John Wesley

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

“Come to me - Here he shows to whom he is pleased to reveal these things to the weary and heavy laden; ye that labour - After rest in God: and are heavy laden - With the guilt and power of sin: and I will…”

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

“For I am meek and lowly in heart - Meek toward all men, lowly toward God: and ye shall find rest - Whoever therefore does not find rest of soul, is not meek and lowly.”

He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

“He entered into the house of God - Into the tabernacle. The temple was not yet built. The show bread - So they called the bread which the priest, who served that week, put every Sabbath day on the golden table that was in the…”

If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

“I will have mercy and not sacrifice - That is, when they interfere with each other, I always prefer acts of mercy, before matters of positive institution: yea, before all ceremonial institutions whatever; because these being only means of religion, are suspended of course, if…”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other.

“If we suppose here is a transposition of the 7th and 8th verses, then the 8th verse is a proof of the 6th. It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day - To save a beast, much more a man.”

“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

“He shall show judgment to the heathens - That is, he shall publish the merciful Gospel to them also: the Hebrew word signifies either mercy or justice.”

A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.

“A bruised reed - A convinced sinner: one that is bruised with the weight of sin: smoking flax - One that has the least good desire, the faintest spark of grace: till he send forth judgment unto victory - That is, till he make righteousness…”

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

“And they shall convict you of obstinacy and partiality, who impute that in me to Beelzebub, which in them you impute to God. Beside, how can I rob him of his subjects, till I have conquered him?”

Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

“How can one enter into the strong one's house, unless he first bind the strong one - So Christ coming into the world, which was then eminently the strong one's, Satan's house, first bound him, and then took his spoils.”

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

“How many sermons, yea, volumes, have been written concerning it? And yet there is nothing plainer in all the Bible.”

But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

“Ye may perhaps think, God does not so much regard your words. But I say to you - That not for blasphemous and profane words only, but for every idle word which men shall speak - For want of seriousness or caution; for every discourse…”

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

“For by thy words (as well as thy tempers and works) thou shalt then be either acquitted or condemned. - Your words as well as actions shall be produced in evidence for or against you, to prove whether you was a true believer or not.”

Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

“Such adulterers are all those who love the world, and all who seek the friendship of it. Seeketh a sign - After all they have had already, which were abundantly sufficient to convince them, had not their hearts been estranged from God, and consequently averse…”

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the…

“Three days and three nights - It was customary with the eastern nations to reckon any part of a natural day of twenty-four hours, for the whole day.”

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

“When the unclean spirit goeth out - Not willingly, but being compelled by one that is stronger than he.”

Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

“Whence he came out - He speaks as if he had come out of his own accord: See his pride! He findeth it empty - of God, of Christ, of his Spirit: Swept - from love, lowliness, meekness, and all the fruits of the Spirit…”

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse…

“Seven other spirits - That is, a great many; a certain number being put for an uncertain: More wicked than himself - Whence it appears, that there are degrees of wickedness among the devils themselves: They enter in and dwell - For ever in him…”

And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

“And while he sowed, some seeds fell by the highway side, and the birds came and devoured them - It is observable, that our Lord points out the grand hindrances of our bearing fruit, in the same order as they occur.”

He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

“To you, who have, it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven - The deep things which flesh and blood cannot reveal, pertaining to the inward, present kingdom of heaven.”

Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

“Whosoever hath - That is, improves what he hath, uses the grace given according to the design of the giver; to him shall be given - More and more, in proportion to that improvement.”

When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

“When the blade was sprung up, then appeared the darnel - It was not discerned before: it seldom appears, as soon as the good seed is sown: all at first appears to be peace, and love, and joy.”

The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it darnel? - Not from the parent of good.”

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“Darnel, in the Church, is properly outside Christians, such as have the form of godliness, without the power.”

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

“He proposed to them another parable - The former parables relate chiefly to unfruitful hearers; these that follow, to those who bear good fruit. The kingdom of heaven - Both the Gospel dispensation, and the inward kingdom.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

“Three measures - This was the quantity which they usually baked at once: till the whole was leavened - Thus will the Gospel leaven the world and grace the Christian.”