Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 12:9
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
The account contained in these verses is recorded also in Mar 3:1-5, and Luk 6:6-10.
Mat 12:10
A man which had his hand withered – This was probably one form of the palsy. See Barnes Mt 4:24.
Mark and Luke have mentioned some circumstances omitted by Matthew. They say that Jesus addressed the man, and told him to stand forth in the midst. He then addressed the people. He asked them if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath day? This was admitted by all their teachers, and it could not be denied. They were therefore silent. He then appealed to them, and drew an argument from their own conduct. A man that had a sheep that should fall into a pit on the Sabbath day would exercise the common offices of humanity, and draw it out. If a man would save the life of a sheep, was it not proper to save the life of a man ? By a reference to their own conduct, he silenced them. Mark adds, that he looked on them with anger; that is, with strong disapprobation of their conduct. Their envy and malignity excited feelings of holy indignation. See Barnes Mr 3:5.
Mat 12:12
How much, then, is a man better than a sheep? – Of more consequence or value.
If you would show an act of kindness to a brute beast on the Sabbath, how much more important is it to evince similar kindness to one made in the image of God!
It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days – This was universally allowed by the Jews in the abstract; and Jesus only showed them that the principle on which they acted in other things applied with more force to the case before him, and that the act which he was about to perform was, by their own confession, lawful.
Mat 12:13
Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand – This was a remarkable commandment.
The man might have said that he had no strength – that it was a thing which he could not do. Yet, being commanded, it was his duty to obey. He did so, and was healed. So the sinner. It is his duty to obey whatever God commands. He will give strength to those who endeavor to do his will. It is not right to plead, when God commands us to do a thing, that we have no strength. He will give us strength, if there is a disposition to obey. At the same time, however, this passage should not be applied to the sinner as if it proved that he has no more strength or ability than the man who had the withered hand. It proves no such thing: it has no reference to any such case. It may be used to prove that man should instantly obey the commands of God, without pausing to examine the question about his ability, and especially without saying that he can do nothing. What would the Saviour have said to this man if he had objected that he could not stretch out his hand?
It was restored whole – Christ had before claimed divine authority and power Mat 12:6-9, he now showed that he possessed it. By his own power he healed him, thus evincing by a miracle that his claim of being Lord of the Sabbath was well founded.
These two cases determine what may be done on the Sabbath. The one was a case of necessity, the other of mercy. The example of the Saviour, and his explanations, show that these are a part of the proper duties of that holy day. Beyond an honest and conscientious discharge of these two duties, people may not devote the Sabbath to any secular purpose. If they do, they do it at their peril. They go beyond what His authority authorizes them to do. They do what he claimed the special right of doing, as being Lord of the Sabbath. They usurp His place, and act and legislate where God only has a right to act land legislate. People may as well trample down any other law of the Bible as that respecting the Sabbath.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mark saith, Mar 3:1, he entered again into the synagogue on the sabbath day. This our Saviour was often wont to do, to own there what was done according to his Fathers institution, and himself to do what good he could; nor doth he now decline it because he had had so late a contest with them: it is therefore said that he went into their synagogue, as being neither ashamed of what he had delivered, nor afraid to own it in the face of his adversaries.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. And when he was departedthencebut “on another sabbath” (Lu6:6).
he went into theirsynagogue“and taught.” He had now, no doubt, arrivedin Galilee; but this, it would appear, did not occur at Capernaum,for after it was over, He “withdrew Himelf,” it is said “tothe sea” (Mr 3:7),whereas Capernaum was at the sea.
And, behold, there was a manwhich had his hand withereddisabled by paralysis (as in 1Ki13:4). It was his right hand, as Luke (Lu6:6) graphically notes.
And they asked him, saying,Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accusehimMark and Luke (Mar 3:2;Luk 6:7) say they “watchedHim whether He would heal on the sabbath day.” They were nowcome to the length of dogging His steps, to collect materials for acharge of impiety against Him. It is probable that it was to theirthoughts rather than their words that Jesus addressed Himselfin what follows.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when he was departed thence,…. From the corn fields, where the disciples had plucked the ears of corn, and this conversation passed between Christ and the Pharisees about the violation of the sabbath, he went into their synagogue; not on the same sabbath day, as one might be led to conclude from the account of this evangelist, but on another sabbath, as Luke expresses it, Lu 6:6. He might indeed directly go into one of their synagogues the same day, where he and his disciples seem to have been going, and stay in the city the week following; and then, as it is said in Mr 3:1 he entered again into the synagogue; not being afraid of the Pharisees, who sought an advantage against him; nor deterred by them from doing good to men; and willing to take another opportunity of exposing their ignorance and malice.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
JESUS HEALED MAN WITH WITHERED HAND ON THE SABBATH V. 9-14
1) “And when he was departed thence,” (kai metabas ekeithen) “And upon moving from that place;” the place is not named, but apparently somewhere in upper Galilee, on another sabbath, Luk 6:6, “to teach.”
2) “He went into their synagogue:” (elthen eis ten sunagogen auton) “He came into their synagogue;” the synagogue of the Pharisees, as was His custom on that day, Luk 6:6-10; Mr 3:1-6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 12:9
. And having departed thence. This narrative and that which immediately precedes it have the same object; which is to show, that the scribes watched with a malicious eye for the purpose of turning into slander every thing that Christ did, and consequently that we need not wonder if men, whose minds were so depraved, were his implacable enemies. We see also, that it is usual with hypocrites to pursue what is nothing more than a shadow of the righteousness of the Law, and as the common saying is, to stickle more about the form than about the substance. First, then, let us learn from this passage to keep our minds pure, and free from every wicked disposition, when we are about to form a decision on any question; for if hatred, or pride, or anything of that description, reign within us, we will not only do injury to men, but will insult God himself, and turn light into darkness. No man, who was free from malice, would have refused to acknowledge that it was a Divine work, which those good teachers do not scruple to condemn. (85) Whence comes such fury, but because all their senses are affected by a wicked hatred of Christ, so that they are blind amidst the full brightness of the sun? We learn also, that we ought to beware lest, by attaching undue importance to ceremonial observances, we allow other things to be neglected, which are of far higher value in the sight of God, and which Christ in another passage calls the more important matters of the Law, (Mat 23:23.) For so strongly are we inclined to outward rites, that we shall never preserve moderation in this respect, unless we constantly remember, that whatever is enjoined respecting the worship of God is, in the first place, spiritual; and, secondly, ought to be regulated by the rule which Christ has laid down to us in this passage.
(85) “ N’ont point de honte de condamner;” — “are not ashamed to condemn.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Mat. 12:10. Hand withered.Shrunk and dried by some kind of atrophy. Is it lawful, etc.Talmudical scholars tell us that in later days the Rabbins differed on the point, but that the prevalent opinion was, that only sickness threatening immediate danger to life could lawfully be treated on the Sabbath (Maclaren). Accuse Him.To the local judicatory.
Mat. 12:13. He stretched it forth.By this act the restored man defied the authority of the Pharisees and acknowledged that of Christ. Hence it was a signal manifestation of faith, even as the cure, in the midst of such contradiction, was an instance of special power.(Lange).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mat. 12:9-13
Sabbatical mercy.In these verses we have a natural sequelnot improbably a very close sequelto the verses before. When Jesus departed from the scene of the last story, He went into their synagoguethe synagogue, apparently, of the very persons with whom He had just had to do. If not so, the persons He found there were certainly of much the same kind; and were dealt with by Him, also, on the whole, in much the same way. It will be instructive to notice how far the two stories differ from each other:
1. As to the conduct of the opponents of Jesus.
2. As to the conduct of Jesus Himself.
I. The conduct of His opponents.The first difference observable here is as to the manner of attack. Taught by experience, if they were the same persons as beforeor else taught by report, if they were notthey did not as before proceed to ask a question which implied blame of itself. The previous result was not of a kind to invite the repetition of such tactics as that. They rather asked a question which they hoped might lead Him into giving them occasion of blame. There was a man there with a withered hand. They seem to have taken for granted that the Saviour was both able and willing to heal him. They would use this double virtue of His, if they could, to bring an accusation against Him. He had just justified the disciples for satisfying their hunger on the Sabbath. What does He now say in the same connection about healing the sick? (Mat. 12:10). There was a difference also as to the ground of attack. That other question was one of necessity. This turned on mercy alone. In all probability the burden under which this synagogue worshipper lay was one of some standing already. To wait for its removal till the Sabbath was overin other words, till the even was come (cf. Mat. 8:16)was not to wait very long. Would it not be better to wait until then? (cf. the reasoning to this very effect in Luk. 13:14). In other words, starvation was one thing, mere relief was another. Even if He had taught that the letter of the Sabbath law might be infringed in that greater emergency, did He mean to teach the same of this minor one too? That was the point of their present question.
II. The conduct of the Saviour.The Lords reply to this question, though like that given in the previous instance (Mat. 12:1-8) in being a virtual appeal to what was an acknowledgedly legitimate way of understanding the commandment in question, differed from it, the circumstances being different, in other respects. It did so, first, in regard to the scope of the illustration employed. In the previous case the question of necessity being that in hand, the illustrations chosen (those of the shewbread, Mat. 12:3; and of the temple services, Mat. 12:5) were such as dealt with this point. In the present instance, the chief question being rather that of mercy alone (as we have seen) the illustration selected is one that turns on that question alone. It was not an absolutely necessary actionit was only a kind actionto pull out one sheep from the pit. It differed, next, in regard to the character of the illustration employed. The other illustrations, being addressed chiefly to the Pharisees (Mat. 12:2), were drawn from sources with which they, as Pharisees, were supposed to be familiar. (Note Have ye not read? in Mat. 12:3.) This, on the contrary, being addressed to a congregation at large (cf. What man shall there be of you? Mat. 12:11), was specially suited to such. It touched only on such a matter as might happen to all. It spoke only of such an action as would be adopted by all. There was no man there who on the Sabbath day would not draw his sheep from the pit. And hence, perhaps, in the third place, the peculiar efficacy of this reply. In the previous case the question answered (Mat. 12:2) had been followed by another (Mat. 12:10). In this case the answer given is followed by silence. No one, apparently, says anything when the Saviour acts on His answers (Mat. 12:12-13). All they do is, when He has done so, to go out from the place (Mat. 12:14). A marked contrast, apparently, to what we read of before. After the first answer His enemies seem to follow Him in (Mat. 12:9). After this second answer they retire from His presence.
The great lesson they leave behind them is that of the true character of the Sabbath. Not only does it admit freely, as we saw before, of the supply of mens needs. Not only does it even enjoin this as in perfect keeping with itself. It does exactly the same alsoso we see herewith all that is really for his welfare. Nothing is more in keeping with it than to do good. To this proposition, in the way of demur, there is nothing to be said. The Sabbath was made for man. It is truly keeping the Sabbath, therefore, to do that on it which is, in the truest sense, for his good!
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Mat. 12:9-12. Healing on the Sabbath.
1. Christ went on to follow His calling, notwithstanding enemies and opposition, for after His disputation in the fields with the Pharisees, He goeth into the synagogue, where He might do good to the people.
2. Christs enemies, when they have no just quarrel against Him or His followers, they invent one; as, when they could find no sin at all in Him, they sought to accuse him for miraculous healing of men on the Sabbath.
3. Malice maketh men blind, reasonless, and absurd; they ask if it be lawful to heal a man miraculously on the Sabbath day, wherein there can be no apparent ground of doubting.
4. The more impudent Christs enemies be against Him, the more shame and confusion the Lord will bring on them; for our Lord refuteth His adversaries by their own confession, that it was lawful to do more on the Sabbath to a beast, than they did question Him for doing unto a man (Mat. 12:11-12).David Dickson.
Mat. 12:12. Man better than a sheep.There are few things in our Lords teaching more interesting to notice than the enormous value which He puts upon man. Notice a series of points in respect of which a man is better than a sheep:
I. His physical form and beauty.Are you going to take that noble and beautiful form, and make it the instrument of sin? Are you going to desecrate a temple so fair?
II. He is endowed with reason.The true glory of man consists not in the speed with which he can run, nor the number of pounds weight he can lift, nor the strong wrestlers he can throw; for in these respects even the ostrich and the ass and the lion easily outmatch him. And yet what compensation intellect provides! There is no point in respect to which the brute excels us where reason does not enable us far to excel the brute.
III. He is endowed with a moral nature.He is an accountable and responsible being. Even the fact that he has it in his power to do wrong proclaims his exalted place in creation.
IV. His capacity of progress.In this respect he stands alone in creation, so far as it presents itself to our view.
V. His spiritual nature and his capacity for knowing God.
VI. He is possessed of immortality.
VII. Christ died for him.J. Thain Davidson, D.D.
The dignity of human nature.The truth implied in this question is pre-eminently Scriptural and Christian. It is not a discovery, but a revelation. Look at:
I. The state of the world.Corresponding to differences in belief as to Biblical truth are differences in feeling and practice as to the point referred to in our text. Where the Bible is allowed to shine in its native lustre, there human life is regarded as very sacred and precious; where that lustre is dimmed and clouded by mens fancies and additions, there the life of man is held cheap in comparison; and where the light of Scripture is practically invisible, there the life of man is as dross. In England a deliberate case of life-taking convulses the whole neighbourhood in which it occurssometimes the whole land. But in some continental countries such an occurrence is little more than an ordinary death amongst us. We may compare professing Christendom and heathendom in much the same way. As for Mohammedan nations, e.g. who approach Christianity the nearest and detest it the most, their indifference to life is sufficiently evidenced by the well-known alternative of Mohammed himselfthe Koran or the sword. And as for pagan nations of all kinds, where will you find any one that shows any tenderness for mans life? Not even amongst those supple worshippers of Brahma, to whom animal life is so dear. These, indeed, and some sects of Mohammedanism, are the farthest of all from our text. They respect every life, except mans, even the life of positive vermin, as well as of sheep and cows.
II. The contents of Gods word.Scripture references: Ye are of more value than many sparrows. Doth God take care for oxen? Whoso sheddeth mans blood, etc. Positive injunction of Moses that no satisfaction should be taken for the life of a murderer (see also Genesis 1; Psalms 8). But man is much more than the highest creature on the animal ladder; he is the child of God, the image of His nature originally, as well as the work of His hands. All this lends a peculiar sanctity to the life of a man. But, further, while as the work of His hands, and as His offspring, we are precious to God, it is as the race which the Lord of glory died to redeem that human nature appears like a jewel in the hands of its God. If you value things by the price which is given for them, what can be of greater worth than a man? Let us beware, then, how we allow ourselves to despise any one of mans race, whatever his position, kindred, character, or creed. Let us not despise ourselves either. Let a sinner be what he will, unless he casts himself away (which thousands do), he is too precious to be lost!Mathematicus in Homilist.
The dignity of man.Humboldt travelled the world over, and saw everything; and he recorded in his diary at the last what sounds almost like an aphorism: The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is a man!C. S. Robinson, D.D.
Doing well on the Sabbath-day.Miss Ellice Hopkins said, in reference to her work among working men in Cambridge: I trust I shall not have to meet any objection to writing being taught on the Sunday. As a grave mild-eyed Quaker replied to such a foolish Judaising objector, Friend, does thee not think that pot-hooks are better than the pot-house on the Lords day? When a man has written six times down his copy-book with much labour of his horny palms, and much unwonted attitude of his whole person, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good; or, No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of heaven; there is not much fear of his forgetting that text.
Mat. 12:13. Mans power of volition.
I. A recognised capability of volition.The command implies that the diseased had the power of willing. Man can will.
II. The true law of volition.The will of Christ, not circumstances.
III. The value of obedient volition.He obeyed Christ, and his volition sent blood, life, and energy into his withered hand. Let us will what Christ commands, and mighty will be our achievements.D. Thomas, D.D.
Achieving the impossible.With every command given by Christ there comes the power to obey, and what is needed on our part is the endeavour of faith.
I. Many Christians are like this man with the withered hand.
1. They have life, but lack power; or:
2. They have life, but carry some dead limb of sinful habit, doubt, etc.; or:
3. There is some particular gift which they have lost the use of through their own neglect, and which now seems dead.
II. To such Christ comes with His commands, which seem impossible, unreasonable; as the command, stretch forth, to this man. He commands the weak to be strong, the indolent to be active, the sinful to be pure, the feeble to put forth powerto use the dead limb. Never so firm and so exacting a master as Christ. No moral standard so high as His. No religious leader ever demanded such complete self-surrender. Yet His commands not grievous. His yoke easy, etc., because with every command He gives adequate power to obey.
III. To achieve the impossible on our part there must be:
1. Desire;
2. Faith;
3. Volition, or the endeavour of the willthe acting upon our faith, or, rather, upon the word of Christthe stretching forth. These essential on our part, whether we seek power, holiness, restoration, or deliverance from besetting sin. Illustration: Ulysses and the sirens. He desired to escape, put forth endeavour. Beyond that, we have the Almighty power on which to depend. He giveth power to the faint, etc., so that the lame take the prey. Same truths apply to unconverted. Christ commands you to repent, believe, live. Have you the desire? If so, move Christward, in dependence on Him, and with the endeavour of faith. He will give the adequate power, and though dead, yet shall you live. His work completewhole as the other.W. H. Richards.
Mat. 12:1-14. The Pharisee-spirit.The Pharisee is always blind as an owl to the light of God and true goodness; keen-sighted as a hawk for trivial breaches of his cobweb regulations, and cruel as a vulture, to tear with beak and claw. The race is not extinct. We all carry one inside, and need Gods help to cast him out.A. Maclaren, D.D.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(9) He went into their synagoguei.e., that of the Pharisees whom He had just reproved, probably, therefore, the synagogue of Capernaum. The narratives in St. Matthew and St. Mark convey the impression that it was on the same Sabbath. St. Luke, however, as if he had made more careful inquiry, states definitely that it was on another, and this the others do not directly contradict.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And he departed from there and went into their synagogue,’
All three synoptic Gospels place this incident after the incident of the grainfields for similar reasons, because they deal with what is not lawful on the Sabbath, and because they reveal the condition of Israel. Luke tells us that this incident was on another Sabbath. Matthew’s connection is a typically ‘loose’ one. He is not saying that He immediately went to the synagogue. ‘Their’ synagogue may in this case be pointing at the Pharisees. In which case it is indicating that Jesus was, as it were, walking into the lion’s den. Or it may simply be the usual use in this Gospel. As previously mentioned each town had ‘its’ synagogue or synagogues, and Matthew would not feel closely connected with the synagogue. But the ring of sadness lies in the fact that in the very place where men were meant to worship God, they would attack His Son.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Man With The Withered Hand (12:9-16).
Having described the rejection of Himself and John by the general people, the rejection of His Messianic signs by the local towns, and the hostility of the Pharisees, the story of the man with the withered hand fits in aptly. It is a reminder of the condition of Israel. They too are like a man with a withered hand.
Once again the idea of ‘it is not lawful’ enters in. The yoke of the Law is once more stressed, and the One Who eases that yoke (Mat 11:30) is described. And once again He is at loggerheads with the Pharisees, who are this time so infuriated that they go away in order to plot how they can get rid of Him. In a sense they are the unhealed withered hand of Israel. But central to the account is that Jesus has come to lift men out of the pit and restore them (compare Mat 9:12-13). And He will do it for the man with the withered hand, and indeed for all whose lives are withered.
Analysis.
a
b And behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him’ (Mat 12:10).
c And he said to them, “What man will there be of you, who will have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will not lay hold on it, and lift it out?” (Mat 12:11).
d “How much then is a man of more value than a sheep!” (Mat 12:12 a).
c “For which reason it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day” (Mat 12:12 b).
b Then he says to the man, “Stretch forth your hand.” And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, as the other (Mat 12:13).
a But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him (Mat 12:14).
Note how in ‘a’ Jesus went into the synagogue in order to heal, and in the parallel the Pharisees went out of the synagogue in order to destroy. In ‘b’ they asked, ‘is it lawful to heal’, and in the parallel Jesus healed. In ‘c’ He provides His illustration of why it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, and in the parallel He states that it is so. Centrally in ‘d’ is the declaration of man’s value to God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The application of these principles:
v. 9. And when He was departed thence, He went into their synagogue.
v. 10. And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered, and they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse Him.
v. 11. And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out?
v. 12. How much, then, is a man better than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.
v. 13. Then said He to the man, Stretch forth thine hand; and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, like as the other. The hatred of the Pharisees was intensified with each new defeat. They had received a well-deserved rebuke based upon Scriptural grounds, but they were determined to turn the admiration of the people into suspicion and then into opposition. And so they laid their plans for another Sabbath, Mar 3:2; Luk 6:6. Jesus, according to His custom, went into the synagogue to teach. And there, evidently by design, was a man with a dried-up, shriveled hand. Here was a case which could bear postponement till the morrow. But so eager are the Pharisees to provoke the Lord that they put a question with reference to the lawfulness of healing on the Sabbath day. Christ’s reply, two counter-questions and an irresistible conclusion. A man with any feelings at all, seeing the misery of a dumb beast, aside from the fact that it is his one possession, will draw the sheep out of the cistern. Their own rabbis, at that time, made provision for such cases. And a man should not receive as much consideration as an animal? Their own canons permitted the doing well on the Sabbath. It is, therefore, right to heal. Christ defied the authority of the Pharisees, and challenged them to bring accusation against Him. And the sick man, in obeying the command of Christ, acknowledged His authority and set aside that of the Jewish leaders. A signal manifestation of faith, on the one hand, an instance of divine power, on the other: the best fulfillment of the Sabbath.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 12:9. When he was departed thence There can be no doubt as to the connection of this history with the preceding, in which all the Evangelists agree; and indeed, had not St. Luke told us, that it was on another sabbath, the words of St. Matthew would have led us to imagine it had been the same day. Perhaps our Lord might spend most of the week in the town, to which the fields above mentioned belonged. See Doddridge and Chemnitz.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 12:9 ff. Comp. Mar 3:1 ff.; Luk 6:6 ff.
, . . .] therefore on the same Sabbath day. Different from Luke, who has , to which further division of time Mark likewise fails to make any reference whatever.
] the Pharisees , whom He had just sent away. It is impossible to say where the synagogue was to which those Pharisees belonged. But to take without any definite reference, as in Mat 11:1 (“of the people of the place,” de Wette, Bleek), is precluded by , etc., of which the Pharisees mentioned in Mat 12:14 are to be regarded as the subject.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
“And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: (10) And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. (11) And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? (12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. (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.”
Here was an immediate opportunity for Christ to prove himself, Lord of the Sabbath, in healing this diseased man. The case is simply, but earnestly related and the effect as might have been expected. But what I would have the Reader particularly to regard in this case, is the spiritual sense of it. This man with a sinew shrunk hand, was not in idleness at his own house, but in the synagogue. He was waiting in the way of ordinances. It is good to be found waiting on the Lord, and in the way of the Lord’s own appointing. They seemed unconscious of the mercy the Lord intended for him: neither is it said, that he knew Jesus, much less that he made any application to Jesus. Preventing mercies, are sweet mercies. I was found of them, saith the Lord, that sought we not. Isa 65:1 . No doubt, Jesus knew this poor man was in the synagogue. And He, of whom it is said, that he must needs go through Samaria, because there was a poor sinner who needed his mercies there, probably went to this Synagogue on purpose to manifest his grace to this man, with his withered hand, who needed him no less. Joh 4:4 . But what I would more particularly beg the Reader to notice, in the features of this miracle of Christ; is the precept of Jesus to the man: Stretch forth thine hand! I beg once for all to remark, that Christ’s biddings are enablings. Unless the Lord Jesus had accompanied his command with power; and while bidding the sinner’s shrunk hand to be stretched forth, he had communicated: ability to obey, no blessing would have followed. It is truly blessed to eye this in every minute circumstance of life. Hence Paul was commissioned to direct the Philippians, to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling: because that the Lord himself would work in them both go wilt and to do of his good pleasure. Phi 2:12-13 . And hence the same Apostle adds, in the same Epistle, I can do nothing of myself, but I can do all thing, through Christ who strengtheneth me. Phi 4:13 . It is truly blessed, to be enabled through grace, to have the lowest opinion of ourselves, that our views of Jesus, may be the more exalted; and to be sensible of our nothingness, that the Lord may have all the glory!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
Ver. 9. He went into their synagogue ] These were chapels of ease to the temple, of ancient use, Act 15:21 , and Divine authority, Psa 74:8 . This here is called the Pharisees’ synagogue, because they did Dominari in concionibus, lead in the gatherings, Rom 2:19-20 , and are for their skill called princes,1Co 2:81Co 2:8 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9 14. ] HEALING OF THE WITHERED HAND. Mar 3:1-6 . Luk 6:6-11 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
9. ] This change of place is believed by Greswell to have been a journey back to Galilee after the Passover. (Diss. viii. vol. ii.) It is true that no such change is implied in Mark and Luke; but the words here point to a journey undertaken, as in ch. Mat 11:1 ; Mat 15:29 , the only other places in this Gospel where the expression occurs. In Joh 7:3 , the cognate expression is used of a journey from Galilee to Juda. So that certainly it is not implied here (as Meyer, a [120] ., suppose) that the incident took place on the same day as the previous one. We know from Luk 6:1-49 that it was on another (the next?) sabbath.
[120] alii = some cursive mss.
, not, of the Pharisees; but of the Jews generally, of the people of the place.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 12:9-14 . A Sabbath cure (Mar 3:1-6 ; Luk 6:6-11 ): not necessarily happening immediately after. Matthew and Luke follow Mark’s order, which is topical, not historical; another instance of collision as to Sabbath observance.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 12:9 . . The seems to imply that our evangelist takes the order as one of close temporal sequence (Mark says simply “into a synagogue,” Mat 3:1 ). In that case the would refer to the fault-finding Pharisees of the previous narrative, piqued by Christ’s defence and bent on further mischief ( vide Weiss-Meyer). The narrative comes in happily here as illustrating the scope of the principle of humanity laid down in connection with the previous incident.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 12:9-14
9Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” -so that they might accuse Him. 11And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then He said to the man, ” Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
Mat 12:10 “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath” This question is never dealt with in the OT, but the ultimacy of the Sabbath had become part of the Oral Tradition by which the rabbis of old interpreted the OT texts (i.e., healing on the Sabbath only to save a life). The focus was on human rules (cf. Isa 29:13), not human need!
“And a man was there whose hand was withered” From the apocryphal “Gospel of Hebrews” we learn the tradition that the man was a mason and that it was his right hand that was withered. Therefore he was unable to work.
Mat 12:11 “sheep” This is one of many examples of where the Oral Tradition had become a burden instead of a joy. Sheep had become worth more than humans (cf. Mat 12:12).
“if” This is a third class conditional sentence which denoted potential action.
Mat 12:12 Jesus uses the question/answer format to dialog with his challengers (cf. Mat 9:5; Mat 12:12; Mat 21:25; even disciples, Mar 8:17-18).
Mat 12:14 “the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him” From Mar 3:6 we learn that the consultation was held between the Herodians and the Pharisees, who were traditional enemies (politics and religion).
“as to how they might destroy Him” These leaders saw themselves as YHWH’s defenders! It is amazing that the religious leaders saw no conflict in their premeditated murder compared to Jesus’ supposed ritual and Sabbath breaking (cf. Mat 26:4; Luk 6:11; Joh 11:53).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
their. Probably inhabitants of Tiberias. For, in Mar 3:6, the Pharisees conferred with the Herodians, so that the Lord was in Herod’s jurisdiction.
synagogue. See App-120.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
9-14.] HEALING OF THE WITHERED HAND. Mar 3:1-6. Luk 6:6-11.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
he went: Mar 3:1-5, Luk 6:6-11
Reciprocal: Mat 4:23 – teaching
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
12:9
The use of the synagogues is explained at Chapter 4:23. Jesus entered into such a place and there met another opportunity of performing a good work, also of exposing the hypocrisy of the Jews who were present.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 12:9. And he departed thence. The miracle which follows, took place on another Sabbath (see Luk 6:6), probably the next one.
Went into their synagogue. The synagogue of His opponents, probably in some important town in Galilee. Luke says He taught there, as seems to have been His habit.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here we have another dispute betwixt our Saviour and the Pharisees concerning the sabbath; whether it be a breach of that day, mercifully to heal a person having a withered hand? Christ confutes them from their own practice, telling the Pharisees, that they themselves judged it lawful to help out a sheep, or an ox, if fallen into a pit on that day: how much more ought the life of a man to be preferred!
Here we may remark, how inveterate a malice the Pharisees had against our Saviour: when they could find no crime to charge him with, they blame him for working a merciful and miraculous cure upon the sabbath-day. When envy and malice (which are evermore quick-sighted) can find no occasion of quarrel, they will invent one, against the innocent.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
XXXIX.
JESUS DEFENDS HEALING A WITHERED HAND
ON THE SABBATH.
(Probably Galilee.)
aMATT. XII. 9-14; bMARK III. 1-6; cLUKE VI. 6-11.
a9 And he departed thence. [The word here points to a journey as in Mat 11:1, Mat 15:29, which are the only places where Matthew uses this expression. Greswell may be right in thinking that it indicates the return back to Galilee from the Passover, since a cognate expression used by John expresses such a journey from Galilee to Juda. See Joh 7:3], c6 And it came to pass on another sabbath [another sabbath than that on which the disciples plucked the grain], that he entered bagain aand went into their {cthe} synagogue and taught [The use of the pronoun “their” indicates that the synagogue in question was under the control of the same Pharisee who had caviled about plucking grain on the Sabbath. Where the synagogue was is not known. Some argue that from the presence of Herodians it was at Sepphoris, which was then capital of Herod Antipas. But Herodians were likely to be found everywhere.]: a10 and behold, bthere was a man who had {a having} a {bhis} hand withered. cand his right hand was withered. [The hand had dried up from insufficient absorption of nutriment, until its power was gone, and there was no remedy known by which it could be restored.] b2 And they cthe scribes and the Pharisees watched him, bwhether he would heal him on the sabbath day; cthat they might find how to accuse him. [They sought to accuse him before the local judges or officers of the synagogue; i. e., before a body of which they themselves were members. Jesus gave them abundant opportunity for such accusation, for we have seven recorded [214] instances of cures on the sabbath day; viz.: Mar 1:21, Mar 1:29, Joh 5:9, Joh 9:14, Luk 13:14, Luk 14:2, and this case.] aAnd they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? [They were afraid that Jesus might not notice the man, so they spoke about him. But, taught by their experience in the grainfield, they changed their bold assertion, “It is not lawful,” and approached the subject with a guarded question, hoping to get an answer that could be used as a ground for accusation.] c8 But he knew their thoughts [omnisciently]; and he said to {bsaith unto} the man that had his hand withered, cRise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. [Jesus thus placed the man openly before all the people, as though he stood on trial as to his right to be healed on the sabbath day.] a11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! [A man who had but one sheep would set a high value upon it. But the most valuable sheep is not to be weighed in the balance against a man. The fact that Jesus used this illustration shows clearly that such an action was allowed at that time, though the rabbins forbade it afterward.] Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. c9 And Jesus aid {bsaith} unto them, cI ask you, Is it lawful on the sabbath bday to do good, or to do harm? to save life, or to kill? {cdestroy it?} [The rules of the Pharisees made the Sabbath question wholly a matter of doing or of not doing. But Jesus made it a question of doing good, and his question implies that a failure to do good, when one is able, is harmful and sinful. “The ability,” says Cotton Mather, “to do good imposes an obligation to do it.” To refrain from healing in such an instance would have been to abstain from using a power given him for that very purpose. The Jews held it lawful to defend themselves on the Sabbath, and considered themselves justified in killing their enemies if they [215] attacked on that day (I Macc. ii. 41; Josephus Ant. XII. vi. 2]. bBut they held their peace. [afraid to say that Jesus was wrong and stubbornly unwilling to admit that he was right.] 5 And when he had looked round about on them call, bwith anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart [The anger of Jesus was not a spiteful, revengeful passion, but a just indignation ( Eph 4:26). God may love the sinner, but he is angry at sin. Anger is not sin, but it is apt to run into it: hence it is a dangerous passion. Righteous anger rises from the love of God and man, but that which rises from self-love is sinful], he saith {csaid} a13 Then cunto him, bthe man, Stretch forth thy hand. cAnd he did so: ahe stretched it forth; and it bhis hand was restored. awhole, as the other. [As Jesus here healed without any word or action of healing, merely ordering the man to stretch forth his hand, the Pharisees could find no legal ground for accusation. God can not be tried by man, because his ways are hidden from the senses of man save as he chooses to reveal them.] c11 But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. b6 And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. [Here the three Synoptists first tell of the counsel to put Jesus to death, and we should note that, like John, they described the anger of the Jewish rulers as arising because of this Sabbath question. Their real motive was envious hatred, but their pretext was a zeal for the law. That it was not genuine zeal for the law is shown by the fact that they consulted with the Herodians or the adherents of Herod Antipas, as they also did afterwards ( Mat 22:16, Mar 12:13). They needed the secular power of the Herodians to secure the death of Jesus. Its efficiency for such ends had just been shown in the imprisonment of John the Baptist. But the Herodians were no friends of the Jewish law; in fact, they were real perverters of that law which Jesus merely correctly interpreted. This party and its predecessors had [216] flatteringly tried to make a Messiah of Herod the Great, and had been friends of Rome and patrons of Gentile influence. They favored the erection of temples for idolatrous ends, and pagan theaters and games, and Gentile customs generally. Unlike Jesus, the Pharisees grew angry and sinned, for it was against their conscience to consort with the Herodians.]
[FFG 214-217]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
THE WITHERED HAND
Mat 12:9-14; Mar 3:1-6; and Luk 6:6-11. Our Lord and His disciples have again reached Galilee, their native land. Luke notifies us that this incident transpired on the Sabbath following the preceding, and that it was the right hand which was utterly paralyzed and withered away. Mark: And he came again into the synagogue, and there was a man with a withered hand. And they were watching Him if He will heal him on the Sabbath-day, in order that they may accuse Him. And He says to the man having the withered hand, Rise up in the midst. And He says to them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath-day or to do evil, to save life or to kill? And they were silent. And looking round on them with anger, being grieved on account of the hardness of their heart, He says to the man, Reach forth thy hand, and he reached it forth, and his hand was made whole as the other. And the Pharisees, going out, immediately took counsel, along with the Herodians, against Him, in order that they may kill Him. Doubt less you are surprised over the extreme fanaticism of the Jews on the Sabbath question. You must remember that the penalty for Sabbath-breaking under the law of Moses was death. Sabbath is a Hebrew word, which means rest; i.e., that perfect rest which the sanctified soul finds in Jesus. Now you know that God’s method with sin is destruction. You can not have this blessed Sabbatic soul-rest until you crucify the man of sin. Then it is impossible for you to keep it unless you deal death to every disturber; i.e., keep the Sword of the Spirit unsheathed and lifted high, ready to strike the death-blow and cut off every snake-head that pokes out. Therefore the symbolic dispensation punished the Sabbath-breaker with death, confirming to us this grand and glorious truth of entire sanctification by sin’s annihilation, received and perpetuated. The fact is, even at that early day in His ministry, the leading preachers and official laymen had determined to kill Him, and were only seeking an opportunity. They thought that if they could condemn Him for Sabbath-breaking, they could secure the edict of the Sanhedrin, which was death by stoning. You see in this, the Pharisees and Herodians unite against Him, taking mutual counsel for His death. Do you not know the Pharisees were the orthodox denomination of the Jewish Church and leaders in the opposition to Roman rule, which they had then endured thirty years, while the Herodians were a political party in favor of the Roman Government.
Hence, you see, they were bitter enemies, either to other. Yet we here find them uniting their forces against Jesus, and taking mutual counsel to kill Him. How wonderfully history repeats itself! Holiness is the abstract of which Jesus is the concrete. Opposition to holiness is nothing more nor less than opposition to Jesus. How frequently do we find the wurring sects laying down the cudgel of controversy, and all mutually uniting against holiness!
During our Savior’s response to them on this occasion, Mark says, Looking round upon them with anger, being grieved on account of the hardness of their hearts. Here he uses the same word, orge, which Paul used (Eph 5:26), Be ye angry and sin not. Now how can we be angry and sin not? Why! in the same sense in which Jesus looked round on them with anger, as Mark and Paul both use the same word-the former applying it to Jesus, and the latter to the saints of all ages. We can be angry and sin not precisely as Jesus did on that occasion. Fortunately, we have an inspired definition of our Lord’s anger on that occasion, Being grieved on account of the hardness of their heart. Hence, we see, the anger of Jesus consisted in holy grief. Therefore this is the only sense in which we can be angry and sin not. The more holy we are, and the more like Jesus, the more we realize holy indignation against all sin, in every conceivable form and phase. Hence anger, in the sense of holy grief, is characteristic of every true Christian. In this sense, God is angry with the wicked every day. Lord, make us all like Thyself!
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 12:9-14. The Sabbath Healing which Determined Pharisaic Hostility (Mar 3:1-6*, Luk 6:6-11).Mt. makes the Pharisees utter their question, and Jesus to reply, in words found in another connexion in Lk. (Luk 14:5). Mat 12:12 a is peculiar to Mat 12:12 b elevates and broadens the Pharisees question in Mat 12:10. We may note that the Rabbis allowed that every case where life is in jeopardy supersedes the Sabbath, and that under certain conditions animals might be rescued on the Sabbath and on festivals.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
12:9 {2} And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
(2) The ceremonies of the law are not against the love of our neighbour.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The healing of a man with a withered hand 12:9-14 (cf. Mar 3:1-6; Luk 6:6-11)
In the previous encounter Jesus appealed to Scripture, but in this one He did not. In that one His disciples were the targets of Pharisaic criticism, but in this one He was.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Pharisees believed that it was permissible to give medical assistance on the Sabbath only if a sick person’s life was in danger. [Note: Mishnah Yoma 8:6.] They also permitted midwifery and circumcision on the Sabbath. [Note: Mishnah Shabbath 18:3; 19:2.]