The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus' Conflicts - Part 2

 

TEXT: Matthew 12:22-37  – 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?”v²⁴ 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. 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. ³³ “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.”

We are studying Chapter 12.  You notice that there is a section – verses 15-21 that I skip over in this topic. No, I am not leaving them out, we will at them in a couple of days. They deal with Jesus fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah where He predicted the earthly ministry of the Messiah.

One thing was true of Jesus’ ministry – it was not without conflict. He was constantly being challenged by the religious leaders of His day. He elevated the Word of God over the traditions of men. We will see three separate occasions where Jesus is confronted by these Pharisees.

We gave the  definition of conflict as:

• Opposing action of incompatibles : 
• Antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, principles, interests, or persons).
• Mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands.
• As a verb – to be different, opposed, or contradictory : to fail to be in agreement or accord

So, today we will consider the supposed source to the conflict. The Pharisees claim that Satan is the source of Jesus’ miracles. Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man.

In verses 22-29 let us start with the Criticism by the Pharisees. 

Their Accusation they make against Jesus - (verses 22-24): He gets His power from Satan, the prince of Demons.”

His Argument (verses 25-29): A city divided against itself is doomed. If Satan is casting out Satan – he is fighting against himself.

Here we see in verses 30-37: The condemnation of the Pharisees

• Jesus says their sin is terrible (12:30-34) He calls them corrupt fruit trees (12:30-33). He reminds us that a tree is known by its fruit
• He also calls them poisonous snakes (verse 34. They are speaking from their hearts.) speak from their hearts
• Finally, Jesus declares that their sin is terminal (verses 35-37). Their words and decision will determine their fate on Judgment Day.

Jesus is the only way to God. The only unforgivable sin is dying rejecting the call of the Holy Spirit. Have you rejected His call on your life? The only time it is too late to be forgiven is after we have died rejecting Jesus Christ.