Matthew 12:15-32: “Jesus Withdraws From The Multitudes, Casts
Out A Demon, Then Argues With The Pharisees When They Accuse Him Of Doing This
By The Power Of Beelzebub”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next section of the book of Matthew we see
that Jesus is aware that the Pharisees are now plotting to kill Him, so He
withdraws to a remote area, and though He still heals people and casts out
demons, He tells all to not make Him known so that He won’t be killed before
being able to go to the cross
1.2.
In this area where Jesus withdraws, the multitudes who
are seeing the marvelous healings and deliverances that He is performing begin
to believe that He must be the Messiah
1.3.
In response to the multitude’s reactions, the
Pharisees assert that Jesus casts out demons by Beelzebub (the devil)
1.3.1.
Jesus then argues with them over the logic of
asserting that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub
1.3.2.
Jesus next accuses them of being close to committing
the sin of ‘blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’- the unforgiveable sin
1.3.2.1.We will look
at what this sin really consists of and what Jesus really meant by saying this
1.3.2.2.In my 27
years of walking with the Lord I have run into many Christians who are worrying
that they may have committed this sin and that as a result they might not go to
heaven, so we will look closely at what ‘blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’ is
2.
VS 12:15-21 - “15 But Jesus, aware of
this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16
and warned them not to make Him known, 17 in order that what was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled, 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 shall proclaim justice to
the Gentiles. 19 “He will not quarrel,
nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 “A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to
victory. 21 “And in His name the
Gentiles will hope.”” - Knowing that
the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him He withdrew from there and the
multitudes followed Him and many sought His healing
2.1.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of every man, therefore He knew that now
the Pharisees were planning His murder, however knowing also that the cross was
still quite a ways ahead in time, He wisely left the area to go to a remote
location
2.2.
Jesus was healing all who had need of healing, however He was also
telling them not to tell anyone about what He had done for them so as not to
draw too much more attention upon Himself than was prudent, knowing that the
Pharisees now sought His life
2.3.
In order to show that in staying out of public sight and scrutiny that
Jesus was fulfilling what the Old Testament had prophesied concerning the
Messiah, Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-3.
2.3.1.
The Gentiles would come to hope in Him and He would proclaim justice to them
2.3.1.1.The Jews did not accept that
Jesus would reach out to the Gentiles, however their own scriptures and
prophets told of this
2.3.2.
He would not quarrel, nor cry out, no one would hear His voice in the
streets
2.3.2.1.Jesus could have caused a
great commotion and a public out cry because of the injustice that was being
done to Him by the Pharisees, but He did not do this
2.3.3.
A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick He will not
put out
2.3.3.1.Jesus is gentle with all of
His children, and even those with the weakest of faith in Him He would not
rebuff and send away but rather lift up in His arms and carry just as a
shepherd might carry his wounded sheep
2.3.3.1.1.Isaiah 40:11 prophesies that
the Messiah will act as a shepherd over His people and treat them this way, “11
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs,
And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes”
2.3.3.2.Jesus was not a
trouble-maker unnecessarily stirring up discord and strife
2.3.4.
Until He leads justice to victory
2.3.4.1.God is at this time being
patient with wrong doers and the rebellious, however a day is coming when He
will bring complete justice to the earth and recompense for every wrong for the
unbelieving who erroneously think that they are getting away with doing wrong
3.
VS 12:22-24 - “22 Then there was
brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him,
so that the dumb man spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and
began to say, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the
Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the
ruler of the demons”” - Jesus heals
a blind and dumb demon-possessed man, only to be accused of the Pharisees as
being an instrument of Satan
3.1.
Jesus performs an incredible threefold miracle upon this man, for he was
demon-possessed, blind, and dumb (which probably indicates that the man was
deaf) because of a demon
3.2.
As we have seen with all of Jesus’ miracles, this person is ‘immediately’
healed and ‘completely’ made well, and even though he has not spoken for a good
amount of time, he now has the ability to speak
3.3.
We see here that the multititudes are starting to put two and two
together and come to some pretty obvious conclusions concerning Jesus, for they
ask how Jesus cannot be the Messiah, the Son of David, since He performs the
works that He does?
3.4.
The Pharisees however when they hear about this miracle, they do not deny
that He has performed the miracle, nor do they doubt how incredible of a
miracle it really is, rather their only means of refuting Jesus is that they
credit the miraculous things that He is doing as coming from the Devil
3.4.1.
Supernaturally knowing what the Pharisees’ were thinking and their
explanation for His miracle, Jesus now begins to teach about the sin of
‘Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’, for what the Pharisees were now doing was
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit- what Jesus calls ‘the unpardonable sin’
4.
VS 12:25-26 - “25 And knowing their
thoughts He said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste;
and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 26 “And if Satan
casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom
stand?”” - Jesus’
first rebuttal of the Pharisees’ argument:
‘Satan cannot be divided against himself and his kingdom stand’
4.1.
Satan and all the demons of hell work according to the same plan Jesus
infers
4.1.1.
Satan would therefore not have any reason to cast out another demon which
is already under his control from anyone, for Satan’s evil kingdom is united
and since they know that they shall end up in hell themselves they are in all
that they do, are working together for the common purpose of trying to take as
many people to hell with them as they can
4.2.
As I was studying this particular section of scripture the sad fact
suddenly occurred to me that hell’s legions are actually much more in unity in
their purposes than is the church in her’s
4.2.1.
Satan and his kingdom are not divided against themselves, yet often we in
the church are divided against each other
4.2.2.
It is sad also that in Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that He prayed for unity
amongst His followers, and as Jesus says here without unity a house will not
stand, yet there is such a lack of unity in heart and purpose amongst Jesus’
followers today (and really it has been this way throughout time)
5.
VS 12:27 - “27 “And if I by
Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently
they shall be your judges, 28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you”” -
Jesus’ second rebuttal of the Pharisees argument: ‘if He casts out demons by satan, then by
whom do the people’s sons cast them out?’
5.1.
There is a problem with the interpretation of this argument because we
first have to determine who are the people’s ‘sons’ whom Jesus is referring to,
and doing so we find that both theories that are popular today for interpreting
this are problematic:
5.1.1.
Some people believe that Jesus is speaking of the many Jewish exorcists
which existed in His day, Josephus refers to these ones in his writings, and we
also read of the ‘seven sons of Sceva’ in the book of Acts who unsuccessfully
attempted to cast out some demons in ‘the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches’
5.1.1.1.Those who hold to this
interpretation point out that if the Pharisees said that Jesus was casting out
demons by Satan then wouldn’t they have to admit that their own Jewish
exorcists were also casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub
5.1.1.1.1.With this interpretation,
Jesus would again have foiled the Pharisees and their plots through His wisdom
5.1.1.2.The problem with this
interpretation is as to whether or not Jesus would want these same people to
possibly believe that their own people were also able to cast out demons, for
the Jewish exorcisms were probably just sham, and would He want them to think
that their exorcists were casting out demons by the finger of God, as was so in
His case?
5.1.2.
The second popular opinion concerning this verse is that Jesus is speaking
of His own disciples whom He had given the power and authority to cast out
demons
5.1.2.1.Those who hold to this
belief would point out that the Pharisees did not want to come against their
fellow Jews who were followers of Jesus because if they said that Jesus cast
out demons by Satan they would also have to admit that His disciples were doing
the same, incurring the people’s ire
5.1.2.2.The problem with this
interpretation is that it could be the case that the Pharisees could care less
if people thought that they had thought Jesus’ disciples were casting out
demons, for they were probably at this point even considering murdering Jesus’
followers along with Him
5.2.
Jesus challenges the people here telling them that if indeed He does cast
out demons by the finger of God that God’s Kingdom has now come among them, and
for this they shall be responsible if they reject Him and His message
6.
VS 12:29 - “29 “Or how can anyone
enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds
the strong man? And then he will plunder his house”” - Jesus third rebuttal of the Pharisees’
argument: in order to enter a man’s
house and carry off his property he must first bind the strong man
6.1.
Satan and his hordes are indeed the ones who have bound this man and caused
his blindness and being dumb, and therefore Jesus reveals that He first had to
bind Satan in order to perform this healing
6.2.
Satan definitely does not want to yield one inch of soil to God, and he
enjoys inflicting pain and injury to people, so in order for a person to be
healed in such a way as this man was healed and delivered, Satan must first be
bound up and rendered harmless
7.
VS 12:30 - “30 “He who is not with
Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters”” - Jesus reveals that there is no middle ground
regarding being on His side
7.1.
Jesus teaches that the person who is not ‘with’ Him is really against Him
7.1.1.
When a person puts off or refuses to make a decision to follow Christ, He
really has made a decision against Christ, and he is regarded as an enemy of
Christ
7.2.
Jesus teaches that the person who ‘does not gather’ with Him ‘scatters’
7.2.1.
Christ dwells in the midst of His people, and the person who refuses to
come in and dwell among God’s people in the church and when the body of Christ
assembles is a person who also has rejected Him
7.2.2.
In Heb. 10:25, the author teaches us that it is important that we not
miss those times when the body of Christ assemble together in His Name, “25Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”
7.2.3.
The word ‘scatters’ that Jesus uses here is an interesting one for it
implies ‘going in every direction’, perhaps much in the sense that ‘tossed to
and fro’ implies in Ephesians 4:14, “14 As a result, we are no longer to be
children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but
speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is
the head, even Christ”
7.2.3.1.Strong’s Greek Dictionary
has the following entry for this word translated, ‘scatters’: “4650 skorpizo { skor-pid’-zo} apparently
from the same as 4651 (through the idea of penetrating); TDNT - 7:418,1048; v
AV - scatter 3, scatter abroad 1, disperse abroad 1; 5 GK - 5025 { skorpivzw
} 1) to
scatter 1a) of those who, routed or terror stricken or driven by some other
impulses, fly in every direction 1b) to
scatter abroad (what others may collect for themselves), or one dispensing
blessings literally”
7.2.3.2.It is interesting to me that
Jesus uses this word because this is exactly what happens in Christians’ lives
when they begin to miss church services and Bible Studies, then sort of go off
on tangents in every which direction, both doctrinally and in their conduct or
behavior
7.2.3.3.This principle is
illustrated very well by looking a coals on a fire, for if all the coals are
kept together they will all stay nice and hot, however if you take one out of
the fire and place in on the hearth, it begins to cool down and soon goes out,
so happens to a Christian’s life if he makes it a habit of missing the church
services and Bible Studies
8.
VS 12:31-32 - “31 “Therefore I say to
you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the
Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 “And whoever shall speak a word against the
Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy
Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come”” - Jesus teaches about the ‘unpardonable sin’
8.1.
Over the years I have given counsel to many people who were afraid that
they might have committed this sin of ‘blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’, for many
people have been afraid that in a moment of rebellion against God that they may
have said something blasphemous about the Holy Spirit
8.2.
The big question then is, “What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?”
8.2.1.
Probably just about everyone has at some time in their life said
something that amounted to blasphemy against God, however it is not just the
‘saying’ of some specific words or phrases which constitutes this sin
8.2.2.
First of all, we know from scripture that the Lord is willing to forgive
any and all sin in those who are willing to humble themselves in repentance and
trust in the shed blood of Jesus to be their cleansing (see 1 John 1:9, 2:1-2
for instance)
8.2.2.1.Many times we in the church
tend to rank sins in order of their sinfulness and thus we are tempted to think
that some sins God might have a harder time forgiving, however this is not how
God looks at our sins
8.2.3.
Secondly, the only sin that really cannot be forgiven is the sin of not
receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
8.2.4.
So, for these reasons, I think that what this sin really involves is a
hardening of the heart towards God that a non-believer can allow to occur where
he actually gets to the point to where God loses patience with him and no
longer strives with his conscience
8.2.4.1.In this way, God confirms the
decision that the person has made to reject Him
8.2.4.2.So, this sin does not occur
in a moment of time but rather it is a very drawn out process that occurs in a
person’s heart and life
8.2.4.2.1.My professor in Bible school
once called this sin, ‘the alienation of God’, and I have come to realize the
accuracy in what he said
8.2.4.2.2.I believe this is the same
thing that we read about in the book of Timothy where Paul prophesied of people
in the last days as having their consciences ‘seared as with a hot iron’, no
longer feeling guilty for doing wrong (1 Tim. 4:2)
8.2.4.3.The person who alienates God
from his life to the extent of committing this sin has to do something to keep
his mind from perceiving the truth of God which is evident all around him (Rom.
1:18-20), and he must also soothe his conscience, so he eventually can get to
the point that he even attributes God’s working all around him, to be caused by
the Devil, or maybe some natural process
8.2.5.
This is where the Pharisees in this story were at, they saw what was so
clearly the marvelous works that only God could do, and because they refused to
believe in him and in order to soothe their consciences, they were attributing
these works that he was doing to Satan