Matthew 12:6

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

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
I say	λέγω legō	G3004	properly · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
unto you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you
That	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
in this place	ὧδε. hōde	G5602	in this same spot · adverb
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
greater than	μείζων meízōn	G3187	larger (literally or figuratively
the temple	ἱεροῦ hi'erou	G2411	a sacred place · noun — genitive singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 12:41-42 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and,…
2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this hous…
1 Peter 2:4-5 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
Haggai 2:7-9 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, eve…
John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Matthew 23:17-21 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 12:1-13

The Jewish teachers had corrupted many of the commandments, by interpreting them more loosely than they were intended; a mistake which Christ discovered and rectified (ch. 5) in his sermon on the mount: but concerning the fourth commandment, they had erred in the other extreme, and interpreted it too strictly. Note, it is common for men of corrupt minds, by their zeal in rituals, and the external services of religion, to think to atone for the looseness of their morals. But they are cursed who add to, as well as they who take fRom. the words of this book, Rev 22:16, Rev 22:19; Pro 30:6. Now that which our Lord Jesus here lays down is, that the works of necessity and mercy are lawful on the s…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 12:6

But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple--or rather, according to the reading which is best supported, "something greater." The argument stands thus: "The ordinary rules for the observance of the sabbath give way before the requirements of the temple; but there are rights here before which the temple itself must give way." Thus indirectly, but not the less decidedly, does our Lord put in His own claims to consideration in this question--claims to be presently put in even more nakedly.

John Gill on Matthew 12:6

But I say unto you,.... Who Christ knew would be ready to object, as above, and therefore prevents them, by saying, that in this place is one greater than the temple; meaning himself, who was the Lord and Proprietor of the temple, and in his human nature the antitype of it; see John 2:19 and was infinitely more sacred than that. Some copies read "something greater"; referring either to the human nature of Christ, in which the Godhead dwells bodily, and so infinitely greater than the temple; or to the health of his disciples, which was in danger, through hunger: or to the ministry of the apostles, which, by satisfying nature, they were more capable of performing; either of which was of more…

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The Church Fathers

The word Hic is not a pronoun, but an adverb of place here, for that place is greater than the Temple which contains the Lord of the Temple.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 6.) But I tell you that here is a greater temple. Here, is not a pronoun, but an adverb of place; that the place, which holds the Lord of the temple, is greater than the temple.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

Wherefore He said also, "But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." Nevertheless, great as the sayings were which they heard, they made no reply, for the salvation of men was not their object.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 39

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Sabbath — (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The sabbath was made for…
Accusation, False · .Against Jesus — .Against Jesus
Ecclesiasticism · Arrogance of — Arrogance of
Pharisees · .The Sabbath — .The Sabbath
Sabbath · 9:13,14;10:31;13:15-22; — 9:13,14;10:31;13:15-22;
Tradition · Commandments of men — Commandments of men

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Matthew 12:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 12:1-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 12:6

John Gill on Matthew 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 12:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 12:1-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 12:6

John Gill on Matthew 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 12:1-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 12:5-6