Matthew 12:46 says, While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.  Though Jesus was no longer speaking to the Pharisees directly, He was continuing to speak to the common people.  Sometimes, those who consider themselves to be the religious authority of the world are the least likely to listen to Jesus, because He might threaten their authority and position in the world.  We are told that Jesus's mother and brothers came desiring to speak to Him.  I wonder how Mary and her other children felt about Jesus.  We know that Mary knew of the miraculous birth of Jesus, but what had she shared with her other sons?  For whatever reason, they were outside and wanted to speak to Jesus.  Matthew Henry points out that they should have been inside wanting to hear Jesus.  Instead, they were outside wanting to speak to Him, and interrupted His teaching to do so.  As Matthew Henry points out, sometimes those who are the closest to a person are less likely to listen to them.  Verse forty-seven states, Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.  Someone interrupted Jesus to tell Him that His mother and brothers were standing without wanting to speak with Him.  It is a wonderful thing that we do not have to have someone go to Jesus to tell Him that we would like to speak to Him.  Mary and the brothers of Jesus could have gone directly to Him and listened until He was through speaking.  Sometimes, we may feel that our desire to speak to Jesus is more important than anything else, but sometimes when we come to Him we may need to first listen to what He has to say.  It could be that Mary and the brothers of Jesus felt that what they wanted should come ahead of what anyone else needed.  We need to be careful that this isn't our attitude. In verse forty-eight Jesus asks, But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?  This was a rhetorical question basically.  Who would people say the mother and brothers of Jesus were?  I believe that Jesus was implying that they were still looking at Him in earthly terms.  Verse forty-nine states, And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  In this statement, Jesus was speaking spiritually.  No one person is spiritually more important to Jesus than any other, no matter who they may be in the eyes of the world.  In verse fifty Jesus declares, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.  Jesus tells us that this not only applied to His disciples, but to anyone who would accept Him as Savior and Lord, which is the first necessarily step before being able to do the will of the Father. This includes everyone who accepts Jesus, including you and me.  We become brothers and sisters to Christ and each other.

Matthew 12:38 says, Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  The scribes and Pharisees were always quick to attempt to discredit Jesus.  They asked Jesus to show them some sign that He was indeed the Messiah.  I believe they asked more from the belief that Jesus could not give them a sign than the hope that He would.  Some people today attempt to put conditions on their believing God.  They demand some particular sign before they will even acknowledge that God exists.  Verse thirty-nine states, But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  Jesus told them, and tells us as well, that those who seek a sign before believing in Jesus as Savior are a wicked and adulterous generation.  Jesus further said that the only sign would be the sign of Jonah.  Verse forty continues, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Jesus said that just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so would Jesus, the Messiah, spend three days and nights in the grave.  Then, just as Jonah was rescued from the whale, so would Jesus be resurrected from the grave.  For those Jesus was speaking to the sign was yet to come, but for us today it is something we look back on through faith as an accomplished fact.  Verse forty-one declares, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  Even though God had been ready to destroy Ninevah before Jonah preached God's word to them, they repented.  Jesus said that the people of Nineveh could rise in judgment against God's chosen people around Jesus who did not repent at the preaching of Jesus, Who was much greater than Jonah.  Verse forty-two says, The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  Jesus said that the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but that those around Jesus refused to hear Him, though He was much greater than Solomon.  There will always be people who will listen to the wisdom of the world more quickly than they will to the gospel of Christ.  Verse forty-three says, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Jesus said that even when the unclean spirits leave a person that they may still not have a safe place to stay.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our situation in life does not necessarily change.  The thief on the cross was still on the cross after he accepted Jesus.  Verse forty-four says, Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  The man cleansed of the evil spirit returned to where he had lived and saw it as a better place to be than where he was after he was cleansed of the spirit.  Verse forty-five says, Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.  Upon going in to where he had lived, the man became much worse off than he was before.  I believe this is an analogy to deciding to follow Christ simply for material reasons, and then deciding that things were better before.  We can never follow Jesus simply hoping for a better life materially and find peace and happiness.  Jesus said that just as the man who had the demon cast out but returned to where he had lived and ended up in a worse situation, that it would be the same for that wicked generation.  They had Jesus with them willing to heal them spiritually, but were often following Him for material reasons and soon turned away.  Jesus has already freed everyone from the power of sin, but often people say that it just cost them too much materially to follow Him, so they return to where they had been before spiritually, and they are even worse off than they were before.

Matthew 12:29 says, Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.   I believe that Jesus was asking how He could cast out devils, if He did not first bind Satan.  God has allowed Satan to have certain power in the world, but he has already been bound for those who put their faith in Jesus.  The only power that Satan has over those who follow Christ by faith is the power we grant him by our own self will.  Satan, or the Devil, can never make us do anything.  In verse thirty Jesus declares, He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.  There really is no neutral ground with Jesus. We are either for Him, or we are against Him.  Those who profess neutrality about Jesus have made their stand as being against Him.  Verse thirty-one states, Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  We sometimes hear people speak about unpardonable sin, but Jesus says there is only one, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Blasphemy is attributing the works of God to the Devil or any other source, and that is what the Pharisees had attempted to do when Jesus cast out devils.  The ultimate blasphemy is attributing the work of Jesus to anything other than His bringing salvation to people under the power of the heavenly Father.  If we do not accept this fact by faith, then there is no forgiveness.  Verse thirty-two declares, And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.  Jesus tells us that people can be forgiven for speaking against Him, but not for speaking against the Holy Ghost.  I believe that this is because once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, at which time those times we spoke against Him are forgiven, the the Holy Spirit indwells us to guide us.  If we then speak against the Holy Spirit, we are deliberately sinning.  Verse thirty-three states, Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.  Jesus says that a good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad friut, and the tree is known by its fruit.  The analogy was about people.  If we are good, or have put our faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, then we will do things that bring honor to God.  If we are bad, or have not accepted Christ, then we cannot bring honor to God.  It is not enough to simply claim to follow Christ, but we if we are truly His, we must bear good fruit for Him.  Our fruit, or actions, will show the truth of our faith.  Verse thirty-four declares, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  Jesus called those around Him, which were still mostly those who professed to be God's people, a generation of vipers and asked how they could speak good things.  Jesus further said that what they felt in their hearts determined what they said.  This is still true today.  Verse thirty-five says, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  Jesus tells us that the way we believe will determine the way that we act in life.  If God and His will are at the center of our lives, the things we do will be good and bring glory to Him.  The opposite is also true.  Anytime we act from self will or any influence other than we will of God, we cannot bear good fruit.  Verse thirty-six says, But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  We will be held accountable for every word we speak.  I believe that this goes even further than the actual speaking, but also to our attitude when we speak.  We may say the right words without them having any meaning.  Verse thirty-seven says, For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  I believe that the only words that we can be justified by are a true proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and then all that we say should be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:22 says, Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.  Another person in need was brought to Jesus.  Not only could this person not see or hear, but he was possessed by a devil.  I believe that it would be safe to say that this person was pretty much helpless and hopeless.  That is really the way everyone comes to Jesus.  We are helpless and hopeless by our own abilities, and we are following the leadership of the Devil.  In this state, we need to come to Jesus and put our hope and trust in Him.  Jesus alone can heal us of our spiritual blindness and allow us to hear the truth of God.  When He does, the Devil will no longer have any power over us, unless we stop following the will of God.  Verse twenty-three states, And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?  The people were amazed, and they asked was Jesus not the son of David.  This was a reference to the awaited Messiah.  The people were curious, but Matthew Henry says they didn't wait around for the answer.  People may be curious about Jesus today, but until they come to the knowledge that He is indeed the only One Who can bring salvation, they will not be saved.  We must be able to declare without a doubt that Jesus is indeed the awaited Messiah, the Savior of all people who will accept Him.  Verse twenty-four says, But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils.  Once more,, the Pharisees, the most religious of the Jews, attempted to discredit Jesus.  We can be the most devout person in eyes of the world, but unless we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are just as lost as the Pharisees were.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of working under the power of Beelzebub, or the devil.  It is a sad commentary that some of the most devout of those who were supposedly God's people not only failed to recognize the Messiah, but also tried to attribute His miracles to the power of Devil.  There are still people today, when they see a miracle, attempt to give the credit to anyone but God.  We, as followers of Christ, must never be guilty of doing that.  Verse twenty-five says, And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:  We could interpret this as Jesus reading the minds of the Pharisees, or as Jesus knowing how they tended to think.  Jesus answered their accusation by saying a house divided against itself shall not stand, meaning that if He were casting out devils in the name of, or by the power of, the devil, the He was working against Himself.  I believe there is another warning for us, and that is that as followers of Christ we should never do anything that is against His will.  Verse twenty-six says, And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?  This is what was just discussed.  If Satan works against Satan, he cannot stand.  Verse twenty-seven asks, And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.  Jesus asked if He were being successful in casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub then by whose power were the Jews casting them out.  The Pharisees would have to be the judge.  They could not single out Jesus as being empowered by the devil and say that others doing the same thing were empowered by God.  We must be careful to never attempt to discredit what other Christians are doing for God.  Verse twenty-eight says, But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.  Jesus said that if He was acting under the power of God, then the kingdom of God was come upon them.  Jesus was basically saying that if He were acting under the power, or authority, of God, then He was the awaited Messiah, and we each have to make the decision of whether He is or not.

Matthew 12:9 says, And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:  Jesus went to the synagogue, the place of worship for the Jews, after His confrontation with the Pharisees.  He was not hiding or running from them.  If we have those who would destroy our witnessing for Christ today, we can not run and hide, but we must simply continue about God's business.  Verse ten states, 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.  The "they" mentioned here were the Pharisees.  They brought a man with a withered hand to Jesus and asked if it were lawful to heal him on the sabbath.  They did this, not out of concern for the man, but to be able to accuse Jesus of violating God's law concerning the sabbath.  In verse eleven Jesus asks, 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?  Jesus did not immediately answer their question, but asked them one instead.  Jesus asked if someone had a sheep fall into a pit on the sabbath, would they rescue it.  This would violate the law of the sabbath as the Pharisees interpreted it.  We can never allow the letter of the law of God as given in the Old Testament to overrule our actions done by faith in Christ, because Christ fulfilled the law.  This does not mean that we are to ignore God's law, but that we are to put the salvation of people above the letter of the law, especially those man made additions to the law.  Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it as a way to salvation.  Verse twelve asks, How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.  Jesus asked if they would save a sheep on the sabbath, then of how much greater a value was this man who needed healing.  I believe that Jesus was saying that people are more important than religious rules, and He was definitely saying people are more important than animals.  Verse thirteen says, Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.  Having asked the Pharisees what they thought, Jesus did not wait for their answer before doing the right thing and healing the man.  We may ask others what they think about certain religious practices, but we can never allow the practice or their opinion to stop us from doing what we know God would have us do.  Verse thirteen declares, Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.  When they questioned Jesus about His actions, He made the Pharisees look bad simply by asking them about scripture.  We can be certain that the scripture, the Bible, will never lead us to do anything wrong in the eyes of God.  The Pharisees, instead of celebrating the healing of the man went out to conspire against Jesus.  There are people all over the world today who not only reject Jesus, but conspire against Him.  Verse fifteen states, But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;  Jesus knew what the Pharisees were up to, and He left, with large multitudes following Him.  As Jesus was going, we are told that He healed them all.  Though a physical healing is good, Jesus gives us something much greater, a spiritual healing, if we only put our faith in Him and follow Him.  Verse sixteen states, And charged them that they should not make him known:  As I have stated before, Jesus did not want the multitudes coming to Him for just a physical healing, and also God's timing for Jesus to be truly revealed as the Messiah was not yet come.  We must always work on God's schedule, and accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives must always come first.  Verse seventeen says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,  Then verse eighteen continues, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.  This was the fulfillment of a prophecy by Isaiah about the Messiah.  He would be a servant chosen by God Who had the spirit of God on Him and He would show judgment to the Gentiles.  Verse nineteen states, He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.  People would not be crying out in the streets that the Messiah had come, nor would Jesus Himself shouting that He was the promised Messiah.  We cannot bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ, no matter how loudly we proclaim Him, until they hear His small, quiet voice calling them and respond.  Verse twenty says, A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.  Matthew Henry says this refers to new believers, who are still weak.  God will protect them as they grow in faith.  Verse twenty-one declares, And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.  Jesus came first to the Jews, God's chosen people, but He came also for the Gentiles.  It was always God's plan to reach the whole world with His call to salvation.  The Jews were chosen for this purpose, but failed.  Through Jesus Christ, we as His followers have salvation, but we also have the responsibility to reach the world with the gospel.  We can indeed trust in the name of Jesus.

Matthew 12:1 says, At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  At this time, the disciples were with Jesus.  They were passing by a corn field, and they were hungry, so they began to pluck some of the corn.  I guess we could asks why they would pluck someone else's corn, but I believe that it was acceptable to gather a little in that time if a person was hungry.  Now they couldn't gather the whole crop, but just enough to satisfy their hunger.  As God's people, we have a responsibility to feed the hungry and not to worry about the cost.  It really all belongs to God anyway.  Verse two states, But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.  Since the Pharisees saw them and did not question their right to pluck the corn, but instead questioned their doing so on the Sabbath, we can assume that the plucking was alright.  The Pharisees were again concerned about following the letter of the law, that had been greatly added to, instead of the spirit of the law.  In verse three Jesus asks, But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;  Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus basically asked them if they were familiar with the scripture.  If someone begins to condemn us for our spiritual actions today, they need to make sure that their condemnation is based on what God's word really teaches.  We cannot base our view of the actions of other Christians on tradition or personal views, but must evaluate all, whether we see the action as good or bad, on the teachings of God through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus asked the Pharisees if they remembered what David did.  Verse four declares, How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?  David ate the shewbread in the house of God, as did those who were with him.  Under the religious law, they were not entitled to do so, since they were not priests.  We must remember that our status with God is based on our relationship with Him through faith and not by being made righteous by our own actions.  Verse five says, Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?  Again, Jesus asked the Pharisees if they had read the law.  In the law, or scripture, the priests work on the sabbath day and are blameless.  Though Jesus did not say it at this time, He is our great High Priest, and we as His followers are a priesthood of believers, so whatever was lawful to a priest is lawful to us.  Even beyond that, we are not judged by the law of God, but by our relationship to Christ.  Verse six declares, But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.  Here, Jesus makes an indirect reference to His being greater than the temple.  We do not need to worry about what people do until they have a relationship with Christ, the One Who is greater than the temple and the law.  Verse seven states, But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.  Jesus told the Pharisees, and tells us today, that mercy is more important than sacrifice.  Jesus said the Pharisees did not understand this.  We today must understand that salvation is based on faith in Christ, and not on anything we may sacrifice to God, nor on how well we keep the law.  Faith in the mercy of God in sending Jesus to die for our sins is the only way to salvation.  Verse eight further declares, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.  Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, so anything that we as His followers do for Him on the sabbath, or Sunday in our case, is lawful.

Matthew 11:25 says, At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.  Jesus pauses to pray.  I believe that whenever we face a difficult situation, especially one that might cause us anger, then we need to stop and pray.  I know some people would say that Jesus wasn't angry, but that He felt righteous indignation.  Whatever we call it, I believe that Jesus was upset at the attitude of those who were supposed to be God's people.  I believe that we can likewise be upset with those who call themselves followers of Christ when they act in such a way as to discredit Him.  If we are, then we need first to pause and pray.  Jesus thanked the heavenly Father for making the way to salvation easy to understand.  Those who are wise and prudent in their own understanding miss the truth of the gospel.  We must come as babies, trusting fully by Christ in faith without attempting to come to Him by our own reasoning or understanding.  Verse twenty-six says, Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.  Jesus said that He accepted the will of the heavenly Father, just as we must.  We must seek what seems good in the sight of God.  Verse twenty-seven says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.  Jesus said no one truly knew the Son, Jesus, but the heavenly Father, God, and that the opposite was also true, with the exception of those that Jesus revealed the heavenly Father to.  I cannot fully understand the Trinity, but I can understand that the only way to know the heavenly Father is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son.  There is no other way to know God.  We can only begin to understand God and become a part of His family by putting our faith in the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-eight states, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  I believe that without God in our lives, we are always going to be weak and heavy laden spiritually.  We may seem to have it all in the eyes of the world, but until we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be spiritually weakened and heavy laden by sin.  Jesus invites us to come to Him.  Verse twenty-nine declares, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. We are called to take on the yoke of Jesus.  We are to be guided by Him and to work for Him.  Jesus tells us that He is meek and lowly in heart, and we should be likewise.  Jesus did not go around pointing out His superiority to others, though He well could have, but went into the world as simply a carpenter's Son in the eyes of the world.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we will find rest from the burdens of sin.  Then, verse thirty adds, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  This is true because once we accept Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is always with us to guide and strengthen us.  We just need to always pray for God's guidance, and then accept it when it comes.