And he entered again into the synagogue Perhaps in Capernaum, where he had before cast out the unclean spirit; but not on the same day, nor on that day he had had the debate with the Pharisees, about his disciples plucking the ears of corn on the sabbath day; but on another sabbath, perhaps the…

And they watched him The ruler of the synagogue, and the principal men in it; particularly the Scribes and Pharisees, who followed him wherever he went; they observed him diligently, and kept their eyes upon him; this lame man being in the synagogue, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath…

And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand After he had reasoned with them from the lesser to the greater, upon their own principles and practices, in relieving and taking out a sheep fallen into a ditch, on a sabbath day, (Matt. 12:10, Matt.

And he saith unto them Either to the whole multitude, to all the assembly in the synagogue; and so the Persic version renders it, “again he said to the multitude”; or rather, to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were watching him, and had put a question to him, which he answers by another: is it…

And when he had looked round about on them In the several parts of the synagogue; for there were many of them on every side of him; which he might do, to observe their countenances, which might justly fall, upon such a close question put to them, and what answer they would return to him: and his…

And the Pharisees went forth Out of the synagogue, being dreadfully galled with the reasonings of Christ, at the silence and confusion they were put to, and with the miracle he wrought, to the exposing of them, and establishing his own credit: and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against…

But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea, &c.] Knowing their evil designs against him, he departed out of the synagogue, and city of Capernaum; and taking his disciples with him, he went to the shore of the sea of Galilee; not out of fear, but because his time was not yet come, and…

And from Jerusalem The metropolis of the country of Judea; and from Idumea, or Edom, as the Syriac version reads it; a country that lay on the south of Judea, formerly inhabited by the sons of Edom, but now by Jews; or at least the inhabitants of it were proselytes to the Jewish religion.

And he spake unto his disciples In an authoritative way; he ordered and commanded them, that a small ship should wait on him: that a boat should be got ready, be near at hand, and attend him, who was on shore; that he might go into it, should there be any occasion for it; and from thence preach to…

For he had healed many Of various diseases, and the fame of this brought more still to him: insomuch that they pressed upon him; or pushed upon him, with great eagerness and violence.

And unclean spirits, when they saw him That is, as the Syriac and Arabic versions read, “they who had unclean spirits”: or, as the Ethiopic, “they that were possessed with unclean spirits”; as soon as ever they beheld Christ, though they had never seen him before, and he was an entire stranger to…

And he straitly charged them Or vehemently rebuked them, as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it; or threatened them much and vehemently, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic.

And he goeth up into a mountain Near Capernaum, being solitary, and a place of recess and retirement, “to pray”, as Luke says, , who adds, “and continued all night in prayer to God”, notwithstanding the great fatigue of the day past.

And he ordained twelve Or made, constituted, and appointed twelve men, out of those he called to him. The Arabic version adds, “and called them apostles”; which seems to be taken out of .

And to have power to heal sicknesses All manner of corporeal diseases that attend men and women: and to cast out devils; from such who were possessed with them: that is, he chose and appointed them to be his apostles, with a view of conferring such powers upon them hereafter; for as yet, they were…

And Simon he surnamed Peter. ] Or Cephas, which signifies a rock, or stone, because of his courage and constancy, his strength and fortitude, steadiness and firmness of mind: this name was imposed upon him, not at the time of his mission as an apostle; nor when he made that noble confession of his…

And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James These are mentioned next, as being first called after Peter and Andrew: and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder: either because of their loud and sonorous voice; or their warm zeal for Christ, and fervency in their…

And Andrew The brother of Peter; and Philip, who was of Bethsaida; and Bartholomew, whom Dr. Lightfoot thinks is the same with Nathaniel: the name may be the same with (בר תלמיון) , “Bar Talmion”, with the Jews [[23]]; (See Gill on Matt. 10:3). (See Gill on John 1:41).

And Judas Iscariot So called to distinguish him from the other Judas; and is mentioned last for the following reason: which also betrayed him; and which action of his will ever render his name infamous among men.

And the multitude coming together again Either the multitude that were about the door of this house; insomuch that there was no room about, nor any coming near it, , or the multitude that came from different parts, and had thronged about him at the sea side, before he went up into the mountain:…

When his friends heard of it Not his spiritual friends, his disciples and followers, that believed in him; but his kinsmen, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render the words, who were so according to the flesh; when they heard where he was, and what a crowd was about him, so that he could not so…

And the Scribes which came down from Jerusalem Or, “but the Scribes” who had an aversion to Christ, and a different opinion of him: these were they, who having heard much of the doctrine and miracles of Christ, came down from Jerusalem, which lay in the upper, and higher part of the land of Israel,…

And he called them unto him The Jerusalem Scribes, to come nearer to him, and attend to what he had to say in defence of his character and miracles: and said unto them in parables: similitudes, and proverbial expressions, as the following seem to be, how can Satan cast out Satan? or one devil cast…

And if a kingdom be divided against itself Any of the kingdoms of this world, and the kingdom of “Satan”: that kingdom cannot stand: not long; its internal broils and divisions will, soon bring it to desolation; (See Gill on Matt. 12:25).

And if a house be divided against itself Any family, small or great, that house cannot stand; its contentions and discords will soon bring it down from a comfortable and flourishing situation, to a very distressed one; (See Gill on Matt. 12:25).

And if Satan rise up against himself As he must do in such a case as this, if devils are cast out by Beelzebub, the prince of devils: and be divided; one devil against another, as the above calumny supposes; he cannot stand, but hath an end: his kingdom cannot stand long, but must soon come to an…

No man can enter into a strong man’s house This is properly a parable; the other seem to be proverbs, or sayings, that were commonly used to show the ill consequences of discords, factions, and divisions, as is explained in the note on (See Gill on Matt. 12:29).

Verily I say unto you The Scribes and Pharisees, who had not only blasphemed him, but the Spirit of God also: all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme; God; or the Son of God, angels, and men, and that through the blood of Christ, and…

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost Against his person, and the works performed by him, by ascribing them to diabolical power and influence, as the Scribes did, hath never forgiveness: there is no pardon provided in the covenant of grace, nor obtained by the blood of Christ for such…

Because they, said, he hath an, unclean spirit. ] They charged Christ with having a devil, and his miracles with being wrought by the help of the devil; when, at the same time, they knew in their own consciences they were works which were wrought by the finger and Spirit of God, and so were guilty…

There came then his brethren and his mother At the same time he was speaking to the Scribes, who seem to be different persons from his friends and kinsmen, , and standing without; for Christ was within, in the house, talking with the Scribes and Pharisees, and preaching to the people; and the crowd…

And the multitude sat about him In a circle, all around him, to hear him preach; so that there was no such thing as the messenger coming near him; but the message being whispered from one to another, it came to those who sat nearest him: and they said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren…

And he answered them The multitude that sat about him, and informed him of his mother and brethren being without, and desirous of speaking with him: saying, who is my mother, or my brethren? which is said not through ignorance or contempt, but either, as displeased with the interruption given him;…

And he looked round about on them which sat about him To find out his disciples among them, and point them out particularly, by stretching forth his hand towards them: and said, behold my mother and my brethren: not in a natural, but in a spiritual sense; his mother, because, in regeneration, he…

For whosoever shall do the will of God By believing in Christ, receiving him as a Saviour and Redeemer, and submitting to him in all his ordinances, as King of saints: the same is my brother, and my sister, and my mother: such are openly, and manifestly related to Christ in a spiritual sense; and…