Bible in one year Matthew 12 By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible in one year   Matthew 12

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries; Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & counseling

 

By controversies over the Sabbath, Matthew 12:1-13

 

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread –which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” You would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. (vv.1-8)

 

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there, looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him,” Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (vv.9-12) Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand. So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. (v.13)

 

Verse 2 what is unlawful on the Sabbath. It was lawful for persons to pick grain from another’s field to satisfy a hunger (Deut.23:25) But not to do regular work on the Sabbath (Ex.20:10). The latter was the charge of the Pharisees. Verse 4 , the consecrated bread. Better, bread of the Presence. Twelve cakes, made of fine flour, were placed in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle each day on the table which stood opposite the candlestick. The old bread was eaten by the priests. It was this bread the David requested of Ahimelech, the priest, for himself and his men. The Lord indicated that as the Lord of the Sabbath, He had the right to change the regulations concerning the Sabbath. The Lord gave the condemning Pharisees a threefold verdict. He was the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. So He could do whatever He liked on the Sabbath, and whatever He did was justified by Himself. He was above all rituals and regulations. Since He was there, no attention should have been paid to any ritual or regulation.

 

By condemnation of the Pharisees (the unpardonable sin) Matthew 12:14-37

 

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering which he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope. (vv.14-21).

 

 On this Sabbath Jesus healed a man’s withered hand, likening this man to a sheep (vv.11-12). The hand is a member of the body. And the sheep is a member of the flock. The Lord would do anything for the healing of His members, for the rescue of His fallen sheep. Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing the dead members of His body. To Him, the rescue of His fallen sheep means everything. In the eyes of the religious Pharisees, for the Lord to break the Sabbath was to destroy God’s covenant with the nation of Israel, that is, to destroy the relationship between God and Israel. Hence, they took counsel against Him as to how they might destroy Him. The breaking of the Sabbath caused the Jewish religionists to reject the heavenly King.  In verse 16 not to tell who he was. Many were drawn to Christ because of His reputation as a healer, which may have been diverting attention from His primary role as Messiah. In verses 18-21 Isaiah 42:1-4. Here is one of Matthew’s descriptive gems, highlighting Jesus’ graciousness and gentleness. 

 

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “ It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” (vv.22-23).

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (vv.22-28)

Verse 22, a blind and mute man signifies one who is without spiritual sight, who is unable to see God and spiritual things, and who, for this reason, is unable to praise God and speak for God. This is the real condition of all fallen people. Verse 26, Satan is the ruler of this world (John12:31) and the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph.2:2). He has his authority (Acts.26:18) and his angels (Matt.25:41), who are his subordinates as rulers, authorities, and would-rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph.6:12). Hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of darkness. Verse28, the Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God. Where the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is, and there the demons have no ground.  The kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the heavens, is indicated here. Even at the time the kingdom of the heavens still had not come. The kingdom of God, however, was there already.

 

Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.  (vv,29-32)

 

 Verse 31, blasphemy against the spirit. Technically, according to the scribes, blasphemy involved direct and explicit abuse of the divine name. Jesus here teaches that it also may be the reviling of God by attributing the Spirit’s work to Satan. The special circumstances involved in this blasphemy cannot be duplicated today.  Blaspheming the Spirit differs from insulting the Spirit (Heb.10:29). To insult the Spirit is to disobey Him willfully. Many believers do this. If they confess this sin, they will be forgiven and cleansed by the Lord’s blood (1John1:7,9). But to blaspheme the Spirit is to slander Him, as the Pharisees did in v.24. it was by the Spirit that the Lord cast out a demon. But the Pharisees said that The Lord cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. This was blasphemy against the Spirit. By such blasphemy the Pharisees’ rejection of the heavenly King reached its climax.

Verse 32, whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit. In the economy of the Triune God, the Father conceived the plan of redemption (Eph.1:5,9), the Son accomplished redemption according to the Father’s plan (1Pet, 2:24; Gal.1:4) and the Spirit reaches sinners to apply the redemption accomplished by the Son (1Cor.6:11;1Pet.1:2). If a sinner blasphemes the Son, as Saul of Tarsus did, the Spirit will still have the ground to work on him and cause him to repent and believe in the Son that he may be forgiven (1 Tim.1:13-16).But if a sinner blasphemes the Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work on him, and there will be no one left to cause him to repent and believe. Hence, it is impossible for such a person to be forgiven. This is not only logical according to reason but also governmental according to God’s administrative principle, as revealed here by the Lord’s word.

Verse 32, neither in this age nor in the one to come. In God’s governmental administration His forgiveness is dispensational. For His administration He has planned different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages: (1) this age, the present one, from Christ’s first coming to His second coming; (2) the coming age, the millennium, the one thousand years for restoration and heavenly reigning, from Christ’s second coming to the end of the old heaven and old earth, and (3) eternity, the eternal age of the new heaven and new earth. God’s forgiveness in this age is for sinners’ eternal salvation. This forgiveness is given to both sinners and believers. God’s forgiveness in the coming age is related to the believers’ dispensational reward. If after being saved a believer commits a sin but will not make a clearance through confession and the cleansing of the Lord’s blood (1Jon1:7,9) before he dies or the Lord comes back, the sin will not be forgiven in this age but will remain and will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ(2Cor.5:10). In such as case, the believer will not be rewarded with the kingdom. i.e., will not anticipate with Christ in the glory and joy in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but will be disciplined so that the sin is cleared, and will be forgiven in the coming age (18:23:35). This kind of forgiveness will maintain this believer’s eternal salvation but will not qualify him to participate in the glory and joy of the coming kingdom.

 

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your word you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned. (vv.33-37).

 

Verse 36 the Greek word means not working. An idle word is a non-working word, an inoperative word, a word that has no positive function and is useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren. Those who have spoken such words will render an account concerning every one of them in the Day of Judgment. Since this is the case, how much more must we account for every wicked word! What a warning this is! We must learn to control and restrict our speaking.

 

By certain signs, Matthew 12:38-45

 

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign form you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. (vv.38-42)

 

 Verse 40 the heart of earth is called the lower parts of the earth (Eph.4:9) and Hades (Acts2:27), where the Lord went after His death. Hades, equal to Sheol in the Old Testament, has two sections, the section of torment and the section of comfort (Luke16:23-26). The section of comfort is Paradise, where the Lord went with the saved thief after they dies on the cross (Luke23:43). Hence, heart of the earth, lower parts of the earth, Hades, and Paradise are synonymous terms, referring to the place where the Lord stayed for three days and three nights after His death and before His resurrection.

Verse 41 Christ, as the Prophet sent by God to His people (Deut.18:15,18), is more than Jonah the prophet. Jonah was the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was put into the belly of the great fish. After remaining there for three days, he came out to become a sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2,17;3:2-10). This was a type of Christ, who would turn from Israel to the Gentiles and who would be buried in the heart of the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a sign to this generation for salvation.

           Verse 42, According to doctrine, first Christ had to die and be resurrected; then He would build the church and speak the word of wisdom. Christ’s death and resurrection are the real sign to this generation, to both the Jews and the Gentiles(1Cor.1:22,24)

 

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it foes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” when it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it even other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.(vv.43-45).

 

 Verse 45 doctrinally, v.43 continues v.22. Between these two verses is a record of the Jews’ rejection of Christ and of Christ’s forsaking of them. Here the Lord likened the evil generation of the rejecting Jews to the demon-possessed man. In the eyes of the Lord the rejecting Jews were like the demon-possessed people. The signs of Jonah and Solomon indicated that the Gentiles would repent, but the case of the demon-possessed man indicated that the rejecting Jews would not repent. They would only seep away the dirt and decorate by adding good things to beautify themselves. They would not receive Christ and allow Him to fill them. Rather, they would remain empty and unoccupied. This is the actual condition of today’s Jews. Near the end of this age they will be seven times more possessed by demons, and their state will become worse than ever.

 

By changed relationships, Matthew 12:46-50

 

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”  (vv.46-50)

Verse 48 this indicates that the heavenly King forsook His relationship in the flesh with the Jews. In this chapter the Jews’ rejection of Christ, having reached its climax, caused Christ to forsake them fully. At this point the break between them and Christ began, and they were severed from Christ (Rom.11:17,19-20) Verse 50 after breaking with the Jews, Christ turned to the Gentiles. Thenceforth His relationship with His followers was not in the flesh but in the spirit. Whoever does the will of His Father is a brother who helps Him, a sister who sympathizes with Him, and at mother who tenderly loves Him.

 

Bibliography,

 

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.