Matthew 12 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered

1 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.

2 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.

3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

(12:2-5) "Have ye not read the law?"
When Jesus and his disciples are accused of breaking the sabbath, he excuses himself by referring to a scripture in which priests who "profaned the sabbath" were blameless. But there is no such passage in the Old Testament.

Is it necessary to keep the Sabbath?
Was David alone when he asked for the holy bread at Nob?

David was not alone when he came to Nob, but was alone when he asked for the bread, see 1 Sam. 21:1.

4 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?

5 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?

(12:2-5) "Have ye not read the law?"
When Jesus and his disciples are accused of breaking the sabbath, he excuses himself by referring to a scripture in which priests who "profaned the sabbath" were blameless. But there is no such passage in the Old Testament.

Is it necessary to keep the Sabbath?
Was David alone when he asked for the holy bread at Nob?

The scripture passage Jesus refers to is Num. 28:9. The priests offer on every day, including the Sabbath.
Jesus does not argue that the Sabbath should not be kept at all as the author of the SAB claims, else he wouldn't say that the priests profane the Sabbath. The most generous interpretation towards what the author of the SAB asserts is that Jesus argues that an exception is allowed because he was present.

6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

"I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."
Does God desire animal sacrifices?

8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

9 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.

14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

16 And charged them that they should not make him known:

17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

18 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.

19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

22 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.

"Possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb"
Jesus casts out a devil from a man who was blind and dumb. (Those who are unable to see or hear are possessed by devils.)

Some possessed were blind and or dumb, but that doesn't mean that every blind or dumb person is possessed. No one in the Bible ever argues that being dumb or deaf is sign of being possessed. There are many instances where a blind person is healed who is clearly not possessed, see chapter 20:30 or Luke 18:35-43. Or dumb persons chapter 15:30-31 and Mark 7:37.

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

25 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:

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

29 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.

30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

"He that is not with me is against me."
But in Mark (9:40) and Luke (9:50) he says, "He that is not against me is for me."
Who is for or against Jesus?
BOM: 2 Nephi 10:16

The “he that is not with me” is the devil. He does not gather the sheep, but scatttereth them.
The author of the SAB mentions Mark 9:40 and Luke 9:50 as saying the opposite, but if the meaning is examined, this verse and the other two verses say exactly the same thing. Both Mark and Luke describe the same event, namely that a person cast out devils in Jesus name, but did not follow Jesus. Jesus answer to that is: “For he that is not against us is for us.” This person casts out devils and is therefore clearly opposed to the devil. The meaning in this verse and the other two verses is therefore the same: opposing the devil.

31 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.

(12:31-32) "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him."
But Acts (13:39) claims that "all that believe are justified from all things."
Is there an unforgivable sin?
I deny the existence of the Holy Spirit

Yes, there is an unforgivable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost as Jesus explains here. It is also unforgivable in the sense that such persons do not seek to believe and will never come to believe. Acts 13:39 speaks of believers. That category does not include those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost as they will never become believers.

32 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.

33 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.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

"O generation of vipers"
Jesus often called people names. One of his favorites was to call his adversaries a "generation of vipers."

He calls them “generation of vipers” not without reasons. Just as a judge can call a thief a thief.

35 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.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

"By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
How are people judged by God?
Is salvation by faith alone?
What must you do to be saved?
Is anyone justified?

Jesus says here that a man will be judged not only by his actions, but also by his words. The author of the SAB wants to draw a distinction here between belief and words as if people could be sincere in professing Jesus Christ, but hating him in their hearts. Such a thing does not exist, see James 1:26. They who belief in him, will speak good of him. The tongue displays what's in the heart, see the previous verse (verse 35).
As their is no one who does not sin, see 1 Kg. 8:46, we can never be saved by our deeds. Salvation is by faith alone and our good deeds are the fruit of that faith.

38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

39 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:

"An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign."
Did Jesus perform signs and wonders?

Yes, Jesus did perform signs and wonders, see Acts 2:22, but those signs were not good enough for the Pharisees it appears. Jesus has just healed (verse 22) a blind and dumb man, possessed by the devil, and the Pharisees have the boldness to ask him for a sign. So why was this not good enough? The Pharisees accused him (verse 24) of doing these signs by the power of the devil. It was a sign from the earth so to speak. They are asking him to give a sign from heaven, probably something with thunder or lightning. According to John Gill they thought that the devil had power on earth, but not in heaven. As Jesus had already refuted their idea that the devil would fight the devil, see verses 26-30, he blankly denies them their request.

40 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.

"Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly."
Jesus believed in the literal truth of the fish story in Jonah. He predicts that he will be "in the heart of the earth" for three days and three nights. If by this he meant that he would be in the tomb for three days and three nights, then either he was mistaken or the gospels are in error. Because according to the gospels (this is one of the few things they all seem to agree on), Jesus was in the tomb for only one day and two nights.
Was Jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale?
"Behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
Who was greater: Jesus or Solomon?
(12:43-45) "The unclean spirit"
When an unclean spirit (whatever that may be) leaves a person's body, he goes out to find another. Not finding any, he comes back with seven other spirits more wicked than himself and repossesses the person.

The first thing to note is that the Bible writers probably didn't use our definition of fish. Anything that swam in the water was a fish. We of course distinguish between warm and cold blooded animals, but why should we expect anyone from two thousand years ago to have the same definitions?
The second thing to note is that the translation “whale” is unfortunate. The original Greek just says big fish. Strong's concordance for example gives as definition: “a sea monster, whale, huge fish.” That removes any contradiction on the definition level.
The author of the SAB also remarks upon the three days and nights Jesus was in the tomb. Using his own day and night counting definition he arrives at one day. However, the Jews counted their days somewhat differently than the author of the SAB prefers. They counted a day even when just a part of it had passed. As days ended before sunset, Jesus spend three days in the tomb: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. To understand why Jesus uses three days and three nights where we perhaps would say three days and two nights one has to understand the Jewish concept of nightday, see John Gill. Basically the Jews counted day plus night as one thing, so they always went together. No one in Jesus days would have understood the objections the author of the SAB makes here.

41 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.

42 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.

See 1 Kg. 3:12.

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Jesus says here how impossible it is for man to clean himself from evil. He might try, sweep the floor, but because his heart is evil, evil will return to his heart. Outward reform will never clean a man, only Christ can deliver him from evil, 2 Tim. 4:18

44 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.

John Gill comments on the phrase "findeth it empty":

it was empty of God, of the true knowledge of him, of the fear of him, and love to him; of Christ, of faith in him, affection for him, and hope on him; of the Spirit of God, and of his graces, and of spiritual, internal religion, and powerful godliness.

45 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.

Jesus and His Family

46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

(12:47-50) "Who is my mother?"
When Jesus' mother and brothers want to see him, Jesus asks, " Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" So much for Jesus' family values.
The fact that Jesus had brothers, though, shows that Mary, contrary to Catholic teaching, was not always a virgin.
How should parents be treated?

Perhaps Jesus meant something with “Who is my mother?” At the cross Jesus asked John to take care of his mother, so it isn't as if he didn't care about her as the eldest son. But Jesus intention is to show his mother and his brothers that he was currently engaged in the work of his heavenly Father. That although they were his mother and brothers in the human sense, he was God as well. So he asks this rhetorical question in the first instance directed to them, but to his hearers as well. As a God he does not have a progenitor as a God he does not have brothers. But as human he did.

49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.