Matthew 12:38-50

Matthew 12:38-50

The demand for a sign indicates the end of faith. The truth is more than believing. Demanding a sign is the death of a humble, responsive heart that is seeking God for Himself and not for a show. The sign of Jonah was that just as Jonah was in the fish for three days, Jesus was in the heart of the Earth or in the place of the dead for three days. However, Jonah was delivered from the prospect of death, and Jesus overcame death itself.

The pagans of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching while a pagan Queen Sheba responded to the Wisdom of Solomon. Something greater than the prophet or the wise king or the temple has come. We are all without excuse. Do you want a sign? What could you imagine that would be a greater sign than the resurrection?

Jesus offers a grave warning and a parable. Notice the conversation started with Jesus casting out a demon. Jesus’ presence and ministry could have profound impact, but some men only want the goods He provided. This half-hearted turning to Jesus may bring short-term blessings. But once those good things are in place, if there is not a complete loyalty to Jesus the individual is unprotected from the powers of evil. The demon that was expelled returns with more demons. The first demon may not have had total control but now there are seven more demons. Notice the number seven, the number of completion. So, the man is finally fully possessed. Unless there is absolute loyalty and devotion to Jesus then All Is Lost!

The placement of the story of Jesus' family in the context is important. If there were anyone that could expect to get a pass, it would be Jesus' biological family. Jesus says that the family is something deeper than blood, something deeper than knowledge. It is obedience. So, who is the family? Those who do the Father's will. The choice for Jesus is not one and done. It is the everyday obedience and each act and moment of decision.

"Lord, I am in grave danger if I am not completely Yours. Lord I surrender to you my rights, my will, and my control. AMEN

Matthew 12:21-37

Matthew 12:22-37

The opposition of Jesus’ opponents grows more intense. The occasion is Jesus healing a man who is blind and mute. The powers of darkness manifest in many different ways, sometimes in the dramatic form of the demonic and sometimes in the form of the religious elite. Both are equally inept before Jesus.

Jesus’ opponents cannot deny the event of the healing, so they slander Jesus’ character to justify their rejection. The charge that Jesus is in league with Beelzebub or even possessed by Beelzebub is refuted by three arguments. First, in the midst of war a leader will not turn on his own forces and divide his fighters. Second, if the Pharisees approve of exorcism, as evident by their disciples performing it, then why did they oppose Jesus’ exorcism? Third, the exorcisms that Jesus performed were evidence that the Kingdom of God has come and the kingdom of Satan was being defeated.

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or the unpardonable sin is a terrifying subject. While a full discussion will require more space than available here let it suffice to say that that this thought ought to both strike the fear of God in our hearts and draw us near to Him. In the larger context we see that religious elite are rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit. The miracles of Jesus are presented as coming from "the Spirit of God". While the Spirit is at work desiring to draw men to the Father through the Son, the Pharisees are rejecting the work of the Spirit. While this is an overly simple description it is a good beginning point to understand the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is at work to bring us to the Father and away from evil and we reject Him and His work there is nothing that can get us over that hard unrepentant heart . We have rejected the only One who can set us right.

"Lord, please help me to be sensitive to Your Spirit and always eager and willing to repent and conform my whole being to Your will. AMEN"

Matthew 12:1-21

Matthew 12:1-21

This passages marks a change in the ministry of Jesus as it relates to the Jewish religious elite. From this point on they will grow ever more vocal in their opposition to Jesus and His message. The occasion is Jesus’ disciples breaking one of their rules about keeping the Sabbath. They literally had books of rules that they wanted to enforce on everyone by which they made the law a heavy burden. Keeping the Sabbath was intended to be a witness of God’s creation and of Israel’s special covenant, as well as, a time of preparation of the hope to come. But they, along with their rules, made it a drudgery that ruined faith and life.

Jesus responds to their attack with a four-fold argument that centers on Him. 1) David could break the rule because of who he was and Jesus is greater than David. 2) The ritual work of the Temple broke the law, but someone greater than the Temple has come. 3) Hosea quoted here, presents God as compassionate. The disciples are not innocent because they did not break the Pharisees rules. They are innocent because they are under Jesus’ authority. 4) The Sabbath regulations have their authority and find their meaning in the Son of Man not the other way around.

In verse 9, we see one of those tiny things that has huge meaning. It is almost impossible to over state how important two words here are! In verse 9, “He went into their synagogue.” When the house of worship becomes the property of men we see the advanced symptoms of an advanced spiritual cancer. The division between Jesus and the religious leaders is becoming more evident. They have moved from reacting to Jesus to actually setting traps. The religious elite would be more than willing to rescue what was theirs, like a sheep, but they simply didn’t care about their fellow man or fellow Jew. This man was nothing to them except a tool to be used for their purpose. The “animal in a pit” scenario was widely debated by the religious elite and there was a general conclusion that it was permissible to rescue your trapped animal on the Sabbath. It was presented as compassionate and therefore a pious thing to do. When selfish motives are dressed up in religious trappings it is a purified form or hypocrisy.

In contrast to the religious elites’ indifference to the man, Jesus wants to heal. He does two things. First of all, He withdraws and does the healing privately. Jesus did not want to make this man a public spectacle. Then He commands the man to keep this matter quiet, again to save him the grief of the religious elite’s reprisals. In contrast to the harsh rule keeping of the religious elite, Jesus is kind and tender and sensitive to the needs of the individual. The quote here from Isaiah is reflective of what the Father said at Jesus’ baptism. In this passage we see the negative of Jesus’ ministry; what He would not do. What great compassion that Jesus will not finish off that which appears to be a lost cause or hopeless.

"Lord, forbid in my heart that I would ever make religious practices a tool for any selfish agenda. Help me in, like Jesus to be filled with gentleness and mercy. AMEN"