Matthew 12:30

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

Matthew 12:30 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 12:30

He that is not with me, is against me
These words chiefly refer to Satan, and are a further proof, that Christ did not cast out devils by him; since they two are as much opposites, as can possibly be; Satan is not on the side of Christ, but an adversary to him; there is an original, and implacable enmity, between the serpent and the seed of the woman; there is an open war between them, and therefore one cannot be thought to lend assistance to the other. They were concerned in different things, had different views and interests, and so took different methods;

and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth:
Christ is the good shepherd, that gathers his sheep to himself, and into his fold, by the external ministry of the word, and internal efficacy of his grace; Satan is the wolf, that catches and scatters the sheep, and seeks to kill and destroy them: and since there is such an open war proclaimed and carried on between Christ and the devil, none ought to be neutral; whoever is not on the side of Christ, is reckoned as an enemy; and whoever is not concerned by prayer or preaching, or other means to gather souls to his word and ordinances, and to his church, and to himself, is deemed by him a scatterer of them.

Matthew 12:30 In-Context

28 But if I in the Spirit of God cast out fiends, then the kingdom of God is come into you.
29 Either how may any man enter into the house of a strong man, and take away his vessels, but he first bind the strong man, and then he shall spoil his house?
30 He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not together with me, scattereth abroad.
31 Therefore I say to you, all sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, but [the] blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32 And whoever saith a word against man's Son, it shall be forgiven to him; but who that saith a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven to him, neither in this world, nor in the tother.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.