Last Lesson:
Some Would Question The Authority Of Jesus.
Solving This Problem Of Doubt And True Greatness.
Treating Christ With Criticism And Indifference.
Invitation To Rest In The Authority Of Jesus.
General Outline:
I. Rejection Of The King’s Principles (12:1-21).
A. Sabbath Work (12:1-8).
B. Sabbath Healing (12:9-14).
C. Lord Of The Sabbath (12:15-21).
II. Rejection Of The King’s Power (12:22-37).
Key Takeaway:
If Jesus Is Truly King, Then We Must Welcome His Rule And Reign In Every Area Of Our Lives.
We See The First Definite Steps That Lead To The Cross.
The Scribes And The Pharisees,
Of The Most Orthodox Religion On Earth,
Are Against The Power And Authority Of Jesus.
WHAT DOES MATTHEW CHAPTER 12 MEAN?
Jesus Taught That He Mourned Over People Rejecting Him.
Again He Comes Into Conflict With Local Religious Leaders.
These Mostly Involve The LEGALISTIC Scribes And Pharisees.
By This Point In His Ministry The Spiritual Leaders Had Begun:
To Amplify Their Attacks,
To Exaggerate Their Accusations,
To Increase Attempts To Trap Jesus
Saying Or Doing Something They Could Use Against Him.
What Event(S) Takes The Opposition And Indifference Of Jesus.
To Hostility And Triggers The Hatred.
So Much They Wanted To Kill Him.
What Takes Them From Interest With Reservation,
To Rejection Without Reservation ?
The Next 3 Chapters NOTE THE THEME: OPPOSITION TO HIM.
Jesus And His Disciples Are:
Walking Through A Field Of Grain,
Walking On The Sabbath,
Apparently On Their Way To The Synagogue.
The Hungry Disciples Pluck Heads Of Grain.
They Eat The Grain As They Go Along.
This Act Is Permissible According To Old Testament Law,
But It Does Violate The Pharisees' Traditional SABBATH Rules.
It Counts As "WORK" On A Sabbath Day.
They Accuse His Disciples Of Violating The 4th Commandment (Matthew 12:1–2).
IN RESPONSE, CHRIST POSES A SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
Pharisees Taught A Man-made Standard For WORK On Sabbath.
Their Understanding Of The Sabbath Is Faulty.
Their Accusation Is Empty.
GOD'S LAWS ARE MEANT TO BE FOLLOWED,
BUT THEY ARE ALSO MEANT TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
Just As God's Laws MEAN MORE Than Avoiding Only Physical Sins (Matthew 5:27–28),
They Are Also NOT MEAN To Prevent Men From Doing Good When The Situation Requires It.
Jesus Declares Himself Lord Of The Sabbath. (Matthew 12:3–8).
The Same Day Jesus And His Disciples Enter The Synagogue.
THE PHARISEES HAVE SET JESUS UP:
A Man With A Withered Hand Is Present,
They Ask Jesus If It Is Lawful To Heal On The Sabbath.
Jesus Again Emphasizes Mercy,
Jesus Insists It Is Lawful To Do Good On The Sabbath.
He Heals The Man.
RATHER THAN LEARNING AND REPENTING,
THE PHARISEES DEEPEN THEIR CONSPIRACY.
TO DESTROY JESUS (MATTHEW 12:9–14).
Jesus Temporarily Withdraws | The Crowds Keep Following Him.
A Demon-Oppressed Man Is Brought To Jesus.
Because Of The Demon, The Man Cannot Speak Or See.
Jesus Heals Him, And The Man Dramatically Responds.
The Crowd Began To Ask,
If Maybe Jesus Is The Son Of David.
THIS IS EXACTLY THE RESPONSE,
THOSE MIRACLES INTENDED TO PROVOKE.
Proving Their Absolute Hardness Of Spirit,
The Pharisees Immediately Say,
Jesus Only Casts Out Demons By The Power Of Satan.
(Matthew 12:22–24).
JESUS REBUKES THEIR ACCUSATION WITH 3 ARGUMENTS.
First, Satan Would Not Be Divided Against Himself?
Second, Conflicts To Pharisees Saying They Cast Out Demons.
Third, Jesus Casts Out Demons Proves God's Kingdom Is Here.
(Matthew 12:25–28).
As The Messiah:
Jesus Had Defeated Satan,
Jesus Came To Rescue Citizens For God's Kingdom.
Jesus Is Working Against The Prince Of Demons,
So OBVIOUSLY, Jesus Is Not Working For Satan.
Those Who Are Not With Jesus Are Against Him.
THIS IS THE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE.
WHERE JESUS MENTIONS.
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT.
In Literal Terms, This Means Seeing Christ Perform A Miracle And Attributing That Power To Satan Would Be Giving Glory To Satan When It Is Due The Holy Spirit.
In A Broader Sense, Those Who Persistently Reject God Are Committing Their Own Version Of Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit.
Such Absolute Rebellion Against God Will Not Be Forgiven. (Matthew 12:29–32).
He Calls Them A Brood Of Vipers, Pointing Out That The Words They Say Reveal The True Nature Of Their Hearts.
This Principle Applies, In General, To All People As Well:
What We Think And Feel Is The Origin Of What We Say And Do.
Jesus Warns Everyone Listening That They Will Be Held Accountable On The Day Of Judgment For Every Careless Word They Have Spoken.
(Matthew 12:33–37).
THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES ASK JESUS FOR A SIGN:
Of Course, He Has Very Recently Performed Miracles.
(Matthew 12:9–13, 22).
By Demanding MORE EVIDENCE Prove They Are Insincere.
Those Committed To Disbelief Will Often Claim That They Need Just One More Proof Or Confirmation, Which Is A Lie.
In That Spirit, Jesus Replies That This Is The Attitude Of An Evil And Spiritually Unfaithful Generation.
The Only Sign He Promises Them To See Is The Sign Of Jonah: Who Was In The Belly Of The Huge Fish For 3 Days.
The Son Of Man Will Also Be In The Earth For 3 Days.
This Is Another Reference To His Upcoming Resurrection.
At The End Time Judgment:
The Men Of Nineveh Who Repented At Jonah's Preaching,
Will Condemn The Generation Of Unbelieving Israelites,
Who Saw Christ In Person.
Even Those Pagan Deeply Wicked People,
Were Willing To Submit To God's Message.
(Matthew 12:41–42).
Jesus Warns: They Will Be Like A Person Possessed By Eight Evil Demons After First Being Freed From One.
So, The Demon Re-Enters And Brings Along Even More Evil Spirits.
Christ May Have Come To Fight Against Satan In That Generation Of Israel, But If They Reject Him, They'll Be Worse Off Than Before.
(Matthew 12:43–45).
Finally, Jesus Responds To News That His Mother Mary And Brothers Want To Talk To Him.
While He Does Not Dismiss Their Presence, Jesus Expands The Idea Of A True "Family" In His Response.
He Declares That His Disciples And All Who Do The Will Of His Father In Heaven Are His Brother And Sister And Mother. (Matthew 12:31–35).
4 STAGES OF INCREASING ATTITUDE OF HOSTILITY TO JESUS.
(i) In Matt. 12:1-8: We See Growing Suspicion.
The Story Of How The Disciples Plucked Grain On The Sabbath.
Growing Suspicion That A Teacher Would Allow His Followers To Disregard The Finer Points Of The Sabbath Law.
The Scribes Could Not Allow This To Spread Unchecked.
(ii) In Matt. 12:9-14; We See Active And Hostile Investigation.
The Story Of Healing The Paralyzed Hand On The Sabbath.
Jesus Knew Pharisees Would Be In The Synagogue On Sabbath.
Luke Says They Were There To Watch Jesus (Lk.6:7).
Now Jesus Would Always Be Under Close Observation.
Now The Leaders Were Seeking Evidence To Condemn Him.
(iii) In Matt. 12:22-32: We See Deliberate Deception.
The Story Of Pharisees Saying His Healing Power Is Of Satan.
From That Time Jesus Could Do Nothing Right In Their Eyes.
They Had Shut Their Eyes To True Revelation Of God.
They Were Completely Incapable Of Ever Seeing His Truth.
Their Prejudiced Blindness Put Them On A Path Of No Return.
Harsh Judgment On Blaspheming The Holy Spirit Was Revealed.
(iv) In Matt. 12:14 We See Evil Determination.
The Orthodox Were Not Content To Watch And Criticize;
They Were Preparing To Act.
They Had Gone Into Council To Find A Way To Get Rid Of Him.
Suspicion, Investigation, Blindness Became Their Actions.
FIVE WAYS IN WHICH JESUS MET THIS GROWING OPPOSITION.
(i) He Met It With Courageous Defiance. Matt. 12:9-14:
The Healing Of The Man With The Crippled Hand.
We See Jesus Deliberately Defying The Scribes And Pharisees.
This Event Was Not In Secret;
It Was In A Crowded Synagogue.
It Was Not Done In Their Absence,
It Was Done With Intent To Make A Charge Against Jesus,
Jesus Does Not Evade The Challenge,
Jesus Is About To Meet It Head On.
(ii) He Met It With Warning. Matt 12:22-32:
We See Jesus Giving The Most Terrible Of Warnings.
He Is Warning Them:
If They Persist In Shutting Their Eyes To The Truth Of God,
They Are On The Way To A Terrible Situation,
By Their Own Act They Will Be Unable To Receive Grace Of God.
Here Jesus Is Not So Much On The Defense As On The Attack.
He Makes It Clear Where Their Attitude Is Taking Them.
(iii) He Met It With A Staggering Series Of Claims. Matt 12:6:
He Is Greater Than The Temple,
The Temple Was The Most Sacred Place In All The World.
He Is Greater Than Jonah,
And No Preacher Ever Produced Repentance So Effective.
He Is Greater Than Solomon,
And Solomon Was The Very Height Of Wisdom.
His Claim Is That He Is More Than Any Spiritual Leader,
There Are No Apologies Here;
There Is The Statement Of The Claims Of Christ At Their Highest.
(iv) He Met It Stating His Teaching Is Essential. Matt 12:43-45:
What Is The Point Of The Strange Parable Of The Empty House.
It Is That The Law May Negatively Empty A Man Of Evil,
But Only The Gospel Can Fill Him With Imputed Righteousness.
The Law Simply Leaves A Man An Empty Invitation,
Empty For All Evil To Take Up Its Residence Within His Heart;
The Gospel Fills People With Imputed Righteousness,
So Full That Evil Cannot Enter In.
The Gospel Can Do For People What The Law Can Never Do.
(v) He Met It With An Invitation. Matt. 12:46-50:
In Essence An Invitation To Enter Into Kinship With Him.
These Verses Are Not Disowning Of Jesus' Own Kin,
These Verses Are An Invitation For All To Enter Into Kinship,
Through The Acceptance Of The Will Of God,
As That Will Has Come To All People In Him.
They Are An Invitation To Abandon Our Own Prejudices,
An Invitation To Deny Self.
An Invitation To Receive Him As Master And Lord.
If We Refuse, We Drift Farther Away From God;
If We Accept, We Enter Into The Very Family And Heart Of God.
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