August 29, 2021
Morning Service

In the first part of chapter 12, Jesus displayed that He was the Lord of the Sabbath by healing a man with a withered hand.  He in fact showed that He is Lord of all that was created and stands alone above the Law, Moses, and the prophets.  As the 13^th disciple our faith is growing by leaps and bounds as we see the healings and hear His teachings.  The religious leaders on the other hand have now began plans to destroy Him (v 14).  Their legalistic traditions were interfering with them seeing Jesus for who He really is; the long awaited Messiah.  We were cautioned as well to be careful and not get caught up in “religion” or in the craziness of our media so deep that we lose sight of who He is and the fact that we have fully committed to following Him.  Everything we do and say should reflect that fact first and foremost.  Keep your eyes fixed upon our Savior in these troubling times; He is the” Way, the Truth and the Light.”  Our story continues:

Mat 12:14-21Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  (15)  But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  (16)  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, (17) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: (18) "BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.  (19)  HE WILL NOT QUARREL NOR CRY OUT, NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.  (20)  A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK, AND SMOKING FLAX HE WILL NOT QUENCH, TILL HE SENDS FORTH JUSTICE TO VICTORY; (21) AND IN HIS NAME GENTILES WILL TRUST."

            Notice first that multitudes followed, His fame is spreading, and He healed ALL who came to Him. Here Matthew tries to explain through Isaiah’s prophecy the reason Jesus tried to keep those who were healed NOT to tell others about Him.  Jesus did not want people following Him for the wrong reasons.  The Jewish people were expecting a “conquering hero” in the Messiah but this prophecy paints a different picture.  Isaiah predicts the Messiah to be a chosen servant whom with God is well pleased, not quarrelsome and preaching rebellion in the streets.  His gentle Spirit would harm no one but bring justice and victory through love and the changing of a person’s heart not a military takeover.

 

Mat 12:22-30 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  (23)  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  (24)  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  (25)  But 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 will not stand.  (26)  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?  (27)  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges.  (28)  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  (29)  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.  (30)  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  

            With this healing, the people began to question, “could this be the One we have been waiting for?” The Pharisees begin their mission to discredit Jesus and all He is doing and saying by using the emotional argument that His power came from Satan not God.  Jesus is able to quickly dispel that argument saying a “kingdom divided cannot stand.”  His works prove that His power exceeds that of our enemy and reaffirms that only those who make the choice to follow Him are with Him (v 30).  There is no neutral ground in following Jesus, you choose to follow or not and no choice is a choice.  This accusation also brings with it another statement from Jesus that reveals a truth to us that our enemy often uses against us.

 

Mat 12:31-32 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  (32)  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

            This is a scripture that many people stress over wondering if they have committed this “unpardonable sin.”  The Pharisees here blaspheme by attributing Jesus’ power to Satan instead of its true source the Holy Spirit.  The unforgiveable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge the Holy Spirit as the power of Christ; revealing a heart that is irreversibly hard.  Many worry that they unknowingly have done this in their lives, not realizing the fact that they even think this, reveals they have not.  Only those who have rejected faith have any need to worry, and that is not that the sin they commit is so great.  It is because such a one will never ask for forgiveness because they have rejected the working and prompting of the Holy Spirit to come to the point of repentance.  One who commits this sin will never seek repentance so in worrying that you have done this reveals that you have not.  Do not let our enemy burden you with this worry any longer. (I JN 1:9) “If we confess, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Believe it, practice it, and know we are all sinners saved by grace.

 

Mat 12:33-37 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  (34)  Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  (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.  (36)  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak; they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  (37)  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

            Jesus returns to the fact that we are not to judge people, but we are to be “fruit inspectors” (Matt 7:17).  Our words originate from our heart and reveal the status of it.  The Pharisees words here reveal a heart of unbelief, hate and contempt towards Jesus despite the miracles they see Him perform right before their eyes.  The power of our words is revealed in verse 36-37, in that “every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified or by your words you will be condemned.”  These verses do not take a college degree to understand do they?  Your words expose the status of your heart and you will be held accountable for them.  We can clean up our language, but it is the heart that truly needs repaired.  Young people, as you are searching for a spouse and wonder how you can determine what they are really like on the inside, listen to what they say and how they say it.  They will reveal their true selves to you by it.

            What do your words reveal to others about your heart?  Do you use them to build others up or tear them down?  You should know that it is your heart that needs mending when your mouth displays these symptoms.  Look in your spiritual mirror and listen to the words you say and the tone in which you say them; are they reflecting a heart defect?  Fix the heart and the words will take care of themselves and always remember; “by your words you are justified and by your words you will be condemned.”

 

Heavenly Father thank You that we have these teaching of Jesus at our fingertips.  Open the eyes of our heart that we may truly understand Your ways and give us the faith and strength to live them out in our lives.

 

A quick summary of what we learned today.  Jesus did not come to change the world by force, but through love and changing one heart at a time.  A kingdom divided will fall and to be part of Jesus’ kingdom we must choose to follow; no choice is a choice.  This should get us busy about getting our loved ones to commit to Christ.  The “unpardonable sin” is a rejecting of the working of the Holy Spirit to such a degree that the one doing it will never seek repentance and thus not receive forgiveness.  Finally, God is after your heart and your true heart is revealed in your words.  Be like Jesus, a Carpenter, and build others up with your words not tearing them down.