselves.[460]- , your peace) sc. that of which you are the messengers.- , …, but if, etc.) contrary to your expectation.- let it return to you) By a testimony of duty performed, and an increase of tranquillity and spiritual power. That which has once gone forth from the wealth of God, has not gone forth in vain, but assuredly finds some one whom it may reach. A consolation for ministers who appear to themselves to produce no edification. The Lord says to them thus, They have despised it; have it yourselves.[461]
[460] This was, as it were, a prelude to the loosing and binding (c. Mat 18:18).-V. g.
[461] In his German Version he says, you must not distress (krnken) yourselves. That which others reject becomes thereby a greater blessing to you.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Psa 35:13, Luk 10:6, 2Co 2:16
Reciprocal: 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 Pro 25:22 – the Lord Ecc 11:1 – for Isa 57:19 – Peace Luk 7:4 – worthy Luk 10:5 – General Luk 24:36 – Peace Joh 20:19 – Peace Act 13:46 – seeing Rom 2:10 – and peace Eph 2:17 – and preached 1Th 2:13 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0:13
After the investigation has been completed, if the house is found to be worthy, their peace or good wishes was to be bestowed upon it. That would be accompanied with their delivering of a message of good news of the kingdom. If the house was found to be unworthy, their peace was to return to them, and that means their good wishes would be recalled.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 10:13. And if the house be worthy, i.e., of your stay. The worthiness of the house is dependent on the worthiness of its head. In its nature, whatever exceptions there may be, the family is to be regarded as a spiritual unit.
Let your peace come upon it. The usual Eastern salutation meant: Peace be to you. In the case of worthiness the Lord will ratify your salutation which includes a wish for the highest prosperity. Salutations are not necessarily unmeaning forms; nor should Christians make them such.
Let your peace return to you. Be content with having brought a blessing on yourselves by showing such a spirit and obeying my express command (J. A. Alexander). It is implied in Mat 10:14 that they should have no further fellowship with such households. The angels unawares would thus be driven away.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 13
Your peace; your benediction.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your {e} peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
(e) It is an idiom taken from the Hebrews, by which they meant every type of happiness.