Matthew 12:22-32
SS Lesson for 07/09/2023
Devotional Scriptures: Luke 17:20-37
Although the Gospel of Matthew does not identify its author explicitly, the early church attributed it to Matthew, one of the original 12 apostles chosen by Jesus. His given name was Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-29), being named after one of the 12 sons of Jacob (see Genesis 29:34; 35:23). Levi was the patriarch of the priestly tribe (Deuteronomy 18:1). The name Matthew is from the Hebrew language and means “gift of the Lord.” Some believe this may have been a nickname given to him, perhaps even by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18; Mark 3:16-17). We know little about Matthew’s family background, although he is once identified as a “son of Alphaeus” (Mark 2:14), creating the possibility that he was a brother of “James son of Alphaeus” (Matthew 10:3), another of the 12 apostles. Matthew’s chosen profession was to be a tax collector. This means that he worked for the hated foreign overlords, the Romans who occupied Palestine. His job was to squeeze taxes from his fellow Jews to appease the oppressors, and he was allowed to dip into this money flow to enrich himself (compare Luke 19:2, 8). Such tax collectors were seen as traitors. Indeed, the Gospels categorize them with “sinners” and “prostitutes” (Matthew 9:9-10; 21:32). By contrast, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were regarded in a positive manner, zealous for scrupulously keeping the laws of the Jews (see Acts 26:5). Even in Galilee, far from Jerusalem, the Pharisees formed an elite brotherhood that demanded strict observance of their understandings of the law. They were identified by their mode of dress (Matthew 23:5). While influential, they were never numerous. Some estimate their numbers to have been fewer than 10,000 at the time of Jesus. They frequently appear in the Gospels as Jesus’ critics and opponents, and he repeatedly pointed out their hypocrisies, teaching that the people needed another way to find God’s favor than the way of the Pharisees (see 5:20; 23:13-32). Similar and parallel accounts to today’s confrontation are Matthew 9:32-34; Mark 3:22-29; and Luke 11:14-23.
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
22 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."
19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."
18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter,
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
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.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!"
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you,
31 "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.
25 "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Matthew concluded the two accounts of the Pharisees’ conflict with Jesus over Sabbath observance. He did so with a summary of His ministry that shows He fulfilled messianic prophecy. Jesus’ tranquility and gentleness in this pericope contrast with the Pharisees’ hatred in the former one.
Matthew recently selected material that presented Jesus as the Son of God, the Son of David, and God Himself. Now he pointed out again that Jesus’ conduct proved Him to be the prophesied Suffering Servant of the Lord. The citation is from Isaiah 42:1-4. This is the longest Old Testament quotation in the first Gospel.
". . . by inserting this quotation here Matthew helps his readers to put the confrontation in context: it is not of the Messiah’s choosing." [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., pp. 468-69.]
The Greek word pais translated "servant" can also mean "son." However the Hebrew word that it translates means "servant." Matthew recorded "whom I have chosen" rather than "whom I uphold" in Isaiah 42:1 evidently to stress God’s election and love of Jesus (cf. Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 17:5). Jesus performed His miracles with the power of the Spirit whom the Father had poured out upon Him. These miracles extended even to Gentiles. Note the presence of the Trinity in this Old Testament passage.
Isaiah predicted that Messiah would minister with gentleness and humility (Matthew 12:19). He would not present Himself arrogantly or brashly. He would be very compassionate (Matthew 12:20). He would not advance His own program by stepping on others. He would bring salvation finally to the harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36) as well as to the weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28) without crushing the weak. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," pp. 286-87.] This concept of Messiah was much more gentle than the one Jesus’ contemporaries held. They expected Him to crush all opposition. He would, however, bring justice to pass. In Matthew "justice" (Gr. krisis) means fast approaching judgment, not just justice as opposed to injustice. [Note: M’Neile, p. 172.] Justice in the kingdom is in view. Consequently the Gentiles would put their trust in Him (Matthew 12:21).
"In the face of rejection by the nation of Israel Matthew, by Messianic prophecies, prepares his Jewish reader for the proclamation of a universal Savior." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 161.]
This Old Testament quotation helps the reader see how many of the characteristics of Jesus and His ministry that Matthew has presented fit the pattern of messianic prophecy. It also sets the stage for other things that Matthew recorded that demonstrated Jesus’ messiahship.
"Then" (Gr. tote) does not demand a close chronological connection with what precedes (cf. Matthew 2:7; Matthew 11:20). The Greek text describes the man’s afflictions in terms that show that his demon possession produced his blindness and dumbness. The miracle itself did not interest Matthew as much as the confrontation that it produced.
The Pharisees moved beyond debate to personal abuse and character assassination in this pericope.
The astonishment of the crowd prompted their question. It expected a negative answer. Literally they said, "This cannot be the Son of David, can it?" They raised the faint possibility that Jesus might be the Messiah, but primarily their question reflected their amazed unbelief. The Jews expected Messiah to perform miracles (Matthew 12:38), but other things about Jesus, for example His servant characteristics, led them to conclude that He was not the Son of David.
The Pharisees again attributed Jesus’ power to Satan (cf. Matthew 10:25). This time their accusation created an open breach between themselves and Jesus.
"Three times before Matthew 12 the kingdom was said to be near (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7). Then after Jesus’ opponents accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24-32; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-26), the nearness of the kingdom is never mentioned again in the Gospels." [Note: Idem, and Jay A. Quine, "No, Not Yet: The Contingency of God’s Promised Kingdom," Bibliotheca Sacra 164:654 (April-June 2007):138.]
John’s Gospel, by the way, makes no reference to the nearness of God’s kingdom. By the time John wrote, probably late in the first century A.D., it was clear that the messianic kingdom had been postponed.
Probably Jesus’ knew His critics’ thoughts as anyone else who had suffered such an attack would (cf. Matthew 9:4). Alternatively this may be a statement of Jesus’ omniscience. Any kingdom, city, or household that experiences internal conflict will destroy itself eventually if the strife continues. This holds true for the domain over which Satan rules as well. For Satan to cast out demons would amount to his casting out himself since the demons do his work.
The Pharisees’ "sons" cast out demons occasionally. These "sons" were probably their disciples or less likely the Jews more generally. In either case some Jews in Jesus’ day could cast out demons (cf. Acts 19:13). If the Pharisees asserted that Jesus cast out demons by Satan’s power, they would have to admit that their sons did so by the same power, something they would have denied.
The Spirit of God stands in stark contrast to Beelzebul. Matthew probably used "kingdom of God" here rather than "kingdom of heaven" to connect the kingdom with the Spirit.
"References to the Spirit occur only twelve times altogether in Matthew’s gospel, with one-third of them in chapter 12. As might be expected in a gospel concerned to interpret the significance of the life and ministry of Jesus, most of the references describe the work of the Spirit in relation to Him." [Note: Lowery, pp. 31-32.]
Jesus was claiming that He received His power from God’s Spirit (cf. Matthew 12:18), a clear messianic claim. [Note: See Mark R. Saucy, "Miracles and Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God," Bibliotheca Sacra 153:611 (July-September 1996):281-307.] The kingdom was imminent because the King was present.
"Upon" you does not mean the kingdom had somehow entered the Jews or overtaken them and they were then in it. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, and He did not mean the kingdom had come on them of all people. Moreover Jesus’ concept of the kingdom was an earthly physical one. Furthermore everywhere else Jesus spoke of people entering the kingdom, not the kingdom entering them. [Note: H. D. A. Major, T. W. Manson, and C. J. Wright, The Mission and Message of Jesus, p. 596.]
Jesus encouraged the Pharisees to look at the same issue another way. Only a stronger person can bind a homeowner and ransack his house (cf. Isaiah 49:24-25). On a deeper level Jesus was speaking of Himself binding Satan and spoiling his house by casting out demons (cf. Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21-22). Thus Jesus was claiming power superior to Satan that could only be divine. Jesus will really bind Satan for 1,000 years when the kingdom begins (Revelation 20:2). Jewish pseudepigraphal literature predicted that Messiah would do this (Assumption of Moses Matthew 10:1). The pseudepigrapha (lit. false writings) is a large body of Jewish writings that are not in the Old Testatment or what Protestants refer to as the Apocrapha. These books date from ca. 200 B.C. to ca. A.D. 100.
Jesus’ point in this statement was that there can be no neutrality in one’s relationship to Him. Those who do not side with Jesus side with Satan. This put the Pharisees in undesirable company. The Old Testament viewed man’s judgment as a harvest that God would conduct. Jesus claimed that He would be the harvesting Judge. Jesus’ statement here would have rebuked the Pharisees and warned the undecided in the crowd. Apparently they were not only refusing to come to Jesus themselves but were even scattering the disciples that Jesus was gathering.
Jesus followed up His statement about the impossibility of being neutral (Matthew 12:30) with this further warning. The "therefore" (Gr. dia touto) indicates this relationship. Blasphemy involves extreme slander (cf. Matthew 9:3). God would forgive any sin, including extreme slander of Jesus, when a person trusted in Jesus. However, He would not forgive blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, in view of the context (Matthew 12:24-28), involved attributing Jesus’ works to Satan rather than to the Spirit. The sin was not a matter of speech; the words spoken simply reflected the attitude of the heart. God would not forgive this sin because the person who committed it in Jesus’ day was thereby strongly rejecting Jesus as the Messiah. Even today the only sin one can commit that God will not forgive and that will result in his or her eternal damnation is rejection of Jesus Christ (cf. John 3:18). Attributing Jesus’ works to Satan was blasphemy of the Spirit in Jesus’ day and this resulted in damnation.
Can a person commit this sin today? One can reject Jesus Christ, but one cannot blaspheme the Spirit in the same sense in which Jesus’ contemporaries could. To do so one would have to observe Jesus doing His works and attribute them to Satan. [Note: Cf. Barbieri, p. 46.] One could say therefore that blasphemy against the Spirit was an unforgivable sin during Jesus’ earthly ministry. The unforgivable sin at any time since Jesus began His earthly ministry to the present day is rejection of Jesus Christ.
Speaking a word against is the same as blasphemy. Extreme slander of Jesus was forgivable in His day provided it did not go as far as attributing His works to Satan. That constituted blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave this warning to the professedly neutral person who might attribute His works to Satan (Matthew 12:30). Such a person needed to realize that even though he or she was not speaking against Jesus that one was doing something with much graver consequences.
"Given Matthew’s christological interests and the unique and central position held by Jesus throughout the Gospel, one may understandably be surprised that Matthew has not said the reverse of what stands in the text, i.e., that blasphemy against the Spirit is forgivable but not that against the Son of Man. The gravity of the blasphemy against the Spirit, however, depends upon the Holy Spirit as the fundamental dynamic that stands behind and makes possible the entire messianic ministry of Jesus itself . . ." [Note: Hagner, p. 348.]
Jesus proceeded to point out that conduct typically reflects character (Matthew 12:33-37; cf. Matthew 7:16-19). To have good fruit one must make the tree good, for example by cultivating, grafting, fertilizing, etc. If one makes a tree rotten by neglect and abuse, for example, one will get bad fruit. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree yields bad fruit. Jesus’ works were good, so He must be good.
Everywhere else in Matthew where the "brood of vipers" figure occurs it refers to the Pharisees and other religious leaders (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 23:33). That is undoubtedly whom Jesus addressed here too. The figure pictures deadly antagonists. Jesus’ point was that a person’s character determines what he or she says and does. The mouth usually reveals what is in the heart. The Pharisees’ extreme slander of Jesus revealed their rejection of Him. They needed a change of attitude toward Him, not just a change in their speech about Him.
It is going beyond what Jesus said to interpret this statement as meaning that no true believer will ever say or do what is contrary to the nature of a believer to say or do. All good people say and do some things that are good and some things that are bad. Likewise all bad people say and do some things that are good and some things that are bad. We are not exactly like the trees in this illustration.
Jesus did not want His critics to gain any satisfaction from what He had just said. Their externally righteous appearance did not excuse them from speaking as they did. Rather people’s words are what God will use to judge them eventually. The "careless" word is the word spoken without deliberation. One might think it insignificant except that it reveals character. Every word spoken reflects the heart’s overflow, and God knows about it. Therefore words are very important (cf. Ephesians 5:3-4; Ephesians 5:12; Colossians 3:17; James 1:19; James 3:1-12).
Matthew 12:37 sounds as though it may have been proverbial, or perhaps Jesus made it a proverb here. The context clarifies that the justification and condemnation in view deal with God passing judgment on everyone. Obviously Jesus did not mean that if a person was able to say all the right words he or she could deceive God and win salvation by clever speech. The basis of justification and condemnation is character, but words reveal character and so become the instruments by which God judges.
Jesus’ critics thought they were assessing Him when they said He did His works by Satan’s power (Matthew 12:24). Jesus pointed out that they were really assessing themselves. They thought they were judging Him with their words, but really God would judge them with their words.
The break between Jesus and the religious leaders was now final.
"It is worth noting that in Mt. the breach between Jesus and the authorities is not definite until the Beelzebub charge." [Note: M. Kiddle, "The Conflict Between the Disciples, the Jews, and the Gentiles in St. Matthew’s Gospel," The Journal of Theological Studies 36 (January 1935):37.]
Matthew’s connective again was weak. This incident was not a continuation of the preceding controversy chronologically but thematically. Some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to perform a sign, not just a miracle. He had performed many miracles, and they had concluded that they were satanic (Matthew 12:24). A sign was an immediate tangible assurance that something prophesied would surely happen. They requested a particular type of miracle. Evidently they believed Jesus could not produce one and that His failure would discredit Him.
(Adapted from URL:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/matthew-12.html)
In Book IV of Paradise Lost, author John Milton has Satan musing at length on his situation and prospects. Satan realizes that his rebellion against God has left him without hope for redemption; thus he utters, “Farewell, hope.” Satan then reasons, “All good to me is lost.” He had begun a journey away from God from which there was no return. Therefore, he decided, “Evil, be thou my good”, one of the most chilling lines in all of literature. What does it take to commit an eternal sin, a sin that cannot be forgiven, ever? Are we in daily danger of this, always walking a tightrope between salvation and eternal damnation? Could a careless word or thought condemn us for eternity? We should recognize that some Christians fear the possibility of committing an unpardonable sin. However, we are probably not in a position to evaluate for sure whether it has been committed. Paul speaks of those who have a “seared” conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), referring to those who will not and so cannot repent. They have willingly reversed the order of good and evil in the universe, becoming like those Isaiah condemns when he says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20). These are the ones who have agreed with Milton’s Satan: “Evil, be thou my good.” Some would say today that evil and depravity are celebrated more than good. But we must not turn our backs on the unrepentant people in our community, just as Jesus did not abandon the Pharisees without a warning. In the end, it is for God, not us, to judge whether or when the unforgivable sin has been committed. The old rule of thumb is that if you are concerned about it, you have not yet committed it, for you still have a conscience that discerns good from evil. God and his Word call us constantly to repent. If you still sense the stirring in your heart to get right with the Lord, even if the stirring is weak, you must do so. Jesus’ words remain a lesson for today’s church. Opponents of Christianity will always seek to discredit Jesus and divide his followers. Once confronted with the gospel, it is impossible to remain neutral. To reject Jesus is to be against him. This may done subtly, however. If we’re not careful, we may end up working against Jesus to divide and scatter his followers, bringing disunity to the body of Christ.