Matthew 12:36

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT EVERY IDLE WORD THAT MEN SHALL SPEAK, THEY SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT THEREOF IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. They might say, 'It was nothing; we meant no evil; we merely threw out a supposition, as one way of accounting for the miracle we witnessed; if it will not stand, let it go; why make so much of it, and bear down with such severity for it?' Jesus replies, 'It was not nothing, and at the great day will not be treated as nothing: Words, as the index of the heart, however idle they may seem, will be taken account of, whether good or bad, in estimating character in the day of judgment.' Remarks: (1) Instead of wondering that our Lord should have been thought "beside Himself," by those who were totally unable to sympathize with, or even to comprehend, Hi...

36._Of every idle word _This is an argument from the less to the greater; for if _every idle word _is to be called in question, how would God spare the open blasphemies and sacrilegious insolence of those who bark against his glory? (139) An _idle word _means one that is useless, or that yields no edification or advantage. Many look upon this as too severe; (140) but if we consider the purpose for which our tongues were made, we will acknowledge, that those men are justly held guilty who unthinkingly devote them to trifling fooleries, and prostitute them to such a purpose. It is no light fault to abuse, for frivolous purposes, the _time, _which Paul enjoins us to be careful to _redeem, _(Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5.) Now since

33-37 Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil things. Lusts and corruptions, dwelling and reigning in the heart, are an evil treasure, out of which the sinner brings forth bad words and actions, to dishonour God, and hurt others. Let us keep constant watch over ourselves, that we may speak words agreeable to the Christian character....

Verse 36. _EVERY IDLE WORD_] ρημα αργον, a word that _does_ _nothing_, that neither ministers _grace_ nor _instruction_ to them who hear it. The word αργον corresponds to the Hebrew שוא _shave_, which signifies not only _vain_ or _empty_, but also _wicked_ and _injurious_, such as _a false testimony against a neighbour_, compare Deuteronomy 5:11; Deuteronomy 5:20. Add to this, that Symmachus translates _piggul, polluted_, Leviticus 19:7, by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this ambiguous meaning of the word, that _ten_ MSS. have changed αργον Into πονηρον, _evil_. Our Lord must be understood here as condemning all...

BUT I SAY UNTO YOU ... - Christ closes this address to his malignant and wicked hearers by a solemn declaration that for these things God would bring them into judgment. Therefore. They who had spoken so malignantly against him, could not escape. IDLE WORD - This literally means a vain, thoughtless, useless word; a word that accomplishes no good. Here it means, evidently, “wicked, injurious, false, malicious, for such” were the words which they had spoken....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 12:1 The opposition that our Lord met with (1) from his enemies (Matthew 12:1); (2) from his relations (Matthew 12:46-40); ,and the manner in which he dealt with it. MATTHEW 12:1 (1) _Opposition from his enemies._ (A) Conscious and wilful opposition (Matthew 12:1). (α) As regards the sabbath ...

BUT I SAY UNTO YOU,.... This form of speaking is used, the more strongly to asseverate the truth of what is after said; and the rather, because men are apt to indulge a liberty with their tongues; fancying no great crime is committed, when only words are spoken, and no facts done; THAT EVERY IDLE WORD THAT A MAN SHALL SPEAK, THEY SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT THEREOF IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. By an "idle word" is meant, what the Jews call, שיחה קלה, "light conversation", and דבר בטל, "vain discourse", as the Hebrew Gospel of Munster reads it here; frothy language, unprofitable talk, which, though it does not directly hurt God or man, yet is of no use to speaker or hearer; and yet even this, in the last general and awful judgment, if not forgiven, and repented of, must be accounted for; and much more such horrid blasphemies the Pharisees had vented against Christ, and the Spirit of Christ. The Jews d...

9. THE REJECTION CONSUMMATED AND THE BROKEN RELATIONSHIP. CHAPTER 12 1. The Hungry Disciples and the Accusing Pharisees. (Matthew 12:1 .) 2. The Man with the Withered Hand Healed.(Matthew 12:10 .) 3. The Hatred of the Pharisees.(Matthew 12:14 .) 4. The King in Rejection. (Matthew 12:15 .) 5. The Demon Possessed Man Healed. (Matthew 12:22 .) 6. The Blasphemy of the Pharisees and the King's Answer. (Matthew 12:24 .) 7. The Sign of Jo

JESUS-' ANSWER TO THE VERDICT OF THE JERUSALEM SCRIBES, AND THE INTERVENTION OF HIS FAMILY (Mark 3:20 *, Luke 11:14; Luke 11:29; Luke 12:10; Luke 8:19). For the painful statement in Mark 3:20 f. Mt. (like Lk.) substitutes the healing of a blind and dumb man probably a second (compressed) use of Matthew 9:27 and Matthew 9:

CRISIS (Matthew 12:1-50) In Matthew 12:1-50 we read the history of a series of crucial events in the life of Jesus. In every man's life there are decisive moments, times and events on which the whole of his life hinges. This chapter presents us with the story of such a period in the life of Jesus. In it we see the orthodox Jewish religious leaders of the day coming to their final decision regarding Jesus--and that was rejection. It was not only rejection in the sense that they would have nothing to do with him; it was rejection in the sense that they came to the conclusion that nothing less than his complete elimination would be enough. Here in this chapter we see the first definite steps, the end of which could be nothing other than the Cross. The characters are painted clear b