Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 12:13
Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Verse 13. Stretch forth thine hand.] The bare command of God is a sufficient reason of obedience. This man might have reasoned thus: “Lord, my hand is withered; how then can I stretch it out? Make it whole first, and afterwards I will do as thou commandest.” This may appear reasonable, but in his case it would have been foolishness. At the command of the Lord he made the effort, and in making it the cure was effected! Faith disregards apparent impossibilities, where there is a command and promise of God. The effort to believe is, often, that faith by which the soul is healed.
A little before (Mt 12:6; Mt 12:8) Jesus Christ had asserted his Godhead, in this verse he proves it. What but the omnipotence of the living God could have, in a moment, restored this withered hand? There could be no collusion here; the man who had a real disease was instantaneously and therefore miraculously cured; and the mercy and power of God were both amply manifested in this business.
It is worthy of remark, that as the man was healed with a word, without even a touch, the Sabbath was unbroken, even according to their most rigid interpretation of the letter of the law.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark saith, they held their peace, they made him no answer to his question, upon which he, looking round about him with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. Luke saith, Looking round about upon them all, he said, &c. Our Saviour looked about him to see if any of them would adventure to answer him, but he saw their mouths were shut. He was angry that these great doctors of the law should understand the law of God no better, and should yet be so hardy as to take upon them to instruct him. He was also grieved (saith Mark) at the hardness of their hearts. That which we call hardness, is a quality in a thing which resisteth the truth, a unimpressiveness, when a thing will receive no impression from things apt to make impressions: the hardness of the Pharisees hearts lay in this, that whereas Christs words and works might reasonably and ought to have made an impression upon them of faith, that they should have owned and received him as the Messiah, yet they had no such effect, nor made any such impressions upon them. He said to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth, & c. Christ sometimes used the ceremony of laying on his hand; here he doth not, to let us know that that was but a sign of what was done by his power. What little things malicious men will carp at! What was here of servile labour on the sabbath day? They did far more themselves, as often as they lifted a beast out of a pit. Our Saviour compounds or prepareth no medications, he only speaks the word, and he is healed. But Matthew tells us that …( see Mat 12:14).
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Then saith he to the man,Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forththe powerto obey going forth with the word of command.
and it was restored whole,like as the otherThe poor man, having faith in this wonderfulHealerwhich no doubt the whole scene would singularly help tostrengthendisregarded the proud and venomous Pharisees, and thusgloriously put them to shame.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then saith he to the man,…. That is, after he had looked round about upon them, to observe their countenances; and what answer they would make to his arguments; and with anger for their inhumanity and cruelty; being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, i.e. their unmercifulness to their fellow creatures, and the stupidity and blindness of their minds, being ignorant of the Scriptures, and of the sabbath, the nature, use, and Lord of it; which things are observed by the Evangelist Mark; then, in a commanding authoritative way, almighty power going along with his word, he says to the man who stood forth before him, and the Pharisees,
stretch forth thine hand, which was before contracted and shrivelled up;
and he stretched it forth with all the ease imaginable, and was, not only able to do this, but to make use of it any way;
for it was restored whole like as the other; his left hand, which had never been damaged. This was an instance of Christ’s power; a proof of the lawfulness of healing on the sabbath day; and a rebuke to the Pharisees for their cruelty and uncharitableness. This man was an emblem of the inability of men to do anything that is spiritually good, and of the power and efficacy of divine grace to enable persons to stretch out their hands, and do things which they of themselves are not equal to.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Stretch forth thy hand ( ). Probably the arm was not withered, though that is not certain. But he did the impossible. “He stretched it forth,” straight, I hope, towards the Pharisees who were watching Jesus (Mr 3:2).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Stretch forth thy hand. The arm was not withered.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Than saith he to the man,” (tote legei ton anthropo) “At that moment he said to the man with the paralytic hand,” to the man with the withered, unfeeling hand.
2) “Stretch forth your hand.” (ekteinon sou ten cheira) “Stretch out your hand,” the withered or paralyzed one, the lifeless right hand Luk 6:6.
3) “And he stretched it forth:” (kai ekseteinen) “And he stretched it forth,” straightened it out; life returned to it, at the word of Jesus, and the man obeyed His Lord, Luk 6:10.
4) “And it was restored whole, like as the other.” (kai apekatestathe hugies hos he alle) “And it was restored as healthy as the other,” the one that was already well, as also, recounted Mr 3:5. Such Divine, miraculous power was designed to show two things: 1) First, that He was Lord of the sabbath, and 2) Second, a sign by which men might believe, in and, receive Him as the Savior, Joh 20:30-31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(13) Then saith he to the man.St. Mark, with his usual vividness, adds the look and gesture and feeling which accompanied the words, looking round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts.
It was restored wholei.e., as the tense implies, in the act of stretching the hand forth. The mans ready obedience to the command, which if he had not believed in the power of Jesus would have seemed an idle mockery, was, ipso facto, a proof that he had faith to be healed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Stretch forth thine hand Our Lord here commanded an intrinsically impossible act. Yet the volition or will to stretch forth was not impossible. And when the will was exerted, power to accomplish was granted.
When men say that they cannot obey the will of God, because God’s Spirit does not operate upon them, let them know that a graciously bestowed power from God is conferred on all, through the atonement, to will to obey, if they will use it. And as they proceed onward in the effort to obey, they will find divine strength supplied when needed and used. Let them truly exert, in the spirit of this man’s faith, their graciously conferred powers, as Christ’s Gospel directs, and they will find their powers energized and recreated.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then he says to the man, “Stretch forth your hand.” And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, as the other.’
Then he turned to the man with a withered hand and said to him, “Stretch forth your hand.” And when he obediently did so his hand was wholly restored, just like his other hand which was whole. It was a symbol of what Jesus had come to do for Israel.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” ’
The king then orders ‘his attendants’ (not his slaves, and therefore here probably the angels. Men never help in this kind of judgment) to bind the man hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. He is excluded from the circle of the well lit feast, and the rejoicing and gladness of both this world and the next (Mat 19:29), and despatched to where it is for ever dark (in direct contrast to Col 1:13). And in that place there is weeping and gnashing of teeth because all who are there recognise what they have lost. It pictures the time of man’s final loss of hope.
Compare for this description Mat 8:12, where it happens to the professing ‘sons of the Kingly Rule’ (those who should have received it, but rejected it), and Mat 25:30 where it happens to the man who failed to respond to his lord’s requirement for faithful service. The future for all who reject the King’s Son and fail to respond to His will is bleak.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 12:13-14 . .] just as he was stretching it out, and at the bidding of Jesus. For the double augment, see Winer, p. 69 f. [E. T. 84].
] result of the . See Winer, pp. 491, 580 [E. T. 663, 779]; Lbcker, grammat. Stud . p. 33 f.; Pflugk, ad. Hec. 690. Mark’s version of the incident is more animated, fresher, and more original (Keim’s opinion is different), and likewise free from the amplification contained in what is said about the animal falling into the well. This saying is introduced by Luke in another form, and in connection with a different incident (Luk 14:5 ), which, however, would not justify us in holding, with Strauss, that the different narratives are only different settings for the saying in question, while supposing at the same time that there is even an allusion here to 1Ki 13:4 ; 1Ki 13:6 . According to the Evang. s. Hebr. (Hilgenfeld, N. T. extra can . IV. 16, 23), the man with the withered hand was a mason , who begged to be healed, that he might not be under the necessity of begging.
] from the synagogue, Mat 12:9 .
. . . ., ] they devised measures for the purpose of crushing Him (see on Mat 22:15 ); the opposition to Him had now assumed this very decided character.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Ver. 13. And he stretched it forth ] So would our hold fasts stretch out their hands to the poor, would they but come to Christ, and hear his voice, as this man did. But till then they will as easily part with their blood as with their good. All their strife is, who (like the toad) shall fall asleep with most earth in his paws: as when they die, nothing grieves them more than that they must leave that which they have so dearly loved while alive. I read of one wretch, who being at point of death, clapped a piece of gold in his own mouth, and said, Some wiser than some, I mean to have this with me however.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13. ] Our Lord does no outward act: the healing is performed without even a word of command. The stretching forth the hand was to prove its soundness, which the divine power wrought in the act of stretching it forth. Thus his enemies were disappointed, having no legal ground against Him.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 12:13-14 . The issue: the hand cured, and Pharisaic ill-will deepened .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 12:13 . . He heals by a word: sine contactu sola voce, quod ne speciem quidem violati Sabbati habere poterat (Grotius). . . Brief authoritative word, possessing both physical and moral power, conveying life to the withered member, and inspiring awe in spectators. . . The double signifies the quick result (“celeritatem miraculi,” Elsner). Grotius takes the second verb as a participle rendering: he stretched out his restored hand, assuming that not till restored could the hand be stretched out. The healing and the outstretching may be conceived of as contemporaneous. : the evangelist adds this to . to indicate the completeness. We should have expected this addition rather from Luke, who ever aims at making prominent the greatness of the miracle, as well as its benevolence.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
other. Greek. allos. App-124.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13.] Our Lord does no outward act: the healing is performed without even a word of command. The stretching forth the hand was to prove its soundness, which the divine power wrought in the act of stretching it forth. Thus his enemies were disappointed, having no legal ground against Him.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
and it: Luk 13:13, Act 3:7, Act 3:8
Reciprocal: Mar 3:5 – Stretch Luk 6:9 – Is it Joh 5:16 – and sought
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH
Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth.
Mat 12:13
A man with a withered hand is a man who knows his own powerlessness.
I. Christs method.This is the man to whom Christ said, Stretch forth thine hand. It was the very thing which the man could not do. It was the very last thing the world would have expected the man to do; but it was the first thing which Jesus Christ bade him do. How different is Christs method from the worlds. Where the world despairs, Jesus Christ acts. Where the world is silent, Jesus Christ speaks. The world abuses the failures; Jesus Christ quietly helps them. Where the world turns its back upon the withered and helpless, Jesus Christ speaks the word of encouraging command, Stretch forth thine hand.
II. Help for the helpless.The one thing which those who are persuaded of their powerlessness need to learn in thisviz., that there is much more within their power than they think. It is so hard to help those who will not help themselves. The world is very full of these helpless folkthe people with withered hands. Stretch forth thine hand was the word spoken by Christ. It is the fitting word for the feeble, effortless folk we have in view. It is not argument that such people want, but help; it is not expostulation, but co-operationthe co-operative sympathy, or, better still, the sympathetic co-operation of the strong will with the weak; the kind, firm, strong, subduing, and persuasive voice, Stretch forth thine hand.
III. Christ which strengtheneth.The man who finds no strength in himself may find it in another. He is not able, but the other is strong. He cannot achieve, but with the Strong One at his side the situation changes. What seemed beyond his power begins to seem simple and natural. This is what St. Paul found. Here is his view of himself: I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. Here is His view when he realises Christ at his side. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Bishop W. Boyd Carpenter.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2:13
The hand only was afflicted, hence the man could use his arm to extend the hand toward Jesus. We have no doubht that Jesus could have healed the man without any ac tion on his part, but it has always been a feature of the Lord’s dealings to require man to cooperate with Him. This was exhibited as an act of faith on the part of the afflicted man when he reached out his hand and so he received the favor of a cure.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 12:13. Mark tells us, that they held their peace, and both he and Luke describe our Lord as looking round upon them (with anger and grief). The manner in which the healing took place gave no legal ground for a charge on account of His actions. He did not touch the man, or even command: be healed, but simply said: Stretch forth thine hand. The man had no power to do this, and as in the case of spiritual healing, the act of stretching forth was both the effect and the evidence of Divine power. The mans faith was manifest in his attempt to obey, and that too in the midst of such an assembly. His act was a defiance of them, and yet it was not a forbidden act, so that they could not accuse either the Healer or the healed.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe, 1. The merciful and miraculous cure wrought by our Saviour’s power upon the impotent man: he said unto him, Stretch out thine hand, and his hand was restored.
Observe, 2. What a contrary effect this cure had upon the Pharisees; instead of convincing them, they conspire against him: Christ’s enemies, when arguments fail, fall to violence.
Observe, 3. The prudent means which our Saviour uses for his own preservation, he withdrew himself. Christ’s example teaches his ministers their duty; to avoid the hands of persecutors, and prudently to preserve their lives unless when their sufferings are like to do more good than their lives.
Observe, 4. The great humility of Christ in concealing his own praises; he had no ambition that the fame of his miracles should be spread abroad, for he sought not his own glory; neither would he by the noise of his miracles enrage the Pharisees against him to take away his life; knowing that his time was not yet come, and he had much work to do before his death.