Continuing a Bible study of the gospel accounts:
(Matthew 12:22) Then was brought to Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb; and He healed him so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
Chapter 12 of Matthew is rather long, so I divided it into two posts. In the first part of Matthew 12, Jesus continued teaching and healing. He had withdrawn from the city to avoid the evil schemes of the Pharisees as it was not yet time for His suffering and death. The account in Mark stated that He withdrew to the sea of Galilee. It was there people brought to Him a person that was demon-possessed and blind and unable to speak. Jesus healed the man and he could both see and speak.
(23) And all the people were amazed and said, "Is this not the Son of David?"
The people were amazed at this healing, and began to ask among themselves if Jesus was the Son of David, meaning their long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David.
(24) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out devils except by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils."
Leave it to the judgmental and probably envious Pharisees, when they heard of the incident, to say that Jesus could only cast out devils by the power of Satan, the prince of the devils. Why the one who possessed people with demons would want to remove them seems a paradox. The Pharisees could not deny that Jesus did, in fact, perform miracles, but they felt they had to explain it away somehow, and this was the best they could do.
(25) And Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand."
Although the Pharisees obviously did not say it to Jesus, He knew their thoughts. He told them that every kingdom divided against itself would be destroyed (from within); every city or house divided against itself would not stand. I can't help but think about the situation with our country at this present time. We are a divided country, and unfortunately, it seems our very leaders are stoking the flames of division so that we will indeed fall.
(26) "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?"
Jesus's point, of course, was that if Satan cast himself out, he was certainly divided, and his kingdom would not be able to stand.
(27) "And if I, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges."
Jesus went on to ask them, that if it were true that He cast out devils by Beelzebub, then by whom did their children, their disciples, exorcise demons? He asserted they would be the judges of this issue. The point was, of course, that if He worked for Satan, then so would the disciples of the Pharisees who also cast out devils. Those disciples would tell them by whom it was that they could cast out demons; in that the Pharisees' absurd accusation would be judged.
(28) "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you."
However, Jesus continued, if He cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then no doubt, the kingdom of God had come to them, as both He and John the Baptist had declared was at hand. If God expelled Satan from his dominion over people, then His reign had indeed come.
(29) "Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house."
In this, Jesus was speaking of Himself coming into the strong man's house, that world where the prince of darkness ruled, and plundering his goods, his possessed souls. He could only take those souls if He had bound Satan, the strong man. By His casting out of demons and healing, He proved that He had bound Satan who had possessed the demon-possessed, and therefore, He must be from God.
(30) "He who is not with Me is against Me, and He who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
In this, Jesus was saying that there was no neutral territory, no riding of the fence. One must be fully with Christ, or he is against Him. Christ is the good shepherd who gathers His sheep, souls, to Him. Satan is the wolf who scatters the sheep. Those who do not work with Christ to do His work and gather souls, is in league with Satan and helping to scatter souls.
(31) "Therefore I say to you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven men."
Jesus told them that all manner of sin and even blasphemy would be forgiven men, that is, of course, if they repented, but blaspheming the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven. In this case, that was attributing those miracles to the power of the devil, those things they consciously knew were the works of the Holy Spirit.
(32) "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
Jesus said that even speaking against Him, Christ Jesus, it could be forgiven if the perpetrator repented, but speaking against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven. I think it's amazing that one could blaspheme Jesus and be forgiven, but not the Holy Spirit. I believe that is because to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, one has to know Him. An unsaved person might blaspheme the person of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit comes after that person has received salvation in Jesus. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit once a person knows that Spirit of God, would be to reject that Spirit that has once inhabited that soul; that seems to be the unpardonable sin, according to Jesus. The Holy Spirit wouldn't have actually dwelt in these Pharisees yet; He would come after Jesus's death and resurrection. However, these men knew in their hearts that Jesus's miracles were by the Holy Spirit of God, yet they attributed them to Satan. Additionally, Jesus knew the hearts of men, and knew whether they would have blasphemed the Holy Spirit had He dwelt in them; and they most assuredly would have because they were trying to accuse Jesus.
(33) "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt, for a tree is known by its fruit."
The original word "poieo" that was translated as "make" actually has more of the sense of "agree". Rather than actually actively making a tree and its fruit good or bad, the sense is that they should agree that either both the tree and its fruit are good, or they both are bad. If the fruit is good, then so is the tree; if the fruit is bad, then the tree is said to be bad. Therefore one can tell whether or not a tree is good by its fruit. They should know Jesus by His fruits; by converting sinners to God, they must know that He is good and was sent by God.
(34) "O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
Jesus called the Pharisees vipers--deceitful, hurtful, poisonous creatures. Therefore, how could they, being evil, possibly say good things? While they might sometimes speak things that sounded good, it wouldn't take long for their speech to betray them. That is because they could not help but speak what was within their hearts. They might try to deceive, but hypocrites at length will betray themselves with their own mouths.
(35) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."
The original word "ekballo" which was translated as "brings forth" actually has a more forceful meaning, "eject". A good man with a good heart can't help but spontaneously speak the good things of his heart, which obviously come from the Spirit of God. Likewise, an evil man with an evil heart will undoubtedly spew out evil things.
(36) "But I say to you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment."
Wow! Jesus said, not only profane and blasphemous words, but idle words, vain unprofitable talk, thoughtless and useless and not edifying, would have to be explained in the day of judgment. This seems to encompass the commandments against taking the Lord's name in vain and bearing false witness against one's neighbor, as well as gossip, about which the Bible has a lot to say.
(37) "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."
Words indicate the state of the heart, and we know that God judges the hearts of men; therefore it becomes obvious that by a man's words, he will be judged by God.
(38) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, "Master, we want to see a sign from you."
According to this same account in Luke, these were not the same Pharisees, but others who asked Jesus for a sign from heaven to prove that He truly was from God. They called Him "Master," but the word more usually meant "Teacher."
(39) But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah."
Jesus called them an adulterous generation, meaning their hearts wandered away from God and to the lusts of the world. They didn't need another sign! They had already seen enough to know He was from God. Had their hearts not been estranged from God, they would have had no doubts and would not have desired another sign. There would be no other sign given to them personally at this time; He did not mean that He would do no more miracles, but that He would do none to prove Himself to them. There was one sign already given by the prophet Jonah, and when Jesus fulfilled the act of which Jonah's was a symbol, they would have the ultimate sign; not that He wished to prove Himself to them, but they would then be condemned for their unbelief. Jesus went on to explain how Jonah had been a sign:
(40) "For as Jonah 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."
Jonah was three days in the whale's belly and came out again, and so would Jesus be three days in the earth and would then rise again. "Three days and three nights" is not to be taken literally as three full days and three full nights; that was just the way the Jews described a day.
(41) "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the teaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
The men of Nineveh would rise before the judgment seat of God, along with the present generation of men. Those Pharisees would be condemned by the example of the men of Nineveh who repented at the teaching of Jonah, because they refused to repent when they were in the presence of one greater than Jonah.
(42) "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
The queen of Sheba, as she was called in Kings 10:1, would also stand in judgment with that present generation, and her actions would also condemn them. She came from the farthest coast of Arabia at the mouth of the Arabian Sea to hear the wisdom of Solomon. These Pharisees had one greater than Solomon right in the midst of them, but they refused to believe.
(43) "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none."
Jesus went on to tell of an unclean spirit, a demonic spirit, that had been driven out of a man, and how it walked in dry places looking for rest. A demonic spirit cannot find rest in the company of Christians with the Holy Spirit.
(44) "Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished."
The unclean spirit decided to return to the soul of the man he had been driven out of, and when he returned he found it empty; there was no spirit there, no Holy Spirit of God. Oh, it was clean and in order, with the disorder driven away with the unclean spirit, but there was none in its place. Oh, it was decorated with showy trifles of morality, perhaps observance of some external rites and ceremonies, and a few hypocritical performances of fasting and prayer; but that was all it was--decorations for show.
(45) Then he goes and takes 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. So shall it be also to this wicked generation."
The unclean spirit brings seven more spirits more wicked than himself into the soul of the man. Seven is a number that meant perfection, or in this case, fullness. It is not to be taken literally, but just means many more were brought in to bring that man to a worse state than he was in before. Jesus said it was so for that present generation. Here they had Jesus, God Himself, in their midst, and He drove away their evil spirits, but they would not totally embrace Him. So great was their love for the world that they quickly returned to a wickedness much greater than before. Their vain outward displays of religion were like the house built on sand that Jesus spoke of back in Matthew 7:26-27; it was easily demolished by the floods of the world. "And great was its fall" (Matthew 7:27b).
(46) While He still talked to the people, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside, desiring to speak with Him.
At this time, Jesus's mother Mary and His brothers stood outside, either outside a house that He had gone into, or outside the multitudes that had crowded around Him. They wanted to speak to Him. The Catholic teaching is that these were not actually Jesus's "brothers" but were just kinsmen. It is true that often "brother" is used to denote a family relationship, but not necessarily a brother. However, there are several other verses that speak of Jesus's brothers, and even sisters. The Catholics go to great lengths to make Mary holy and untouched by man, but there is no clear evidence of this, nor is it necessary. Jesus was the firstborn son, and He was not actually the son of Joseph, but was the Son of God by immaculate conception of Mary. It is quite reasonable to believe that Joseph and Mary went on to have more children, who would have been half-siblings to Jesus, because they all had the same mother, but Jesus's biological father was not Joseph. Jesus having half-siblings, in no way diminishes who He is. It can only diminish Mary in the eyes of the Catholics who have to read into scripture things that are simply not there. There is no reason not to take scripture at face value here.
(47) Then one said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers stand outside, desiring to speak with You."
Someone within the group of people informed Jesus that His mother and brothers were standing outside wishing to speak with Him.
(48) But He answered and said to him who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
Obviously, Jesus knew who His mother and brothers were, but He posed this question to the people.
(49) And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! (50) For whoever shall do the will of My Father Who is in heaven, the same is My brother, sister, and mother."
Jesus then stretched His hands out motioning to His disciples, which might have meant more than just the twelve, and declared that they were His closest kin, His mother, brothers, and sisters. Those who truly follow God are His children and therefore brothers and sisters to Christ Jesus. We are not told about Him meeting with His mother and brothers, and what their conversation was about. The fact that He did not immediately run to them is not to be seen as disrespectful. There are too many other passages that show His deep respect for His mother. Jesus, knowing the thoughts of man, already knew what it was that they wanted, and He chose to make a point rather than interrupt His teaching. After all, it only took a minute or two to finish His point. And that was that the business of God was more important than even the closest biological family. Jesus had said that before in Matthew 10:37, that whoever loved his father or mother or son or daughter more than Him was not worthy of Him. This was also great encouragement to the followers of Christ that they were as dear to Him, even dearer, than His own biological family.
Most of this post dealt with the wicked ways of the Pharisees and scribes--their blasphemy in accusing Jesus of working for Satan, their unwarranted request for more signs, how they may be known by the fruits of their actions, and how those who accepted God's truth when they didn't even have the advantage of Christ in their midst, would stand in judgment against them. However, this chapter has a happy ending; those who follow Jesus are very dear to Him, and He loves them more than He loves even His very own mother! Of course, His mother was His follower, too, but for others who may have family who reject Christ, He told us that we are His dear family if we look first to Him above family.
